A virtual Tamil Language Festival (TLF) took  place from 28 November to 20 December 2020. Despite the postponement of the TLF 2020 originally scheduled for April, due to Covid-19, the TLC and its partners had assembled a total of 25 online programmes, as the community remains steadfast in its goal to promote the Tamil language in Singapore.

There were a variety of literary, oratorical, arts and cultural programmes via Zoom or Facebook platforms. These programmes  encouraged everyone to “Love Tamil, Speak Tamil”, embrace their mother tongue, and use the language in their daily lives.

“The Tamil Language Council thanked all partners for the continued support in presenting a festival calendar rich with a variety of programmes, despite this trying period. The virtual Tamil Language Festival 2020 features programmes for all age groups, and all participants can enjoy these programmes in the safety and comfort of their own homes. Our partners have worked hard to adapt to new ways of programming, so we can continue to engage everyone in celebrating the richness of our Tamil language. We hope the community will be inspired and continue to use the Tamil language for many more generations to come,” says Mr S Manogaran, Chairman of the Tamil Language Council.

A festival for all

TLF 2020 welcomes 6 new partners, as they present programmes featuring storytelling, drama, musical and talks that would broadly appeal to everyone.

NoolaPalooza, a digital storytelling programme for pre-schoolers and primary school students is presented by Nool Monsters. The dramatised storytelling session introduced interesting characters such as the Ten-Headed boy, a musical T-Rex, dare-devil animals and a topsy-turvy monsters, as participants join the sing-along to rhymes and stories.

Brahmastra, a new partner to the festival,  presented “Kuralum Kuralum” a musical with a live band presenting Thirukkural. The Thirukkural and its explanations were presented using Tamil cinematic songs.

Kalamanjari is also a new partner to the festival. The performance “Nanneri Thangam” will present a musical with a poetry recital. This presentation will also be supplemented by a discourse on the featured poetry.

Tertiary students may also be interested in a photography competition organized by the Nanyang Technological University Tamil Literary Society Alumni Association. The competition aims to engage participants to express their perspectives of the local Tamil poems, through photography.
Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League, an active partner in the TLF will be presented “Tamil Unaarvodhu Unavu”, a cooking demonstration. This demonstration  shared about the forgotten traditional Indian dishes and spices, and the history of early immigrants from Kadayanallur.

Source:  Tamil Language Council Press Release