THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government’s decision to release an advertisement condoling the demise of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has received attention in the Tamil Nadu media and social media.
The advertisement prepared by an official in the Kerala Chief Minister’s office and released in Tamil media that had a quote from the Tamil epic ‘Thirukkural’ was powerful enough to touch the hearts of the people in the neighbouring state.
The condolence with the slug ‘Grief sans boundaries’ had quoted the couplet number 595 from the classic work: “With rising flood, the rising lotus flower, its stem unwinds; The dignity of men is measured by their minds.” It also said that those who enjoy the support of the people will remain with their head high among the crowd of people.
The TV channels in Tamil Nadu and social media have taken this advertisement as a great gesture on the part of Kerala.
News 18 Tamil Nadu and Puthiya Thalamurai channels discussed it in their morning programme. The social media and television also depicted the Kerala Governor, Chief Minister, Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister going to pay their last respects to the departed leader as Kerala’s unity.
The social media and channels also cited the Kerala leaders’ gesture of paying homage to former President A P J Abdul Kalam collectively as a mark of Kerala’s warmth towards Tamil Nadu.
The Kerala Chief Minister’s Office is viewing the response from the Tamil media as a positive signal. Officials in the CMO told Express that the government wanted to convey the message that people from both states should not be apprehensive on issues like Mullaperiyar. “We want to give the message that Kerala is a close friend of Tamil Nadu and people of both the states had centuries-old strong connect,” they said.