13 Portraits of elders in Jaffna

The Sportsman

Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam

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On the day Sri Lankan Tamil high jumper Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam won the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1958, communal riots broke out in Colombo, and he was left feeling torn: "I felt I am not there, and here I am putting Sri Lanka in the sports headlines." Ethirveerasingam is a former high jumper who represented Ceylon at two summer Olympic games in Helsinki in 1952 and again in Melbourne in 1956. He won the gold medal at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, the first gold medal of any kind for Sri Lanka (Ceylon). He talks about his career in international athletics, and how he became a go-between during the ceasefire between the Bandaranaike/Wickremesinghe government of the day and the Tamil Tigers.

Recorded: February 27, 2023
Interviewer: Kannan Arunasalam, Mark Salter
Published: November 19, 2023
Main story:
Because I was the sportsman
40 listens
1 comments
Subjects discussed:
Community, Culture, Home, Muslim issues
There is also 1 supporting story

The Activist

Dominic Jeeva

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The poet and writer, Dominic Jeeva, talks about growing up with caste, and why, despite its many flaws, he’s still proud to be a Jaffna man. 

Recorded: November 26, 2010
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 13, 2023
Main story:
This wounded me so much. I still feel it. 
Subjects discussed:
Caste, Community, Diaspora, Faith, Home
There are also 8 supporting stories

The Taxi Driver

J. Jegatheeswaran

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Esan has been driving passengers around Jaffna in his trusty Morris Oxford for nearly twenty years. He remembers the times of scarcity following government embargoes on fuel and the need to adapt to survive. 

Recorded: November 26, 2010
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 4, 2023
Main story:
So mine was the only car running
Subjects discussed:
Conflict, Occupation, Reconciliation
There is also 1 supporting story

The Chief Priest

Sri Nagulesawara Kurrukkal

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Sri Nagulesawara Kurrukkal, the chief priest at the Nagulesawaran temple at Keeramalai, talks about the impact of the war on the temple and the changes brought about since the end of hostilities.

Recorded: November 15, 2010
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 4, 2023
Main story:
We used to have a temple like that.
Subjects discussed:
Conflict, Faith, Reconciliation
There are also 4 supporting stories

The Tobacco Farmer

Veerakathy

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The 105-year-old Veerakathy is very likely the oldest man in Jaffna. The tobacco farmer from Velanai has already outlived six of his sons. He talks about a Jaffna way of life that has helped him live a very long life.

Recorded: October 25, 2010
Photographer : Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 3, 2023
Main story:
But I am still here
Subjects discussed:
Family, Occupation, Travel

The Other

T. Arasanayagam

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T. Arasanayagam, poet and English teacher, talks about his childhood in Jaffna and his discovery of “the other”. He also reflects on his experiences of violence up close in Kandy. 

Recorded: February 23, 2011
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam, Menika van der Poorten
Published: August 3, 2023
Main story:
I made you the other
10159 listens
2 comments
Subjects discussed:
Caste, Conflict, Home, Occupation, Reconciliation
There are also 6 supporting stories

The Community Doctor

Dr N. Sivarajah

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Dr Sivarajah is an expert in community medicine and a lecturer at the University of Jaffna. He reflects on the last thirty years of living in Jaffna and how the challenges keep him on the peninsula.

Recorded: February 8, 2011
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 3, 2023
Main story:
Even with the so-called terrorists, it’s possible to fight back
11624 listens
4 comments
Subjects discussed:
Community, Conflict, Home, Occupation
There are also 7 supporting stories

The Nun

Sister Pushpam Gnanapragasam

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Sister Pushpam Gnanapragasam reflects on the Jaffna identity. And when the first French missionaries arrived in Jaffna and the role the nuns played during the last months of the war.

Recorded: December 31, 2010
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 3, 2023
Main story:
Jaffna people are always saying “our people”.
11026 listens
3 comments
Subjects discussed:
Caste, Conflict, Faith, Home, Reconciliation
There are also 6 supporting stories

The Poet

Somasundramoillai Pathmanathan

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Poet and teacher, Somasundramoillai Pathmanathan, or “Sopa”, remembers the days when the baker in Jaffna was Sinhalese and the tailor was Muslim. He reflects on the hardships people of Jaffna faced over decades or war.

Recorded: December 4, 2010
Photographer : Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 3, 2023
Main story:
The people never wanted the Muslims to go
22312 listens
11 comments
Subjects discussed:
Conflict, Displacement, Faith, Occupation, Reconciliation
There are also 5 supporting stories

The Union Leader

Bala Tampoe

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Bala Tampoe has been the head of the Ceylon Mercantile Industrial and General Workers Union for over fifty years. He talks about the psychology behind a successful strike and his identity as a workers’ leader. (Interview recorded in Colombo.)

Recorded: February 13, 2010
Photographer : Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 2, 2023
Main story:
The fundamental thing in any struggle is morale. 
73124 listens
6 comments
Subjects discussed:
Home, Occupation, Politics
There are also 6 supporting stories

The Dove Keeper

Mohammed Yassin

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Mohammed Yassin was expelled along with over five thousand other Muslim families from the Jaffna peninsula. He talks about the day that changed his life and his return to his hometown.

Recorded: November 2, 2010
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: August 2, 2023
Main story:
All the Muslim people, you must leave Jaffna
19536 listens
10 comments
Subjects discussed:
Conflict, Home, Reconciliation
There are also 2 supporting stories

The Bishop

Rt. Rev. Thomas Saundaranayagam

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Jaffna’s Bishop, Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Saundaranayagam, reflects on Jaffna’s earlier relationship with the south, the ruptures that threatened it, and the potential for reconciliation.

Recorded: November 11, 2010
Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: July 23, 2023
Main story:
There was no anxiety, there was no conflict 
10283 listens
4 comments
Subjects discussed:
Black July, Conflict, Faith, Occupation, Reconciliation
There are also 5 supporting stories

The Independent

Mrs Subramanium

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Mrs Subramanium is the personal assistant to the head of one of Jaffna’s most popular newspapers. She reflects on her approach to life and death and why, despite the constant pleas from her diasporan family, she refuses to leave Jaffna.

Recorded: July 16, 2010
Photography: Kannan Arunasalam
Published: March 13, 2023
Main story:
Simplicity is the mark of genius
37333 listens
18 comments
Subjects discussed:
Culture, Death, Diaspora, Family, Home
There are also 6 supporting stories