Diaspora Tamil short Story: Survival! - V.N.Giritharan -

[This English translation of the Tamil story is a collaboration between Google AI Studio and V.N. Giritharan. The original Tamil version of the story follows the translation. Digital painting assistance (Google Nano Banana technique) by VNG.]

The container or bin for collecting waste and garbage was set up by the municipality on the street running near the apartment building where we lived. Such garbage collection bins are kept in various places in many Western countries. In many Third World countries, it is rare to see them. To put garbage or waste products into such a bin, there would be a hole with a lid that could be pushed inwards by hand for convenience. Only humans can put garbage into it. This is because only a living creature with the ability to use its hands to push the lid inwards can do this. Perhaps well-trained human-like chimpanzees or gorillas might be able to.

Are you about to ask what is so important about this waste collection bin? Don't rush. Just be a little patient. I am describing it in such detail precisely because it has significance. You might laugh if I tell you that this bin is closely related to a vital characteristic of living beings. But don't be hasty in laughing. You might later have to feel ashamed of your hasty ignorance. Be careful.

I had recently moved into this apartment building. In the early hours before dawn, and in the dusk when darkness falls, I would often go out for a stroll with my daughter. It was during such a time that my child noticed that thing in the bin. I only noticed it after she pointed it out. Her observation gave me a lot of surprise and pride. Doesn't the crop destined for harvest show itself in the seedling? It was that kind of pride.

Diaspora Short Story: 'Where Do You Come From?' - V.N.Giritharan

[This English translation of the Tamil story is a collaboration between Google AI Studio and V.N. Giritharan. The original Tamil version of the story follows the translation. Digital painting assistance (Google Nano Banana technique) by VNG.]

On January 14th, 1964, on Thai Pongal, an important festival for Tamil people, he was born on the island once called 'Ceylon,' often described as the pearl of the Indian Ocean and paradise, a former colony of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, and now known as Sri Lanka. When he was born, he had no way of knowing that his life would be tossed across various corners of the globe. But the continuous political situations on the island forced him to migrate. Today, he is a citizen of Canada, an important North American nation. This is a brief history about him. 

It was a bone-chilling early morning. He was waiting for public transport to go to work. Beside him was a middle-aged white man, his only companion. Apart from the two of them, no one else was there at the time. Breaking the prevailing silence, the white man initiated a conversation between them:

Emile Zola's Nana!

 

Book cover designed by Google Nano Banana for Emile Zola's Nana! - https://amzn.to/4pkf0Ia 

 

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Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment!

 Book cover designed by Google Nano Banana for Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment - https://amzn.to/4ie5Me1 

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Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man and The Sea'!

If anyone were to ask me which is the best novella in world literature, I would, without any hesitation, say 'Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.' What a magnificent work of fiction! 

It's a symbolic novella about human existence and survival. Like the old man Santiago in the novel, we all dream of catching a 'big fish' in our brief existence. In the end, he gets nothing except the skeleton of the big marlin. Only the skeleton remains

[Book cover and the image of the author designed by Google Nano Banana.   * Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.]

 

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's important novels include Weep Not, Child, The River Between, A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood, and Devil on the Cross. He will be remembered for his post-colonial perspectives on his writings.

Initially, he wrote in English, but he stopped and began writing in his mother tongue. He believed that writing in the colonialists' languages would inherently contain colonial thoughts, identities, and cultural elements. He considered colonial domination to be an act of prioritizing the languages of the colonialists. That is why he believed creative works should be written in mother tongues, and only then, if necessary, be translated into other languages.

His literary contributions, encompassing novels, plays, and essays, were multifaceted. His life as a professor was full and is one that should be celebrated.

In memory of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, I am also sharing a YouTube video of one of his interviews:

Talk Africa: A Conversation with Ngugi Wa Thiong’o - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kao7D04M1sA

(Digital painting technology, Google Nano Banana, Assistance: VNG)

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About the Sri Lankan Political Situation!

This is my personal opinion. The government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake today represents the class of the majority of people, different from the elite class that has ruled Sri Lanka until now. It is a government that has obtained a two-thirds majority in Parliament, a clear majority. Not only that, for the first time, whenever racist, religious, and linguistic politicians who lost elections in southern Sri Lanka tried to use those arguments for their self-interest, this government has consistently and strongly voiced against racism, religious extremism, and linguistic chauvinism, nipping their efforts in the bud. This trend is a healthy one, absent in any government that has ruled Sri Lanka until now. We should all welcome it and support them in this matter. If we act in support of the racist forces opposing the Anura government at such times, it would be equivalent to digging our own graves.

Furthermore, a significant aspect that I particularly like is that the members of the National People's Power, the core strength of this government, and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) organization, are mostly politically educated and ideologically nurtured. They are led by university-educated individuals who have rallied to fight for the economic liberation of the people. They are not heirs of traditional political dynasties. This too is a healthy aspect.