CHENNAI: The French government's oldest civilian honour, the Order of the Academic Palms, has been bestowed on two teachers from the city for their contribution to the promotion of the French language.
Chitra Krishnan, head, department of French and chairperson, School of English and Foreign Languages, University of Madras, has been awarded the Chevalier l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques, along with Hema Parthasarathy, head, Translation Cell, Alliance Francaise of Madras (AFM), who received the Officier l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques award from French ambassador Jerome Bonnafont here on Tuesday.
Organised on the eve of the French National Day (July 14) which commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison marking the beginning of the French revolution, the event saw ambassador Bonnafont announce that the award went to people who had dedicated their lives to studying and teaching French.
"Normally, the French government gives out these awards when people retire. Hopefully, it is a new trend that they are recognising us while we are still working. It gives us motivation and impetus to carry on doing our best," said Chitra Krishnan, speaking to TOI after the award ceremony.
While she has written several books that are aimed at learning French effectively, professor Krishnan has also edited a collection of French short stories which documents the oral tradition of short stories from around the world. "In English, the title means, ‘By word of mouth'. I got people to send me their favourite folk tales which were passed on to them orally," she added.
Her fellow awardee Hema Parthasarathy said she was grateful to her colleagues at AFM and also Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School for giving her the opportunity to pursue an MA in French from AFM and then eventually migrate to the institute to work with them.
"I have been teaching French at Alliance Francaise for the last 28 years. I was a student counsellor and a course co-ordinator. I am handling only the translation cell now. As there is no retirement age for teachers, I am still doing what I like best which is teaching French," she said.
"Since the heads of the institute keep changing every four years, it is we Indians who have to keep the continuity in place. We are the link between the years," Hema Parthasarathy added.
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