"Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. If any one of them or both of them reach old age, do not say to them: uff (a word or expression of anger or contempt) and do not scold them, and address them with respectful words" 17:23
Had a fruitful meeting with Ruchita Aggarwal & her team @GoogleIndia, whom I worked closely with as one of their biggest advertisers in the 2019 & 2021 campaigns (as Secretary of the DMK IT Wing). They called on me at the Secretariat in my new Ministerial capacity, to explore ways in which we could work together. Recognising Tamil Nadu's outstanding digital penetration, our discussion centered around our vision for transforming the IT sector in the state. Working alongside tech-giants like Google, we intend to unleash the immense potential of Tamil Nadu's talent by fostering innovation, creating a thriving business ecosystem, and elevating it as the most-preferred IT investment destination.
On the seventeenth anniversary of the passing of my dear father PTR Palanivel Rajan (27.02.1932 - 20.05.2006), I feel his absence more than ever. Losing my father was a traumatic and defining moment in my life. I had just turned forty, and I was on a business trip in Tokyo when I received the heart-breaking news. We were expecting our second child, and we were filled with the grief that my father would never meet this grandchild. It is an undying regret that I was not by his side in his last moments.
His death was especially poignant as he was on the train to Madurai for a rousing reception, having just been sworn-in as Minister for Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. A planned celebration in my father’s honour turned into his funeral rites.
This unforeseen, tragic turn of events still weighs on me. The healing which nurtures me is the love and regard with which the people of Madurai and the state hold my dear father. Almost every day, I meet someone who shares some anecdote about my father and the transformative role he played in their life.
Since I only entered public life to follow the path of my forefathers, there have been several moments of crisis where I have had to ask myself: “What would my father tell me to do if he were alive today, and able to offer me guidance?” And in these minutes of soul-searching, I realise that my father’s advice to me is not through words but through the way he lived his life.
This Memorial Day, in the light of recent developments, I reflect even more than usual on my father’s life. Political office and other positions touched him only fleetingly through his diverse career and life. But he is remembered today for the immense good he did for people. If there is a key lesson from my father’s life (of the many I can learn), it is the realisation that all positions are outside of our control and short-lived.
What lives after us, and what has long outlived my father, are our good deeds, our service to the people - whether in office or not.
பிரதமரே நேரில் வந்து வணங்கும் கஞ்சா வியாபாரி ஜட்டி வாசுதேவனை நீ வெளிப்படையாக திட்டியபோதே தெரியும்…
ரூபாய் மதிப்பு சரியவில்லை, டாலரின் மதிப்பு உயர்ந்து விட்டது என்று கண்டுபிடித்த பொருளாதார மேதை ஊறுகாய் மாமியை, வரி மாநாட்டில் நீ விழி பிதுங்க வைத்தபோதே தெரியும்… 1/3
(1)
Why so much fuss on Modi’s education qualification ? Six years ago Amit Shah and Jaitely did a joint media conference-which I think ANI put it out— Modi’s MA certificate. See below. Did I get it right?
Ya Allah! Please,
•forgive our shortcomings
•accept our acts of worship
•make us pious worshippers
•make us successful both in this life and in the hereafter
•accept our repentance
•protect us from the torment of dajjal
•reunite us with our loved ones in Jannah. Ameen 🤲