Mashoor Maulana and Moli Varathan:

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A veteran politician from Maruthamunai in the Ampara District in the East celebrated his 81st birthday recently. Throughout his career as a politically-conscious social worker, the senior citizen has earned a deserving fame. Way back in late 1950s I had seen him as a bilingual sports announcer on the esplanade in Maddakkalappu (Batticaloa).

Later he came to be known as an orator in Thamil, speaking on political platforms in the east under the aegis of the then Thamil Arasuk Kadchi (Thamil Government Party). But this party was erroneously and hastily called “Federal Party” in English.

Later he joined the United National Party and presently he belongs to the Muslim Congress.

Some of the distinguished positions he has held in his lifetime include Mayorship in Kalmunai, Member of the former Senate, First Secretary in the Deputy High Commissioners Office in Chennai and Executive Director of the National Housing Authority.

A record of this colourful personality has come out in book form filled with colour and black and white photographs. The credit goes to another colourful and versatile tri-lingual sports commentator, patron of the arts and politician A H M Azwer.

Titled Maruthamunai Muththu Mashoor Maulana, Azwer’s book in Tamil is a valuable source book in knowing about Mashhor Maulana. The book is published by Azmeena Pathipaham, No 04, Fathia Mawatha, and Dehiwela and priced at Rs 350/- per copy. This 134 page book is also a fine edition of a lucid journalistic style of writing in Tamil. I enjoy reading the various articles and commentaries published in the different Tamil newspapers in the country. His style of writing is a blend of poetic and statistical rendition.

Those, particularly writers in Tamil in this country, must be grateful to one of the Presidential Advisers, parliamentarian A H M Azwer for bringing to the notice of the legislators the existence of Lankan Tamil writers and artistes who are not noticed by the English and to some extent the Sinhala Press and electronic media.

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I would like to mention about another book in Tamil for the knowledge and understanding of the non-Tamil speaking people in our country. This book is titled Malayahak Kalvi: Some Thoughts and Suggestions. It’s about the topic of Education in the Central Hills.

This book is by an educationist and trade unionist, C Mahalingam. But in Tamil literary circles he is a respected writer using his pen-name “Moli Varathan. This 136 page book is published by Nuwara Eliya World Vision.

Relatively speaking the educational standards of young people in the plantation areas in Nuwara Eliya Badulla, Sabragamuwa, Moneragala, Hambantota and Kalutura districts in the island had been very slow in developing due to a number of reasons. However, a few outstanding educationists like the late Ira Sivalingam and others have tried their best to uplift the conditions conducive to higher studies. Among them is the retired Director of Education C Mahalingam.

As a catalyst to promote better education for all children in general and those particularly in the Nuwara Eliya District he wrote a series of erudite and new thinking articles to the Virakesari and Thinakaran for a long period of time. His thoughts and suggestions for better education in the country have been well documented in this book.

Interestingly written with precision and valuable suggestions this book has 30 articles.

I wish that this book is translated into Sinhala for the benefit of legislators who may not be aware of the present conditions of students in the hill country and for them to think about amelioration of the section of the Lankan population in search for better quality of life.

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