With petrol prices well above the 91 Rupees, mark and diesel above the 85 Rupees mark in Tamil Nadu, a petrol pump in Karur is offering up to a liter of free fuel.
To avail of this free fuel, students between classes 1-12th must recite the famous couplets of the poet-saint Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural. Those reciting 10 couplets will get half a liter and those reciting twenty will get a full liter in the tank.
The Tirukkural, or shortly the Kural, is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each, or kurals. The text is divided into three books with teachings on virtue, wealth, and love, respectively.
According to those at the Valluvar agencies fuel pump in Nagampalli village, Karur district, this offer is meant to promote the learning of Tirukkural. A note at the pump says that their initiative is aimed at ensuring that children learn the Tirukkural in their formative years so that the guiding principles and ideals of the couplets would guide them throughout their life.
In a video from the pump, children are seen accompany parents on their two-wheelers. The children then handover a paper with the couplets they would be reciting to the person at the pump, and then go on to recite it. On successful completion, they leave with a smile, while their parents leave with a wider smile, thanks to the free fuel in the tank.
The children too are delighted at being able to learn the couplets by heart.
