Youth take the spotlight as Murasu 360 celebrates milestones of Tamil Language Festival

SINGAPORE – A month of vibrant cultural showcases, literary debates and community programmes celebrating the Tamil language was brought to a close on April 26.

To round off Tamil Language Festival (TLF) 2026, which featured more than 40 events, the newspaper Tamil Murasu organised Murasu 360, a wrap-up event highlighting the festival’s key milestones.

The 90-minute session at the Civil Service Club @ Tessensohn gave a comprehensive overview of the festival, while putting the spotlight on the young people driving the Tamil language forward.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai, who was the guest of honour, highlighted the festival’s evolution from its humble beginnings 20 years ago into a vital community movement.

“We are seeing a generation of youth who are learning Tamil not just because they have to, but because they want to. They are finding innovative ways to weave the Tamil language into the modern world,” said Mr Murali.

He urged the community to bring the energy of the festival into homes, schools and workplaces to ensure that the language continues to thrive.

Dr Hamid Razak, an MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC, and Nominated MP Haresh Singaraju also attended the event.

A central focus of the evening was the extensive involvement of 15 student journalists, who had covered the range of events during the festival.

Before the festival, the students underwent two training sessions that covered newswriting, interviewing and video production.

At the wrap-up event, they presented their work, which included video summaries of their on-the-ground experiences.

Among them was Tamil Murasu intern Kamadchi Chandrasekar, 19, who said that interacting with people from all walks of life was the most memorable part of her experience.

“It gave me a platform to be a voice for the community and highlight issues that truly matter to me, such as mental health,” she said.

Tamil Murasu editor T. Raja Segar noted that TLF previously did not have a closing event.

“We felt it was important to host an event that encompasses TLF – to share the festival’s highlights, evaluate our reach and assess whether we achieved our intended impact,” he said.

Tamil Language Council chairman Naseer Ghani commended the young reporters for their digital savviness, noting that their video productions helped broadcast the festival’s message across multiple platforms.

Singapore Indian Development Association chief executive officer Anbarasu Rajendran said that such youth-centric initiatives will ensure that the Tamil language thrives.

“These young journalists carried themselves with immense confidence. They have a clear vision of how to bring the Tamil language forward,” he added.

Beyond the student presentations, the evening featured a live, podcast-style interview with Mr Naseer on stage, as well as a skit by local artists including Vadi PVSS.

Student journalist Kumaravelu Kamalasivaani, 16, from St Andrew’s Junior College, admitted that the fast-paced nature of the assignments was initially daunting.

“However, attending the events pushed me out of my comfort zone to converse with new people and it opened my eyes to Singapore’s deep passion for the Tamil language,” she said.

The hands-on experience honed her writing, time management and social media skills – competencies that are vital in today’s digital age, she said.

Ms Gopikka Narasa Lakshmi Narayanan, 24, assistant secretary of the Singapore Tamil Society, praised the event’s comprehensive overview, saying it was a great way to distil the many festival events into digestible snippets for the community.

She also highlighted that Murasu 360 effectively passed down industry skills while giving youth a voice.

“Having youth identify the challenges surrounding the Tamil language and actively propose solutions is a fantastic step forward,” she added.