-
Recent Posts
- An Article on Rajeswary balasubramaniam February 17, 2023
- ‘The Banks of the River Thillai’ February 17, 2023
- REVIEW OF ‘THE BANKS OF THE RIVER THILLAI’ BY RAJES BALA (The Conrad Press Ltd, UK, 2021)Set in the author’s birth village of Kolavil in the Batticaloa region of east coast Sri Lanka, ‘The Banks of the River Thillai’ is a fascinating novel. It interweaves a village story with external political events in the period between independence in 1948 and the early 1960s. The country was still known as Ceylon during this time.We follow the fortunes of three Tamil girl cousins, Gowri, Saratha and Buvana, born into an inward looking Hindu village society where tradition, caste and clans reign supreme. In this environment the cards are stacked against girls. At puberty they are isolated in their homes, whose yards are decorated by banana trees and their fruit. Astrologers prepare horoscopes to predict their futures. They are expected to marry as soon as possible, with their bridegrooms then leaving their homes to join the brides’ parental households. Further education after puberty is strongly discouraged.How do these traditions work out in the novel? Can girls rebel successfully against this system? What happens if they aspire to become teachers? What are their husbands’ viewpoints? Are their marriages happy or disastrous?These sub-plots unfold against vivid descriptions of key aspects of village life: strong rivalries between castes, clans and families, and enduring worship at temples dedicated to members of the Hindu pantheon, including Kannaki the goddess of chastity and virtue and Naga the seven-headed cobra.However, the village cannot escape from the growing turmoil of national political events. In 1956 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike became Prime Minister on the language ticket of ‘Sinhala Only’ which would discriminate against Tamil and English speakers. In 1958 there was racial violence. In 1959 S.W.R.D. was assassinated, leading to the election in 1960 of his widow Mrs. Srimavo Bandaranaike as Prime Minister. The author describes her as ‘the greatest Sinhalese chauvinist in Ceylon’.Violence became prevalent, the author concluding that during the thirteen years after independence ‘there had been more rioting and killing than in the previous one hundred and fifty years of English rule’.Rajes Bala has described with a great eye for detail the challenges of life in a traditional Tamil village against a rapidly deteriorating external political environment. ‘The Banks of the River Thillai’ is strongly recommended. Peter S. Chapman, February 2023 February 16, 2023
- ‘இயற்றையை வணங்கி வாழ்ந்த சமத்துவ தமிழ்த் தொன்மை’:இராஜேஸ்வரி பாலசுப்பிரமணியம்-லண்டன். December 23, 2022
- ‘தனிநாயகம் அடிகளார்’ November 23, 2022
- ‘புலம் பெயர் தமிழ்ப் பெண்களும் மன அழுத்தமும்’;.இராஜேஸ்வரி பாலசுப்பிரமணியம்.-(29.10.22ல் பாரிஸ் நகரில் நடந்த 35வது பெண்கள் சந்திப்பில் வாசித்த கட்டுரை) November 23, 2022
- Fear of the winter of 2022: October 26, 2022
- மன அமைதியும் நித்திரையும். October 23, 2022
- ‘வளரும் வயதினரும்; மனநலமும்.’20.10.22 October 23, 2022
- ‘அற்றவைகளால் நிரம்பியவள்’ September 16, 2022
Archives
- February 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- July 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- February 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- July 2021
- May 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- August 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
rajesvoice 