Featured Portrait

The Sportsman
Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam

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.

Interview language: English

More inspirational elders

The Actor
Manikkam

From a young age, Manikkam was determined to emulate the life of M.G. Ramachandran (or MGR), one of the most renowned and prolific Tamil film actors of the 20th century. Manikkam found his calling as a natami, joining the organised community of cart pullers who transport goods through the bustling lanes of Pettah, Colombo’s commercial district. Inspired by MGR’s iconic screen presence, Manikkam is always dressed in costumes reminiscent of the actor’s many films, gaining him fans across the world.

Interview language: සිංහල

Seettu Akka
Mary Akka

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 International 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

The Path Clearer
Jezima Ismail

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

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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

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