Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The Sweet Salt of Tamil - Tho Paramasivan (Translated by V Ramnarayan)

 Tho Paramasivan (1950-2020) was a teacher at Madurai University and authored 15 books and many papers and articles. This book about all things Tamil that one needs to know has been translated by V Ramnarayan, cricketer, writer, teacher, editor and singer.



To begin with Tamizh means sweet coolness apparently. The book covers Tamizh houses, clothes, relationships, names, Gods, food, festivals, religions, castes, games, death, rituals and so on. It covers everything concisely and gives a good understanding of the Tamizh world. The influences of Buddhism, of other people who have come into their culture - Kannadigas, Marathas, British, Muslims. Their own caste system and how it influenced culture. Rutuals and games and so on.

I enjoyed reading the book and was struck by the simplicity and clarity in which the author and translator have conveyed so much in so little. Thanks Ram. Enjoyed reading it.   

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