Featured Portrait
More inspirational elders
Mary Akka is a seettu collector living in Chunnakam, Jaffna. She spoke to me about her life as a trans woman in the 80s and 90s, in the de facto state of Tamil of Tamil Eelam and the hurdles that she had to overcome in order to get access to gender affirming care.
Interview language: தமிழ்
The Intenational Aunty
Mani Pathmarajah
Mani Pathmarajah is a founding member of the Tamil Co-op located in Toronto, Canada. She recalls the life she left in Sri Lanka to create a source of housing and support for refugees in Canada.
Interview language: English
Born in Sainthamaruthu on the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka, Jezima Ismail went on to become an educator, broadcaster, social activist and an advocate for human rights. She served as Principal of Muslim Ladies College, Colombo for 13 years from 1975 to 1988. She was the first woman to be appointed as the head of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation where she had worked as a broadcaster. She founded the Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum in 1976. In 1989, the Government of Sri Lanka conferred on her the title of Deshabandhu, the third highest national honour
Interview language: English
The Artist
Chandragupta Thenuwara
Chandraguptha Thenuwara is an activist that uses art as his medium of protest. Known for his unapologetic critique of successive governments, Thenuwara recalls his journey in the art world and how his name became synonymous with activist driven, contemporary art in Sri Lanka. Interview conducted with Minal Naomi Wickrematunge.
Interview language: English
About the I am project
“The I Am project has sat on my desktop browser for almost a decade. I use it as an inspiration for writing, as a procrastination when not writing, and as a place to go and simply listen.” — Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of The Booker Prize 2022
The project covers themes like reconciliation, conflict, faith, family and occupation. It ultimately seeks an answer to the question: what does it mean to be Sri Lankan? And discovers that it is not monolithic, but a diverse tapestry of many ethnicities, languages, faiths, beliefs and ways of life.
— The I Am project