FM quotes Tamil poetess in Budget speech

Chennai: After Thiruvalluvar and Pisirandaiyar it was the turn of Tamil saint-poetess Avvaiyar to be quoted by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Budget speech.

Presenting the 2020-21 Budget in Parliament on Saturday, Sitharaman while speaking about the government’s plan to encourage balanced use of all kinds of fertilisers instead of just chemical fertiliser quoted a small verse from ‘Aathichoodi’ by saint-poetess Avvaiyar.

Sitharaman said Avvaiyar in just three words had said: “Bhoomi Thiruthi Oon” meaning tend and till the land and eat.

In her Aathichoodi, Avvaiyar in simple style, in just two or three words, had expressed a profound message.

Sitharaman had also quoted a verse from Thirukural written by another saint-poet Thiruvalluvar while praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

She said the five jewels of a good country are – freedom from illness, wealth, agri-produce, happiness and protection – which are made possible under various schemes of the Modi government.

While presenting her first Budget last year Sitharaman had quoted from the works of another Tamil poet Pisirandaiyar.

Incidentally, Modi took Tamil Nadu by surprise by wearing the traditional Tamil attire – white veshti/dhoti and angavastaram over white half shirt when Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Mahabalipuram last year for the second informal India-China Summit.

Not only did Modi don traditional Tamil attire, he also tweeted a message in Tamil welcoming Xi.

Modi speaking at the UN General Assembly last year Modi highlighted India’s message of inclusiveness quoting the Tamil poet Kaniyan Pungundranar who lived some 3,000 years ago and said, “We belong to all places and we belong to everyone.”

“The sense of belonging beyond borders is unique to India,” he had said.

Again last year when Modi came here to participate in a function at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) Modi recalled his quoting the Tamil poet which was received well by the foreign media.

Speaking at the IIT-M function, Modi promoted Tamil Nadu tourism by encouraging people to visit the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram, famous for its stone carvings and stone temples.

Making a special reference to the South Indian delicacies of idli, dosa, vada and sambar generally taken for breakfast, Modi said Chennai is known for its hospitality and is warmth.

But Modi’s BJP has not been able to make any inroads in Tamil Nadu.

IANS