A Blessed Mother of two Eminent sons Including an I.A.S. Officer , Former Associate Professor and Head of Chemistry Department at Rani Anna Govt College for Women, , Tirunelveli Mrs. Asso Professor Esther Chellam, M.Sc, M.Phil,

Introduction   :     Former  Associate Professor and Head of Chemistry department at Rani Anna College for Women Tirunelveli  Ms. Esther Chellam, M.Sc, M.Phil, is a remarkable women  educationist, with good virtues, values,  and appreciable traits She was an ideal and excellent Teacher who was/ is loved and respected by her students, colleagues and the family members very much. She was a brilliant student and efficacious Teacher  and had produced many brilliant students. She is a blessed mother of two eminent and intelligent sons including one IAS Officer, She is a an inspiring  educationist and unassuming honest human-being and her enviable profile will definitely galvanise the readers and fellow citizens to live a meaningful life 

                               Rtd. Associate Professor of Chemistry  Mrs. Esther  Chellam , M.Sc, M.Phil,.

Asso. Prof. Mrs. Esther Chellams' Parents and her Birth   :  Former  Asso. Prof Esther Chellam's  native village Oduppurai, Kandanvillai  is a tiny village but it has produced a few great  Government servants like  former Additional Chief Secretary to the Govt of kerala Mr. Michael Vethasironmoni, IAS and this unsung, unknown poetic village lies on the eastern side of  Eraniel town , the former capital of Travancore Kingdom  .The father of Associate Professor Esther Chellam , Mr D. P  Mony was a native of this village God blessed Mr. D. P Mony and his  affectionate and prayerful wife Mrs Paulammal mony  and this  blessed couple gave birth to Mrs. Esther Chellam the heroine of this Article,  on the 8th November 1950. 

Ms Esther Chellam's Siblings  : Mr. D.P. Mony  Mrs Paulammal Mony couple was blessed with all the connubial blessings and this blessed couple gave birth to the following children namely ;- [1] Mrs. Esther Chellam , M.Sc, M.Phil. , the heroine of this blogpost. , [2] Mr. P. Michael Vethasironmony, M.Sc, IAS and he retired as an additional Chief Secretary to the Govt of Kerala and [3]  Mr. P. Charles  D Mony, Director , Geological Survey of India [Rtd], 

Asso. Professor Esther Chellam's  Educational Track   : Since her  Primary School days Mrs . Esther Chellam had been a brilliant student .  As her dear father Mr. D.P.. Mony was working in the Indian Army he was transferred frequently to various places in India and as a corollary Ms. Esther Chellam pursued  her education in various places in India.  Ms Esther Chellam did her Primary school education  at St Mary's School , Alahabad in U,P,. She did her VI th Class  at  the SMRV High School , at Vadasery, Nagercoil,. Then she pursued her VII to XI classes at the Holy Family High School, Trimulgherry, Secondrabad in Andrapradesh. . After having passed her SSLC with very high marks she did her P.U.C and  B.Sc at the famous Holy Cross College , Nagercoil and passed her BSc meritoriously. After having passed her B.Sc with flying colours she pursued her M.Sc at the prestigious American College, Madurai  and she passed her MSc with University rank.  In line with her relentless thirst  for knowledge she pursued her M.Phil at the M.S University Tirunelveli and passed her  M.Phil, meritoriously. 

Her Teaching career   ;  Ms. Esther Chellam,  joined as a Chemistry Lecturer at the famous Holy Cross College, Nagercoil,  and worked in the Holy Cross College  during the period 1972- 73. From 1973 she worked as  lecturer at the famous Sri Meenakshi Govt College for Women , Madurai 2. From June 1975 till October  1983 she worked as a Chemistry Assistant Professor   at the NKR Govt College for Women, Namakkal . Then she was transferred and from Nov !983 till May 2007 she worked as an Associate Professor and Head  of Chemistry Department  at the famous  Rani Anna Govt College for Women Tirunelveli ,with great distinction and efficacy and she retired on May 2007. . 

