The `Ananda Vikatan Nambikkai Awards 2022' function began with a beautiful rendition of Sangam Music by Music Director James Vasanthan and his musical troupe. As the audience joined the celebration with dance and cheer, the event opened with a grand note of celebration.
Former Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy presented the Nambikkai award to Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General and Secretary of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). CSIR is the headquarters of 37 research institutions in various states of India, and Dr. Kalaiselvi from Tamilnadu has been recently appointed as the Director General. As she received the award, Dr. Kalaiselvi shared her hope for the Tamil people to rule the world through science.
She added, "Two days ago, 5.6 tonnes of Lithium were discovered in the Northeastern states. Very soon, we will completely switch to electric vehicles running with Lithium-ion batteries. Today it is me holding the award, tomorrow it could be you". The presenter T.S. Krishnamurthy shared his experience with Electronic Voting machines. The award presentation was a celebration of science and innovation.
Writer Poomani was presented with the `Tamil Icon - Perunthamizhar Award' for his fantastic literary works. Dubbed `Karisal' literature celebrating the landscape and people of the black soil from parts of Madurai, Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi, and Tenkasi, he has written many important books. The presentation of the award was the highlight of the evening. Poet Kalapriya, Poet Manushyaputhiran, Writer So. Dharman, Writer, and Actor Vela. Ramamurthy, Artist Trotsky Marudhu, and the Managing Director of Vikatan Group B. Srinivasan presented the prestigious award and one lakh cash prize to Writer Poomani.
Speaking on the occasion, B. Srinivasan expressed his happiness. "Ananda Vikatan is inching towards centenary celebrations. We have been honoring people who have contributed to the pride of Tamil through their thoughts and words. We are filled with gratitude for Poomani's writings that spread Karisal literature across Tamilnadu". Vela Ramamurthy praised Poomani as the apt person for receiving the award. Poet Kalapriya mentioned that even before the word "Dalit" came into existence in 1990 in the Marathi language, writer Poomani has been documenting the lives of the oppressed people.
Artist Trotsky Marudhu expressed his pride in being associated with the writer for over five decades. Poet Manushyaputhiran said that it was his great pleasure to be a presenter. He expressed his happiness to be a part of the presenting team where students were presenting an award to their mentor Poomani, who is the voice of the voiceless. Writer Poomani, in his acceptance speech, expressed his happiness and mentioned that the awards team had brought him there after a lot of hurdles. The auditorium gave a thundering applause in appreciation of the great writer.
Writer Perumal Murugan presented the award to seascape writer Vareethiah Konstantine, who has continuously written about the life of coastal communities and the science of the oceans. Vaishnavi Shankar presented a memento to him on behalf of Shankar IAS academy. "I am receiving this award for the voiceless coastal communities. I dedicate this to my daughter Nancy. I see this as an award to the fisherfolk from the people of the plains". Writer Perumal Murugan shared his amazing experience of participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra of Rahul Gandhi.
Srikanth recreated the wilderness in a village called Ulli near Gudiyatham in the Vellore district, ravaged by sand mining. He stopped sand mining in a 25-acre land area and received an award from Arulselvi Vivek, the wife of the late actor Vivek. Srikanth reminisced that after his elder brother's untimely death, his organs were donated. He also mentioned that he had started planting saplings. Arulselvi Vivek spoke about her husband, actor Vivek. "Abdul Kalam had told him to plant 1 crore saplings. In his lifetime, he planted 37 lakh saplings. Now I am continuing the service along with the National Environmental Company," she said.
Advocate P.P. Mohan, who appeared in the Gokulraj Murder case, received the Nambikkai award from Member of Parliament Thol. Thirumavalavan. P.P. Mohan's arguments helped in obtaining justice for the cruel murder of Gokulraj. He hugged Thol. Thirumavalavan as soon as he came up to the stage. "I am very happy to have received the award from someone who is the shining beacon of hope for the people. The Judge who presided over the case saw through the guilty tears of Swathi, who had a cooked-up witness statement. As he wrote the judgment, he mentioned that truth is bigger than caste," he said.
Thirumavalavan praised Vikatan for the award. "This case is proof that the law can help the poor and downtrodden. This is the way to social justice. Awareness of equality is against Sanatana Dharma. As we embrace equality, caste will vanish," he thundered amidst showering applause. Gokulraj's mother and fellow case advocate Parthiban were called to the stage and honored. "He passed away eight years ago. I have never had a peaceful night of sleep. We struggled a lot to educate him. They killed him for talking to a girl. Mohan sir and Parthiban sir struggled a lot for justice. Whatever happens, truth alone will triumph. Let there not be another Gokulraj in our society," she teared up.
Working member of the Tamil Nadu Olympic Association Aadhav Arjun presented the Nambikkai award to World Chess Champions Praggnanandha, Gukesh, and Pole Vaulter Rosy Meena Paulraj. Gukesh came in person to receive the award. The other two awards were received by the parents of the awardees.
Rosy Meena's father Paulraj was all smiles as he relayed her message to the audience. "My daughter is currently participating in a tournament in Kazakhstan. She wanted me to tell all of you that people should be playing on the ground and not playing Ludo on mobile phones," he beamed. The anchors asked Aadhav Arjun why he had chosen administration over sports. Answering the question, he said that the two suicides he had faced were turning points in his life. He reminisced that a Tamil Volleyball player who was part of the national team had committed suicide because he could not get a Government Job. Aadhav Arjun went ahead and said that he had not selected anyone based on a recommendation after assuming office. He also said that since both politics and sports have been intertwined in his life from a very early age, he wanted to bring about a change from a position of power. He also requested the Tamil Nadu Government for a 3% reservation for sportspeople. Managing Director of Vikatan Groups B.Srinivasan presented a memento to Aadhav Arjun.
