Bharathiar and Avvaiyar Visit BKM Houston’s General Body Meeting with a Message

Cast and writer of “Vazhgha Senthamizh” From left: Senthil, Mani, Malar, Chandramouli (script writer), Mala, Prasad).

Cast and writer of “Vazhgha Senthamizh” From left: Senthil, Mani, Malar, Chandramouli (script writer), Mala, Prasad).

HOUSTON: Bharathi Kalai Manram, Houston’s own Tamil organization, celebrated the completion of the current year with the General Body Meeting at Sri Meenakshi Temple on Sunday December 15. During the meeting, Partha Krishnaswamy was officially confirmed as President. Partha thanked the outgoing board (led by Raja Amrithalingam). The meeting was followed with a talent show comprising dance, music, a fashion shown. A highlight of the show was the drama “Vazhgha Senthamizh” (Long Live the Tamil language!) written by Houston’s own script writer par excellence, Chandramouli.
The drama opened with a conversation between Tamil literary giants, Bharathiar and Avvaiyar, both keen on knowing the current status of their beloved Tamil language.

Bharathiar (G.N. Prasad) and Avvaiyar (Mala Gopal) in “Vazhgha Senthamizh.”

Bharathiar (G.N. Prasad) and Avvaiyar (Mala Gopal) in “Vazhgha Senthamizh.”

Known as ‘Mahakavi’ (Great Poet), Bharathiar lived at the dawn of the 20th century and was an Independence activist and reformer. The vigor of his verse was a forerunner to modern Tamil poetry that combined classical and contemporary elements with a prodigious output penning thousands of verses on diverse topics. Avvaiyar, a great 13th century female poet and scholar of Tamil literature is immortalized by her works mostly aimed at children that guide and explain the basic wisdoms that govern life.
In the drama, Bharathiar and Avaaiyar come to modern day Chennai and are astounded at changes they see, initially impressed at the economic progress, but quickly disheartened with the anglicization of their beloved Tamil language. The skit took the audience through a humorous conversation between the great poets, first with a Chennai auto driver and then a school teacher. In their search of a suitable place that fosters Tamil language learning, both then come to Houston and are pleasantly surprised to end the search in BKM Tamil School. The audience was captivated by all performers with Mala Gopal as Avvaiyar, G.N. Prasad as Bharathiar, Senthil Arcot as the Auto driver, Mani as the Chennai school teacher and Malar Narayan as BKM Tamil school teacher. That ‘language is the window to the culture’ resonated well with the audience. The drama can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d2J_zE8ek4.
Following the drama, the current teachers of BKM Tamil School from various centers, with the respective coordinators from Pearland (Mala Gopal), Sugarland (Dr. Solayappa Chockalingam), Cypress (Kuzhali Arcot) and Durgabari center (Malar Narayanan) were felicitated by Bharathiar and Avvaiyar for their hard work and dedicated service in teaching Tamil to Houston children. All the teachers received trophies and the volunteers received certificates as recognition of their hard work. The event finished off with a lovely dinner catered by Annam Restaurant.
The BKM Tamil School centers run a broad curriculum including reading, writing, and popular spoken Tamil language classes. The best of the resources from California Tamil Academy (CTA) and American Tamil Academy (ATA) are used in BKM’s various Tamil Schools with enhancements by BKM teachers to provide an interesting and stimulating environment for the children.
For further information, including enrollment in the BKM Tamil School visit www.bkmhouston.org.