          Asso, Professor Esther Chellam and Rtd Asist Director of Statistics mr. Thanapaul, M.A,. 

Her husband and children :  Ms. Esther Rani Chellam married Mr. N. Thanapaul. M.A, son of Mr Nallathambi  from Vadakkankulam  and Mr N. Thanapaul worked in the Govt of Tamil Nadu  and retired as Assist. Director of Statistics .  Mr. N. Thanapaul and Mrs Esther Chellam Thanapaul couple  gave birth to the  following children namely ;[1]  Mr. T. Arvinth, B.E , M.B.A, and he is working in Virginia, USA and he married Ms Ethel  Arvinth , B.E,  and she is also working in Virginia , USA and [2]  Mr. T. Anand , I.A.S,  and he formerly worked as Collector of Tiruvarur District in Tamil Nadu and  also had decorated many important Offices in the Govt of Tamil Nadu with distinction and  currently he is working as Commissioner of Adhi Dravidar Welfare Department , Govt of Tamil Nadu and he married, Ms .Asha Anand B.E. M.B.A.

Conclusion :  After her retirement Former Associate Professor and HOD of Chemistry at Rani Anna   Govt College for Women Tirunelveli now   resides with her husband at Santhi nagar, Palayamcottai, Tirunelveli .2. , happily . She is an ideal daughter, ideal sister, ideal wife and ideal mother and a valuable citizen of India. . She is noted not only for her excellent educational accomplishment but also known for her exemplary way of living. . She very simple and un asuming. Her Husband and Children praise her with great adoration and love  in line with the 31st chapter of  Book of Proverbs, Old Testament .   it is not possible  to accommodate all the important chapters of  former Asso Prof   Mrs. Esther  Chellam within the space of this Blogpost and so I will this Article with the following sentence,  " Dear  Prof. Esther Chellam , I thank God for you and I am proud of you ". 

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By P, Babu Manoharan, M.A,. { All rights are reserved. This article will be enlarged, modified or corrected later if needed ].

A Forgotten great Foreign Tamil Scholar, A Lexicographer of Tamil -English Dictionary ,A Pioneer Translator of the Bible into Tamil [ Arumuga Navalar version] , A Former Principal of Jaffna Central College and the First Registrar of the University of Madras Rev. Peter Percival

Introduction         ;  Late Rev. Peter Percival was a remarkable and multifaceted personality and Christian Missionary and his contribution to the Tamil language and for the cause of education in Sri Lanka and  Tamil Nadu  deserves our  attention admiration and adoration. According to Rev. G.G. Findlay and Rev.W.W. Holdsworth,  the authors of the famous book , " The History of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society'[p.34] Rev.P. Percival was a scholar of marked distinction-- the greatest Tamil Scholar methodism  has ever had ". He leaned Tamil and its literatures assiduously and became a great Tamil Scholar  and became a lexicographer of a Tamil - English  Dictionary.. He preferred to tell the Gospel to the local people  through schools rather than doing direct evangelisation with the people.  A perusal of his real life story will help the readers to understand his contribution to the cause of  Bible translation ,Tamil Language, Linguistics  and education will inspire the people to love our  mother tongue Tamil and to live a meaningful life .

                                                                   Rev. Peter Percival 

Rev. Peter Percivals' Parents and Birth   : Rev. Peter Percival was born in  a beautiful town called Prestwitch in England which lies three miles of north of the magnificent Manchester city in England on 20th June 1803 .; to Mr. Peter and Ms Jane   It will be useful to the readers to learn  an interesting truth about the Prestwitch town . Prestwitch is   consistently named as one of the best places in UK to live  happily and safely. 

