Chennai, Mar 11 : Outgoing Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Wednesday left for Kolkata to take charge in West Bengal, after serving the state for over four years.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been given the additional charge of Tamil Nadu.
Ravi was appointed as the 26th Governor of Tamil Nadu in September 2021, succeeding Banwarilal Purohit.
President Droupadi Murmu on March 5 appointed Ravi as the West Bengal Governor.
The tenure of Ravi as governor of Tamil Nadu would go down in history as one that witnessed the most confrontations with the elected government. Be it the clearing of bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the appointment of Vice-chancellors or policy-driven fights with the DMK regime — including the one over the National Education Policy (NEP) — Ravi firmly held on to his views.
Ahead of his departure, Ravi, a former IPS officer, in a letter to the people of Tamil Nadu termed that the life spent in Tamil Nadu would be ‘Golden Days’ of his life.
“My heartfelt thanks to all of you. For the past 54 months, I have moved among you, basked in your affection and rejoiced in the glory of the Tamil language and the pride of Tamil people,” he said.
“In the flow of life, though the time has come for me to part from you, there is no doubt that these days spent with you are the ‘Golden Days of my life,” he said in his message.
“Names, memories and ideas flood my mind like a treasure trove – Great poet Mahakavi Bharathiyar, Arutprakasa Vallalar, Kaniyan Pungundranr, U Ve Swaminatha Iyer, and so many more. Over these 54 months, I lived and rejoiced through you and through these great souls. I immersed myself in noble principles and was deeply embraced by your love”, he said.
Recalling that he was blessed with many opportunities to directly understand the various dimensions of the Tamil language and its people, the greatest quality that charmed him was the tireless hard work and joy that people find in it.
“From the capital city of Chennai to the remote villages of Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, from the East Coast to the Western Ghats, I travelled to many towns and regions. Though the regional dialects varied, the love, hard work, the joy you derive from that work, and your intellectual maturity remained constant.” he said. (PTI)
