Kural Chronicles

Story tellers that we are let’s begin with  

‘Once upon a time, in the not so distant past,  there was a virus that visited us, caught us unawares, wrought havoc and left after a fashion; threatening now and then to resurface. Covid  left us though with invaluable life lessons that we are slowly forgetting as is our wont. For some of us however some things have become a constant.

Through the pandemic about 35 of us school friends of old got together everyday on zoom to pray for ourselves and the world at large. We firmly believed and believe that more things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of. Covid has been gone for sometime now but every evening for the last four years and more we meet every evening at 6.30pm to sing, pray, talk, listen and learn. This is today a blessed constant in our lives, something we count on, something that is there for us no matter what else changes.  

Somewhere down the line, I started reading one tamil verse a day ,( mostly from the thirukural)  and sharing with them my translation of it. I found that  the deep wisdom of  Valluvar and Avvaiyar speaks to them as it does to me. Since I have been reading up on a Kural  everyday , it struck me that I should put it down in writing and share it with the world at large. Alongside the Thirukural I wish to write about the works of that famed tamil paati,Avvaiyar, with a sprinkling of tamil devotional literature as well. 

 I hope I can convey along with the translation, the beauty of Tamil literature, at once simple and complex; my amazement at the vision of those poets, at their ability to impart so much learning in so few words, the sheer depth of wisdom. May these words that brought me so much joy and meaning, touch you, my reader. Together, let us delve into the vast ocean that is ancient Tamil wisdom.