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.
Transcript and translations
Language
Subjects discussed
I said I'd like to be a dancer, a singer, film star.
Hello! Good Morning Jezima Umma.
You’re home? Okay I’ve come to do the interview. I’m at the gate.
Could you turn the fan down please? Turn it off.
Because you have been involved with Muslim women’s issues over the course of your career, I was curious as to where, those ideas came from. Where did that sense of what means to be a woman.
My father. Because someone told my father, you’re a Muslim man. You must carry your life, with great dignity and all that. But then, you only have three girls. You don’t have the…You know the men spar… Yeah, I don’t want this. I will educate my girls, the way they will be powerful, and there’ll be only women.
Any woman who wanted help, my father was there, because he said they have something in them that is far more powerful than anything else. So, my father gave me the ideal of a woman.
Only thing they went against was my politics.
I wanted to get into politics, and I was put on the national list also.
That they said go ahead but we don’t help. And I, I need family help. My family was a strong family. And my sisters, none of them. “But go ahead, we won’t stand in your way, but we won’t help you on the way”. So that was one and another one was now even my mother — very strong.
My father worked with the British. And the British head, I think from England, from headquarters they wrote a letter to my father,
“We hear your wife is very active in politics.”
The moment elections start my mother, my father could cry from the rooftop, but she would turn her house into an election house and teach the women
how to vote and that sort of thing. So they said interfering in elections and that’s not done.
So my father called my mother and told her, well you have to behave. [She] said “Why should I give it up? I am a Muslim woman. I have my rights, and this is one of my rights. But, if you want me to give up, divorce me.”
That was it. And she carried on. The British had to shut their mouths. They didn’t say anything after that. That’s how it goes. That’s how the story goes.
There was a lot against them. They weren’t allowed to go to the inner chambers of the mosque. In fact they had put a board one day at Dematagaha.
That no woman [is] admitted into this thing. Then, three or four men from
there came to my school. I was in the office and they said, this is happening. So I took the phone and rang the minister. [I said] “In, say one hour, [if] that board is not out, we will come.” Then he said, “No no. I mean, I can’t do much in one hour.” Then I said “How many hours do you need?” Then he said, “No, just let me have some time.” [I said] “Okay. Three hours. Maximum.” Then I told a few women who were there, to come here at such and such a time. They needn’t come because [within] one hour the board was removed. So, that was that.
And you know, we were treated badly. When…husband died… They have strict… Only to read the koran. Four and a half months inside the house.
You know, like that, and then, yeah yeah, when we went out, [on] crowded days even, men separate, women separate. It was a question of isolation.
They did suffer silently. But, fortunately for me, I had the opportunities
because I was principal of Muslim Ladies [College]. I founded a number of NGOs. I worked with other NGOs. I worked in the Public Service Commission,
Human Rights Commission. All that I worked.
Because, I remember, sixty-eight years of my life, I spent out. Like from seven in the morning [to] seven in the evening. Then I’ll come in between for my children’s studies, this and that. But, it was my work.
The words, very simple. What they used, and feelings also very simple, and it was absolute folk music in that sense of the word.
I sing a lot.
So I, I also, you know got the songs and put the tune to them and… Sainthamaruthu is a great cultural centre, and Akkaraipattu more academically, the women particularly, are very well versed in
you know in the literary, in the arts. And, very well.
I remember now we have our kathams. Before they eat their meal the women just automatically get up.
I used to wait for those, you know, kathams, after eating and all.
There is, a certain amount of optimism that comes in. Generally with death
you [are] a little pessimistic. The amount of optimism, and also a certain amount of spirituality, thinking. The words were all full of thought.
My father saw to it that I learned Western dancing, Eastern dancing, singing. We got, he got musicians from India to teach us singing, western singing, all that he did. And then when he asked me what my ambition was. I said I’d like to be a dancer, singer, film star. Oh my god. There was no limit to the horizon that I was seeking.
