Mother! Mother nature!
Grant me maturity
that finds Contentment
in feeling -
having is enough.
Mother! Mother mature!
I surrender to your feet
and beseech only this.
Mother! Mother mature!
Remove the profligacy of fate.
Blossom the knowledge-thirsty,
valiant mind that understands fate.
Another English actor who, like 'James Bond' Sean Connery, captivated our imagination in our childhood, especially in our teen years, was Christopher Lee (Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee). I haven't seen many of his films, except a few. In his later years, he was featured in many commercially successful films like the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun,' Star Wars films, the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and many more. At that time, I left my country of birth, Sri Lanka, due to political unrest.
As a teenager, I watched many films, including Hollywood movies, while living in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. After I went to continue my degree studies at the University of Moratuwa in the Colombo metropolitan area, my interest in watching any films waned. After I left Sri Lanka and settled in Canada, I rarely watched films in the movie theatres.
Many of my favorite world personalities are Jewish. In science, I admire Albert Einstein the most. In politics and economics, I admire Karl Marx the most. In psychology, I admire Sigmund Freud the most.
Albert Einstein's out-of-the-box thinking always impresses me. How could he think about and figure out that space and time are not absolute but relative, just using his mental power? Amazing. Karl Marx's perseverance and dedication to his research on historical materialism and dialectical materialism impresses me a lot. Even though his research brought him poverty, he didn't succumb to that. Jenny Marx's pure love helped him to continue his research. She is amazing too.
Sigmund Freud's thoughts on the concept of human personality are also fantastic. That impresses me a lot as well. Sigmund Freud's thoughts on the concept of human personality, detailing the ID, Ego, and Superego, are also excellent achievements.
My heartfelt condolences go out to her family, relatives, and fans.
Serial Novel: Modern Vikramathithan!
Book stores and libraries are my temples. It's sad to see Chapters' Scarborough branch, located in Kennedy Commons shopping mall, closing its doors on January 27th. This store has been with us for many years. My daughters and I have been using it since their childhoods. For them, it's very special, carrying lots of memorable moments. I bought all of my favorite astro-physics books written by my favorite authors Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, and Brian Greene here. I bought many fictional books, including my favorite novels by Fyodor Dostoevsky such as 'Brothers Karamazov,' 'Crime and Punishment,' 'The Idiot,' and Tolstoy's 'Resurrection,' among many more classics.
One of the features I like the most about Chapters is their reading facilities for their customers. Anyone visiting to buy books can also enjoy reading using their chairs. In that sense, it serves as both a bookstore and library. While I was shopping, I enjoyed reading many books to select and see their literary value.
Kannamma,
In the one-way journey of time arrow,
Is time reversal possible?
For consciousness, no barrier exists.
What?
Yes! That is it.
No barrier exists.
Without any hesitation, it can travel anywhere.
Does time have any meaning
in existence in a quantum bubble?
Bharathiyar, known as 'Maha Kavi Bharathiyar,' is a revered Tamil and Indian poet. 'Maha' means great in Tamil. Among Tamil writers, he is my personal favorite. Despite his short life, his literary achievements were incredibly impressive. Not only was he a prolific poet, but he also played a crucial role as a social and political activist. During the British rule, he ardently fought against their dominion, making him a notable freedom fighter in India's nationalistic struggle.
I appreciate his writings for the following reasons: his thoughts, as expressed in his writings, were not narrow-minded. He contemplated the social and political perils facing his society, the nationalistic struggle of his country, and the class differences prevalent in Indian society. When considering his country's national struggle, he also envisioned a classless society within India. Simultaneously, he extended his thoughts to encompass the planet we inhabit, the fellow creatures that coexist with us, and the nature.
Kannamma, our existence is made up
of the frames of space-time.
This existence is like a
space-time movie.
Do you know this?
I have a wish.
If you know it, you may laugh at me.
During an age when our feelings sprang out,
the feelings I felt towards you
and your appearance at that time,
yes, it was early in the morning.
Still, I feel those feelings; still,
I remember your appearance.
You came walking with swaying hips.
