Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
10 April 2017
Living with our Ghosts
I was making Thosai (Pancake) for my
husband of Vaddukoddai this morning and I made it the way he liked it – Jaffna style.
Even though I grew up in Jaffna the Thosai at our home was Indian Thosai – and I
learnt to make that Thosai from my
mother. My paternal grandmother from Araly in Northern Sri Lanka is likely to
have made Thosai – the Jaffna way. Even though I consider my grandmother an
outstanding homemaker and seek her blessings from time to time, my taste is as
per my mother’s grooming. In essence I
am able to make Jaffna Thosai as well as Indian Thosai as per my current
environment because I carry the Divine Spirit
of my ancestors but not directly the benefits
earned by them which become haunting Shades / Ghosts when we take them outside
their natural environments.
The above thought about the Jaffna Thosai
came to mind when one of my fans responded as follows to my article headed ‘Educating our Educated Tamil CM ?’:
[The writer is entitled to her opinion. But
she is humbly requested to reconsider her opinion in comparing the Indian
political King Maker K.Kamaraj with Mr.Mavai Senathiraja. Kamaraj is not a
higher mountain but a mountain without comparison and cannot be compared
to Mavai Senathiraja.
Pardon
me for my thoughts that differ.]
Due to the ongoing expressions of faith
indicated by the responder I took it seriously and responded as follows:
[The
responder is confirming that he is Tamil. I am Sri Lankan of Tamil
origin. Hence I accepted the description of author of the article ‘Manekshaw’
that Mr. Senathirajah was kingmaker. That was the Common footing for my
article. Unless I know of a kingmaker more eligible than Mr. Senathirajah
from within the Sri Lankan Tamil community, I am wasting my ‘vote’ to
name a kingmaker. Those of us fighting for self-determination as Sri Lankan
Tamils must demonstrate our independence and not relate with Indian Tamils or
even Diaspora Tamils. If I am a kingmaker in my own environment then I have the
right to contribute at policy level. Not otherwise. ]
Using the Thosai example to the above
analysis – Jaffna Thosai is the best for my husband. Indian Thosai is the best
for me. Even though Thosai, as per my knowledge originated in India – Indian Thosai
is not superior to Jaffna Thosai in our global home.
A person who has realized her/his
independence / sovereignty through a particular structure and its pathway would
have the natural powers to motivate the person in that position, genuinely
seeking to do good – to function through that position. That person becomes the
kingmaker.
All my grandchildren love my Rotti. (Indian
bread) My youngest granddaughter Anika Springford said once ‘Your first name is Rotti and your last name is Patti (grandmother).’ Again another time when I pulled up my
grandchildren – especially our eldest for separating from adult company – the youngest
waited until I was calm; then walked up to me, picked up my hand and kissed it.
That child to me is a ‘mother maker’ more than any other younger member of my
family.
The Hon Kumaraswami Kamraj – whether he was
recognized or not – was a kingmaker for parallel reasons. He gave up school
education to support the family. Mr. Kamraj genuinely followed Gandhi. In Spiritual
India he became kingmaker for which one has to have genuinely developed the
skills needed in King’s position but since there could be only one king – that person
channels her/his skills through the person holding the King’s position and/or
develops and maintains the position itself. The gap in positions become ‘Divine
Spirit / Energy’ as per the laws of Nature.
As per our Australian National Anthem we
are not only ‘Young and Free’ but confirm that we are committed to inscribing ‘In history's page, let every
stage Advance Australia Fair.’ In terms of official relationships Australia would be
classified as junior to England. But once majority of us are able to claim that we are ‘free’ due to our
sacrifices to remain in this part of the world, despite the loss of social and
professional support we are Equal to England and are no longer juniors. This is
highlighted as follows:
["Advance Australia Fair" was composed in
the late 19th century by Peter Dodds McCormick under the
pen-name "Amicus" (which means "friend" in Latin). It was
first performed by Andrew Fairfax at a Highland
Society function in Sydney on 30 November 1878. The song
quickly gained popularity and an amended version was sung by a choir of around
10,000 at the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1
January 1901. In 1907 the Australian Government awarded McCormick £100 for his
composition.
In a letter to R.B. Fuller, dated 1 August 1913,
McCormick described the circumstances that inspired him to write "Advance
Australia Fair":
One night I attended a great concert in the Exhibition
Building, when all the National Anthems of the world were to be sung by a large
choir with band accompaniment. This was very nicely done, but I felt very
aggravated that there was not one note for Australia. On the way home in a bus,
I concocted the first verse of my song & when I got home I set it to music.
I first wrote it in the Tonic Sol-fa notation, then transcribed it into the Old
Notation, & I tried it over on an instrument next morning, & found it
correct. Strange to say there has not been a note of it altered since. Some
alteration has been made in the wording, but the sense is the same. It seemed
to me to be like an inspiration, & I wrote the words & music with the
greatest ease.] Wikipedia
The anthem would generate different forms of thoughts in each Australian mind. But to those who realized ‘freedom’ in Australia – the Common meaning would be to Advance ‘Fairness’ at every stage of our history. We would identify with this, if we were truly Australians. Often junior migrants have to work harder than senior migrants and/or indigenous Australians to maintain our sense of independence that we had enjoyed in the past. The above Australian the Hon Peter Dodds McCormick must have felt the pain due to such challenges.