That’s the day he said, no dancing, no costumes. All that ruled out, and he wanted me to go to, of course university. That I said okay, I will go. But…
Even now I’ve…Like every day, for about two hours, the tape recorder is on. Today I think we were going to have H. R. Jothipala’s. All the languages I sing. So I sing for about two hours in the morning every day.
Because, I feel happy, and I like the tunes. So…
Could you sing us a song that takes you back to your hometown and those old memories?
There is a song I…My father was the head of the river valleys. And they opened the river valleys under the Colombo plan. And they had to have a song in, English, Sinhalese and Tamil. So that moment he said, “Will you sing?” I said ‘Okay.”
Then, I sang but i think SLBC has lost it. But I have it. That goes like this. Don’t know whether I can sing now.
♪ We will supply water ♪
♪ And give life to our motherland ♪
♪ We will supply water ♪
♪ And give life to our motherland ♪
♪ Sorabora, Minneri tanks ♪
♪ Thabo, Ridee… ♪
♪ Gal Oya…♪
♪ We will sing … most beautiful. ♪
♪ We will supply water ♪
♪ And give life to our motherland ♪
♪ The Kalu, Kelani ♪
♪ Walawe, Mahaweli ♪
♪ Nilwala rivers ♪
♪ There we … ♪
So that song was in Tamil as well?
♪ [Jezima sings in Tamil]
Beautiful. Who wrote those lyrics?
Who wrote them? One of the engineers.
Really? Wow!
Talented, they were. Quite a number of the engineers were Tamil. And very clever. Those days engineers were really bright sparks. And for them, [for] all their occasions, I used to sing.
I said I'd like to be a dancer, a singer, film star.
හලෝ!
සුභ උදෑසනක් ජෙසිමා උම්මා. ඔයා ගෙදර ද? හරි. මම සාකච්ඡාව කරන්න ඇවිල්ලා ඉන්නේ. මම ගේට්ටුව ළඟ ඉන්නවා.
ෆෑන් එක පොඩ්ඩක් නිවන්න? මාළු ද? නෑ?
නෑ, මැඩම්.
හත. ෆෑන් එක. ඕෆ් කරන්න. ඔව්. ඕෆ් කරන්න. හරි.
මොකද, ඔබ සම්බන්ධ වෙලා තියෙන නිසා, මුස්ලිම් කාන්තාවන්ගේ ගැටළු [විසඳීමට] ඔබේ වෘත්තීය කාලය පුරාවට, මම කුතුහලයෙන් හිටියේ, ඒ අදහස් කොහෙන්ද ආවේ කියලා. කොහෙන්ද ඒ කාන්තාවක් වීම කියන එකෙන් අදහස් කරන්නේ මොකද්ද කියන හැඟීම ආවේ?
මගේ තාත්තා. මොකද, කවුද මගේ තාත්තට කියලා තිබුණා, ‘ඔබ මුස්ලිම් පිරිමියෙක්. ඔබ ඔබේ ජීවිතය ගෙනියන්න ඕනේ, ඉමහත් ගෞරවයෙන්’ වගේ දේවල්. ‘හැබැයි , ඔබට ඉන්නේ ගැහැණු ළමයි තුන් දෙනෙක් විතරයි. ඔබට නැහැ…’ දන්නවා නේ පිරිමි අයගේ බලපුළුවන්කාර කම. ‘ඔව්, මට මේක ඕනේ නෑ. මම මගේ ගැහැණු දරුවන්ට උගන්වනවා, ඒ අය බලවත් වෙන විදිහට, ඊට පස්සෙ කාන්තාවෝ විතරක් ඉඳියි.
