by Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (FeTNA); published March 2, 2004 The second annual Tamil language summer camp sponsored by Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America is scheduled to take place early this summer. Any second-generation Tamil student with an interest in becoming proficient in basic Tamil is encouraged to apply. Tamil will… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Arts & Culture
You Are What You Speak
by Janadas Devan; Straits Times, Singapore, January 25, 2004 THE ancient Egyptians employed hundreds of signs in their hieroglyphic writing, as did the Sumerians in their cuneiform. Both were complex systems, which no more than a tiny portion of Egyptians and Sumerians could have mastered. Janadas Devan Imagine a system consisting of hundreds of pictograms, or… Read more »
The Enduring Power of Traditional Art
by Janadas Devan; The Straits Times, February 1, 2004 SHIVA-NATARAJA, the Lord of the Dance, is a metaphysic in stone – or bronze or copper or whatever material it happens to be made from, the material being immaterial to its meaning. Janadas Devan The features of Shiva-Nataraja have symbolic signifiance but sadly, many Hindus have forgotten… Read more »
First Canadian Tamil Film Festival Jan. 2 & 3
published January 3, 2004 Film Arts Society of Toronto (FAST) invites you to a milestone event in the history of Canadian Tamils. Recent years has seen an enormous increase in our community’s involvement in various Film related Arts. To recognize, showcase and encourage these growing talents in our community, Film Arts Society of Toronto is… Read more »
Tamil Folktales in Oral Tradition
by Reet Hiiemäe; IUP Publications, India, originally posted January 3, 2004 Moral Fictions: Tamil Folktales in Oral Tradition Would readers send us a few of their favorite Sri Lankan Tamil folktales for publication? sangameditor /A_T/ hotmail /D_O_T/ com by Stuart Blackburn, edited by Lauri Honko Moral Fictions. Tamil Folktales in Oral Tradition. (FF Communications 278.)… Read more »
Celebration of a ‘Death’
by S. Rameswaran; published December 29, 2003 Celebration of a ‘Death’; a war-theme short story by S.Rameswaran Introduction by Sachi Sri Kantha War-theme fiction in Tamil language is a new genre which arose in Sri Lanka, since the Black July 1983 holocaust. This particular genre could not have been generated in other lands (Tamil Nadu, Malaysia… Read more »
Winter Tamil Classes
Vanakkam! Many of you have expressed your interest in attending the first ever Winter Holiday Tamil classes. The Tamil Students Association of the University of Toronto, with the help of a dedicated team of teachers from the United States, including Sendhil Cheran (founder of tamilclass.com), are working hard to ensure that these classes be the… Read more »
New Tamil School in Cranbury, NJ
originally published November 28, 2003 We are pleased to announce a new Tamil school in Cranbury. This is a branch of the existing Bharathi Tamil School and will start classes in January 2004 in the Chimaya Mission classrooms in Cranbury. There will be an open house for enrollment on December 14th at 1.30 pm at the Mission…. Read more »
The Myth of Kannaki
The Concept of Chastity and Power by Mala Kadar; published October 13, 2003 Silapathikaram, the national epic, is hailed as the masterpiece of Indian literature – a showcase of the virtues of a Tamil society during the Sangam period. The woeful tale of Kannaki, the eternally suffering chaste wife who bore her husband’s unchasteful behavior, has… Read more »
The Tamil Roots of Bharatha Natyam (Sathir)
by Renuka Kumarasamy; originally published October 8, 2003 An art of any form must have roots in a language, a culture and a people. From those roots it must carry their thoughts, their joys and sorrows and tell the story of their civilization. The soul and roots of Bharatha Natyam can be found in the Tamil… Read more »
A Series of Moments
by Na Kumaran; originally published October 7, 2003 “What remains? Only the remembrance Of a vanished history And those portraits of your grandparents.” – Jean Arasanayagam It is impossible to capture and contain my recent journey to Sri Lanka within one particular article or essay. Added to this, is the difficult task of deconstructing the various images,… Read more »