Kattradhu Thamizh (கற்றது தமிழ், Learnt Tamil; 2007)
To remind ourselves, a line from Dead Poets Society...
The society tells you, especially if you are from the developing world, it needs to progress. Material improvement and physical development are viewed as a sure sign of prosperity. Science and technology are paths towards this end. Languages, literature, philosophy and art are frowned upon as a waste of time. It is characterised as the domain of the bourgeoisie; not in line with the advancement but instead of decadence.
In our small discussion group, we often discuss the current trend amongst the millennials who find the traditional science subject like medicine, engineering and core sciences unappealing but instead venture into finance, banking and management. With all due respect to these fields above, the world actually needs scientists who, in previous generations, propelled the world into the next stage of refrigeration, telecommunication, aviation, construction and breakthroughs in medicine and farming. It does not need managers who excel in re-packaging previously unsold products with re-branding or creative companies which monetise everything. The comfort that we have been having since the Industrial Revolution was sparked by science.
So, is learning languages and the arts still relevant at this age and time?
To take a cue from Amma, she would say, "Nice to listen to a song and appreciate the arts, but it does not put food on the table." That mentality probably echoed amongst most middle class Malaysian Indian families. The Tamil language was listened to but not spoken by their children. It was reserved only to talk to lowly coolies who cut your grass or cleaned your drains. This language used to be associated with crime, juvenile delinquency and decline. Hence, to emphasis on English and the fixation to converse with it. The richness, the past glory and the plethora of pearls of wisdom imbibed in the Tamil language are lost in the annals of time. This is inevitable. Economic dominance is king.
This film was listed as a must-watch Tamil movie in a post in Quora. One can probably lead a full life even without viewing this one, but nevertheless, the cinematography and the thought-provocation is worth the while.
Prabakar, a smart student with a Masters in Tamil studies, finds life in Chennai very tough. It was the 21st century and India was drawn into the internet boom. Americanism and computers were the drawing forces. Tamil is ridiculed. He finds out in a hard way that with Tamil, one can only earn a living by writing cheesy poems and penning flirty love letters for fornicators. This, together with his traumatic childhood, the jilting of the love of his life and the frequent brush with the authorities, turns him into a psychopathic killer.
Mediocre students doing computer studies and able to converse in English, he observed, fit nicely into the job market. Multinational companies pounce upon them for their telecommunication knowledge (read: call centres) and software engineering. Tamil language graduates were sneered and thought to have not reached the mark to qualify for anything 'worthwhile'.
But then, lest we forget that the initial earth-shattering success of Apple and I-phone was not merely to their technological innovation but in their ability to combine both creativity, marketing as well as software development. In other words, the sciences and the arts combined.
To remind ourselves, a line from Dead Poets Society...
John Keating (played by Robin Williams): We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?
The society tells you, especially if you are from the developing world, it needs to progress. Material improvement and physical development are viewed as a sure sign of prosperity. Science and technology are paths towards this end. Languages, literature, philosophy and art are frowned upon as a waste of time. It is characterised as the domain of the bourgeoisie; not in line with the advancement but instead of decadence.
In our small discussion group, we often discuss the current trend amongst the millennials who find the traditional science subject like medicine, engineering and core sciences unappealing but instead venture into finance, banking and management. With all due respect to these fields above, the world actually needs scientists who, in previous generations, propelled the world into the next stage of refrigeration, telecommunication, aviation, construction and breakthroughs in medicine and farming. It does not need managers who excel in re-packaging previously unsold products with re-branding or creative companies which monetise everything. The comfort that we have been having since the Industrial Revolution was sparked by science.
So, is learning languages and the arts still relevant at this age and time?
To take a cue from Amma, she would say, "Nice to listen to a song and appreciate the arts, but it does not put food on the table." That mentality probably echoed amongst most middle class Malaysian Indian families. The Tamil language was listened to but not spoken by their children. It was reserved only to talk to lowly coolies who cut your grass or cleaned your drains. This language used to be associated with crime, juvenile delinquency and decline. Hence, to emphasis on English and the fixation to converse with it. The richness, the past glory and the plethora of pearls of wisdom imbibed in the Tamil language are lost in the annals of time. This is inevitable. Economic dominance is king.
This film was listed as a must-watch Tamil movie in a post in Quora. One can probably lead a full life even without viewing this one, but nevertheless, the cinematography and the thought-provocation is worth the while.
Prabakar, a smart student with a Masters in Tamil studies, finds life in Chennai very tough. It was the 21st century and India was drawn into the internet boom. Americanism and computers were the drawing forces. Tamil is ridiculed. He finds out in a hard way that with Tamil, one can only earn a living by writing cheesy poems and penning flirty love letters for fornicators. This, together with his traumatic childhood, the jilting of the love of his life and the frequent brush with the authorities, turns him into a psychopathic killer.
Mediocre students doing computer studies and able to converse in English, he observed, fit nicely into the job market. Multinational companies pounce upon them for their telecommunication knowledge (read: call centres) and software engineering. Tamil language graduates were sneered and thought to have not reached the mark to qualify for anything 'worthwhile'.
But then, lest we forget that the initial earth-shattering success of Apple and I-phone was not merely to their technological innovation but in their ability to combine both creativity, marketing as well as software development. In other words, the sciences and the arts combined.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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