Founded in 2001, the Tamil Literary Garden is a Toronto-based organization committed to promoting the development of literature in Tamil internationally. Its mandate includes creative writing, translations, book releases, awards, conferences, and workshops.

கனடிய தமிழ் இலக்கியத் தோட்டம், கல்வியாளர்கள், எழுத்தாளர்கள், வாசகர்கள், விமர்சகர்கள், கொடையாளர்களின் ஆதரவுடன் 2001ம் ஆண்டு ரொறொன்ரோவில் ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்டது. இந்த இயக்கத்தின் பொதுவான நோக்கம் உலகமெங்கும் பரந்திருக்கும் தமிழை வளர்ப்பதாகும். தமிழ், ஆங்கில நூல்களின் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு, அரிய தமிழ் நூல்களை மீள் பதிப்பு செய்வது, தமிழ் பட்டறைகள் நடத்துவது, நூலகங்களுக்கு இலவசமாக தமிழ் நூல்கள் அளிப்பது, தமிழ் சேவையாளர்களுக்கு விருதுகள் வழங்குவது போன்றவை இதனுள் அடங்கும்.

Student Scholarship Announcement -  2012

The Tamil Literary Garden will offer an annual scholarship to a full-time undergraduate or graduate  student enrolled in a university in Canada. The conditions of the scholarship are as follows:

Value: 1000 Dollars (Canadian)

Deadline: 15 April 2012

Conditions: All full-time undergraduates or graduates currently enrolled in a  university in Canada are eligible. All students wanting to participate should submit an essay on the topic given below by 15 April 2012.

Topic: The Private and the Public: A   Canadian Tamil Perspective.

 Canadian multiculturalism is   unique in that it offers immigrants the possibility of   preserving and actively  celebrating their “home” culture. In fact, the state promotes  the ideal of a mosaic through its various funding programs. At the same time,          public life in Canada continues to be shaped by Anglo-French cultural norms. Westernization continues          to be an implicit standard for professional success in Canada. There  is, thus, a dichotomy between the values of an inherited  culture and the  demands of an acquired world view. From a Canadian Tamil          perspective – one that  takes into account the various aspects of Tamil presence in Canada– how  would you reconcile the two in ways that are productive and          meaningful?

The essay should not exceed 3000 words. It should be double spaced, and a hard copy should be sent to Scholarship Essay, c/o Chelva Kanaganayakam, Trinity College, 6 Hoskin Avenue, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1H8 together with an electronic version to appatlg@gmail.com. The essay should be an original contribution, written for the purpose of competing for this scholarship and should not have been published elsewhere.

Award: The award will be given at the annual Tamil Literary Garden award ceremony held in June 2012. The essay will be published in a special issue of the magazine Kalam

JUDGES FOR 2010

N.K.Mahalingam - Writer - Canada

S.Chelian -  Poet - Canada

P.A.Krishnan - Writer  - India

Professor R.S.Sugirtharajah  - University of Birmingham  - U.K

P.Karunaharamoorthy - Writer - Germany


Comments

"I would like to congratulate the Tamil Literary Garden on its work. It is critically important that scholars, writers, artists and computing professionals who work for Tamil be recognized by an objective and well-known international body. I can testify that the recognition given to me by the Tamil Literary Garden has not only been personally gratifying, but has significantly improved the status and position of Tamil at Berkeley. Tamil, with its extraordinarily rich and long heritage, is little known outside of Tamil Nadu and other Tamil-speaking areas. For the language and its literature to attain the status it deserves all over the world, the efforts of such organizations as the Tamil Literary Garden are essential. I commend the organizers of the Tamil Literary Garden for their hard work and their much appreciated service."

- George L. Hart, Professor of Tamil, University of California, Berkeley

"I was so pleased to be able to attend the Tamil Literary Garden function! What a wonderful gathering of writers and readers who appreciate Tamil literature.
I look forward to seeing what the Garden does next."

- Vasugi Ganeshananthan, writer and author of novel Love Marriage.