Comments on: Catharsis: How Jaffna is rebuilding itself using the arts

By: Real_Peace

Real_Peace — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 15:17:00 +0000

Good point: “It is a tragedy when such hegemonic imposition of culture is passed on as liberal sharing.”

BTW, I was wondering IF there is a physical MEMORIAL for the thousands of people who perished especially in the No Fire Zone ? I know there is a WAR memorial and a ‘museum’ 🙁 But that won’t help the relatives to ‘heal’…

Thanks.

By: puniselva

puniselva — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 07:15:00 +0000

Many forms of art are thriving to very sophisticated levels in the South.There is a parallel in cimicjaffna.lk.
Go to the meetings of local women’s groups in the North and you will know the reality.

By: puniselva

puniselva — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 06:50:00 +0000

In reply to S.R.H. Hoole. Thank you: ''majority religious culture is imposed on religious minorities as THEIR culture in the name of unity''

By: Groundviews

Groundviews — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 02:23:00 +0000

In reply to S.R.H. Hoole. Thanks for alerting us - made the change.

By: S.R.H. Hoole

S.R.H. Hoole — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 01:38:00 +0000

Thevasalam would translate as God’s Urine. I think the author meant Thesavalamai (the ways of the land).

At a cursory level the arts indeed unite. However, at a deeper level, they also divide when the majority religious culture is imposed on religious minorities as THEIR culture in the name of unity as done by the Centre for Performing Arts and Fr. Saveri. It is a tragedy when such hegemonic imposition of culture is passed on as liberal sharing.

A better example of sharing is the passion play by Fr. Joe Mary, SJ in Batticaloa set to non-religious Eastern Province art forms (Kooththu) and enjoyed by all communities at the Batticaloa Esplanade without any theological compromise.