From: M.Thanapalasingham, Australia 31 August 2004 [see also
Selected
Writings by M.Thanapalasingham]
S.
Ponnudurai (S.PO) the writer (short stories,
novels, dramas, essays etc) recently published his
autobiography -Varalaatril Vaalthal -Living Through
History about 2000 pages). This book was officially
launched in Sydney on 28th August 2004. The style and
the manner in which the book is written is new to Tamil
writing. It records, among other things:
* the birth of the Tamil Progressive
Writers Movement in Eelam , it's true pioneers and
,its failures;
* the cruel impact of the Jaffna caste system on his
personal life, (the flip side of Aarumuga Naavalar)
;
* Hindutthuvam vs :Thamilthuvam;
* the folly of the Dravidian movements with regard to
Tamil prose and creative writing;
In this book, S.PO forcefully argues
that the struggle of the Tamil people to preserve and
foster their language and identity will bring a golden
era where Eelam Tamils and the Tamil
Diaspora will provide the leadership in the new
millennium. This is S.PO's vision. Needless to say,
some of his assertions may be challenged by others,
while those no longer living have no voice to challenge
S.PO's version of events.
There are passages about Senator Nadesan's excellent
contribution to the political and social life of the
Tamil people. Specifically his Tamil speeches. The
writer asks whether his son Mr Satyendra can bring out
Senator Nadesan's Tamil speeches in a Publication for
the benefit of future generations.
On the whole, S.PO'S -Varalaatril Vaalthal is a useful
addition to the recorded history of our people and will
make a positive contribution to future generations of
Tamils.
From: M. Thiru,
Singapore, 6 August 2004
I refer to the comment from Chitra
Radhakrishnan. There is a conference on " Tamil in an
International Arena " on from11 September to 12
September 2004, at the University Cultural Centre Hall,
National University of Singapore. The University's
Centre for the Arts presents this conference for the
second time. The first one was in 2000. For the first
one, from India, Minister Chidambaram came as the key
speaker. The other two notable spekers from India among
others were cinema director K.S. Balachandar and
Bharathanatya expert Dr.Pathma Subramaniam. There were Tamil
speakers from Sri Lanka, Europe,
America & Australia. There was a German lady
academic who is married to a Tamil from South
India.Professor Edwin Thamboo from the National
University of Singapore is the academic who is in
charge of the Centre for Arts.Guest of honour for this
yearis Mr.S.Iswaran, MP for West Coast GRC, Singapore.
The speakers for this year are :
Mr. S.Chandradas ( former PAP M.P of Singapore)
Professor Ramanujam
Actor Kamalhaasan
Mrs Sudha Ragunathan
Mr.S.Ponnudurai (Sri Lanakan writer)
Dr.Mu Metha
Mr.Muthu Nedumaran
Panel discussion by Tamil educationists from
Singapore
The first one was very well organised. Basing on that,
this years one should not be a bad one. But the first
one had more prominent speakers from the four
continents except Africa. For further information or
any verification National University of Singapore may
be contacted.
From: Chitra
Radhakrishnan, Kolkatta,
India, 29 July 2004
I teach Tamil and Comparative Literature in Jadavpur
University and my areas of specialization are Tamil
language and literature, Tamil Cultural Studies,
Feminism and Dalit literature. I would like to know how
I can get information regarding national and
international Tamil conferences to be organized across
the globe. Mostly, by the time I get to know of such
academic events it is too late and hence there is this
disturbing lack of participation in the intellectual
interactions in my mother tongue. I have presented and
published many papers in the areas mentioned
above...
Response by tamilnation.org: Regretfully we ourselves do
not directly receive information regarding such
conferences. However, some of the discussion groups
that you may want to consider joining appear in the
Tamil Literature page, including
the South Asia Literature SASIALIT
which had a recent thread on Tamil which may be of
interest to you. Conference
organizers usually do tend to post advance notices in
discussion groups. As you may know, the major
Universities which have an ongoing interest in the
areas that you mention include the Southern Asian Institute, Columbia
University, Yale University, Institute for Indology and Tamil
Studies, University of California at Berkeley,
and University of Pennsylvania.
Father Thaninayagam who played an
important role in furthering Tamil research is no more
and the International Association for Tamil
Research which he founded has not held
any conferences in recent times. Tamils such as you
have much to contribute to the study of Tamil and
Comparative literature. And, here, you may find that
the words of Father Thaninayagam in Research in Tamil Studies - Retrospect and
Prospect in 1980 of some relevance - "...Not having
in any country, a sovereign and independent Tamil
State, we can hardly look to the present Governments of
India or Sri Lanka or any other state where Tamils live
to embark on a promotion of Tamil studies. The
Government of Madras, within the limits of its own
possibilities has helped to some extent in such a
programme. It is therefore, left to the Tamil people
themselves especially in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to
promote Tamil studies and Tamil Research as far as it
lies in their power..."