උදව් ඕන වුණාම ඕනෙම කාන්තාවකට, මගේ තාත්තා එතන හිටියා. මොකද ඔහු කිව්වා ඒ [කාන්තාවන්] තුළ තියෙනවා දෙයක් වෙන කිසිම දේකට වඩා බලවත්, කියලා. ඉතින්, මගේ තාත්තා මට දුන්නා කාන්තාවකගේ පරමාදර්ශය. මගේ දේශපාලනයට විතරයි ඒගොල්ලෝ විරුද්ධ වුණේ. මට දේශපාලනයට එකතු වෙන්න උවමනා වුණා. මාව ජාතික ලැයිස්තුවටත් එකතු කළා. ඒ ගොල්ලෝ කිව්වා කරගෙන යන්න කියලා හැබැයි අපි උදව් කරන්නේ නෑ කියලා. ඉතින් මට, මට පවුලේ උදව් අවශ්යයි. මගේ පවුල හරිම ශක්තිමත් පවුලක්. මගේ සොහොයුරියෝ, කවුරුත් කැමති නෑ. ඒ වුණාට, ‘කරගෙන යන්න, අපි පාර හරස් කරන්නේ නෑ, හැබැයි අපි උදවු කරන්නෙත් නෑ.’ එතකොට ඒක එකක්. තව එකක් තමයි, දැන් අපේ අම්මා වුණත් — හරිම ශක්තිමත්. මගේ තාත්තා බ්රිතාන්ය රජයත් එක්ක වැඩ කරා. එතකොට බ්රිතාන්ය ලොක්කා, මම හිතන්නේ එංගලන්තෙන්, මූලස්ථානයේ ඉඳලා මගේ තාත්තට ලියුමක් ලිව්වා, ‘අපිට දැනගන්න ලැබුණා ඔබේ බිරිඳ දේශපාලන වැඩ කරනවා කියලා.’ මැතිවරණ පටන් ගත්තු මොහොතෙම මගේ අම්මා, තාත්තාට වහලේ ඉඳං ඇඬුවත්, එයාගේ ගෙදර ලෑස්ති කරනවා මැතිවරණ නිවසක් විදිහට, ඊට පස්සේ කාන්තාවන්ට ඡන්ද දාන හැටි ඉඳලා කියලා දෙනවා. ඉතින් ඒගොල්ලෝ කිව්වා ඒක හරි නෑ, ඒ මැතිවරණවලට ඇඟිලි ගහනවා කියලා ඉතින් මගේ තාත්තා අම්මට කතාකරලා කිව්වා, ඉතින් ඔයා හොඳට හැසිරෙන්න කියලා. [අම්මා] කිව්වා ‘ඇයි මම ඒක අතහරින්නේ? මම මුස්ලිම් ගැහැණියක්. මට මගේ අයිතීන් තියෙනවා, මේක මගේ අයිතියක්. හැබැයි, මම මේක අතහරින එක ඔයාට ඕනෙ නම්, මාව දික්කසාද කරන්න.’ ඒ කතාව එතනින් ඉවරයි. අම්මා දිගටම වැඩ කරගෙන ගියා. බ්රිතාන්යයට කට වහගෙන ඉන්න වුණා. ඊට පස්සේ එහෙන් කිසි දෙයක් කිව්වේ නෑ. ඒක එහෙම තමයි වුණේ. එහෙම තමයි කතාව සිද්ධ වුණේ.
