Koom Kankesan, Mary Anne Mohanraj and Shyam Selvadurai. (Pictures by Oviyan Photography)
The first evening of the Samadhana 2012 Benefit Reading Series presented by Sri Lankans Without Borders kicked off last month at the ING Direct Downtown Café in Toronto with Shyam Selvadurai, Mary Anne Mohanraj and Koom Kankesan reading to a packed audience. The accompanying panel discussion saw questions from novice writers trying to break into publishing to those interested in the idea of diaspora writers as public intellectuals.
The first installment of this year-long series also included PEN Canada’s Brendan de Caires, who discussed cases of violations of freedom of expression in Sri Lanka, as well as the acknowledgement of the Empty Chair Campaign honourary member Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer imprisoned in Iran.
The first reader was Koom Kankesan, who read from his hilarious, heartfelt, coming of age story, The Panic Button. Listeners were rapt by Kankesan’s booming voice, which he used without a microphone for much of the reading. His story was peppered with the awkward humor of the cultural clash between a young Tamil immigrant man and the burgeoning love his character finds with a white woman.
Shyam Selvadurai began with his introduction from Story-Wallah!
Mary Anne Mohanraj spoke on a sweeping range of subjects including her relationship to Sri Lanka after her recent visit for the first time since childhood. She also discussed her obligation to engage political themes in her work, whether in the context of the personal, sexual or social. Mohanraj then read from her upcoming work about her return to Sri Lanka and her feelings of trepidation and excitement in returning. She spoke with personal asides that lent a seriousness to the evening at points, and more lighthearted moments at others. When she spoke of being blocked from visiting Sri Lanka at the age of twelve, there was a moment of strong emotions both from author and from the audience. It was a familiar moment voiced eloquently, even where words briefly failed.
Shyam Selvadurai began with his introduction from Story-Wallah! the essay collection he edited in which he discusses ‘writing from the hyphen’ of his Sri Lankan-Canadian identity. He next read from the beloved Funny Boy and the familiar passage of the game of bride-bride. The challenge of the passage still rings true today: where through the eyes of children we see the futility of name-calling and its success only in alienating others.
Moderator Sultan Ameerali then led a discussion amongst the authors, who contextualized the new experience of speaking to a multi-cultural Sri Lankan audience in Toronto in light of their previous experiences in Sri Lanka and elsewhere around the world. The authors agreed that the night’s gathering may be the beginning of a new, constructive discussion.
The Samadhana 2012 Benefit Reading Series will run bi-monthly throughout the rest of the year. In addition to showcasing diaspora Sri Lankan writing from Canada and USA, the series is raising funds for children’s literacy programs in Aboriginal communities in Canada and rural communities in Sri Lanka.
The next evening of readings will take place on May 9, 2012 and will feature V.V. Ganeshananthan (Love Marriage), Isankya Kodithuwakku (The Banana Tree Crisis) and spoken word poetry by Meena Serendib (An Open Love Letter to the Tamil Man and Sinhala Spring);
More information and tickets are available online at http://slwb.ca/samadhana2012.
Sri Lankans Without Borders (SLWB) is a growing not-for-profit network based in Toronto, Canada that provides young Canadians of Sri Lankan origin with opportunities to connect, build and lead initiatives that promote dialogue, reconciliation and peace in the diaspora community in Canada and for all communities in Sri Lanka. For more information, please visit www.slwb.ca.
Courtesy SLWB
