Thaipoosam Cavadee 2023 will be celebrated at national level on 04 February. A video clip album “Ainkaranai Thiruppugazh: A realm of pure bliss” was launched, on Thursday, in the presence of the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck, in Port Louis, in the context on Thaipoosam Cavadee 2023.
This is an initiative of the Mauritius Tamil Cultural Centre Trust (MTCCT) under the aegis of the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage, the video clip aims to place emphasis on the dissemination of the Thiruppugazh compositions which are dedicated to Lord Murugan. In Mauritius, many Thiruppuhazh are sung and this new one will add to the repertoire of the ‘bhajanam’ in kovils.
Thiruppugazh is a set of songs that kindles the music of devotion in one’s heart and stimulates spiritual awakening in the mind. This new video clip album is the sixth one being produced by the MTCCT.
In his address, Minister Teeluck at the very outset congratulated the MTCCT for the work accomplished and the production of the video clip.
He observed that with time, practices and traditions are being lost and hence the need to revive them. According to him, the youth are no longer interested in keeping these traditions alive. He therefore highlighted the importance of devising a framework aimed at preserving cultural heritage and traditions. This, he added, will help build a solid foundation as well as reaffirm the identity of those who uphold these traditions as a group or society.
He also dwelt on the two types of cultural heritage namely tangible national heritage such as buildings and monuments, as well as intangible national heritage such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, and festive events. Intangible national heritage, he highlighted, is important as it gives us a sense of identity and belonging, linking the past, through the present with our future.
Minister Teeluck underlined that the National Heritage Fund will be entrusted with the responsibility of starting the revival process of these practices and traditions.
Also present, the Chairperson of the MTCCT, Dr Adi Sankara Peruman, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage for its support in the propagation of tamilian art, music and culture. He also lauded the work accomplished by the Centre and enumerated some of the activities which have been organised. They include a workshop on ‘bhajanam’ and ‘kolatam’ which was a popular game in the old days, a video compilation of sacred texts which are sung in kovils, launching of a CD, and programmes on the radio and TV.
