Yavarum Kelir”
humanity is my fraternity”
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2005
Tamil &
Sri Lanka
News From
News
Services
Around the
Globe
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By D.B.S Jeyaraj
Trincomalee with its mixed population and conflict - ridden history remains a
powder keg of trouble. The latest crisis over a statue is all about a "little"
Buddha turning overnight into a "Big" Buddha. The small Buddha statue at
the three - wheeler stand near the Central bus stand transformed overnight
into a four and a half foot statue on a three ft tall concrete pedestal . The
driving force behind this miracle is Ambalangoda Keerthi Premalal the
General - secretary of the Trinco Auto - driver welfare association. Backing
Premalal is the North - East Sinhala organization.
gets the green
signal [The Hindu]
The Centre has
cleared the proposal to
dredge a ship channel
across the Palk Straits,
an idea conceived 150
years ago
sweep [FrontLine]
Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa's party,
which was thrashed in
the Lok Sabha
elections last year,
makes a remarkable
comeback by winning
the byelections on May
14 single-handedly.
to article by D.B.S. Jeyaraj:
Eastern Tamils caught up in an endless cycle of violence:
The attention of the STF has been drawn to the article by, Mr. D. B. S.
Jeyaraj, presently residing in Canada, appeared on the Sunday Leader
newspaper, on15/05/2005, under the above noted heading.
In the said article, Mr. Jeyaraj has invited attention to the assassination of
Mr. D. Sivaram, linking it to the on going violence in the east, caused after
the break away of the Karuna Faction. He has further elaborated that what
is seen in the East today is a continuous and consistence pattern of inter
— ethnic and intra-ethnic political violence directed against easterners
over the years, since the inception of the conflict.
Mr. Jeyaraj, states that, manifestation of violence takes different forms at
different times in the East. He denotes several elements as the causative
factors, directly attributes to the present destabilisation of the east.
A former Indian army official who served in Jaffna during the Indian Peace
Keeping Force fiasco of 1987 - 1990 has issued warnings about Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam air power. Col. R. Hariharan who served in Jaffna
during the IPKF period as chief of military intelligence is now retired.
Hariharan however is fast building a reputation nowadays as a military affairs
analyst by writing reserach articles and making presentations at academic
seminars. Writing in "The HINDU" of May 19th 2005 Col. R. Hariharan
expresses worry and concern over the nascent air capability of the tigers.
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
43 year old Thamotharampillai Sivakumar alias Newton of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam has gone "missing" since April 20th. The LTTE
leadership has officially informed Sivakumars family members that the senior
tiger leader undertook an important (Mukkiya) mission to Southern Sri Lanka
and failed to return as scheduled. Suspecting Newton to be in the clutches
of Sri Lankan intelligence the tigers have reportedly sent feelers to Colombo
stating that they are prepared to swap prisoners if Newton is safely returned.
It is surmised that the LTTE will release Inspector Jeyaratnam or Mano
Master of the ENDLF or both if they get Newton back.
solution
by Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole
"Gal Oya and Mahaweli schemes were the principal vehicles by which the
marginalization occurred."
There is a natural tension within the concept of multiculturalism that its
advocates do not realize and allow for. On the one hand, many of us say
that Sri Lanka is a multicultural country where every citizen ought to be able
to live anywhere and practice his culture.
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The transformation of SR the gun toting militant into Taraki the pen - toting
columnist was a gradual process. Being well - read, of an analytical mindset
and possessing a flair for words he was ideally suited for Journalism. He was
lucky indeed that his transition into a normal life from that of a guerilla was
facilitated through journalism. The interregnum between militancy and
journalism was the short stint in active politics as the Secretary of the
Democratic Peoples Liberation Front.
2nd Year on
the web
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warfare capability?- Taraki [Tamilnet]
In an article in the Colombo-based Tamil daily, Virakesari, on March 27,
2005, Dharmaretnam Sivaram, analyzed the history of Sri Lanka's defense
forces and argued that from the very beginning, the Sri Lankan forces'
mission was to confront internal crises that the country's ruling elite feared
as grave threats, without the strategic thinking required for conventional
warfare or to confront external threats.
