Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

The struggle for State’s name

Photo: R. Ashok

PRESENTING THE PAST: Visitors looking at photo exhibits at the ‘Tamizhaga Peruvizha’ in Tiruchi on Sunday. —

TIRUCHI: When the split of Madras Presidency into four different states was announced, struggles broke out to protect the interests of Tamilians. The struggle that rattled the government was portrayed in detail through pictures at an exhibition organised to mark the ‘Tamizhaga Peruvizha’ at Tamil Sangam on Sunday.

The then Madras Presidency map welcomed the visitors, underscoring the places that we had lost after the split. A symbol, which indicated Tamil Nadu, excavated from Harappa and Mohenjo-daro was a major attraction. A ferocious bull’s silhouette filled with enigmatic script was believed to depict the state, exhibition organiser T.M. Saravanan said.

The interesting tales narrated in lyrical style in works such as ‘Silapadikaram’ and ‘Tholkappiyam’ were re-told through pictures at the exhibition. Each of the pictures was juxtaposed with poems from Sangam literature. “The pictures were collected from magazines released to mark the World Tamil Conference. Many have been collected over the period of time,” he said.

Portraits of people who have represented the State in various fields and freedom fighters from the State took a major share at the exhibition. While most of the charts were self-explanatory with crisp footnotes, volunteers were also present to chip in a bit more about the achievements of various Tamil leaders.

Lives of martyrs such as Sankaralinganar, who fought for the name ‘Tamil Nadu’ when talks were on to name the State as ‘Dhakshin Pradesh’, were narrated to each of the visitors.

An avid collector of Tamil journals, Mr. Saravanan began organising the exhibition from last year. “Tamizh Peruvizha is a function taken off in a major way to commemorate the leaders. The exhibition will help the younger generation to know about a bit of Tamil history. It is an opportunity for the parents, too, to educate their children on the richness and splendour of Tamil literature,” he said.

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