Cho Ramaswamy & 'Thani Thamizh'

A moderator of the MaGo mail group in his comment (9 June 05) referred to Cho Ramaswamy’s appearance on TV to voice his concerns about "Thani Thamizh" spoiling & stalling the growth of Thamizh.

Apparently, Cho is seeking to inject greater vitality into Tamil. Instead of merely taking him at his words, it is good to examine his deeds as well. If Cho would offer his manner of writing in Tamil in his Tuglaq magazine as the preferred path towards (re-)vitalizing Tamil, we ought to be warned. Cho is so turbo-charged in this ‘mission’ that he seems bent on injecting excessive doses of English into the arteries, veins and nerves of the Tamil language: he seems not to think (or care) that he may putting the ‘patient’ to undue risk.

I have read Cho in English as well. In the few pieces that I have read, I don’t see any indication that Cho will ever write in English in the following manner:

After the saayunkala poosai, attended by a large number of bakthars (bakthargal) of Muruga kadavul, many stayed back for the isai kaccheri in the koyil’s new auditorium.

Cho and many others of his ilk would mark the above as bad English writing. Instead, they would favour something ‘purer’ or ‘cleaner’ like the following:

After the evening prayers, attended by a large number of devotees of Lord Muruga, many stayed back for the music performance in the temple’s new auditorium.

That’s as it should be. Isn’t that good English so that it would be accepted and understood by all around the world, including non-Tamils. To enable such comprehension all round, we will go to ‘temple’ (not ‘koyil’) and have Muruga kadavul re-christened as Lord Muruga.

But when it comes to writing in Tamil, we seem to be presented with diametrically opposite arguments.

Cho, who seems so intent in saving Tamil from the Thani Thamizh aarvalargal (enthusiasts), is known to be sympathetic towards group(s) bent on frustrating all efforts aimed at enhancing the role of Tamil in education and governance in Tamil Nadu (the subject of some previous posts). These groups have, in the past, resorted to court actions and politicking to block or neuter directives / initiatives by the Tamil Nadu government in this direction.

We have no issue with Cho making a living out of Tamil. But for keeping Tamil alive and taking it to greater heights, let us also hear out - more fully and intently - others with their hearts in the right place.

Related blogs:

Malayalam: Motivated genesis of a language (12 Nov 2005)

Loan words in Tamil (11 June 2005)

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