“Learning Thirukkural During Formative Years Crucial for Shaping One's Character” - Madurai DC

Learning Thirukkural as a student is essential for instilling values and promoting the development of a virtuous character in one's later life, said Mr. T. Mangaleswaran, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Head Quarters), Madurai, while participating at Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam’s Thirukkural Vizha 2023 as the Chief Guest. He also distributed prizes to the students who won speech, essay writing, and drawing competitions.

Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam has been organising a series of Thirukkural competitions at 12 zones across Tamil Nadu. The competition for the Madurai Zone was recently held at The Madura College. About 320 school and college students from Madurai, Virudhunagar, and Sivagangai districts took part in the competition.

Delivering his address, Mr. Mangaleswaran, said: “There’s a well-known English saying: ‘When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.’ This saying holds great truth. Character holds significant importance for students. During our own student years, we used to read moral books to absorb positive values. If you study Thirukkural, you can also acquire these valuable virtues.”

He added that participating in Thirukkural competitions is more important than winning them. Even if one fails, they should regard themselves as fortunate as they had the chance to deepen their understanding of Thirukkural while preparing for the competitions.

A total of 97 students participated in the speech competition. The junior category, meant for students in classes 6 to 8, saw the participation of 53 students, while the senior and college categories had 39 students from classes 9 to 12 and 5 college students participating in the competition, respectively. The following three students were selected to participate in the state level competition to be held in Chennai soon:

• Junior Level: R. Sowmya, Venkadasamy Naidu Middle School, Srivilliputhur
• Senior Level: M.K. Kavya Priya, Sri Sundareswara Vidya Sala Matric Higher Secondary School, Melur
• College Level: M. Manivasagam, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai

In addition to the speech competition, zonal-level essay writing and drawing competitions were also held as part of the Thirukkural Vizha. About 80 students participated in the essay writing competition, and 145 students participated in the drawing competition.

Mr. Ramachandiran and Mr. Santhosh, Madurai Branch Managers of Shriram Chits India (Pvt) Ltd participated in the event. Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam has been organising the competitions every year since 1988 to promote Thirukkural values, Tamil language and culture, and oratorical skills, for students across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.