Rev Peter was sent to Sri Lanka as a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary in  1826  : After having completed his education  Mr Peter Percival wanted to become  a Wesleyan Methodist missionary and after due consideration and training, Mr Peter Percival was ordained as a Wesleyan Methodist missionary and was sent to Sri Lanka as a Wesleyan Methodist in 1826.. And he started his missionary work among the Tamil People in Sri Lanka and as he had already learned  the rudiments of the Tamil in England from a gentleman who had spent many years in South India and North Ceylon  he easily moved with the people and learned the modes of thought and expressions of the Tamil People. As a corollary he developed a desire to study and use Tamil Proverbs  in his speeches and writings. 

Rev Peter Percival was moved to Bengal in 1830;   :  From 1826 till 1829, Rev P. Percival worked in North Ceylon  with great enthusiasm and in 1830 Rev Percival was moved to Bengal in India . While Rev Percival was in Bengal he got the acquaintance with  another Clergyman who had natural interest for the collection of proverbs and had collected numerous Bengali proverbs. And that clergyman  published those  Bengali proverbs collected by him as a Book  with an English translation .[ Rev, P, Percival, : TAMIL PROVERS with the ENGLISH TRANSLATION , Madras , 1874, preface to the second edition ,  p. v] This book influenced and impacted Rev. P. Percival so much and galvanised him to become a committed   Collector of Tamil proverbs.. After a few years  his connection with the Mission in Bengal was withdrawn and so  Rev Percival returned to Ceylon and continued his missionary and educational work with the Tamil people in North Ceylon 

Rev. P. Percival Started Educational Institutions in  Ceylon ; Rev. P Percival gave pre-eminence to education as a means of reaching the people.  His convictions were mainly in favour of educational work and in 1834 he  reorganised and renamed the English school started by Rev James Lynch  in Jaffna as Jaffna Central School .  After wards this school was raised to the status of a College   This Jaffna Central School   has produced many eminent lecturers, professors, doctors, engineers, politicians, legislators, businessmen, etc.  Following the Jaffna Central school,  a Girls Boarding School was started by Rev. Percival  and this School was placed under the management of Mrs. Percival [ G.G. Finlay and W.W. Holdsworth , op.cit p.p.38& 39].. In 1938 Rev Percival started  an English school in Point Pedro and that Scholl was called as Point Pedro Wesleyan Mission Central School. This School also progressed well due to the consistent effort taken by Rev. Percival . The central  Wesleyan Methodist Mission Committee in London was satisfied with the  progress of this School and paid 400= British Pounds to Rev P. Percival which he had incurred as expense. This Point Pedro Wesleyan Methodist Mission Central School is now called as Hartley College   The following were some of the famous old Students of this Hartley College. namely Prof. Christie Jeyaratnam Eliiezer [ world renowned Mathematician and Scientist ] ,  Mr. Ganesalingam [ Former Jaffna Mayor ]., Mr. Ratnasri Wickremanayakea [ Former Prime Minister  of Ceylon], etc,. 

Rev. P. Percival and the Tentative Version of the Bible or Jaffna Version of the Bible       : Even though some Translated Tamil  versions  of the Bible had been made , none of the versions were completely satisfactory  and so a new venture was taken in Jaffna to bring out  a new better  version of Bible in Tamil .  In this connection a translating Committee was constituted and it was called in short as Jaffna Committee .The Jaffna Version of the Bible had one advantage over all previous Tamil Versions of the Bible . All the previous Tamil Bible versions like Ziegenbalg, Fabricius , Rhenious etc were produced by individual translators  The Jaffna version was the first that was produced by a Committee. And this Committee was called Jaffna Committee and this Committee was consisting of the  following members namely : [1] Rev. Peter Percival [ Chairman and The Chief translator] , [2]  Rev. Levi Spaulding , [3] Rev. H.R. Hoisington, [4] Rev. Samuel Hutchings, [5] Rev. Daniel Poor , [6] Rev. Miron Winslow .  Great Tamil Scholar Navalar Arumugam was the Chief Assistant to the Bible Translating Jaffna Committee . At the very outset, a resolution by the Madras Auxiliary Bible society  made in 1841  almost tied  the Jaffna Committee by laying down that the new translation should stick to the English Authorised version of 1611, otherwise known as King James Version.. The Jaffna committee made some agitation against  the resolution of the Madras Committee.   . However the Madras Committee, on the proposal of  Rev. Miron Winslow, modified its earlier resolution as follows : " that the translation be made from Greek and Hebrew originals and that as to the meaning of any particular passage , the English Version be made the standard of reference of highest authority and that in no case should be  a deviation from the English version be allowed, unless  approved of by two thirds of the Committee". .After some negotiation and discussion  , the version of Rhenius was made the basis for the  new translation by the Jaffna Committee, with the  approval of both the Madras and Parent Society in London.[ Vol. VII. No.3. , July ,1958,   Tamil Culture,  Journal of the Academy of the Tamils . Sabapathy Kulandran, , THE TENTATIVE VERSION OF THE BIBLE  or " THE  NAVALAR VERSION ". ]