By Dushiyanthini
Kanagasabapathipillai
An event of great importance and political significance occurred in the
Highlands of Nuwara - Eliya district last Sunday . The peoples movement
against the proposed Upper - Kotmale scheme held a day of protest on May
15th. Though a Sunday there was work available in Private managed
plantations but many workers boycotted. Black flags, posters, banners were
visible all over the estates and even some towns.
Helped Attanagalla
The Sinhala - Buddhist hawks particularly those living in Western
Countries are agog with excitement over the "protest" registered by
the Ven Athureliya Rathane Thero at the development consortium
conclave at Kandy. Some even compare him to the legendary
Wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thero and hope this "stunt" will trigger
off a chain reaction.
How sad to see the courageous patriot Sumangala who defied the
might of the British empire being compared to this pseudo - patriot
in Yellow robes. After all what Ratane did was to talk out of turn at a
meeting held in Independent Sri Lanka. It did not require much
bravery to spit venom on your home turf. Only a hick skin to breach
etiquette was needed. Krishna Vaikunthavasan taking the Podium at
the UN General assembly meeting before Shahul Hameed was truly
daring and dramatic.
But this Athureliya stunt actually helped Attanagalla. Sri Lanka
obtained not only the targeted 2. 2 billion US $ dollars but even 800
million more to achieve a nice, round figure of 3 billion dollars.
"Journalists, aid workers and polticians have come and gone.But nothing has changed our lives so far"says
34 year old Mohamed Bakeer Sithy Faiyesa, who lives in Dharmakabeer Jummah Mosque welafer camp in
Hambantota.
"The heat is unbearable. We can't stay inside the tents, we come out and stay under the trees.Children are
getting prickly heat.I don't think that we are going to get the permanent houses soon. Because the wooden
houses are being built her. Once all the houses are completed, we will be asked to move from the tents to the
wooden houses, but not to the permanent houses. We have lived in the tents for more than four months and
it's still continuing. We will have to celebrate our festival in the tents" says 38 year old Sithy Fathima Nazeera,
who lives in the Dharmakabeer Jummah Mosque welfare camp in Hambantota.
By K.S. Sivakumaran
From May 21 to May 24, the annual "Kamban Vila" will be celebrated in
memory of the epic poet in Thamil (12th century A.D.?). Kamban
transliterated Vaalmikis "Ramayana" into contemporary chaste Thamil.
Among the men behind this event are Kambavarathy Jeyaraj, T.Easwaran (a
big business magnate and a fine speaker in Thami), P.Balasundaram and
S.R.Balendran. As usual a lot of interesting items in prose, poetry, debate
music and dance have been arranged.
In addition four Lankan women of distinction are to be honoured. They are
Nanda Malini, Jezeema Ismail, Annaladchumi Sinnathamby and Sivanandhini
Duraisamy
Home for the visually
handicappad is in
Chunnakam in Jaffna
and teaching through
brail. Apart from these
children there are
more children who are
visually handicapped
due to
malnutrition.There are
25 children currently
staying there. Miss.
Annaluxmy
Sinnathamby stared
this home in 1972 for
visually handicapped
people. From 1988
onwards she started to
accommodate
children, who lost their
eyesight due war. This
home has basic
facilities for the
children. This home
needs more funds to
buy brail papers and
typewriters.
[HumanityAshore]
Alive In The Retelling [OutlookIndia]
Shyam Benegal's film on Bose is a peep into the legend's mind. With a few
cinematic licences.
How does a man whom Sarvapalli Gopal once called "a born loser" become
the subject of a 3 hr 26 min epic? There is a moment in Shyam Benegal's
new film that answers the question. In it, Bose (played with a quietly
commanding presence and uncanny resemblance by Sachin Khedekar) is
meditating when his wife Emilie Schenkl (Anna Prustel) asks what he is
doing. "I'm talking to God," he replies. "It appears that God loves to dispose
of whatever I propose. Every time I'm within an inch of reaching my goal,
something always comes in the way." That line sets the tenor for Benegal's
film—the story of a tragic hero who battles the greatest odds, and is
doomed to fail.