ඒගොල්ලන්ට විරුද්ධව ගොඩක් දේවල් තිබුණා. පල්ලියේ ඇතුලත කාමරවලට ඒගොල්ලන්ට යන්න ඉඩ දුන්නේ නැහැ. ඇත්තටම, දවසක් දෙමටගහ බෝඩ් එකක් එල්ලලා තිබුණා. කිසිම කාන්තාවකට මේකට ඇතුළුවෙන්න බැහැ කියලා. ඊට පස්සේ, එතන පිරිමි තුන් හතර දෙනෙක් මගේ පාසැලට ආවා. මම කාර්යාලයේ ඉන්නකොට ඒ අය කිව්වා, මෙහෙම දෙයක් සිද්ධ වෙනවා කියලා. ඉතින් මම දුරකථනය අරගෙන ඇමතිතුමාට කතා කළා. [මම කිව්වා] ‘පැයකින් විතර, අර බෝඩ් එක ඉවත් කරලා නැත්තම්, අපි එනවා කියලා. එතකොට ඔහු කිව්වා ‘නෑ නෑ, මම කියන්නේ, මට පැයකින් වැඩි දෙයක් කරන්න බැහැ.’ එතකොට මම ඇහුවා ‘පැය කීයක් ඔබට අවශ්ය ද?’ එතකොට ඔහු කිව්වා, ‘නෑ, මට පොඩ්ඩක් වෙලාව දෙන්නකෝ.’ [මම කිව්වා] ‘හරි. පැය තුනක්. උපරිම .’ ඊට පස්සේ එතන හිටපු කාන්තාවන් කිහිප දෙනෙකුට මම විස්තරේ කිව්වා,
මේ තැනට, මේ මේ වෙලාවට එන්න කියලා. ඒ අයට එන්න අවශ්ය වුණේ නෑ, මොකද පැයක් ඇතුලත ඒ බෝඩ් එක ගලවලා. ඉතින්, ඒක එතනින් ඉවරයි.
හැබැයි, දන්නවා නේ, අපිට බොහොම නරක විදිහට සැලකුවා. අපේ… සැමියා මියගියාම. ඔවුන්ට බොහොම දැඩි [නීති] තියෙනවා. කුරානය විතරක් කියවන්න. මාස හතර හමාරක් ගේ ඇතුලෙම. දන්නවා නේ, ඒ වගේ, ඊට පස්සේ, ඔව් ඔව්, අපි එළියට ගියාම, සෙනඟ තියෙන දවස් වලට වුණත්, පිරිමි වෙනම, ගැහැණු වෙනම. එය හුදකලා කිරීම ගැන ප්රශ්නයක්. ඔවුන් නිහඬව දුක් වින්දා. ඒත්, මගේ වාසනාවට, මට අවස්ථා තිබුණා මොකද මම විදුහල්පති ව හිටියා මුස්ලිම් කාන්තා විද්යාලයේ. මම රාජ්ය නොවන සංවිධාන කිහිපයක් ඇරඹුවා. වෙනත් රාජ්ය නොවන සංවිධාන සමඟ වැඩ කළා. මම වැඩ කළා, රාජ්ය සේවා කොමිෂන් සභාව, මානව හිමිකම් කොමිෂන් සභාව, සමඟ ඒ හැම තැනකම මම වැඩ කළා. මොකද, මට මතකයි, මගේ ජීවිතයේ අවුරුදු හැට අටක්, මම ගෙදරින් පිට ගත කළේ. උදේ හතේ ඉඳලා හවස හත වෙනකම්. ඒ අතරමැද මම එනවා ළමයින්ගේ පාඩම් වැඩ, අනිත් වැඩ වලට. ඒත්, ඒ මගේ රාජකාරිය.
ඒ වචන හරි සරලයි. ඒ අය පාවිච්චි කරපු, සහ, හැඟීම් වුණත් හරි සරලයි, සහ, ඒ සම්පූර්ණයෙන් ජන සංගීතය, වචනයේ පරිසමාප්ත අර්ථයෙන්. මම හුඟක් ගීත ගායනා කරනවා. ඉතින් මම, දන්නව නේ, සිංදු ටික අරගෙන, ඒවට තනුව දාලා… සයින්දුමාරුති කියන්නේ වැදගත් සංස්කෘතික කේන්ද්රස්ථානයක්, ඒ වගේම අක්කරෙයිපත්තු වඩාත් ශාස්ත්රාලිය තැනක්, විශේෂයෙන්ම කාන්තාවන්, හොඳින් ඉගෙනගෙන තියෙනවා සාහිත්යමය, කලා ශාස්ත්ර ගැන. ඉතාම හොඳින්. මට මතකයි දැන්, අපේ තියෙනවා කතම්. ඒ අය කෑම ගන්න කලින්, ගැහැණු අය ඉබේටම නැගිටිනවා. මම බලාගෙන ඉන්නේ ඕවා එනකම්, දන්නව නේ, කතම්, කෑමෙන් පස්සේ එහෙම. තියෙනවා, එක්තරා ප්රමාණයක ශුභවාදී හැඟීමක් එන. සාමාන්යයෙන් මරණය එක්ක ඔබ ටිකක් අශුභවාදී වෙනවා. ඒ යම් ප්රමාණයක ශුභවාදී බව, සහ ඒ වගේම යම් ප්රමාණයක ආධ්යාත්මික,චින්තනයක්. ඒ හැම වචනයක් ම හැඟීමෙන් බර වෙලා.
