MADURAI: Porunai, the first of five literary festivals planned by the state government, commenced at Tirunelveli on Saturday with chief minister M K Stalin inaugurating it through video conference.
The chief minister said the government is conducting four similar literary festivals also, called Vaigai, Cauvery, Siruvani and Chennai. “Porunai conducted on the banks of Thamirabarani is a significant one. Let the history of India be written from Tamil Nadu,” he said while wishing the event great success.
The two-day event will see special lectures delivered by authors and literary figures. The inaugural function had authors like Kalpatta Narayanan, Vannadasan, Kathai Solli and Pava Chellathurai delivering special addresses. State ministers Raja Kannappan and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi participated in the inaugural event. Raja Kannappan said Porunai was the first of its kind to be organized in the region. The state education department is conducting the event and the chief minister is keen on improving the state on all fronts, especially education, he said.
Education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said the government will consider the suggestion of author Kalpatta Narayanan to institute a Tamil Sahitya award for the best writers. One in six people in Tamil Nadu has studied in government schools which is an achievement for the department, he said. Tamil literature should reach the children as forces pulling the state backward are taking up reading as a weapon of mass destruction, he added.
Various venues and exhibitions have been arranged at the festival which is meant to attract students and the general public. There were sessions on Tamil poetry, discussion meetings between authors and the public, dialogue on various accents like Karisal, Nellai, Nanjil and Neithal used in literary writing.
Later in the evening, Tuticorin MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi released a book on Tamil poetry by students at the festival.
The chief minister said the government is conducting four similar literary festivals also, called Vaigai, Cauvery, Siruvani and Chennai. “Porunai conducted on the banks of Thamirabarani is a significant one. Let the history of India be written from Tamil Nadu,” he said while wishing the event great success.
The two-day event will see special lectures delivered by authors and literary figures. The inaugural function had authors like Kalpatta Narayanan, Vannadasan, Kathai Solli and Pava Chellathurai delivering special addresses. State ministers Raja Kannappan and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi participated in the inaugural event. Raja Kannappan said Porunai was the first of its kind to be organized in the region. The state education department is conducting the event and the chief minister is keen on improving the state on all fronts, especially education, he said.
Education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said the government will consider the suggestion of author Kalpatta Narayanan to institute a Tamil Sahitya award for the best writers. One in six people in Tamil Nadu has studied in government schools which is an achievement for the department, he said. Tamil literature should reach the children as forces pulling the state backward are taking up reading as a weapon of mass destruction, he added.
Various venues and exhibitions have been arranged at the festival which is meant to attract students and the general public. There were sessions on Tamil poetry, discussion meetings between authors and the public, dialogue on various accents like Karisal, Nellai, Nanjil and Neithal used in literary writing.
Later in the evening, Tuticorin MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi released a book on Tamil poetry by students at the festival.
