USA!
International Thirukkural Conference !
July 8-10, 2005!

Smith Auditorium, Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044 USA

Thirukkural 2005 Week - U.S. Maryland Proclamation!

Governor of the State of Maryland, USA declares the week of July 8, 2005 As the week International Thirukkural Conference Week

The Tamil Sangam of Greater Washington is hosting an International Thirukkural Conference during July 8-10, 2005. This conference is also being cosponsored by other cultural and literary organizations in India and abroad. In spite of its inherent grandeur, Thirukkural is not popular in the western countries. Although Thiruvalluvar is comparable to other philosophers like Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Machiavelli, he is not ranked among them. The Tamils have always considered Thiruvalluvar as Tamil poet and his magnificent work as a piece of Tamil literature. As a result, we have failed to promote his philosophy around the world and help others to recognize him as an extraordinary philosopher. Several foreign scholars like Dr. Albert Schwitzer, Leo Tolstoy and others have hailed Thiruvalluvar for his remarkable wisdom and philosophical thoughts. The objectives of the conference are as follows: 

To understand how Thirukkural can be a guide to humanity. 
To create and promote awareness of Thirukkural in USA among Americans and the youth of Indian origin. 
To compare Thiruvalluvar with other philosophers of the world. 

Dr. V. C. Kulandaisamy will be the chairman of this conference and deliver the keynote address. Also, Dr. George Hart, a well known Tamil Scholar in USA and Professor of Tamil at the University of California, Berkeley will deliver the other Keynote address. 

In connection with the conference, the organizers have invited research papers from scholars all over the world. They received about 260 papers. With the help of a Technical Evaluation Committee they have selected about 50 papers and have created CD with those papers for distribution at the conference. Also, the three best papers will be awarded prizes, $1000, $500 and $300. The authors of the first, second and third prize winning papers are Mr. V. Iraianbu (Chennai), Dr. P. Nagabushanam (Chennai) and Dr. (Mrs.), K. P. Azhkammai (Chennai). The paper submitted by Mr. Rex Arul and Dr., S. Muthuswamy (both from USA) was selected for special mention.

In connection with the conference, Dr. V. G. Santhosham, Chairman, VGP group of Companies has donated a statue of Thiruvalluvar which will be unveiled on Friday, July 8, 2005 at the Murugan Temple of North America, Lanham, Maryland. 

At this conference, a unique dance drama, “Thirukkural – Immortal Words of Wisdom”, choreographed by the dance maestros the Dhananjayan will be performed by Pathmarajah sisters. This program was recently debuted in Chennai and was a grand success.

For more information about the conference and the detailed program, please visit the Conference website, www.thirukkural2005.org. 
Dr. R. Prabhakaran
Coordinator 

peter@yeronimuse.com