මගේ තාත්තා මට ඉගෙනගන්න සැලැස්වුවා බටහිර නර්තනය, නැගෙනහිර නර්තනය, ගායනය. අපිට ලැබුණා, ඔහු ඉන්දියාවෙන් සංගීතඥයයින් ගෙන්වා ගත්තා අපිට ගායනය උගන්වන්න, බටහිර සංගීතය, ඒ හැම දෙයක්ම ඔහු කළා. ඊට පස්සේ තාත්තා මගෙන් ඇහුවම මගේ අභිලාෂය මොකද්ද කියලා, මම කිව්වා මට නර්ථන ශිල්පියෙක්, ගායිකාවක්, සිනමා තරුවක් වෙන්න ආසයි කියලා. දෙයියනේ. මම හොයපු දිගන්තයට සීමාවක් තිබුණෙම නෑ. එදා තමයි තාත්තා කිව්වේ, නැටුම් නෑ, විසිතුරු ඇඳුම් නෑ, ඒවා ඔක්කොම ඉවරයි, ඊට පස්සෙ තාත්තට උවමනා වුණා මාව විශ්වවිද්යාලයට යවන්න. ඒකට ඉතින් මම කැමති වුණා, මම යන්නම් කිව්වා. ඒත්, දැන් වුණත් මම… හැමදාම වගේ, පැය දෙකකට වගේ, ටේප් රෙකෝඩරේ දාලා තියනවා. අද මම හිතන්නේ අපි අහන්න හිටියේ එච්. ආර්. ජෝතිපාල ගේ ගීත. මම හැම භාෂාවකින්ම ගායනා කරනවා. ඉතින් මම හැමැදාම උදේට පැය දෙකක් විතර ගායනා කරනවා. මොකද, එතකොට මට සංතෝසයි ඒ වගේම මම ඒ තනු වලට ආසයි.
ඉතින්… ඔබට ගීතයක් ගායනා කරන්න පුළුවන් ද අතීතයට ඔබව අරගෙන යන ඔබේ ගමටයි, ඒ පැරණි මතක වලටයි?
එක ගීතයක් තියෙනවා මම… මගේ තාත්තා තමයි ගංගා නිම්න සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය භාරව හිටියේ. ඉතින්, ගංගා නිම්න සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය විවෘත කළේ කොළඹ ක්රමය යටතේ, ඉතින් ඒ අයට ගීතයක් අවශ්ය වුණා, ඉංග්රීසි, සිංහල, සහ දෙමළෙන්. ඉතින් ඒ මොහොතේ තාත්තා ඇහුවා ‘ඔයා ගායනා කරනවද?’ මම ‘හා’ කිව්වා. ඊට පස්සේ, මම ගායනා කළා, මම හිතන්නේ ඒක ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව අතින් නැති වුණාට, මම ළඟ තියෙනවා. ඒක මෙහෙම තමයි තිබුණේ. දන්නේ නෑ දැන් මට කියන්න පුළුවන්ද කියලා.
ජලසම්පාදන කරලා
ජීවය දෙමු අප මව්බිමටා.
ජලසම්පාදන කරලා
ජීවය දෙමු අප මව්බිමටා.
සොරබොර, මින්නේරී
තාබෝවද, රිදී බැඳී
ගල් ඔය, වකනේරී
ගයමු, කිරිඳි, අති රමණී.
