Vanakkam and welcome to the Ilankai Thamil Manram Florida blog! 🎉🎉
Through the content posted here, the Manram will endeavor to provide cultural, artistic, and educational content that will serve the interests and needs of the Sri Lankan Thamil community, as well as encourage outreach to other communities and cultures. If you are interested in providing material that will prove of interest to the community, please contact Ilankai Thamil Manram Florida.
Vanakkam, or வணக்கம் (as seen above), is a word of welcome which shows the respect of the speaker towards the person being greeted. It is generally accompanied by the gesture of folded hands 🙏, similar to the one used at prayer. This is appropriate, as the word vanakkam is derived from the Thamil word “vanangu” (வணங்கு) which is a term meaning “to worship.” It is a greeting used irrespective of the status of the speaker or the recipient. The proper response is generally to mirror the word and gesture.