Kala Suri The Kala Suri (; ) is a Sri Lankan national honour awarded "''for special contributions to the development of the arts''". It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name. Kala Suri ranks lower than Vidya Nidhi. Awardees Awa ...

Thangamma Appakutty (7 January 1925 – 15 June 2008) was a Sri Lankan philanthropist, veteran religious personality, educator and social activist. She is recognised for her notable works on

Saivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...

and was regarded as one of the main pillars in developing Hinduism in Sri Lanka.

Career

Thangamma had her primary education at Ramanathan College, Chunakam. She became a well trained teacher in 1945 and served as a teacher at the

Union College, Tellippalai Union College ( ''Aikkiya Kallūri''; UC) is a provincial school in Tellippalai, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1816 by American Ceylon Mission, it is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. History Rev. Samuel Newell, an American missionary of American ...

for 12 years. She continued her teaching for nearly 31 years before calling her time in 1976. She pursued her career mainly in charity and religious work after she retired from teaching. She lectured on the importance of Saivism and helped renovate and establish temples including the Tellippalai Durga Kovil. Thangamma became a pundit in Tamil and Saivism in 1952. She was also well known for her social work during the Sri Lankan Civil War, during which she helped several women and children who were terribly affected. She was also instrumental in developing Education in Jaffna by helping construct libraries and schools.

Recognition

The

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna (, ''Yāpanaya Wiśwawidyālaya''; ; abbreviated UoJ) is a public university in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Established in 1974 as the sixth campus of the University of Sri Lanka, it became an independent, autonomous university in 1 ...

honored her with an honorary doctorate degree in 1998 for her contributions in the development of education in Jaffna. The

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...

honored her with the prestigious title

in 1991 recognising her services towards the society.

Death

Appakutty died at the age of 83 on 15 June 2008 due to illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appakutty, Thangamma 1925 births 2008 deaths Kala Suri People from Jaffna District Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil activists Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan teachers Sri Lankan Tamil women 20th-century Sri Lankan philanthropists