Sri Lankan leaders on both sides of this
ethnic conflict originally came from India. Hence the conflict could be
described as heritage of Indian Politics where Northern India dominates over
Southern India. Using the analysis as per Australian-English example, Sinhalese who disconnect from India would be
the parallels of Australians driven by ‘White-Australia’ Policy. Likewise
Tamils who disconnected from India and its Spiritual values. They eventually form natural coalitions with
Veddhas – the indigenous group Sri Lankans who are the parallels of Aborigines
of Australia. They are the parallels of those who claim outside Jaffna - that
Jaffna Thosai is the best Thosai of all and that it is the original. Indian Tamil superstar Rajinikanth said in one of his
speeches regarding Sri Lankan Tamils that we spoke Tamil so sweetly. One could
take that relatively - as Mr. Rajinikanth saying that we spoke better Tamil
than Indian Tamils. On the other hand – it could mean that Mr. Rajinikanth
identified with our speech as ‘young Tamil’ and us Sri Lankan Tamils - as Young
& Free Tamils. In nations made up of migrant population – we need to be facilitated
to realize our ‘freedom’ in our own way.
Where one migrant ‘tells’ another migrant –
on the authority of time-based seniority
– then the return karma is accumulated as the most senior settlers’ right to tell that
senior migrant. Junior migrants who identify with the indigenous community
through common victims’ pain – would thus become part of the original group
which is not conscious of another origin. That was how our former Prime
Minister – the Hon John Howard was defeated by junior migrant voters. Likewise
Sinhalese Buddhists claiming Sinhala only and Buddhism foremost by claiming that they were the original owners of Sri
Lanka even though they allege to be practitioners of Buddhism. Such claims would
naturally empower non-Buddhists who are conscious of their origins to form
natural coalitions with Veddhas who worship Nature and/or live as part of
Nature. In animal kingdom – the law of majority is natural. Likewise, those who
claim Tamil only after accepting funding from India – would become India’s
remote relatives. Those who have their own Sri Lankan ancestors become kings– but
in that small territory to rule like kings. Those migrants who bring the Spirit
of their origin but not the form – become kingmakers.
The Hindu-Veddha merger is described as
follows :
[The original religion of Veddas is animism.
The Sinhalized interior Veddahs follow a mix of animism and nominal Buddhism;
whereas the Tamilized east coast Veddahs follow a mix of animism and nominal Hinduism due
to Brahminical sanskritsation ,
which is known as folk Hinduism among anthropologists.
One of the most distinctive features of Vedda religion
is the worship of dead ancestors, who are called "nae yaku" among the
Sinhala-speaking Veddas and are invoked for game and yams. There
are also peculiar deities unique to Veddas, such as "Kande Yakka".Veddas,
along with the Island's Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim communities,
venerate the temple complex situated at Kataragama,
showing the syncretism that has evolved over 2,000 years of
coexistence and assimilation. Kataragama is supposed to be the site where the
Hindu god Skanda or Murugan in Tamil met
and married a local tribal girl, Valli, who in Sri Lanka is
believed to have been a Vedda.
There are a number of less famous shrines across
the island, which are as sacred to the Veddas and to other communities] Wikipedia
The fate of the ‘disappeared’ could be
traced to the following ancestral habit:
[The Veddas practice a cult of the dead.
They worshipped and made incantations to their Nae Yakka (Relative
Spirit) followed by other customary ritual (called the Kiri Koraha) which
is still in vogue among the surviving Gam Veddas of Rathugala, Pollebedda
Dambana and the Henanigala Vedda re-settlement (in Mahaweli systems off
Mahiyangane).
They believed that the spirit
of their dead would haunt them bringing forth diseases and calamity. To
appease the dead spirit they invoke the blessings of the Nae Yakka and other
spirits, like Bilinda Yakka, Kande Yakka followed by the dance ritual
of the Kiri Koraha. According to Sarasin Cousins (in 1886) and Seligmann's
book - 'The Veddas' (1910).
"When man or woman dies from sickness, the body
is left in the cave or rock shelter where the death took place, the body is not
washed or dressed or ornamented in any way, but is generally allowed to be in
the natural supine position and is covered with leaves and branches. This was
formerly the universal custom and still persists among the less sophisticated
Veddas who sometimes in addition place a large stone upon the chest for which
no reason could be given, this is observed at Sitala Wanniya (off Polle-bedda
close to Maha Oya), where the body is still covered with branches and left
where the death occurred."] Wikipedia
When there are ‘system changes’ due to time
and land displacements we need to restructure by using the Truth we discovered
about ourselves through the old pathways. Those driven by the ‘seen’ would tend
to shrink their environments, takeover and then control the folks by hook or by
crook / by vote or by the gun. If we remember and actively use our past but
without official relativity to our present work – we become our own ghosts in
our present. Those who claim to be
foremost owners of Sri Lanka must pay their first respects to their Veddha
ancestors. Wonder which one would step forward first – Sinhala Nationalists or
Eelam Tamil Nationalists?
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