Posts Categorized: Sri Kantha

MGR Remembered – Part 59

The Risk Taker by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 4, 2021 Part 58 I provide fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s comments on the previous chapter Part 58, which I received by email of Nov.15, 2020. “I think the story of MGR’s angst on the insinuations is well brought out in the way the story is told… Read more »

From Sachi’s File – Chapter 15

Sexuality Studies at the Peradeniya Campus in 1980 by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 14, 2020  Presentation script for 1980 Ceylon Studies Seminar Ragging at Peredeniya 1980 Published paper Report on Sexual Aspects of Hazing at University Residence in Sri Lanka 1986 Recently while searching for details on Sri Lankan universities, I came across a Ph.D dissertation (313… Read more »

A Tribute to 240 MaaVeerars (Great Heroes)

by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 25, 2020 The 240 MaaVeerar (Great Heroes), to whom I pay tribute have been already recognized in the Sooriya Puthalvargal (November 2003) booklet, published as a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam memorial souvenir. Previously on June 23, 2004, I contributed a review of this souvenir. In it, I had listed… Read more »

Autobiography of Kamala Devi Harris

A book review by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 17, 2020 Kamala Harris – The Truths We Hold – An American Journey, Penguin Press, New York, 2019, 318 pp. The back cover blurb for this book states, “An engaging read that provides insights into the influences of [Harris’s] life – most of all, her mother Shyamala… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 58

Bharath Award – for Artiste or Politician? by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 4, 2020 Part 57 For the contents of the previous part 57, my friend and fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan, had offered the following comments, in his email of Sept. 17th. “Another well-documented piece. As for how Indira viewed MGR I would still… Read more »

Sundarambal and Kittappa

MGR’s annotations on the elite Carnatic Music Couple Revisited by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 24, 2020  October 15th marked the 40th death anniversary of Carnatic diva K.B. Sundarambal (1908-1980).  I wonder how many had watched the 29 minutes documentary on Sunderambal – the Legend, available in You Tube. It was posted two years ago. Narration… Read more »

Black Tiger Day Remembrance – Part 3

by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 11, 2020 Part 2 Front Note by Sachi Sri Kantha I provide below, a balanced portrayal on the activities of the Black Tigers, described by Prof. Mario Ferrero, in 2006 in an article comparing “diverse instances of public-spirited suicide.”  In approximately 1,150 words, salient points emphasized by Ferrero include, (1)… Read more »

Lyricist Maruthakasi’s Autobiographical Notes

An English translation by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 15, 2020   Front Note by Sachi Last year, I contributed a short memorial item on Aiyamperumal Maruthakasi (1920-1989), famed Tamil lyricist. on his 30th death anniversary. I had provided my English translations to three of his immortal movie lyrics. https://sangam.org/remembering-aiyamperumal-maruthakasi-1920-1989/ This year marks Maruthakasi’s birth centenary…. Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 57

Expulsion from DMK by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 27, 2020 Part 56 I provide the exchange I had with friend and fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan. In his email of June 24th, he had noted, “Dear Sachi, Read chapter 56 with interest and could imagine why this must have been difficult without all the source… Read more »

Black Tiger Day Remembrance – Part 2

Devotion of Black Tigers by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 13, 2020 Part 1 Front Note Twenty five years ago, Prof. Michael Roberts [a Sri Lankan historian cum anthropologist of Sinhalese-Burgher descent, who is currently managing the informative tuppahi blog https://thuppahi.wordpress.com/about/ in his current domicile in Australia] published a short commentary on Black Tigers, in the… Read more »

Black Tiger Day Remembrance – Part 1

The Prime Reason for the Origin of LTTE’s Black Tigers by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 22, 2020 July 5th marked Black Tiger Day for Eelam Tamils. It was on July 5, 1987 that Capt. Miller (birth name Vallipuram Vasanthan, born on January 1, 1966 in Karaveddi) created history in the annals of Sri Lankan warfare,… Read more »

‘Perennial Number 2’ Nedunchezhiyan (1920-2000)

Birth Centenary Remembrance by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 8, 2020 For the past 20 years, as a ‘distant observer’ (literally and figuratively) I have been chronicling the lives of Dravidian Front leaders in this site. C.N. Annadurai’s (Anna, 1909-1969) activities were covered in four parts during his birth centenary year in 2009. [https://www.sangam.org/2009/09/Anna_Centennial_4.php?uid=3688]. MGR’s story… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 56

Formation of a Political Love Triangle by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 21, 2020 Part 55 [Front Note: Due to lack of resources available at hand now, comprehending the undercurrents of MGR expulsion from the DMK in October 1972, this had been the most difficult chapter for me to write.] Three autobiographies deserve notice. Though MGR… Read more »

Battle of Elephant Pass: Twentieth Anniversary

When Tamil Tigers aimed for jugular at the Battle of Elephant Pass in 2000: Twentieth Year Remembrance by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 22, 2020 Sri Lankan President Gothabaya Rajapaksa made the following observations at the National Ranawiru Day commemoration held on May 19, 2020. Excerpts: “May 19th is a very important milestone in the history of… Read more »

G. G. Ponnambalam (1902-1977): His Power and Plight as a Tamil Leader

by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 8, 2020 Front Note: My father Siva Sachithanantham (1923-2003) was a fan of G.G. Ponnambalam’s theatrics in the political platforms and legal arena. He developed this fascination during the 1930s (when he was a teenager, and ‘Ponnan’ was his first local political hero), when Ponnambalam first contested the Point Pedro… Read more »

From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 14

90 Published Letters on Sri Lanka and Eelam by Sachi Sri Kantha Long before President Donald Trump promoted ‘fake news’ in 2016, Eelam Tamils suffered from the fake news promoted by the intelligence agencies of Sri Lanka and India, and the infamous Lake House (aptly ridiculed as Fake House) news organization in Colombo, since 1980s…. Read more »

Dr. Siva Chinnatamby: 20 years after her Death

by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 8, 2020 Twenty years have passed since the death of Dr. Siva Chinnatamby (1923-2000), an eminent Eelam Tamil woman physician. For her times, she was one of the rare women bio-medical scientists from Ceylon who received international recognition for her contributions to women’s health. Recently, while net surfing, I came… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 55

Ulagam Suttru Vaaliban [The Globe Trotting Youth] by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 17, 2020 Part 54 [Front Note: For continuity with the previous chapter, I omit the political events, including the Bharat award (July 1972) to MGR and his expulsion from the DMK in October 1972 that preceded the release of Ulagam Sutrum Vaaliban movie… Read more »

Lessons Learnt from Kirk Douglas, the Writer

by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 4, 2020 Kirk Douglas, aka Issur Danielovitch (birth name), one of the last heroes of Hollywood’s studio era, bid goodbye to his fans on February 5th, after living for a century and three years. Though his oeuvre as a cine actor extends to nearly 90 movies (including his classics, Lust… Read more »

From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 13

An American Doctor’s view of colonial Ceylon in 1905 by Sachi Sri Kantha, February 16, 2020 In Chapter 10 of this series [https://sangam.org/from-sachis-files-chapter-10/] I provided the impression of an American nurse Ms. Annette Beals, in 1939. She reported about the medical conditions in Jaffna. In this chapter, I provide impression of an American doctor Nicholas… Read more »