About Dr. T. Murugarathanam:

Dr. T. Murugarathanam is the former Head and Coordinator of the School of Tamil Studies of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU); long time professor under the Thirukkural Chair of MKU; former Director of Tamil Promotion and the Registrar –in-charge, Tamil University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Graduated from Pachaiyappa’s College, Chennai and earned his M.Litt. and Ph. D. degrees in Tamil Language and Literature from the University of Madras. He has also received a Diploma in Anthropology. His areas of study include Tamil Linguistics, Thirukkural Studies, Ancient Tamil Social History and Ideological Studies. He has written 11 books in the same subjects and has published more than 80 papers. He has also conducted a survey of Tamil Studies in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Recently, he served as the Indian Coordinator for International Thirukkural Conference 2005 held in Columbia, MD.

About  V. Perampalam (V.P. Palam)

Author of  'A PATH TO PURPOSEFUL LIVING', was born in the idyllic village of Thunnalai, Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. He is a retired public servant, editor and educationist. As an educationist, his career spanned more than 3 decades. Bachelor's degree from the University of Ceylon in 1952; college teacher; a pioneering official of the Education Ministry in effecting the transition from English to Tamil (and Sinhala) as medium of education (1956-1983). In 1978 he represented his country at a seminar-cum-training course at the Asian Cultural Center for UNESCO Tokyo.

He retired in 1983 as Chief Editor and Head of the Tamil Division of the Educational Publications Department, Sri Lanka. Subsequently he joined the Tamil University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India as Associate Editor of Publications.  He was honored in 1986 by the Tamil Nadu Government, India, for his services in developing Tamil as a fit medium of education- when the Hon. Chief Minister. Dr. M.G. Ramachandran presented him with the traditional Golden Shawl (comparable to a medal) and a citation. He is now a naturalized U.S. citizen living in the State of Michigan. 

About the book

A PATH TO PURPOSEFUL LIVING
(Based on the Sacred Kural of St. Valluvar)
Published in 2005, ISBN-9771056-0-1
Pages: 298, Language: English
contact: umapalam@hotmail.com

© 2005 International Thirukkural Conference by Tamil Sangam of Greater Washington, Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America, International Society for Tamil Cultural Studies (Madurai), Mylai Thiruvalluvar Tamil Sangam (Mylapore) and other Tamil organizations & institutions.