ජලසම්පාදන කරලා
ජීවය දෙමු අප මව්බිමටා.
කළු ගං කල්යාණී
වළවේ මහාවැලී
ගංගාවෝ නිල්වලා
එහි අපි නිරතුරු වැඩකරනා.
ඒ ගීතය දෙමළ භාෂාවෙනුත් තිබුණද?
[ගීතය දෙමළ බසින්]
ලස්සනයි. කව්ද ඒක රචනා කළේ?
කව්ද ලිව්වේ? ඉන්ජිනේරුවෙක්.
ඇත්තටම? පුදුමයි!
හරි දක්ෂයි ඒ අය. ඒ හුඟක් ඉන්ජිනේරුවෝ දෙමළ අය. හරිම දක්ෂයි. ඒ දවස්වල ඉන්ජිනේරුවෝ . හරිම නුවණැති අය. ඒ අයට, ඒ අයගේ විශේෂ අවස්ථා වලදී මම ගායනා කරනවා.
I said I'd like to be a dancer, a singer, film star.
வணக்கம். ஓம், காலை வணக்கம் ஜெஸிமா உம்மா. நீங்கள் வீட்ட இருக்கிறீங்களா? ஆ.. சரி, நான் நேர்காணல் எடுக்க வந்திருக்கிறன்.நான் வாசலில நிக்கிறன். சரி.இந்த மின்விசிறியை கொஞ்சம் நிப்பாட்டுறிங்களா?
நிப்பாட்டட்டா? ஓம் நிப்பாட்டுங்கோ.சரி.
நீங்கள் முஸ்லீம் பெண்களுடைய பிரச்சினைகள் தொடர்பாகப் பணியாற்றியிருக்கிறீர்கள். அதற்கான எண்ணம் எங்கிருந்து தோன்றியது? அது எங்கிருந்து வந்தது? என்னுடைய தந்தைஇடமிருந்து. யாரோ என் தந்தைக்குச் சொன்னார்கள், நீர் ஒரு முஸ்லிம் ஆண். உங்களுடைய வாழ்க்கையை கௌரவத்தோடு வாழவேண்டும். ஆனால் உங்களுக்கு மூன்றும் பெண் பிள்ளைகள். ஆண் பிள்ளை இல்லையே? அதனாலென்ன? எனக்கு அது தேவையில்லை. நான் என் பிள்ளைகளைப் படிக்க வைப்பேன். அவர்கள் வலிமையான பெண்களாகும்படி வளர்ப்பேன். எந்தப் பெண்ணுக்கு உதவி தேவைப்பட்டாலும் எனது தந்தை உதவி செய்தார். அவர் சொன்னார், பெண்களிடம் எல்லாவற்றையும் விடப் பெரிய சக்தி உள்ளது. ஒரு பெண் எப்படி இருக்கவேண்டும் என்று என் தந்தைதான் எனக்குக் காட்டினார். ஒரு விடயம் மட்டும்தான் அவருக்குப் பிடிக்கவில்லை. நான் அரசியலில் ஈடுபட விரும்பினேன். என்னைத் தேசியப் பட்டியலிலும் போட்டார்கள். “நீங்கள் ஈடுபடுங்கள்”. “நாங்கள் உதவமாட்டோம்” என்றார்கள். எனக்கு குடும்பத்தின் உதவி தேவை. என்னுடைய குடும்பம் ஒரு நெருக்கமான குடும்பம். என்னுடைய சகோதரிகள் ஒருவரும் உதவவில்லை. ஆனால் நீ செய். நாங்கள் உன்னைத் தடுக்கமாட்டோம். ஆனால் உதவி செய்ய மாட்டோம். அது ஒன்று. மற்றொன்று, என்னுடைய அம்மா மிக உறுதியானவர். தந்தை ஆங்கிலேயர்களிடம் வேலை செய்தார். பிரித்தானிய தலைமை தந்தைக்கு ஒரு கடிதம் எழுதினார்கள். நாங்கள் கேள்விப்படுகிறோம், உங்கள் மனைவி அரசியலில் தீவிரமாக இயங்குகிறார். தேர்தல் தொடங்கியதும் தந்தை விரும்பாவிடடாலும் . உம்மா வீட்டைத் தேர்தல் அலுவலமாகவே மாற்றிவிட்டார். பெண்களுக்கு வாக்களிக்க சொல்லிக்கொடுத்தார். அவர்கள் உம்மா தேர்தலில் தலையிடுகிறார் என்று சொன்னார்கள். வாப்பா உம்மாவை அரசியல் வேலைகளை நிறுத்தச் சொன்னார். “நான் ஏன் நிறுத்தவேண்டும்? நிறுத்த முடியாது ” என்றார் அம்மா. “அப்படியென்றால் என்னை விவாகரத்து செய்யுங்கள்” என்றார் அம்மா. அவ்வளவுதான். அவர் தொடர்ந்து அரசியல் செய்தார். ஆங்கிலேயர்கள் வாயை மூடிக்கொண்டார்கள். அதுதான் கதை.