Passion for the seven notes [The Hindu]
Although music was not his vocation, RR's fervour led to a
prolific output.
The year 1947 was significant for India, more so for the Carnatic music
fraternity. That year marked the 100th death anniversary of Tyagaraja. One
music connoisseur and ardent aficionado of the art decided that the most
befitting way to honour the composer was by documenting his compositions.
He was Rangaramanuja Ayyangar. At a public meeting in 1947 at the
Madras Museum Theatre, RR, as he was popularly known, released his
`Kritimanimalai.' The book contained detailed notations for a 100
compositions of Tyagaraja, besides the lyrics of the songs in both Tamil and
Telugu, raga lakshanas, Tamil translations of the lyrics, a biography of the
saint-composer, nuggets of information on the theory of music and several
anecdotes on music and musicians.
Tous les Cinémas du Monde has dedicated Thursday 19 May for Sri Lanka.
“Sri Lanka is one of the most surprising countries. We don't know very well
Sri Lankan cinema and now, today, we are presenting four films which are
very different one from the other but very strong,” Sobcynski added.
Prasanna Vithanage’s “August Sun” (Ira Mediyama), Dharmasena Pathiraja’s
“Ponmanie”, Sudath Devapriya's "Against the tide" ( Udugan Yamaya) and
Asoka Handagama’s "Flying with One Wing" (Thani Thatuwen Piyambanna)
were screened on Sri Lanka day.
Simply South [OutlookIndia]
These are no Malgudi idylls; what each story deftly exposes is the battle
between the new and old that is now being waged in every Indian family.
Nine publishers in the US fought for the rights of Bangalorean Lavanya
Sankaran’s debut collection of eight short stories. After reading it, I see why.
The stories are simple enough—a 30-year-old bachelor in search of a
suitable bride, a busybody pensioner with a penchant for peeking, growing-
up pangs of a schoolgirl, an NRI in search of her roots—all set in Bangalore
with its steaming Mysore kaapi and neighbourhood chittammas.
Nityashree Mahadevan says an artiste's standing is not
determined by rich lineage, but the hard work one puts in
Her pedigree is probably the most-commented thing about her. But then with
D.K. Pattamal and Palghat Mani Iyer for paternal and maternal
grandparents, and D.K. Jayaraman for granduncle, it would be. All the more
so, as Nityashree Mahadevan has chosen to follow in their footsteps, and
proved herself to be a worthy inheritor of their mantle. "I think this family
background is a great gift from God. But it is also a huge responsibility for it
arouses high expectations in audiences and critics. It was actually
intimidating when I started out with these comparisons. But I must concede
the background also made it easier to establish my professional identity. In
the end, however, what sustains an artiste is hard work".
Facile with both hands, Gopulu has charmed readers with
his illustrations for six decades.
An ambidextrous person is a rarity. An ambidextrous artist? An even greater
rarity. Meet Gopulu, famous for his cartoons in Ananda Vikatan, but prefers
to call himself an `artoonist.'
In 1941, Gopulu, a student of the Kumbakonam School of Art, came to
Madras looking for a job in Ananda Vikatan. Maali of Ananda Vikatan was
impressed with Gopulu's work, but did not offer him a full time job right away.
However, he asked Gopulu to do a number of paintings for that year's
Deepavali Malar. The first painting that Gopulu did was `Rama
Pattabishekam.' Thus Gopulu's association with Ananda Vikatan had an
auspicious beginning.
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driving darkness from earth circled by roaring waters. One is the flaming sun, single wheel bright
as lightning, the other is Tamil that has no like." — from the taNTiyalankârum [Berkeley Tamil]
disclaimers
applicable