தமிழ்: Where it all began | How I fell in love with the Tamil language

My love for தமிழ் (Tamil) probably began with Siruvar Malar. I used to wait for it, and the first thing I would flip to was the Tamil crossword. I didn’t always get it right, but that feeling when I finally finished it… addictive.

We are a Telugu household, but interestingly, none of us really learned to read or write Telugu. And it wasn’t just us. It was pretty much the whole town. Somehow, Tamil just became the language we all grew into without really planning it.

My father had a collection of Sandilyan books, and whenever the TV was taken over by the adults, this is where I would end up. No big plan to read or anything. Just picking up a book because there was nothing else to do. Slowly, I got into it.

Even the letters felt slightly unfamiliar at times. A few looked different from what we usually see now. That itself made me curious. I think the first Tamil novel I read properly was Rajamuthirai (ராஜமுத்திரை). And that was it. I was hooked.

The worlds felt so real. The places, the clothing, the way people lived. And the romance… honestly, perfect guilty pleasure for a teenage girl in a small town. I didn’t even realise when reading turned into something I actually looked forward to.

And then there was TV.

Before Netflix and all, there was Raj TV and KTV. Absolute kings. I wouldn’t miss the mythological movies. I’ve watched so many of them on repeat.

Thiruvilaiyadal became my favourite. I think I’ve easily watched it more than 20 times by now.

Sivaji Ganesan’s dialogue delivery, Nagesh’s timing, Savitri’s expressions… my god. Even now, I can remember scenes so clearly. Not just what was said, but how it felt. It wasn’t just entertainment. It was Tamil at its most expressive.

School also played a role, but not in the usual “study for exams” way. I had a Tamil teacher who made everything feel alive. The way he explained stories, the way he spoke about emotions, it all just stayed with me.

I still remember this one lesson. A woman waiting for her lover, slowly fading in longing. There was a line about her skin turning yellow. At first it sounded simple. But then came the explanation. She hadn’t stepped out into the sun at all. That’s how deeply she was lost in waiting. I remember just sitting there thinking… how does a language even capture something like that?

Even now, when I think about Tamil, I don’t think of grammar or rules. I think of how it feels. The emotion it carries.

I guess all of this slowly found its way into Thuni Mani. It’s my way of going back to all of it. Literature, cinema, everyday Tamil, even memes. Just expressing it in a simple way and hoping it connects with someone who feels the same.

So this Tamil New Year, I find myself going back to where it all began.

இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் 🌻

Take a look at how this love for Tamil continues in what we create.