There are two things born from mountains,
shining so brilliantly that the great bow down,
driving the darkness from the earth circled by roaring waters.
One is the burning sun, a single wheel glowing like lightning,
and the other is Tamil that has no like.

The UC Berkeley Tamil program is a part of the Department of South and Southeast Asian Languages.  It has existed since 1973 and for the past 15 years has benefited enormously from the Tamil Chair Endowment, which was raised by the Tamil community.  In the summer of 2009, I retired and am currently teaching half-time.  The Chair endowment enabled us to make an especially strong case to the administration for continuing Tamil, and I am glad to report that an FTE (professorial tenure-track position) has been allotted and will be searched in the academic year 2011-12, with the new professor to start in fall, 2012.  We are all grateful to the Tamil community for their continued support, as their efforts have ensured that Tamil continues at Berkeley.

Sincerely, George Hart, Professor Emeritus, Chair in Tamil Studies

Department of South Asian Studies, Tamil Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720