- The Governor General of Canada
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Dinesh Kumar Ramoo
Prince George, British Columbia
Grant of Arms, Flag and Badge
April 15, 2025
Vol. VIII, p. 373
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Blazon
Arms
Tierced in pairle reversed Gules, Azure and Sable, a lion and a gaja-vyala combatant, issuant in base a sun in splendour Or;
Crest
A demi-tyger, its tail ending in a trident Gules, holding and environed by an ouroboros Or;
Motto
UT ALIQUID SCIENS AMPLIUS;
Symbolism
Arms
Red and black are the colours of the soil in the Tamil tradition, while blue represents the rivers of Dr. Ramoo’s ancestral homeland in southern India and Sri Lanka (his birthplace). The lion is common to the coats of arms of England and Canada, where Dr. Ramoo obtained his doctorate and where he now lives, respectively. Meanwhile, the gaja-vyala or yali, which is represented here with the body of a lion and the trunk and tusks of an elephant, is a mythical creature in Tamil culture. Taken together, they embody his lands of birth, study and residence. The sun is a canting reference to his first name, Dinesh, which translates to “Lord of the day” or simply “Sun.” It also figures prominently in the coat of arms of British Columbia, his province of residence.
Crest
In Tamil culture, the tiger is a symbol of honour. Its trident-shaped tail alludes to Dr. Ramoo’s academic career in psychology, which uses the Greek letter psi (shaped liked a trident) as its symbol. As the stylized heraldic “tyger” reflects the lack of familiarity with actual tigers in medieval Europe, its use here represents Dr. Ramoo’s efforts to overcome the gaps in knowledge about other communities in modern psychology. The ouroboros represents the meaning of one of the historical names for Madurai, his ancestral city in south India, which is based on the name of a serpent sent by Lord Siva to denote the city’s boundaries.
Motto
This Latin expression, meaning “In order that I may know something more,” is taken from a saying in Ammianus Marcellinus’ Res gestae (28.4), “In order that I may know something more before I die.” This encapsulates Dr. Ramoo’s profession as an academic who is continually searching for knowledge and wisdom.