Do you remember that?
Holding the books to your chest,
looking at the ground,
you were walking that time.
That was your style of walking.
I always wondered how you could see
the things in front of you
while walking and looking at the ground.
Your smiling face
with a pottu on your forehead,
as usual, added beauty to that morning.
As you turned at an intersection,
you turned around and looked at me.
Your appearance in that moment
has been trapped in my unconscious mind
forever.
When Kirk Douglas passed away, he was 103 years old. He led a complete, satisfactory life. Despite being nominated thrice for the Oscar award, he never received it for his acting prowess.The denied Oscar award was given to his son, Michael Douglas, for his role in Oliver Stone's 'Wall Street'. Late in his life, he was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar.
His parents were Jewish Russian immigrants. During the Second World War, he served in the American Navy. After that, he became a stage actor and then entered into the movie world.
Diaspora Tamil literature is a common term denoting the literature of expatriate Tamils. Tamil people live worldwide in many countries, including Western countries. Most of them migrated to other countries after the communal riots that happened in 1983, which is generally known as 'Black July '83.' Now, more than thirty years have passed since they left. During this time, the diaspora literature of Tamils has achieved many milestones in various literary forms such as short stories, poems, dramas, novels, and non-fiction.
The common, general term 'diaspora literature' for the Tamil people is no longer needed, as the literature of the Tamil diaspora has matured in the soil where they live. Since countries differ in terms of their culture, language, economy, and politics, the literature produced in each country also varies based on these factors. Therefore, the general term 'diaspora literature' for Tamil people does not accurately depict the true nature of Tamil diaspora literature.
Many critics have already begun to use terms like Canadian Tamil Literature, British Tamil Literature, Australian Tamil Literature, French Tamil Literature, and so on. This is the right way to approach this matter.
In this context, it is better to explore some aspects of Canadian Tamil Literature. The views expressed here on this topic won't be detailed or researched but will serve as examples to initiate the discussion.
Outside,
darkness envelops the night sky,
which extends infinitely.
Space expands,
and the stars giggle.
The damsels of the night sky.
“Oh, the Women of darkness!
Can you share your secrets with me?”
Lying in bed,
the sounds of the rainy night
and the view of the gloomy sky
touch my heart deeply.
It has been raining
cats and dogs since dawn.
Rain.
The tears of refugees,
the tears of stateless wanderers
of the sky—
the clouds.
While lying on the bed,
I glanced through the windows
to see the urban night sky.
The sky without stars!
Melancholic thoughts engulf me.
Thoughts of the tropical night
bring back the good old memories
of the land
I left a long time ago.
From tiny to very large,
slow to fast,
observations taught me a lot
about birds,
about the space-time where
they gracefully fly.
Different birds fly uniquely;
behave distinctively.
Some use their knowledge to
glide through the air,
while larger ones employ air currents
to ascend skyward.
Kannamma, our space-time exists
inside the cone, a wave-cone!
Yes! An electromagnetic wave cone.
Inside the cone, we dance with dreams.
We dance with plans.
We dance with thoughts.
We dance with feelings.
The reality outside the cone,
that is unknown to us, Kannamma!
Is it similar to our space-time or not?
Have you ever thought about this, Kannamma?
Tell me, Kannamma.
Happiness is derived from
thinking about and beyond that border
or barrier, Kannamma!
I never forget the movie 'Dr. No.' It was the first Bond film featuring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, who was the first Bond girl and a famous sex symbol at that time. However, it wasn't the first Bond film I watched. The first one was 'You Only Live Twice,' which I watched with my dad at Sri Murugan Theatre in Vavuniya, a small town located between Jaffna and Colombo, Sri Lanka.
I was in my childhood, and there was a scene in the movie where Bond was ripping her clothes on her back. Her bare back was exposed on the full screen. I felt shy watching that scene with my dad, so I wanted him to believe I wasn't watching it. Quickly, my childhood mind found a way. I wanted my dad to think I was sleeping when that scene was shown on the screen. I asked my dad, 'Dad, sorry, I fell asleep. What just happened in the movie?' hoping he would believe I hadn't seen the scene. I forgot his response, but after that, I always thought about how naive or stupid I was.
