CHENNAI: Can you count the number of seeds in a pumpkin or jackfruit pods in a whole fruit without cutting or breaking them? If not, then Niranjan Bharathi can help you with that. “We often think that Tamil literature is only imagination, or talking in praise of the gods or love or the motherland. But we also have a book called Kanakathigaram, from around the 17th century that is full of mathematical puzzles and riddles. Everything is written as a song,” he says, adding the solution to finding the number of seeds also is one of the songs.
This is but one interesting session in the 30-odd classes that form a part of Pillai Thamizh that introduces kids aged eight to 16 to Tamil literature. The course is curated by Niranjan as part of his brainchild, MyTamilGuru, which has three courses — Aanaa Aavanna, Karka Kasadara and Themadhura Tamizhosai — that have found fans across the globe.
Pillai Thamizh was started in the second half of 2022 and is conducted in batches. The next batch will commence on April 13 — a day before the second anniversary of MyTamilGuru. “I wanted to expose our current generation of kids to Tamil literature; not in a typical fashion but in a fun-filled way, so that we inculcate the knowledge and they get interested to read more and more as they grow,” he says.
Success and beyond
Within a year of its inception, MyTamilGuru had many children from across the world registering for the courses. “It was paramount to me that they got some knowledge of our heritage with regards to Tamil literature,” he adds. And so Niranjan first crafted a syllabus that includes moral education along with the works like Tirukkural, Naladiyar, etc. “We have so many sources, so much variety and all are beautiful like simple songs, maximum four lines, sometimes just two-three words.
For example, Avaiyyar’s Aathichudi. So I thought we have to give importance to moral education from Tamil literature. I also combine motivation and personality development with this. I talk about the importance of the mother tongue, Tamil, I expose them to songs which talk about the greatness of our language. Various references across Tamil literature talks about the beauty, greatness and antiquity of Tamil. Even though the language may be a bit difficult, the content and my intent will make learning easy and fun for them. That’s the uniqueness of our course, and the entire MyTamilGuru school,” he explains.
As part of the course, Niranjan also brings in Sangam literature. He asserts that he doesn’t touch upon the concept of romantic love, but the love for nature. “I take Sangam literature and make students understand the importance of observing nature and appreciating its beauty. Many children today are addicted to technology and rarely step out. They don’t know how to listen to birdsong, or see the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, or know the thrill of climbing a mountain or swimming in a pond.
In Sangam literature, there are many verses where flora and fauna are beautifully portrayed. For example, in a work called Kurinji Paattu written by one of the greatest poets of Sangam literature, Kabilar. In that, he lists out 99 names of flowers in that song. My work is to impart these to kids. This is like sowing seeds, we don’t know when it will grow,” he says.
Read, write, challenge
From stories of kings and chieftains and scientific topics to Chittirai Kavi, a fun poetry writing challenge, children will be exposed to all of them. “Here we give a challenge to the kids to write a poem with a rational approach. We have examples like Thirugnanasambandar, who wrote a Tamil palindrome song. Some poems seem like you are climbing a staircase or getting down; you have to read them backwards,” he points out.
The course ends with some Bhakti works — but none related to religion, caste or associated traditions. With kindness as the theme, Niranjan has picked out verses from the likes of Thevaram Thriruvasagam or Naalayira Divya Prabandham. Something easily understandable for kids. “Love and humanity are important. Anybody from any age or religion might have written it but the essence is the same. This journey needs to start from childhood. Hence, I brought up the topic of Bhakti in the syllabus. Brotherhood, equality and love-based Bhakti songs are what I introduce,” he says.
With MyTamilGuru getting a rave response, this seemed like an obvious next step for Niranjan. Calling it teamwork, Niranjan says that they figured out what the students who had enrolled for the school sought. They have also had people of other nationalities and across age groups take up the course. “Our dream is to scale up and bring in more students, do more workshops and seminars. Worldwide, we want to do seminars on Tamil linguistics and take them to schools and colleges.
In future, we also wish to make some apps to reach out to more kids. The idea is to go hand in hand with the school syllabus. This is an extension to make you fall in love with Tamil. Those whose mother tongue is Tamil, living in India, Chennai or abroad, should know how to write and speak the language. We want to fulfil that need,” he signs off.
Pillai Thamizh is open to anyone who knows the basics of Tamil speaking and writing basics. The classes begin on April 13 and will be held on Thursdays and Saturdays at 5 pm IST. Registrations are on till April 12, 7 pm IST. For details, visit www.mytamilguru.com or mail to mytamilguru@gmail.com.