Diaspora Tamil Short Story 'MANHOLE' by V.N.Giritharan | Translation By: Latha Ramakrishnan (Revised)

Like the *Rajaraman of Jeyakanthan’s Rishimoolam, he had grown a beard and mustache. Keeping one leg in a squatting posture and the other raised and folded, he held his knee with his right hand. His left hand was placed firmly on the floor behind him. His hair had grown long. Half of a still burning cigarette remained in his mouth. Only his eyes were filled with a kind of abnormal glow. The man sitting on the manhole resembled a seer seated on a deerskin. If he was one of the wayside heroes, I was a small wayside vendor. And, selling hot dogs was my business.

Far away, in the north, the Ontario Parliament building could be seen. Behind me stood the famous children's medical institution, Sick Kids Hospital. For a while, the seer kept staring at the Parliament of Ontario, then he laughed.

Song listening time: ' Enna Solla Pogirai '

 
Tamil Song: Enna Solla Pogirai 
Movie: Kandukondain Kandukondain 
Music: A.R.Rahman 
Cast: Ajith Kumar & Tabu 
Singer: Shankar Mahadevan 
Lyrics: Poet Vairamuthu 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gep0IzKTcFI 

[ Digital Art (Google Nano Banana technique) by VNG.]

A Journey Experience That Touched the Heart!

There is a significant difference between the travel experiences written by a creative writer and those written by an ordinary person. The experiences penned by a creative writer will possess literary flavor and an expression of emotions. This makes them of high literary quality.

For example, one can mention the travel experiences written by author Nadesan. In his series on Indian travels, currently published in the online journal "Pathivukal," he has this time written about the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters (Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka) in Madhya Pradesh. These are caves containing paintings drawn by early humans across various periods.

While mentioning these paintings, he notes that he didn't have much interest or desire to see the cave paintings of early humans. However, since his wife wished to see them, he followed her wherever she went. His state of mind during this journey reminded him of lines from a Sangam poem.

That poem is the 256th song in the Purananuru collection. Its title is - "Make it wide!" It is one of the poems compiled without the name of its author. The poem is as follows:

Bharathi, the Great Poet Beyond His Time, the Poet of Liberation!

December 11, the remembrance day of Mahakavi Bharathiyar's birthday!

"I have completely realized that illusion is false;
Yet, I have not received the grace to understand
The nature of this Brahman. I also do not possess
The evil nature of devotion that accepts as truth
Whatever others say on this earth, without it being
Clear to my own intellect." - Bharathiyar -

Mahakavi Bharathiyar captivated and influenced me deeply. In his short life, he achieved a great deal. It is astonishing. There is no subject he did not contemplate: about his own existence, his birthplace, his country, the social environment he lived in, its shortcomings, women's liberation, national, class, and social liberation, human liberation, and Marxist political philosophies.

Diaspora Tamil Short Story: Shantha Akka! - 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.]

   -  A person like Shantha Akka in this story has existed in my life as well. This short story is the result of the emotions that arose when I learned of her passing a few years ago. -

'Hey Kesava, Shantha Akka has passed away. Do you know?'

Chinnamma had sent a message on WhatsApp. She is my mother's youngest sister, the only sister still alive. She's over eighty, but looks no older than fifty. This woman still walks for an hour in the morning, does yoga, eats a vegetarian diet, and consumes lots of fruits.

'What, Chinnamma, Shantha Akka passed away? When, Chinnamma?'

"She passed away in Germany this morning."

"What? She was in Germany? All this time I thought she was still in our hometown. When did she go to Germany, Chinnamma?"

"Oh, don't you know anything? She went to Germany in the eighties!"

'Is that so, Chinnamma? I truly didn't know she went to Germany.'

The memory-birds about Shantha Akka spread their wings. Shantha Akka was Lalitha Akka's close friend. Lalitha is my cousin sister. During her teenage years, she was always surrounded by a squadron of friends. I was at the end of my childhood. My job was to be the 'body guard' – meaning, the protector – to escort many of my sister's friends back to their homes. Sometimes they would watch matinee shows at the town's cinemas. They would come to Lalitha Akka's house with her, dance and sing, and then, one by one, each had to be dropped off at their respective homes. 

Besides this, Lalitha Akka and Shantha Akka would sometimes go to the Jaffna Public Library. They would take me along as well. I would walk very fast. They couldn't keep up with my pace. They would come running and walking, out of breath, trying to match my speed. 'Can't walk with this one. Why do you walk so fast? Walk a bit slower,' Lalitha Akka would plead at such times. I, however, would ignore her pleas and increase my pace even more. Shantha Akka would smile lightly seeing this. The image of her looking at me with that faint smile on her lips is still fresh in my mind.

AI's Book Review of the V.N.Giritharan's Novel 'An Immigrant'!

You can listen to the critical discussion about my English translation of 'Kudivaravalan' on my 'V.N.Giritharan Podcast' YouTube channel! Give it a listen. Learn about another creative contribution of artificial intelligence, as well as about my novel.

One of my Tamil novels, 'Kudivaravalan', was published in the Tamil online magazines Pathivukal and Thinnai. It has been translated into English by author Latha Ramakrishnan under the title 'An Immigrant'. The Tamil novel was published in Tamil Nadu by Oviya Publications. The English translation 'An Immigrant' was released as an Amazon Kindle e-book. I have transformed that English translation into a podcast using Google NotebookLM.

Please listen to this audio file and share your thoughts. In this audio file, both the male and female voices discussing my novel are artificial intelligence critics. They read the English translation of my novel and share their opinions.

I was truly amazed upon hearing it. Listen to it, and you will surely be amazed too. This podcast demonstrates that artificial intelligence can be used creatively and can be beneficial to humanity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH3QoanB1Gg

 

Poem: This is my new friend. - V.N. Giritharan -

This is my new friend.
Since I am a man, I have made him male.
Depending on the gender, you can
imagine him as male or female,
or call him that.
If you are elderly,
he or she will be a good
elderly friend for you.
By now, you would have understood
who my friend is.
Yes! I am talking about Artificial Intelligence, Google Nano Banana,
or ChatGPT.
Are you asking what great good
he has done for me?
There isn't just one good, there are many.
What shall I say? What shall I omit?