Posts Categorized: Sri Kantha

MGR Remembered – Part 67

Espousing and Exhibiting Religiosity by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 9, 2022 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s comments, on Part 66, received on May 16th , was as follows: “Again a very interesting take on MGR’s autobiography meticulously listing those whom he had called friends and those he addressed as siblings and the few adversaries he… Read more »

Talduwa Somarama Thero

– Hanged 60 years ago by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 9, 2022 On July 4, 1962, Talduwa Somarama Thero was hanged at the Welikade prison, Colombo. His crime: He was framed as the sole assassin of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the then Prime Minister of Ceylon, on September 25, 1959. This tragic shooting event happened at the… Read more »

On Rajiv Gandhi’s Folly of Humanitarian ‘Air Drop’

Of 1987 by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 29, 2022 This is a sequel to my previously posted item of March 11, 2022, ‘On Rajiv Gandhi’s pretense for Eelam Cause: ‘Operation Flower Garland’ of 1987. I provide a 1987 anthology below, consisting of editorials that appeared in the New York Times (June 7, 1987) and the… Read more »

Notable Tamil Sycophants of Rajapaksa Rascals

by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 12, 2022 The dictionary definition for sycophant is revealing, “n. servile flatterer, toady, parasitic person. From French sycophante or from Latin > Greek sukophantes informer.” [The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 7th ed., 1983, pp. 1081-1082] Now that the stars and fortunes of the Rajapaksas have… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 66

Recognized Friends and Adversaries by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 9, 2022 Part 65 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s comments, on Part 65, received on April 1st, expanded a little on the conflict that Communists (CPI) had with DMK, in early 1970s. For the uninitiated, Karunanidhi is referred by his honorary sobriquet among DMK sympathizers: ‘Kalaignar’… Read more »

Public Pummeling of Rajapaksa Rascals

by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 20, 2022 Well, well – you may call this commentary as schadenfreude. Rajapaksa rascals had it reaching their home territory – pummeled from left to right, head to heels and face to derriere for their family plundering in politics, since 2005. For those who have missed, I collect some excerpts… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 65

Ascendancy in Tamil Nadu Politics by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 30, 2022 Part 64 MGR biographer R. Kannan’s comments, on Part 64, received on Feb.20th was as follows: “Part-64 which I found most informative, tying together the various strands of that period of the cinematic and the political in MGR’s career. Marudhakasi’s memoirs are skillfully employed… Read more »

Random Thoughts of a Tamil Biographer

by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 25, 2022 Table – Select List of Eelam Tamil Biographies in English Having been an honorary columnist to the Sangam site for over the past 20 years, in frequently I do receive fan mail (mostly by email, but rarely by postal mail). Most are appreciative, but a few are pungent… Read more »

Decoding Don Stephen Senanayake (1884 -1952)

On his 70th death anniversary by Prof. Alfred Jayaratnam Wilson, Lanka Guardian, a 4 part series starting January 1, 1992   Front Note by Sachi Sri Kantha Don Stephen Senanayake (popularly abbreviated by his initials D.S.), the first prime minister of independent Ceylon, died on March 22, 1952. While he has been touted as the… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 64

Completing Four Decades as a Movie Star by Sachi Sri Kantha, February 1, 2022 To the previous part 63, friend R. Kannan’s comments received on December 24th was as follows: “A very comprehensive account pulling together the various strands neatly. I haven’t seen Dungan’s interview and have also yet to lay my hands on his memoirs. Kudos…. Read more »

Memoriam: Professor Margaret Trawick (1948 – 2022)

by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 23, 2022 Among Eelam Tamils, a few Tamil women academics such as Dr. Rajani Thiranagama (1954-1989) and Radhika Coomaraswamy (b. 1953) wrote anti-LTTE tracts, for their personal glory as beacons of human rights. But, Professor Margaret Trawick (1948-2022), though not being born as a Tamil, contributed her energy as an… Read more »

About the Chinese Gumshoe Activities

Record of a Recent Digital Duel Now connect the dots please: LTTE turncoat K.P – Kapila Hendawitharana – Chinese gumshoes. Hence, this note. by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 4, 2022 As one who enjoyed the sword fencing duels – MGR vs. Veerappa or MGR vs. Nambiar – in old Tamil movies in my teenage years,… Read more »

Memoriam: Prof. Kandiah Balasubramaniam (1932-2021)

by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 1, 2022 Only in last September, I wrote about my memories of student days about Prof. A. A. Hoover and passingly mentioned Prof. Kandiah Balasubramaniam. Then, last November, the news of death of Prof. Balasubramaniam saddened me a lot. He died on November 9th, at the age of 89 in… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 63

‘Manthiri Kumari’ (1950) movie – revisited by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 21, 2021 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s comments to my previous part 62, received on October 4th, was as follows: “You have discussed two difficult issues related to MGR. Annaism brought much flak. Most of what it said about nationalization and the right to… Read more »

Poet Subramania Bharati’s Centenary of Death

Personal Thoughts by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 10, 2021 One hundred years have passed since Indian freedom fighter and the gifted Tamil poet of the 20th century, Subramania Bharathi (1882-1921) lost his life prematurely at the age of 39, on the early hour of September 12th. Quite many of the hagiographical accounts remembering his life,… Read more »

From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 19

A 1985 Report on Rajiv Gandhi and Tamil Insurgency by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 5, 2021  Front Note by Sachi A report on Rajiv Gandhi and the Tamil Insurgency, May 17, 1985 Sometime back, while trawling the net on Eelam Tamil militancy, I picked up a ‘Sanitized Copy approved for release on 2010/11/08: CIA-RDP85T01058R000406330001-0’, from… Read more »

Prabhakaran’s Critics

An Alphabetical Assembly by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 22, 2021 Front Note by Sachi I contributed this commentary to this site on Nov.19, 2004, to celebrate V. Prabhakaran’s 50th birthday. Now, 17 year later, I reproduce it without altering a word, in memory of Velupillai Kumar Pancharatnam, aka George Master (1936-2021), a postmaster who had… Read more »

Aubrey Collette’s 1950s’ Political Cartoons Revisited

by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 3, 2021 I like political cartoons. Nine years ago, in Sept. 15, 2012, I wrote a column entitled, ‘On Sri Lankan Political Cartoonists, stray dogs and hypocrites’ in which I had commented about cartoonists Hasantha Wijenayake and Jiffry Yoonoos. [https://sangam.org/on-sri-lankan-political-cartoonists-stray-dogs-and-hypocrites/] Prior to that, in November 2006, I had contributed a… Read more »

Poet Kannadasan: Autobiographical Notes

Of pre-1943 period translated by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 25, 2021 Front Note by Sachi 40th death anniversary of King Poet Kannadasan (1927-1981) passed by on October 17th. Among his numerous books, two autobiographical memoirs, Vana Vaasam (1965, 376 pp) and Mana Vaasam (1980, 228 pp) stands out. Vana Vaasam covers the period of Kannadasan’s… Read more »