Migration is a customary and acknowledged activity not only of animals and birds, but also of human beings. People move from one place to another for different purposes from the historical times. If the origin of the English Language is examined, the reason would be the migration of the people who were living around the Black sea towards Western and Eastern directions by around 3000 BC. The movement formed the Indo-European family of Languages from which the English Language evolved. Roughly speaking, the term ‘Diaspora’ is a synonym to the term ‘migration’.......Read More 

March 1, 2013- Recently, a conference on canadian writing was held in the National college , Trichy. Called 'Canada:A Multitude of Spaces', the conference was spearheaded by the Indian Association of Canadian Studies. The following paper on V.N.Giritharan's writings was submitted to the conference by Dr R Dharani.]

Literature, in a way, is a manifestation of an individual’s or a community’s elusive experiences. A grand procession of happy episodes alone in a life is highly impracticable and astonishing, as life itself is, and in most cases, akin to the tragi-comedies of Shakespeare. However, in the history of literature across the globe, catastrophe gained more attention than romance, chivalry and happy endings. The misfortunes of African- American writers have ever earned them the proper justice. The sorrow-stricken lives of a community who had been intimidated simply because of their ethnic background have been the cause of many social changes in western countries. Of all the complexities of life, the crisis of a survival stands first in the life of any human being. This is not the case with any other living creature in any part of the world. In any piece of literature, it is not uncommon to unearth such a theme intertwined with many other themes. Man struggles to locate a place of his own on this planet to ascertain a sense of identity of his life. Nationality, nativity, society, family, tradition, culture, language are such things endorsing the survival impulse of a man. Depending on the needs, man sets the priority for concepts like nationality, family and other matters. ‘migration’.......Read More 

Fractured Self: A Study of V.N. Giritharan’s Selected Short Stories A dissertation submitted to the University of Madras in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of  Master of Philosophy in English under choice based credit system By M. Durairaj......Read More

The ‘Translocal’ Nationalism of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora:A Reading of Selected Short Stories of V.N. Giridharan Dr.Gnanaseelan Jeyaseelan. The Pain of Living Away– the Ethno–cultural Alienation, the Sense of Guilt, and the “Translocal” Nationalism of the Srilankan Tamil Diaspora– A Study of the Selected Short Stories of V.N. Giritharan, presented at the UGC National Seminar Session on “Issues of Identity and Culture in Recent Asian Diasporic Fiction”: Department of English, the New College, Chennai–14, on March 13th and 14th 2007: ..Read More

Novel: AN IMMIGRANT By V.N.Giritharan [Translation By Latha Ramakrishnan; Proofread & Edited By Thamayanthi Giritharan ]: - I have already written a novella , AMERICA , in Tamil, based on a Tamil refugee's life at the detention camp. The journal, 'Thaayagam' was published from Canada while this novella was serialized. Then, adding some more short-stories, a short-story collection of mine was published under the title America by Tamil Nadu based publishing house Sneha. In short, if my short-novel describes life at the detention camp, this novel ,AN IMMIGRANT , describes the struggles and setbacks a Tamil migrant to America faces for the sake of his survival – outside the walls of the detention camp. - V.N.GIRITHARAN To read more .Read More

New Tamil Writer -  S.Ganesalingan -  Translation By: Latha Ramakrishnan : Epics were being written in the poetic form itself. At the same time verses that lacked the essential rhyme and rhythm were also being written in the magazines. Right from the period of Sangam literature these trends could be seen. This remained the profession as well as the heart's content of the poet's clan. But, listening to the tales continued to be the prime interest of the general public. From old to young, people loved tales...Read More

Thoughts on Tamil Literature..

For me there is no difference between writers from Tamilnadu or from Singapore or from Malaysia or from Sri Lanka. We all belong to one family: Tamil writers family.Tamil writers living in many different parts of the world should feel united. For instance, in Tamilnadu various Tamil writers from various parts write different Tamil; they speak different Tamil.Speaking differently or writing differently doesn't mean they are different. They all belong to the same Tamil writers family. Sri Lankan Tamil literature or 'Pulampeyarnthor Literature' or Singapore Tamil Literature or Malaysian Tamil Literature or Tamilnadu Tamil Literature all should be considered as part of the same Tamil Literature.

Contradictions always exist.They shouldn't be antagonistic, instead they should be friendly.There is a need for a serious literature. There is a need for a children literature. There is a need for magazines like kanaiyazhi or kalachchuvadu. At the same time for 'pamara makkal' there is a need for a news paper like Thinath thanthi or magazine like Ranee. There is a need for 'Ampulimama' or Kokulam for kids.

If we understood this, there won't be any fighting among various literary groups. The purpose of the literature is for various reasons. It can be a guide; it can be an entertainment;..... it can be useful in various ways. For instance, during my past life, at various stages I was influenced by various writers and writings due to my age and my knowledge. Going through these different stages are necessarry for the growth. As a child no one expected me to read Kafka. I had to reach certain level before I understood Kafka.

For me , all these different '...isms' in literature are important and necessary for various reasons. Fighting against each literary concept is not a positive thing to do. -V.N.Giritharan-
 
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Pathivukal is an internet Tamil e-zine published and edited by writer V.N.Giritharan since 2000.

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