“”I hated MGR’s politics but loved his cinema: Shobasakthi on his yearning to return to Sri Lanka, his political allegiances and why violence solves nothing” by Debesh Banerjee

“When Dheepan was announced as the winner of the coveted Palm D’Or at this year’s Cannes Film festival, it was its unlikely lead actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan, 47, who stole the limelight. Known in literary circles by his pen name Shobasakthi, he has written several short stories, political essays, and two novels in Tamil, the most recent being a collection of translated short stories, The MGR Murder Trial. A former LTTE child soldier, Shobasakthi’s own career graph bears close resemblance to the film’s lead character’s journey. Over a telephonic interview from Paris, Shobasakthi talks of his yearning to return to Sri Lanka, his political allegiances and why violence solves nothing.”

– See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/i-hated-mgrs-politics-but-loved-his-cinema/#sthash.Ltny0gxx.dpuf

 

“Ising and Ramaswamy showcase works at Faculty Writers Read event” by thisweekincas.com

English instructor Daniel Ising read two short stories or pieces of fiction writing while English professor Anushiya Ramaswamy recited her translations of a Sri Lankan refuge writer’s narratives.

Ramaswamy’s translations of Sri Lankan writer Shobasakthi describe how the Tamil Tiger militants publicly punished prostitutes during the 1980s.

According to Ramaswamy, one of the ways the Tamil militants promoted themselves as society builders was by killing women they regarded as prostitutes.

“They made them into public women and then killed them saying that these are social ills and that they are so good for the community because, look, they have gotten rid of these prostitutes,” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy will release her latest translations, “The MGR Murder Trial and Other Stories” in December through Penguin publishers in India…

via: http://thisweekincas.com/2014/10/05/ising-and-ramaswamy-showcase-works-at-faculty-writers-read-event/

“On the Dearth of South Asian Translations in the U.S.” (Part I) by Mahmud Rahman

“Progressive realism is hard to sell in the American market, which by now expects rich silk saris, aromatic foods and heaving bosoms, and maybe a good dose of incest.”

“A small percentage of literary books published in the U.S. are translations. The translation program at the University of Rochester maintains yearly databases of translated titles available in the U.S. South Asian languages barely make these lists: in the last five years, out of 2121 books, only 19 were from South Asian languages (only Urdu, Hindi, Bangla, Tamil). No surprise that European languages dominate, but given the vibrant literature from South Asia and a somewhat growing interest in translated literature, it’s a serious problem when so few titles and literature from so few languages find their way to American readers.”

via: http://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2014/08/04/why-are-so-few-south-asian-translations-published-in-the-u-s-part-i/

“Tamil societies and visibility”, 23 mai et “Tamil writers in Exile”, 24 mai 2014 à la FMSH de Paris

Nous tenons à vous informer les dates suivantes ce mois-ci : “Tamil societies and visibility“, le 23 mai après-midi, et de “Tamil writers in Exile” le 24 mai après-midi.
En effet, le programme thématique Non-lieux de l’exil s’associe avec le programme Inde de la Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’homme, ainsi que le Centre of South Asian Studies de l’Université de Cambridge dans l’organisation d’un double panel, les 23 et 24 mai 2014. Ces panels se dérouleront au 190 avenue de France, 75013 Paris.
Le programme et toutes les informations se trouvent sur : http://nle.hypotheses.org/1900
Les intervenants :
Luxmy (Nagaluxmy Sivasamboo) was born in Sri Lanka and left for France in 1981. She obtained a degree in Civil engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. She has been actively involved in the cultural politics of Tamil diaspora in Europe since 1990 and was one of the active members of the Tamil Literature Conference based in Exile from later part of eighties. Luxmy is one of the founding editors of ‘Uyirnizhal’ – a Tamil printed magazine for culture, fine arts and criticism from 2000 and she was one of the editors of the magazine ‘Exil’ (between 1995 to 1999). She has written many articles and critics, also translated numerous articles and short stories from English and French to Tamil.  Most of them appeared in Tamil diaspora journals and webzines. As a publisher (Exil Publication), she has published several anthologies of poetry from 1992.
Delon Madavan is Doctor of Geography at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. He is a researcher affiliated with the Centre for the Study and Research on India, South Asia and its diaspora (CERIAS-UQUAM). His thesis focuses on the socio-spatial integration of the Tamil minority in Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. He studied this minority’s integration through an analysis of their citizenship, their citadinity and transnationality. Delon Madavan is also the author and co-author of several articles and books on Sri Lanka, and Jaffna town in particular. He also organized several conferences on the impact of the Sri Lankan conflict and is a co-director of the website Sri lanka & Diasporas.
Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes is an Affiliated Lecturer and a Research Associate at the Centre of South Asian Studies (CSAS), and a Research Fellow in Arts and Social Sciences at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. Annamaria uses her research, publications and graduate teaching to contribute to the field of visual rhetoric and historical studies. She teaches a course on ‘Visual rhetoric and modern South Asian history’ at CSAS, and is currently designing new visual teaching and research resources in collaboration with the Indian National Council of Educational Research and Training. Annamaria is also the founder of the ‘Amateur Cinema Studies Network’ (http://amateurcinemastudies.org).
Pradeepan Raveendran was born in Sri Lanka in July 1981. He is a self-taught photographer and filmmaker. He has been living in Paris, France since 2004. Pradeepan’s first directorial debut was in 2009 with the short film ”A Mango Tree in the Front Yard”. This film was an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009 and subsequently nominated for a Golden Bear. His second short film ”Shadows of Silence” was premiered at the ‘Director’s Fortnight’ in Cannes International Film Festival 2010. Both films screened at various film festivals.
Remo Reginold is a South Asian Scholar and Performance theorist. He is a doctoral candidate at Cardiff University, and an affiliated scholar with the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge. From 2008 to 2011 he was a Junior Research Fellow with the Centre for Just Peace and Democracy (CJPD), Geneva. Since 2012 he is affiliated with the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH), Paris, collaborating on the Programme Asie du Sud and Programme Non-lieux de l’exil. Reginold’s areas of specialisation are Phenomenology, Semiotics, Art theories, Ethnographic Studies and Tamil Cultural Studies.
Sujit Sivasundaram is Lecturer in World and Imperial History since 1500 at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. His most recent book is ‘Islanded: Britain, Sri Lanka and the Bounds of an Indian Ocean Colony’ (University of Chicago Press, 2013). In 2012 he won a Philip Leverhulme Prize for History, awarded to young scholars in the UK for contributions to research. He is a Visiting Professor at EHESS this academic year.
source: http://nle.hypotheses.org/1900