Marlima Muralidharan received the award from Member of Parliament Trichy Siva for being the first graduate from the Transwomen community. She is also an entrepreneur and an ardent social activist. "Living a life is special, life gets all the more special if we live for others. This year has been so special for me. I received the best transwoman award from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin. My parents did not shun me; they supported me. The transgender community will achieve more and more if all the parents are like that," she said.
Trichy Siva spoke about the Transwomen Bill 2014 that he put forward in the Rajya Sabha. He talked about the Transgender Welfare Board set up by former Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi, which paved the way for his bill.
Actor Devayani presented the Nambikkai award to teacher Ramachandran from Ramanathapuram. He comes to the school wearing a uniform in solidarity with the students. "I am wearing this uniform to get closer to the students. They see me as one of them; they need role models. If we guide them, the students will not choose the wrong paths," he said.
Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal presented the award to Kaavalar Udhavum Karangal 2003, an organization that helped provide a relief fund to the families of deceased police officers. Most of the policemen from the 2003 batch came to the stage to receive the award. They mentioned that so far, 10 crores of relief funds had been provided. They also took the opportunity and present a relief fund of 29 lakhs to an affected family. The commissioner said that he was so happy to be presenting an award to his family members.
Justice Aruna Jagadeesan received the award amidst a standing ovation from the family members of the people killed in the Thoothukkudi Sterlite Protest Shootings. Aruna Jagadeesan presented the report against the Police Department. "I was scared before the start of the inquiry. It was my husband who gave me hope. I went to every household to collect the information. I would like to thank the people of Thoothukkudi and the family, which stood as my strength," she said in her acceptance speech. Late Snowlin's mother thanked her for fighting for justice. The victims' families also requested a memorial in their memory.
Advocate Arulmozhi presented the award to young advocate Thilagavathi for her continuing participation in the dialogue and activism to ensure equality, especially in gender. "I view the entire world through the lens of human rights. I am happy to have received the award from Vikatan group," she said in her acceptance speech. Arulmozhi said that society needs more such Thilagavathis to ensure an equal society.
Veronica Mary is an important activist who has been continuously utilizing the Right to Information Act. She has helped in solving a lot of social issues through RTI petitions. She received the award from Director Lakshmi Ramakrishnan. She said that she had filed over 600 RTI petitions and solved many social issues.
Though she had lost both her parents, Krishnaveni has completed her medical degree and is now a Doctor. She received the Nambikkai award from Poornima Bhagyaraj. She mentioned that Agaram Foundation had helped with her education and called Tha.Se.Gnanavel and her brother to the stage to celebrate the award. Tha.Se.Gnanavel said that Krishnaveni is proof of the power of the Agaram Foundation.
Minister of Health and Family Welfare M. Subramaniam presented the award to Doctor S. Narendran, who has been tirelessly working towards medical education in Tamil. "The day is not far off; we will soon receive medical education in Tamil. The Tamil Nadu Government has translated five international medical texts. There are also plans to translate 21 more such texts. It is a great achievement," he said.
Director Pandiraj presented the award to the youngsters of Kambur village. A Village Sabha has been created in this village without any discrimination. Kambur is now considered a model village. The youngsters dedicated the award to all the villagers.
Professor Peri Kabilan is the coordinator of Thozhuvam, an organization focusing on the protection of native cow breeds, the improvement of the lives of Keetharis- a nomadic pastoralist community and exporting value-added livestock wastes. He received the award from Seeman, the chief coordinator of the Naam Tamizhar Party. Seeman expressed his pride in presenting the award to Kabilan for his work with livestock.
Senthilkumar has been training rural students along with providing them the scholarships. He is also improving their leadership skills and employing them in his company. He received the award from industrialist and writer Suresh Sambandham. Senthilkumar mentioned that his company has helped in employing over 5000 people.
Director Mysskin presented the award to Professor Raghuraman. A visually challenged person himself, he is helping with the employment of differently-abled people in multinational companies. Kissing Raghuraman on the cheeks, Mysskin mentioned that, unlike the reel heroes of movies, people like Raghuraman are real heroes. He also expressed his happiness in being called for all award functions in Vikatan groups.
Actor Parvathy Nair presented the award to Dheebin, the founder of the start-up Kumari Shoppy. He talked about how he learned from his mistakes and shared his experience as a delivery person for his startup, and how he learned from customer feedback.
'Oorkinaru Punaramaipu Iyakkam', a Rural Well Reconstruction Organisation from Javvadu hills received the award from Director Tha.Se.Gnanavel. "They are also doing away with caste discrimination in this process. I congratulate the protectors of water," Gnanavel praised them.
The Vikatan Nambikkai Awards 2022 function was a grand celebration of the icons of Tamil society who pave the way, uplift the downtrodden, and act as the voice of the voiceless. They deserve to be celebrated with all of this fanfare. As the function ended with dinner, the awardees, presenters, and audience were filled with hope.
source https://www.vikatan.com/editorial/announcements/nambikkai-awards-2022-celebrating-the-voice-of-the-voiceless-the-various-icons-of-tamil-society
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