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Canadian Tamil community honors Dr Indrakrishnan with Lifetime Achievement Award

NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT

Atlanta, GA, September 23, 2022: The oldest Tamil Magazine of Canada , Thamizhar Thahaval along with Tamils Information Center awarded  Dr Indran B. Indrakrishnan of Atlanta , Georgia with the  lifetime achievement award at its 30th year anniversary celebrations held at the council chamber in  Toronto City Hall, Toronto, Canada on Sunday July 30th 2022. 

Dr Indrakrishnan is a Gastroenterologist in Gwinnett County and an adjunct Professor of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. He sits on the Georgia Board of Healthcare Workforce and is one of the directors of Rainbow Village, a not-for-profit organization caring for homeless mothers with children. He is on the Advisory Boards of Meals by Grace /Fill ministries in Georgia, a not-for-profit organization which feeds the hungry children in Georgia and Third Eye Dancers, another Georgia non- profit 501-3 (c) organization which raises fund for underprivileged children in GA and around the world through cultural dance programs.

Thamizhar Thahaval and Tamil Information Center have been periodically recognizing and honoring eminent persons from the international Tamil Diaspora for their special contributions and the global citizens who are committed for betterment of Tamil language . Notable past Life Time Achievement Award recipients include Prof. Peter Schalk of Uppsala University from Sweden (Tamil research) , UNESCO Peace Ambassador Madam Kim Phuc , Prof. Sivalingam Sivanandan of Illinois University, and Professor Sir. Sabaratnam Arulkumaran from London , England.

The colorful event was graced by the Ontario Finance Minister  Peter Bethlenfalvy,  Ontario MPs Doly Begum and Vijay Thanikasalam  and many other local dignitaries. Neethan Shanmugaraja, the first  Tamil Canadian  to  have represented the Toronto Council presided over the award ceremony. Professor  Rev. Chandrakanthan  of Toronto University and chair of the award committee  introduced  Dr Indrakrishnan to the attendees. He elaborated on Dr Indrakrishnan’s stellar performances in  philanthropic, academic , humanitarian and community work   which led the committee to unanimously bestow this year’s lifetime achievement award to him. 

Dr Shan Shanmugavadivel presented the gold medal to Dr Indrakrishnan and this was followed by a slew of accolades from notable Tamil Canadians, Barrister Jude Anthonypillai , Mr Mike Ahilan and  Mr Stan Muthulingam.

Dr Indrakrishnan thanked the Tamil Information Center and the chief executive editor  of Thamizhar Thahaval magazine Thiru Thiruchelvam for the honor and award. His acceptance speech was mainly centered around the educational and career opportunities available for the younger generation.  

Grades are not the only measure of academic success, he said. “There are may other variables at play. Don’t obsess over your grades in each and every semester. Explore, think out of the box, follow your passion.” To elucidate his message, he quoted the success stories of the likes of actress Maitri Ramakrishnan, Canadian politician Doly Begum, playback singer Luksimi Sivaneswaralingam and other out-of-the-box thinkers.
He ended with a quote commonly attributed to Albert Einstein. “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

“Everyone has some kind of inherent talent. It’s a matter of bringing it out and shining– doing well. So parents, talk to your children and find out what their passion is, their interests are, what they want to do in their life. You can be assured that (following their passion) it will change their life,” he said.

The chair of the event Mr Neethan Shanmugaraja thanked Dr Indrakrishnan and expressed confidence that Dr Indrakrishnan’s inspiring and motivational speech would shed some light on the future of younger generation for new pathways. The event concluded with Miss Kishori Rajkumar playing the Canadian National anthem on the violin.

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