அவர்களுக்கு நிறைய எதிர்ப்பிருந்தது. பள்ளிவாசலிற்குள் அவர்களை விடவில்லை. பெண்கள் அனுமதிக்கப் பட மாட்டார்கள் என்று ஒரு அறிவிப்பு பலகை வைத்தார்கள். மூன்று நான்கு பெண்கள் எனது பாடசாலைக்கு வந்தார்கள். நான் அலுவலகத்தில் இருந்தேன். அவர்கள் சொன்னார்கள் இது நடக்கிறது. நான் உடனே அமைச்சரைத் தொலைபேசியில் அழைத்தேன். “ஒரு மணி நேரத்தில் அந்த அறிவிப்பு அகற்றப்பாடாவிடில் நாங்கள் அங்கே வருவோம்” என்றேன். ” இல்லை, ஒரு மணி நேரத்தில் நாங்கள் என்ன செய்யலாம்” என்றார். “உங்களுக்கு எத்தனை மணித்தியாலம் தேவை ” நான் கேட்டேன். “கொஞ்சம் நேரம் கொடுங்கள்”. ” சரி மூன்று மணிநேரம்”. அதன் பிறகு நான் அந்தப் பெண்களை இந்த நேரத்திற்கு வாருங்கள். ஒரு மணிநேரத்தில் அறிவிப்பு அகற்றப்பட்டுவிட்டது.
எங்களை மோசமாக நடத்தினார்கள். கணவர் இறந்தால், நான்கரை மாதங்கள் வீட்டிற்குள்ளே இருக்கவேண்டும். வெளியே போனால் ஆண்கள் தனியே பெண்கள் தனியே போகவேண்டும். இது தனிமைப்படுத்தல் மற்றும் ஒதுக்கிவைத்தல். அவர்கள் சத்தமில்லாமல் கஷ்டப் படடார்கள்.
அதிஷ்டவசமாக எனக்கு வாய்ப்புகள் கிடைத்தன. நான் முஸ்லீம் பெண்கள் பாடசாலையின் அதிபர். பல NGOகளை உருவாக்கினேன். மற்ற NGOகளுடன் பணியாற்றினேன். பொதுச்சேவை ஆணைக்குழு, மனித உரிமை ஆணைக்குழு என்பவற்றில் பணியாற்றினேன். என் வாழ்வின் 68 வருடங்கள் நான் களப்பணி ஆற்றினேன். காலை 7 மணி முதல் மாலை 7 மணி வரை. இடையில் பிள்ளைகளின் படிப்பிற்காக கொஞ்சநேரம் வீட்டிற்கு வருவேன். ஆனால் அதுதான் எனது வேலை.
அந்த சொற்கள் மிக எளிமையானவை. பாடுவதற்கும் எளிமையானவை. அது தூய்மையான நாட்டார் பாடல். நான் நிறைய பாடுவேன். இசை சேர்த்துப் பாடுவேன்.