I watched many English Hollywood movies during my teen years while I was in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.One of the films I watched, which is still fresh in my mind, is Michael Crichton's 'Westworld,' an American science fiction-thriller. Michael Crichton wrote the story and directed the film as well. The story is about an amusement park where anyone can play with androids from different periods, such as the Roman period and medieval period. You can select a period and play with androids belonging to that period. This is the way I still remember the movie.
One night in the mid-nineties, I was walking along Richmond Street West towards University Avenue. As I passed the Hilton Hotel, I encountered a panhandler. He stood out from the regular panhandlers, wearing a worn-out coat and pants – a rich-to-rag figure. Politely, he asked for money, and I gave him a toonie, a Canadian two-dollar coin. Grateful, he handed me two quarters and suggested I give them to my daughter, assuring me she could use them to call me when needed.
In that instant, he became a unique and mysterious figure. Intrigued, I decided to engage in a short conversation with him. I noticed he carried a plastic container with 'Clarke for Mayor' written on its surface. Surprisingly, he shared that he was running for Toronto Mayor. He also told me that he was running to champion people's rights. His revelation astonished me, given the media's portrayal of homeless individuals often dealing with mental illness.
This portrait of me was drawn by a street artist in the early eighties in New York. I don't know his name, but I still keep this drawing as a souvenir of that time. It's a pencil drawing, and surprisingly, it's still in good shape. Amazing!
From natural trees to trees of concrete,
from ape to human,
from ancient human to superhuman,
this marks an evolutionary growth,
says the kin of humans who landed on the moon.
Absorbing light is a common trait
for both these types of trees.
It's an explanation of the intelligence
of the most intelligent creature.
In the space-time,
I wonder about your kind heart.
Each moment, I would like to fly in the space-time,
Each moment, enjoying thinking about space-time.
Kannamma, I would like to think about
breaking all barriers.
Kannamma, time doesn't exist alone.
Kannamma, space is also like that; it never exists alone.
Kannammaa, space-time is the only one that exists;
it's the only truth here, Kannamma.
Expanding in a large space,
Who drew this four-dimensional painting here,
dear Kannamma?
Do you think there are
more multi-dimensional paintings,
beyond four that exist parallel Kannamma?
If they do, do you believe or
Do you think
There is a way to reach them
Kannamma?
Please tell me,
my dear Kannamma!
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| Poet Kannadaasan |
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"And Quiet Flows The Don" is Mikhail Sholokhov's famous novel that received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1965. The book consists of four volumes. The first volume was translated into Tamil by A.L. Nadarajan and published by New Century Book House (Chennai, India). The novel describes how the Cossacks' lives were affected during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and Russia's social revolution. Literary critics consider this novel one of the best twentieth-century novels and compare it with Tolstoy's famous "War and Peace."
Toronto Public Library branches have a large collection of multilingual books. Staff members work to curate these selections in various languages. As a Tamil writer living in Canada, I can discuss my issues here as I am familiar with them.
The main issue is that Tamil writers living here in Canada don't know how to sell their books to the library branches' multilingual sections. The staff members who select the multilingual books never inform the writers living here about how to submit their books for consideration. Many years ago, I sent a letter to the library board regarding this issue. I was told that a mechanism is in place to select books from Tamil authors. However, the major problem is that the library board doesn't know about each language spoken here; they depend on staff members who select these multilingual collections. These staff members, responsible for the selection process, purchase books from various bookshops in Tamil Nadu, India, and Sri Lanka. Additionally, they buy Tamil books from authors with whom they have personal connections.
"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion." - Thomas Paine
The first time I learned about this quote was from my father's notebook. When my father passed away, I was in my teen years. After his death, I found his small notebook. The first page contained Thomas Paine's quote. That was when I first learned about this quote.
In the vastness of spacetime, Kannamma, I marvel at your tender heart. In the vastness of spacetime, Kannamma, I long to take flight, even f...
