Posts Categorized: Arts & Culture

Alapara Club: Is the Taste of Jaffna Changing?

by Nillanthan Maha, November 11, 2023 On the 4th, a party was held at Dilco Hotel, Jaffna. The Jaffna Municipal Council administration and the concert have contacted the hotel management and inquired about the event. The hotel management has given the contact information of the Colombo-based company called “Shuttle Vibe” which organizes the event. Some… Read more »

Deeper Sufferings

Many Tamil writers from Jaffna peninsula have written both prose & poetry. But their readings have largely remained within smaller groups. Artists from Sri Lanka have also spoken through their creations by T.M. Krishna, The Telegraph Online, Calcutta, India, September 29, 2023 In 2011, when I travelled in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, I… Read more »

‘Kilinochchi’

by Himali Innis, Granta, May 11, 2023 When Nisha performs the burial ceremony for AJ, her 26-year-old son, she has to imagine his body lowering into the earth. Without a body, cremation is impossible. This ceremony, instead, is a commingling of the Christian traditions practiced by Nisha’s husband Sam, and the ancient Hindu rites of… Read more »

Idol Politics: Knowledge and Action

by A.Nillanthan, March 25, 2023 In the North, more than three statues have been opened in the last one week alone. Along with Nataraja statue, Valluvar statue, Sangliyan statue, there is a bell obelisk in Tirunelveli market. We looked at the politics behind these idols in last week’s article.The religious politics behind these idols should… Read more »

Journey of a Civilization – Study Program

by Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA) We would like to welcome you all for the final week of our Journey of a civilization study program Concluding remarks: Mr. Balakrishnan R IAS (Retired) Time: 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM EST Zoom Link You are Invited to attend the Grand Finale of the 10… Read more »

Cynthia Shanmugalingam’s Fantasy Dinner Party

Minnette de Silva, Akwaeke Emezi and M.I.A. The British-Sri Lankan chef and founder of Rambutan provides sweet Egyptian cucumbers; a demon queen provides the soundtrack by Cynthia Shanmugalingam, Financial Times, London, June 25, 2022 From deep inside my ear I hear that unmistakable alarm: the anaemic, shrill buzz that means it is mosquito hour. The… Read more »

May 31-June 4, 1981: Five Days of State Terror in Jaffna

by Santaseelan Kadirgamar, Transcurrents, June 4, 2011, also posted in Colombo Telegraph, February 3, 2013 Two years after the end of the war in Lanka*, without a political solution in sight, it may be appropriate to look back at events that occurred 30 years ago. 31 May to 4 June 2011 marks the 30th anniversary… Read more »

Noolaham: Preserving Lanka’s Tamil Language Heritage Digitally

by Shannine Daniel, The Sunday Times, Colombo, May 29, 2022 The Noolaham digital library was initially a Tamil language “virtual library” which contained documents, books, manuscripts, videos, photos and other material in the Tamil language. Established in 2005, it has since expanded to include books and other documents in Sinhala, English, Sanskrit, Dutch and French…. Read more »

Behind the Lyrics of Rathna Sri Wijesinghe

by Yamu, Colombo, July 21, 2021 It was the early 80s. Born into a Sinhala, Buddhist family in the South, Vineetha Samarasinghe Gunasekara fell in love with Balasingham Nadesan, a handsome, young Tamil man from the North. https://youtu.be/y8gyYsgRpdw Poets are not always born, nor are lyricists. Therefore, it’s quite rare to come across someone who is a poet and a… Read more »

Moving Bodies, Navigating Conflict

Practicing Bharata Natyam in Colombo, Sri Lanka by Ahalya Satkunaratnam, Wesleyan University Press, April 7, 2020 Moving Bodies, Navigating Conflict is a groundbreaking ethnographic examination of dance practice in Colombo, Sri Lanka, during the civil war (1983–2009). It is the first book of scholarship on bharata natyam (a classical dance originating in India) in Sri Lanka,… Read more »

The Bharatanatyam Dancer as Transnational Interpreter

At home in the world? by Janet O’Shea, TDR: The Drama Review, UK, 2003 Bharatanatyam Dancer as Transnational Interpreter The stage lights come up gradually as a bharatanatyam dancer, costumed in a tailored silk sari and beautifully adorned in jewelry, walks out from backstage. In a manner neither formal nor completely relaxed, she walks downstage… Read more »

Sangam Global Jan.1

by Sangam Global, January 1, 2022 www.sangam.global Saturday, January 1, 2022 11:00 am EST (US & Canada) 4:00 pm BST (UK) 9:30 pm IST (Tamil Nadu & Eelam) 10:30 pm Myanmar * Live links YouTube Facebook

Pure Tamil Movement

by Tamil Vaan Avai, Germany, December 26, 2021, 7am est, 1pm Europe, 5:30pm India  

Sangam Global Dec. 4

www.sangam.global Saturday, December 4 11:00 am EST (US & Canada) 4:00 pm BST (UK) 9:30 pm IST (Tamil Nadu & Eelam) 10:30 pm Myanmar * Live links YouTube  Facebook

FeTNA 2021 Today

by Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America, November 19, 20, 21 www.YouTube.com/FeTNA/live காலை நிகழ்ச்சிகள் நாள்: நவம்பர் 20 – சனிக்கிழமை நேரம்: 9 AM  EST  – 1 PM EST தமிழ்த்தாய் வாழ்த்து மறை ஓதுதல் பேரவை விழாப் பண் வரவேற்புரை ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர் உரை தலைமைக் குழு அறிமுகம் அமைச்சர் PTRP தியாகராஜன்/ ராஜமாணிக்கம் CEO Tata OSAT உரை திரை நட்சத்திரங்களின் நேரம் ஹூஸ்டன் தமிழ் இருக்கை நிகழ்வு சான்றோரைப் போற்றுவோம்- பரிதிமாற் கலைஞரின்… Read more »

Sangam Global Nov. 6

www.sangam.global Saturday, November 6 10:30 am EST (US & Canada) 3:30 pmpm BST (UK) 8:00 pm IST (India & Sri Lanka) * Live links https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilIRnB4O2Gk https://www.facebook.com/sangamglobal.live Program details at www.sangam.global

With Murunga, There Is No Need For Miracles

by Smriti Daniel, Diaspara Co blog, October, 2021 Far from a passing fad, murunga has always had deep roots in South Asian cultures. In Sri Lanka, where it is widely eaten, murunga has helped tide over wartime shortages and graced festive meals, without fuss or fanfare. Sometime in the ‘80s, my husband watched in fascination… Read more »

Sangam Global Program Oct. 2

Saturday, October 2 11:0am EDT (US & Canada) 4:00pm BST (UK) 8:30pm IST (India & Sri Lanka) * Live links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7RFmsYRR6Y https://www.facebook.com/sangamglobal.live * Sangam Global-Program-Flyer with live links *

Memoriam: Poet Pulamaipithan

A die-hard Eelam supporter dies at 86 by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 12, 2021 Renowned die-hard Eelam supporters in Tamilnadu, who could courageously express their views in public platforms, are not that many now. In these days of political sycophancy to rulers in power at the New Delhi for personal gains, it is not so… Read more »