சாய்ந்தமருது ஒரு அருமையான கலாசார மையம். அக்கரைப்பற்று கல்விக்கு பேர்போனது. குறிப்பாக பெண்கள் கலையிலும் கல்வியிலும் சிறந்து விளங்கினார்கள். இப்போதெல்லாம் உணவுக்கு முந்திய பிரார்த்தனைகளுக்கு பெண்கள் தாமாகவே எழுந்துவிடுகிறார்கள். நானெல்லாம் முன்னர் சாப்பிட்ட பிறகு காத்திருந்திருக்கிறேன். இப்போது நம்பிக்கை பிறக்கிறது. பொதுவாக மரணம் எதிர்மறையான எண்ணத்தைக் கொடுக்கும். ஆனால் கொஞ்சம் நேர்மறை மற்றும் ஆன்மீக எண்ணங்களையும் தரும். அர்த்தமுள்ள வார்த்தைகள். எனது தந்தை எனக்கு மேற்கத்தைய நடனம், இந்திய நடனம், இசை எல்லாம் கற்பித்தார். இந்தியாவிலிருந்து இசைக் கலைஞர்களைக் கொண்டுவந்து கற்பித்தார். எனது இலட்சியம் என்ன என்று கேட்டிட போது, நான் நடனக் கலைஞர், பாடகர், திரைப்பட நட்ச்சத்திரமாக வேண்டும் என்றேன். கடவுளே எனது கனவுகளுக்கு எல்லைகளே இருக்கவில்லை. அந்தநாளில் அவர் சொன்னார், “நாட்டியம் வேண்டாம், பாட்டு வேண்டாம், வேடங்கள் வேண்டாம” என்னை பல்கலைக்கழகம் போகச் சொன்னார். நான் போகிறேன் என்றேன். இப்போதும் ஒரு இரண்டுமணிநேரமாவது பாடல் கேட்பேன். இன்று ஜோதிபாலாவின் பாடல்கள் பட இருந்தேன். நான் எல்லா மொழிகளிலும் பாடுவேன். ஒவ்வொருநாளும் காலையில் நான் இரண்டுமணிநேரம் பாடுவேன். எனக்கு மகிழ்ச்சியாய் இருக்கும். அந்த மெட்டுக்கள் எனக்குப் பிடிக்கும்.
“எங்களுக்கா ஒரு பாடல் பாட முடியுமா? உங்களின் ஊர், குடும்ப நினைவுகளை மீட்டும் பாடல் ஒன்று? “
ஒரு பாடல் இருக்கிறது. எனது தந்தை ஆற்றுச் சமவெளியின் தலைவராக இருந்தார். கொழும்புத் திட்டத்தின் கீழ் ஆற்றுச் சமவெளிகளைத் திறந்தார்கள். அதற்கு ஆங்கிலம், சிங்களம் மற்றும் தமிழில் ஒரு பாடல் இருந்தது. அந்தநேரம் பாடுவாயா என்று கேட்டார்? பாடுகிறேன் என்றேன். SLBC அதைத் தொலைத்து விட்டது,ஆனால் என்னிடம் இருக்கிறது. இப்படிப் போகும். இப்போது என்னால் பாட முடியுமோ தெரியாது.
“அந்தப் பாடல் தமிழிலும் இருந்ததா? “
“ஆம்”
“அருமை. யார் இந்தப் பாடலை எழுதியவர்?”
“பொறியியலாளர்களில் ஒருவர்”
“உண்மையாகவா?”
“ஆம். மிகவும் திறமையானவர்கள்”
“பல பொறியியலாளர்கள் தமிழர்கள். மிகவும் கெட்டிக்காரர்கள்”
“அந்தக் காலத்தில் பொறியியலாளர்கள் மிகவும் கெட்டிக்காரரர்கள்”.
“நான் எல்லாச் சந்தர்ப்பங்களிலும் பாடுவேன்”
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