Sivathamby has written and published more than 70 books and monographs and presented and published 200 papers at international seminars and journals on Sri Lankan Tamil history and literature. He was awarded Thiru V. Kalyanasundaram Award by the government ofTamil Nadu in India in recognition of his services to Tamil language. Sivathamby is a visiting Professor of Tamil to Universities in India such as the University of Madras and the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Cambridge University in England and in Finland and Norway.[1]
Sivathamby has been honored in recent world classic tamil conference in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
Critics often accused Sivathamby of subservient to power and his characteristic of sailing by the wind
Who is Karthigesu Sivathamby Lankan intellectuals writing in Sinhala,Thamil and Enlish know him very well and respect him as an authority with
multifaceted disciplines and a scholar applying the multi-disciplinary approach as
originally proffered by the late K.Kailasapathy, another towering figure in the local
academic and literary scene. It’s not an exaggeration that both together shaped to a
great extent the contemporary literary scene even at the expense of accommodating
non-Marxist writing, even though belatedly.
Kailasapathy and Sivathamby were contemporaries in the University of Peradeniya
in the mid 1950s. They studied in the English medium. While Kailasapathy did a
special degree in Thamil, Sivathamby’s specialty was History. But eventually became
a Thamil scholar besides being an expert on many other fields. Kailasapathy took to
journalism and literary criticism Sivathamby concentrated on the theatre and to some
extent on cinema, translation, communication and the like. Both did their Ph.D from
Birmingham University in the U.K. and studied under the Marxist scholar George
Thomson. Both have written books and articles in English as well.
Last Sunday (Aug 28), a book was launched at the Kolumbu Thamil Sangam in
Wellawatta. This book includes the series of interviews scholar Sivathamby had
given to a literary monthly in Thamil called "Gnanam". "Ilakkiyamun Vaalkaiyum"
(Literature and Life) was the title of the book. It was published by Thamilni
Pathipakam in U.K. and edited by "Gnanam" editor T.Gnanasekeran. This 160 page
book is priced at Rs 250/- and available at Poobalasingham Book Depot at 202,340
Sea street Colombo 11.
Kailaspathy, Sivathamby, A.J.Canagaratna, Siddharthan Perinbanayagam were a
few who knew their world literature, particularly English and Greek literature.
Therefore their horizons were wide and rich. They had the fortune of interacting with
some Sinhala intellectuals like the late Charles Abeysekera, A.J.Gunawardena, just
to mention a few.
The Interview gives valuable information to the keen reader in understanding Thamil
Literature in a larger context of updated world knowledge.
In similar fashion there was an earlier publication called "Sivathambiyin
Naerkanalkal" (Sivathamby’s Interviews) published in Thamilnadu. I have not read
that book as yet.
Gnanam’s interviews were basically on Sivathamby’s role as a Thamil literati and his
life and thoughts. But Sivathamby couldn’t be confined to Thamil literature alone.
Nevertheless, this book is a very valuable source book not only to understand the
subject, but also the socio-cultural matrix within which he and Thamil literature
‘progressed’.
Sivathamby is both a Thamilian and Sri Lankan - To understand Sivathamby at
present we should read his book in English, a volume of 326 pages, "Being a Tamil
and Sri Lankan", published by Aivaham at 2/7 Ram Gate Apartments, No 56,37th
Lane, Colombo 06. This book is dedicated to the late A.M.A.Azeez and the late
Charles Abeysekare. Journalist J.S.Tissanayagam has written a Preface. Besides
the Publisher’s Note and the acknowledgement, an Introduction by Prof.N.
Balakrishnan is also included. The author K.Sivathamby has written ‘A
Prolegomenon to these Introductory Essays"
The articles in the collection first appeared in an English weekly "The Northeastern
Herald" edited by the late D.Sivaram and presently by J.S. Tissanayagam. The
contemporary political and social scene in Sri Lanka during the period 2002 and
maybe 2004 is focused in these essays. Before we find out what the themes of these
newspaper articles were, let me copy from the blurb of the book to have a definite
picture and the career of Karthigesu Sivathamby, who hails from Karaveddy in
northern Sri Lanka.
