Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, at the Jackson International Airport. , Photo Credit: Reuters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marpe on May 22 released Tamil classic ‘Thirukkural’ in Tok Pisin language to bring Indian thought and culture closer to the people of this south-west Pacific nation .
Modi arrived here on May 21 on his maiden visit to Papua New Guinea, becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit the country. He co-hosted a major summit between India and 14 Pacific Island countries to boost bilateral ties with MARPE.
Tok Pisin is the official language of Papua New Guinea.
“The diaspora maintaining a living touch with the motherland! PM @narendramodi and PM James Marape launched the translation of Tamil classic ‘Thirukkural’ into Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea,” tweeted the Ministry of External Affairs.
Co-authored by Subha Saseendran and Saseendran Muthuvel, Governor of West New Britain Province, the book brings Indian thought and culture closer to the people of Papua New Guinea.
Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “In Papua New Guinea, PM James Marape and I had the honor of releasing Thirukkural in Tok Pisin language. Thirukkural is an iconic work, which provides valuable insights on a variety of subjects.”
Thirukkural, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economic matters and love, is written by the poet Thiruvalluvar.
“I would like to commend @pngsasi, the Governor of West New Britain Province and Mrs. Subha Saseendran for their effort to translate Thirukkural into Tok Pisin. Governor Saseendran has done her schooling in Tamil, while Mrs. Subha Saseendran is a respected Linguists,” he said in another tweet.
Prime Minister Modi has earlier released the translation of the book in his mother tongue Gujarati.
He has praised Thirukkural on several occasions.
In one of his speeches, the Prime Minister said, “Thirukkural is not only a literary masterpiece, but an extraordinary guide to ordinary life. It shows us the path of righteousness and inspires us to lead a selfless life.” He also said that Thirukkural is “relevant even today and can serve as an inspiration for the present generation.” The Prime Minister has often quoted Thirukkural in his speeches and tweets and even gifted a copy of the book to late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in 2014.
He had said, “Thirukkural is a treasure trove of inspirational thoughts that young people around the world can read and benefit from.”