You raise a very good point as to how Sivahamy would have reacted if the form had been in English. It is true that today, a lot more people, especially youngsters, are more comfortable conversing in English rather than in Tamil/English. I personally admit that even though Tamil is my maternal language, I would struggle to fill out an official form in Tamil because I have grown up studying in English medium. However, I am not one of those people shirking my identity, but it’s a situation that arose more out of circumstances. At the end of the day, language should not be a criterion for measuring one’s level of patriotism. Both Tamil and Sinhala should be made official languages, and using English as an official mode of communication will also not hurt, but benefit our populace. Turning a conscious back on our identity is what will hurt our nation.

Who exactly did Ms Sivahamy teach?

How about the thousands of young students who study in Tamil medium in Colombo, or maybe she taught in English. And as to why she lives in a province where most people don’t speak her language, she knows enough to comfortably get by, and she doesn’t require Sinhala in her job, and she can communicate with people regardless of their mother tongue. Non Sri Lankan nationals move to Sri Lanka and are perfectly capable of getting by in Sri Lanka, save a few jittery conversations. Insinuating that people should only move to places where they are fluent in the local language is a very good idea to divide an already divided country.

I also have Mr Holmes’s book, which provides a rare glimpse into Jaffna on the eve of the civil war. My critique of his narrative is that he compares Jaffna society to the West which is wholly inappropriate. As a Sinhala I would have learned more if he highlighted the differences with the other communities who live in a similar context, rather than Westerners who have a totally different culture.

If Tamils do not read very much then it is similar to us Sinhalese as well!

I am Tamil, I notice that the majority of people in my family and in my wider (Tamil) society do not read – and I am talking here about the supposedly ‘educated’ Tamil community (i.e. those with M.B.B.S’s, MEng’s and even LLB’s by their name).

“Robert Holmes in his book Jaffna (Sri Lanka) 1980, made a poignant observation about the reading habits of Eelam Tamils. “Only a very small minority find recreation in reading. One of the best informed of the residents of Jaffna, who reads omnivorously told me, ‘Most of the people in Jaffna have no academic interest. They do not read books. Even the wealthy man who has two cars will not have a library. If he is a doctor, he will have a few medical books; if a lawyer, some law books…Only the exceptional person possesses books’.”

My point about the arrogance of the author of these satirical ‘faction’ pieces (that delights such colombo extraordinaires as Dayan Jayatilleka) is based on his record of writings – if you are unable to decipher for yourself the thick, sludge-like arrogance and elitism embedded in these pieces, perhaps density is the issue?

I may not have a clue what being Tamil is like, not in the past nor at present, but I can honestly agree with Sivahamy’s feelings. It isn’t difficult to understand the devastation of her heart and soul.

im not sure whether the author is suffering from a “mild inferiority complex” but he is certainly highly arrogant, as a perusal of his other stories show. the problem is that tamils do not read enough and certainly nothing in the fictive category, if they did (n.mahesan included), they would be far from impressed by the satirical ‘faction’ produced by our friend above.

amateur and pedantic. move on.

when she go there, can she get a central govt form to fill in tamil?