Tamil Association celebrates 48th anniversary

DR Ganas Murugan from the International Movement for Tamil Culture-Africa, representatives from various religious bodies and local organisations formed part of the Port Shepstone Tamil Association’s 48th annual general meeting last Saturday. Chairman Dinah Naidoo stated that the association started at a mass meeting in June 1966 to embrace and promote the Tamil culture in Port Shepstone.

She encouraged members of her council to be more beneficial to adapt to the institution rather than for the institition to chop and change to satisfy individual demands. “We have volunteered to join this association. It is a choice that we have made and we must keep in our hearts the value which the association holds dear,” said Mrs Naidoo. She urged everyone to remain committed to doing something to make a lasting and positive change and always ask themselves the question, “How much did I contribute to the life of the association?”

Mrs Naidoo concluded by providing encouragement to her members. “Be a beacon of hope, send out rays of positive thoughts in the world. By doing so you will not only succeed in lighting up your life, but also those around you. This is the path that we should choose to walk by, constantly striving for high quality performance and I have members who fit this description perfectly!” she explained.

Guest speaker, Dr Murugan talked on the importance of the Tamil language and culture in the present, multilingual, multi-cultural South Africa. He mentioned that Tamil is an ancient language which has survived as a spoken language from a very early period until the present day. “It is spoken by millions of Tamils throughout the world and the word Tamil means ‘sweetness.’ It is a rich language, belonging to the people of the south and contains a high form of grammar,” said Mr Murugan.

At the closing of the AGM, the Port Shepstone Tamil Association highlighted its outstanding record of providing spiritual and cultural assistance to the community of Port Shepstone, which included conducting 11 funerals and 14 ceremonies, the observing of all religious and cultural functions on the Tamil calendar, the successful Tamil New Year celebration at the Port Shepstone Civic Centre, the grand Deepavali celebrations organised by the Hindu Cultural Federation and finally the wedding ceremonies taking place in the temple.

The association expressed its appreciation to all business houses, members of the community, devotees and officials for their generous sponsorship and donations throughout the years.