More on diaspora writing
In Melbourne I came across a selection of Tamil Short stories
translated into English titled being alive compiled by L Murugapoopathy
on behalf of the International Tamil Writers Forum Sri Lanka-Australia..
The Forum operates from 3 B, 46th Lane, Colombo 6 and Craigburn,
Victoria 3064, Australia.
The Stories are translated by Shiyamala Navaratnam of Canada and
Edilbert N Rajadurai of Australia. There are 15 stories in this 106 page
collection neatly printed by Kumaran Press Private Limited at B3, Ramya
Place, Colombo 10.
‘Meanings’ is the title of Buvana Rajaratnam’s story. Hers is a story
of a Grade 12 school boy in Australia, whose parents go for work before
he awakes and they return only late in the night, thus depriving of his
needs. Being frustrated he takes to smoking and drugs. The parent’s
eagerness to earn more money to meet the expenses led them ignore the
needs of their son who became a drug addict. It was too late for the
parents to realize that their earnings were meaningless. Nadean’s Story
Possums (Mammals) is a sort of story that reflects racist mentality.
I quote a passage that traces the history of human habitation in
Australia: “Before humans could possess Australia in this manner from
time to time, the animals called ‘marspials’ were living here’ Love for
the humankind and love for the animal kind should be the same is what
the writer implies.
It has a deeper meaning. ‘Enmity’ by Aavuuraan is about a Lankan
family in Australia. Let me quote an observation by the writer:
“They were people of several different cultures living in the
province of Victoria. Perhaps the permanent Australians had the fear
that their benefits and identities may change in the future.”
This is a nice story reflecting love and human kindness transcending
racial prejudices. But the writer forgets that in a short story
particularity is essential instead of going here and there in the
narration.
Ruthi’s story ‘A Pang of Guilt’ has nothing to do with Lankan people
although for a brief presence of a Yaalpaanam Tamil woman in Chennai.
The story is about two Malayalam couple and an exposition of the
Mother-in-law problem which is common in India.
Aasi Kantharajah’s ‘The Stolen Childhood’ is about a Lankan girl
studying in fourth standard in Australia. The typical insistence of
mothers particularly that their children should be the first in class
and force them to attend all the tuition classes without having a breath
of freedom to enjoy the children’s childhood dreams. The satire comes
through well.
‘Turning Point’ is the story by Arun Vijayarani. It’s an assurance of
a disabled Lankan woman who was a victim of shelling in the North.
She regains confidence in life in Australia after seeing a disabled
white woman driving a car and getting down from it and wheeling her
chair with ease into a store. Her torment and the indifference of her
husband makes her choose to live with her child in Australia. She asks
her husband to leave her and go back to Lanka. I feel that the story
could have been structured well. The translation too could have been
better.
‘Yet to Learn’ is the title of L Murugapoopathy’s story. It’s an
interesting one as it calls the relationship between a teacher and a
student both of whom now live in Melbourne. Writing about the life’s
journey, the conversation includes this passage: “They (the Sinhala
brethren)” says the teacher “tapped in 1958, tapped in 77, tapped in 81,
tapped in 83. The people who were asleep have woken up brother... of
those who woke up one section lost their lives.... another portion like
us found our way into foreign countries... the rest who could not have a
way out, are under the bombing and shelling, holding their lives in
their hands and keep moving and moving.
Thus is a story with no end…” The narrator in the story (the student)
adds: “Master-a widower and a father who had given away his son to the
freedom movement-was narrating the world affairs very enthusiastically
while driving a car in a foreign land” What most of the stories in this
collection does as in this story is to narrate some aspects of life
experienced by the diaspora in foreign lands.
The Lankans who emigrated to foreign lands did so out of helplessness
but they made their homes in foreign climes reassured and begin to erase
out the bitter memories of their native land, Lanka.
‘Those Transient Days with a Young Princess’ by Aaliyaal is a well
written story in the first person present tense and translated
beautifully by Edilbert N Rajadurai (This is the only place where the
translator’s name is mentioned).
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