From the end of 1845 Rev Percival relinquished all other works and involved himself entirely to the work of translation of the Bible. He devoted six hours every day to the regular work of translation , with his Native Assistants. . There was a weekly meeting of the Revision Committee . As each book of the Bible finished ,copies were struck and sent out for comment and criticism. The Jaffna version was translated by a six member Committee presided by Rev, Peter Percival, [the then principal of Jaffna central School and Chairman of the North Ceylon District of the Methodist Church]. . Along with this  six members  of Jaffna Bible Translation Committee , there were two  Tamil Pundits namely Arumuga Navalar and Elijah Hoole, enlisted by Rev. Percival to help with the style while Missionary Scholars took Final responsibilities for the accuracy of the version [    Dr. Charles Hoole, Principal Baldaes Theological College , February 2003, , Arumuga Navalar. } The Jaffna version was produced in 1850 by the Jaffna  Auxiliary of the Bible Society  . . This Jaffna Version also received both appreciation and  criticism .but the intent, interest and effort taken by Rev. P. Percival deserve our sincere appreciation and admiration 

Rev. Pecival Returned to England         In 1851,after having completed the Bible translation work ,  Rev Percival returned to England and he was expected to return to Ceylon to continue his missionary work but during his furlough a serious disagreement rose between him and the Wesleyan Methodist Mission Secretary in London [ Findlay and Holdsworth , op.cit p. 39] :   So Rev. Peter Percival resigned from the Wesleyan  Methodist Mission and joined the Anglican Church and he was ordained as an Anglican Deacon in 1852,  Following his ordination for next two years he served as a lecturer at  the St. Augustinr College in Cantubury City and was teaching  a course about India and its religions. He served as a Teacher at the Canterbury and then went to  Madras in the year 1854. 

Conclusion: Rev. P. Percival Served as the First Registrar of the University of Madras  On his return to South India, Rev. Peter Percival got the privilege to work as  the first Registrar of the University of Madras in  1857, The University of Madras was  established  when Lord Harris was the Governor of Madras in 1857 and Lord Harrison served as the first Chancellor of the University of Madras . Rev. P. Percival got the opportunity to serve as  a Professor of vernacular literature at the famous presidency College in Madras  Rev. P. Percival died at Yarcaud , Salem district,  in Tamil Nadu,  British India , on 11th July 1882.  . "TAMIL PROVERBS with their ENGLISH TRANSLATION [ contained of six thousand proverbs] by the Rev. P. Percival,  Madras, Dinavarthini Press Mylapore , 1874] is  a lasting intellectual, cultural and scholarly  contribution by Rev, P, Peercival to Tamil .It is not possible to accommodate all his accomplishments within the space of this article and so I will  end this Blogpost  with the following sentence, "  Rev.  P. Percival was a Great iconic Tamil Scholar, Educationist and Educational  Institution builders and I am proud of him "

END . 

By. P. Babu Manoharan. { All rights are reserved, This Article will be enlarged, modified or  corrected later if needed }.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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