Lankan Thamil Culture A book by K.S. Sivakumaran Publisher: S. Godage & Brothers Price: Rs. 350

K.S. Sivakumaran has been a bilingual writer and journalist for the past 65 years. He has specialised in writing literary criticisms, film reviews, book reviews, poetry, and short stories. As an English teacher here and abroad, he has rendered an immense service to the student population. He is also a broadcaster, television personality, and a prolific writer in English and Tamil. His latest book “Lankan Thamil Culture” consists of selected articles and reviews published in books and newspapers. The book opens with an article on “The early Lankan novel in Thamil”. According to him, Sillayoor Selvarajan is one of the colourful personalities who has contributed immensely to Tamil culture. Film was another medium Selvarajan used. He and his family members have acted in a Sinhala film titled “Adara Kathava” (Love Story). He also wrote a poetic rendition of William Shakespeare’s popular drama “Romeo and Juliet”. After a short account of Lankan Tamil novels between 1885 and 1977, Sivakumaran comments on the life and works of Swami Vipulanandar who was the first Professor in Tamil at the University of Sri Lanka. His main contribution was his research study of a classical musical instrument known as “Yaal”. Sivakumaran comments on the philosophical background of Yaalpanam culture and moves on to write on Hinduism and Lankan practices. “Sivayogamirthan: Ambrosial Siva Yoga” by Ratna Ma Navaratnam is an excellent introduction to an important aspect of Hinduism. The author’s article on “A Hindu Encyclopaedia” is a noteworthy contribution. Its compiler was Prof. P. Poologasingam, a well-known Tamil scholar. Thereafter, he writes on “An Insight into the Yaalpanam Mind”. The author is of opinion that Prof. Karthigesu Sivathamby is an intellectual in the Tamil community. In his article on “The State and Thamil Culture”, he says the Department of Culture did not have funds to present trophies and certificates to the winners of the National Tamil Drama Festival. This is partly due to the officers who knew only Sinhala. According to him, to many Sri Lankans, including a fair number of Tamil-speaking people, the existence of a distinct Lankan Tamil literature is unknown. I found “Thamil Books in Sinhala” quite interesting. According to Sivakumaran, about 50 Sinhala short stories have been translated into Tamil. Even a few novels of Martin Wickremasinghe, T.B. Ilangaratne, and Karunasena Jayalath have been translated into Tamil. What is significant is a Tamil novel titled “Mannil Theriyuthu Vanam” (The Sky as Seen on the Earth). The translation was done by S. Agasthiyan who is also a short story writer in Sinhala. Writing on “Lankan Thamil Music”, Sivakumaran gives a graphic account of LP discs produced by the Tamil Music Unit of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Taken as a whole, “Lankan Thamil culture” is a useful introduction to the subject. Reviewed by R.S. Karunaratne