“In Need of Translation: An Analysis of Sri Lankan Tamil Dalit Literature” by K. A. Geetha

“The number of Tamil Dalit writers and their literary output has increased in recent years. However, with the exception of literary works of writers like Bama, Imayam, and Sivakami, English translations of the works of other Tamil Dalit writers are very rarely available. (…) The various contexts and heterogeneous experiences of Dalit communities make their literary work a rich source of Dalit culture, tradition, and language. Heterogeneous Dalit cultures have resulted in multifarious plots and characters. To reach global audiences, literary works such as Sri Lankan Tamil Dalit literature must be translated into English”

To read the article online: http://www.ariel.ucalgary.ca/ariel/index.php/ariel/article/viewFile/4251/4022

Reference: Geetha, K.A., 2011, “In Need of Translation: An Analysis of  Sri Lankan Tamil Dalit Literature”, in ariel: a review of international english literature, Vol. 41 No. 3-4, pp. 33–44

source:www.ariel.ucalgary.ca

“The Representation of anti-JVP Military Violence in Gunadasa Liyanage’s “Operation Elpitiya”” by Vihanga Perera (In Love With a Whale)

Gunadasa Liyanage’s work Operation Elpitiya is centered around a young doctors encounters in the month of April, 1971, where the JVP manages a temporary “alter-regime” in isolated pockets across Ceylon, following their unsuccessful revolution for power waged against the Sirima Bandaranaike government. The novel opens with the meeting of the said doctor — Karunarathne — and his university-attendant girl friend, Indrani. They meet when the latter is admitted to a Colombo hospital with injuries sustained at a students’ rally against the government, which is baton charged by the Police.

via: http://slwakes.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/the-representation-of-anti-jvp-military-violence-in-gunadasa-liyanages-operation-elpitiya/

source: www.slwakes.wordpress.com

“Sri Lankan professor translates the ‘unspoken’ voice of her native country from war times” (thisweekincas.com)

“English professor Anushiya Ramaswamy spent her recent sabbatical giving a voice to Sri Lankan writer Shobasakthi’s works, which are written in his native Tamil language.”

via: http://thisweekincas.com/2013/11/17/sri-lankan-professor-translates-the-unspoken-voice-of-her-native-country-from-war-times/

source: www.thisweekincas.com

“Interview: Romesh Gunesekera” by Ka Bradley (Granta Magazine)

Romesh Gunesekera was born in 1954 and grew up in Sri Lanka and the Philippines before moving to England in 1972. His story collection, Monkfish Moon, was published in 1992 by Granta, and his first novel, Reef, was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Booker Prize. Here, he answers questions for Ka Bradley about his new collection of stories, guilt and manipulating the past.

Via http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Interview-Romesh-Gunesekera

source: www.granta.com