From the blurb
"K.Sivathamby -Professor Emeritus, University of Jaffna (1978-1996), had taught at
Vidoyadaya (Sri Jayawardenapura) (1965 -1978), Eastern University of Sri Lanka
(1997-98) and had done visiting lectures at the university of Colombo and Kelaniya.
He had been visiting Professor of Tamil at the Universities of Madras (1998), Upsalu
1992) at Institute of International Tamil Studies, Madras (1999).
He was Senior research Fellow/ visiting Fellow at the university of Cambridge
(1983/84), Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (1982) and at
Tamil University, Thanjavoor (1982).
His main areas of specializations are Social and literary History of the Tamils, Culture
and communication among the Tamils, Tamil drama and Literary Criticism.
He is the author of 40 books and monographs on Tamil Studies."
My comments on the ideas of the author is not warranted, but I think Sinhala
intellectuals and the unenlightened’ extreme patriotic forces among the Sinhalas
should read this book if they could read in English. To understand the dilemma of a
Lankan Thamilian who wants to be a Sri Lankan with his ethnic identity respected,
the circumstances in which he is confined to live amidst majority supremacist
hegemony should be understood.
Categories and Headings
I shall now give you the main categories under which the articles have been grouped
together. It would fairly be a good indicator of what this book is all about:
Ethnic Divide, The Peace Process, Tamil Theatre, Tamil Music and Tamil Cinema,
writers, artistes and Intellectuals, Political Culture, Education and Media.
The actual headings of the articles were:
Peace for the Tamils, Pro Peace Left: Vasu & Bahu, Peace back to pieces, Jaffna
Public Library -Its resurrection, One`A year of Peace - a second look, Women war-
torn Environment, remembering the Bishop, Deadlock in peace Talks, Interim
Administration, Bhikkus for Peace, No war is No Peace, Living in Two Worlds.
Sri Lankan`A0 Tamil identity, Revisiting the Tracks of the Great Divide, Sinhala-
Buddhist understanding of Tamils: communication Barriers, Sinhala Perceptions of
South Indian Dravidian Movement, Questionable Categorization in the Census, The
Making of the Sri Lankan Tamil, Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Tamilnadu, Politics and
Identity of Malayaga Tamils, Colonialist Legacy and Ethnic Conflict, February 4: Its
Meaning for Minorities, The Mahawamsa Perception, Prof.Karunatilleke’s Tamil -
Sinhala Dictionary- A contribution to Sinhala -Tamil Understanding, Sinhala
Understanding of the Dravidian Movement, Sri Lankan Tamil Literary Works, The
term ‘unitary’: A Flawed Concept, Being a Sri Lankan Tamil, Opinion: Tamil
Regionalism: Historical Causes and the Crocodile Tears, Remembering the
Bandaranaike Legacy -all of it.
Writers and Artistes Meet in Jaffna, Place for Intellectuals, to Standup and be
Counted, Sinhala and Tamil Artistes in support of Peace.
Tamil Medium School Education, Jaffna University, University reforms, education in
War devastated Areas.
Tamil at SLBC, Sociology of Communication, Need for a Non-Partisan Mainstream
media.
K.Pathmanathan- the Great Exponent of Nathaswaram in Jaffna Tradition, Annaviyar
Chelliah - A veteran of Traditional Theatre, Tamil theatre in Grassroots
Communication, Film Maker Mani Ratnam on Ethnic War, Street Theatre and
Peactime Communication, Carnatic Music Maestro: Veeramani Iyer, Thai Pongal,
Tamils and the DMK.
TNA and the Tamils, making a New Political Culture, JVP and its Transformation,
Articulating the Tamil Point of View to the South and masking sense of the Political
Cross currents in Colombo.
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