I had a desire to come to Jaffna for a long time. I have spent seven months in Jaffna since I first set my feet in Jaffna. I think I was able to come to Jaffna due to the good deeds of my parents. I don’t want anything more in my life. I feel it is a boon to have come to Jaffna and to be able to serve the people here, said Mr.A.Natarajan, the CG of India in Jaffna. He made this remarks at the inauguration speech at Kamban Vizha festival celebrated by the Sri Lanka Kamban Kalakam at Nallur Thurkka Manimandapam last Friday. The following is an excerpt from his speech.

    When I started my work here, I was surprised to read the names of persons and villages. I was struggling to read a person’s name which was written in English. The name was VelumMayilum. When I struggled, the person told me the name in Tamil. It was such a nice Tamil name, but reading in English was difficult. I heard pure literary Tamil names like Kaanamayilnathan, Painthamizhchchelvan, etc. I am so proud to hear those Tamil names of persons. There are no such pure Tamil names in my village.

    I visited a village here. It is called Suthanthirapuram (village of freedom). There are villages like Thiruvananthapuram, Viluppuram, Mamallapuram, etc but there is no Suthanthirapuram. Another village here is Ezhuthumadduvazh. Someone interpreted the meaning of the name; only the literate people live here. This meaning is suitable not only for that village but also for the whole district of Jaffna.

    I met so many types of people in this place, but I have never seen one who does not know how to sign. The prestige of Jaffna and its people is so great.

    You should not only celebrate Poet Kamban but also Arumuga Navalar, who was born in Nallur and Swamy Vipulananthar who was born in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.

    I belong to the village of Thirunelvey in Tamilnadu, India, but I have been living abroad for the last 30 years. Music is my passion. I love Nathaswaram and Thavil. I was able to taste this Nathaswaram music better than when I was living in my village. During the inauguration session, I was proud to listen to the Nathaswaram Music by Vidwan Suntharamurthy and his fellow musicians. I wish him and his team all the best to continue with the service to this art form. I thank the committee of Sri Lanka Kamban Kazhakam.