Houston Tamils Participate in Thirukkural Marathon

Some of the Thirukkural organizers and participants gathered for a group photo.

BY NADHU RADHAKRISHNAN

HOUSTON: Thirukkural, a collection of 1,330 couplets referred to as Kurals, written by Thiruvalluvar is a possession that is treasured by the Tamils. This collection has been written more than 2,000 years ago. However, every verse of Thirukkural holds good to our deeds today.

In order to commemorate this divine literature and pass on the tradition to our future generations, Tamil Nadu Foundation (TNF) – Houston Chapter conducted a two day marathon of Kural recitation. Children between 5-18 years of age were encouraged to recite as many Kurals they can along with its meaning. For each correct recitation, one gets a prize money of $1.00. Parents who have been training their kids for a long time shared their thoughts in unison that this generous gesture showed by TNF-Houston Chapter has encouraged their children to continue learning Kurals. Participants, not only from Houston, but other major areas including Sugar Land, Cypress, Katy, and Beaumont enthusiastically narrated their list.
The office bearers of TNF- Houston chapter have been working tirelessly to successfully host this event.

Mala Gopal, a long term resident of Houston, is the President of Houston chapter. “It is refreshing to see kids at tender age recite Kurals” she said. “I was enthralled to watch a five-year old participant narrate more than 430 kurals” she added. The top five participants in the list and mothers of toppers within the age range 5-13 and 13-18 will be honored on TNF-Houston’s Mothers’ Day celebrations.

The two mothers will receive a customized saree with Thiruvalluvar’s image weaved within as a special prize. This event will be held on the 5th of May, beginning at 3:00 PM at The Westchester Academy for International studies, 901, Yorkchester Drive, Houston, Texas 77079.

The entire team of TNF-Houston would like to have the support of the community to make this event a grand success.