Port Moresby: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marape on Monday released a Tok Pisin translation of Tamil poetry ‘Thirukkural’ to provide an opportunity to the people of this southwestern Pacific island nation to understand Indian ideas and culture. Will give Tok Pisin is the official language of Papua New Guinea. PM Modi arrived here on Sunday on his first visit to Papua New Guinea. This is the first visit of any Indian Prime Minister to this country. He also co-hosted with Marape an important summit between India and 14 Pacific Island countries to strengthen bilateral ties.
The Ministry of External Affairs tweeted, “The Indian diaspora maintains ties with the motherland. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister James Marape released a translation of Tamil poetry ‘Thirukkural’ in Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea. The book brings Indian ideas and culture closer to the people of Papua New Guinea.
I would like to recommend @pngsasi , Governor of the West New Britain Province and Mrs. Subha Sasindran for his effort to translate the Thirukkural into Tok Pisin. Governor Sasindran has done his schooling in Tamil while Mrs. Subha Sasindran is a respected linguist. pic.twitter.com/Tydq1lPckl
Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 22, 2023
Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “In Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister James Marape and I had the honor of releasing Thirukkural in Tok Pisin language. Thirukkural is a masterpiece that gives insight into a variety of subjects.” Thirukkural is the work of the famous poet Tiruvalluvar in which he wrote couplets on policy, politics and economic matters and on love. In another tweet, PM Modi said, ‘I appreciate Governor Sashindran Muthuvel and Mrs. Shubha Sashindran of West New Britain Province for their efforts to translate Thirukkural into Tok Pisin language. Governor Sashindran has done his schooling in Tamil language while Mrs. Shubha Sashindran is a well-known linguist.” Prime Minister Modi has also released the translated work of this book in his mother tongue Gujarati.
He has praised Thirukkural on several occasions. In one of his speeches, the Prime Minister had said, “Thirukkural is not only a great literary work but also an extraordinary guide to ordinary life. It shows us the path of dharma and inspires us to lead a selfless life.” He also said that Thirukkural is “relevant even today and can serve as an inspiration to the present generation”. Prime Minister Modi often refers to Thirukkular in his speeches and he also presented a copy of the book to the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014.
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