Chennai: Tamil Nadu HR & CE Minister PK Sekar Babu launched the performing of Tamil Archanai on Thursday at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore. Tamil Archanai practice would be followed in 47 key temples in the State from Friday onwards and it is likely to be extended to 539 temples under the HR and CE department.

On the occasion of launching Tamil Archanai at Mylapore Temple, the Minister speaking to the reporters said that performing Archanai in Tamil is nothing new to temples. Five decades ago in 1971, the then HR and CE minister M Kannappan announced this in the State Assembly and later a circular was issued to temples in this regard. The then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi clarified in the State Assembly in 1998, that there was no plan to ban performing Archanai in languages other than Tamil.

A set of 14 books containing holy names of gods and goddesses would be released very soon by the Chief Minister, he said, and would be distributed to temples for performing Archanai in Tamil.