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Gleanings:
In Honour of Saba Jeyarasa: A compendium of researched articles
K.S. Sivakumaran
Emeritus Professor of Education and Fine Arts is in news these days.
He was deservedly felicitated recently in Colombo for his achievements
as a scholar. Presently he lives in Colombo after having last served in
the University of Yaalpaanam. Since I have already written about him
elsewhere recently, I wish to confine this piece to a review of a very
valuable publication launched by the Prof Dr Jeyarasa Vila Committee.
Professionally printed this 288 page volume with colour plates contains
articles both in English and Thamil.
The dedication with which the committee has brought out this
collection indicates the significance of the contributions towards
Lankan scholarship in Thamil studies.
The volume is divided into three sections: On Prof Saba Jeyarasa
Researched Articles in Thamil and Articles in English.
The articles in English: The Orientalism of American Ceylon Mission
and the Thamil Literary Revival (The Rt Revd Dr S Jebanesan), Designing
Leadership Development. Portfolio (Dr Mrs K Chellamani /Dr S Mohan),
Emotional and Professional Problems of Teachers (Hyacinth N Jebanesan),
Importance of Science Education to Students and Society (P Vinobaba),
Unity of Scientific Method: Marxist and Positivist Perceptions (Prof Dr
A.V. Manivasagar)
The articles in Thamil are understandably on Education and related
matters. As the subject of the volume Prof Saba Jeyarasa is an
outstanding and innovative educationist embracing the current trends in
teaching worldwide.
The titles are longish typical of academic writing. I shall therefore
only mention the names of the contributors. They are:
M. Sinnatahamby, B. Dhanapalan, Dr. Thamotharapillai Amirthalingam,
Dr. S. Siva Nnirthanantha, Dr. B.K. Packeer Jahfar, K. Thevarajah, Prof.
S. Santhirasegeram, Ramanathan Eswarathasan, S.K. Yoganathan, A.
Nithilavaranan, M. Selvarajah, Dr. Anushya Sathiaseelan, Dr. S. Yogarasa,
Prof. S. Sachithanantham, Dr. M. Karunanidhi, Dr. Ulaganatahr Navaratnam,
S. Saravanabhavanandan, M. Gowrikanthan, R. Ravindranathan, A.E.
Richard, Prof. A. Sivarajah, Thirunavakarasu Kamalanathan and Aulrasa
Shriskandarajah.
Here is the first sentence in the opening paragraph of what the
Principal of the Christian Theological Seminary in Chunaaham wrote;
"Prof S Vyapuripillai one of the most eminent Thamil scholars of the
20th century said that 19th century History of Thamil Literature
belonged to Yaalpaanam."
Here is the opening of Prof A.V. Manicavasagar's essay:
"Marxian dialectics is a scientific method like positivism.
Positivism tends to regard dialectics as loose thoughts, even though
dialectics do not deny usefulness of the positivist method like
positivism, dialectics come in science only after its dissociation from
the world of ideas.
Science can only be materialistic and on this assumption there is
hardly any difference between dialectics and positivism.
It is on the nature of matter, on the other hand, that dialectics and
positivism differ. Society being included in this broad category of'
matter; social sciences reflects the difference between the two
approaches"
The volume contains also articles by T. Mathusoothanan and Thambu
Sivasubramaniam, two new critics bent on decoding everything traditional
and modernity, and orthodox Marxist criticism, respectively.
A.E. Richard has written a detailed academic fashioned introductory
essay on "Post Modernism: Theory and Application". As a traditional
literary critic imbibed by the critics (including Marxists,
Behaviourists and Aesthetes) of few decades ago, I am unable to swallow
the concepts of 'the author is dead' and post-modernism and
post-structuralism criticism. Perhaps among the undergraduates some may
think that I am out of place in the design of politicised evaluation of
the arts.
That is beside the point. This volume is a publication exclusively
for educationists and a tribute to the deservingly earned academic among
the Lankan Thamilians.
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