28 March, 2024

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The Story Of A Tamil Man’s Confession

By Mahesan Niranjan

Prof. Mahesan Niranjan

Prof. Mahesan Niranjan

Would you believe that? Late afternoon of the Sixty Eighth Independence Day of Sri Lanka an upset middle-aged man with balding head and payaasam belly sat in a bar with me and made a confession. The man is none other than my drinking partner, the Sri Lankan Tamil fellow Sivapuranam Thevaram, and we had met up in the famous pub in Bridgetown, UK, and had just sat down with our glasses of Peroni.

Thrilled at my temporary ordainment, I put a hand on his shoulder and said “It is OK, machan (buddy), don’t worry. Everybody makes mistakes, no?”

What wrong has my friend done, and what was the confession about?

Let me give you the background. Thevaram, in his childhood was one who you might say was brought up properly. His old man, Sivapuranam, though with no particular belief in the Almighty God or His countless incarnations, still seemed to want to live by the rules brought by the messenger.

You and I, of course, know that these Commandments are like an exam paper. There are ten of them. If you get any four correct, you passed!

Not so in the Sivapuranam household.

“To turn the other cheek” was engrained in the old man’s genome and, through nurture of the environment, he made it a point to pass on this particular trait upon the offspring’s epigenetic imprints.MN

So, if you had encountered young Thevaram all those years ago, you would have found a cute little child, well behaved to the extreme. Being polite to elders, doing his homework on time and squeezing the toothpaste tube neatly at the end rather than clumsily in the middle were aspects of that proper upbringing.

Your reaction upon meeting him might easily have been (to be read aloud with Sri Lankan intonation): “Oh, Thevaram, aney baba, you are so cute, no? chellakkiLi, come and give aunty Shanthi a big hug!” [Translation: /aney/ – dear (in Sinhala); /baba/ baby (lingua neutras); /chellakkiLi/ pet parrot (in Tamil); /Shanthi/ not a real person here, a generic term for a visiting aunt]

Well into adulthood, the boy held onto the values his father had taught him, never achieving pleasure from another man’s misfortune.

This morning however, despite half a century of living up to his father’s expectations, the man faulted. Just for a fraction of a second it was, but he did wrong.

He has been looking at a photograph of Sri Lanka’s former President, widely circulated in social media. No, he was looking at the face. Oh, no, he was looking at the eyes. Oh, no, no, he was looking into those eyes.

There was half a tear drop in each eye, beautifully captured by the master photographer. Two half tear drops, adding to one whole. A thousand words will fail to describe what the photographer had grabbed. You could see deep into those eyes and see behind them. You could sense the frustration, the fear, the helplessness and the desperation of a man who is unable to protect his offspring.

The very same fear, the very same frustration, the very same helplessness and the very same desperation that hundreds, maybe thousands, maybe tens of thousands of our countrymen felt when they too were in a position of not being able to protect their offspring from harm. In the fraction of a second you stare at that master photograph, a thousand images will flash through your mind of those ugly experiments unleashed on the people of our country by the selfish callousness of our political class and the idiotic adventurism of our manipulated youth.Mahinda from MN's article

Those images that flashed in Thevaram’s mind violated the rules he was taught to live by. He was trumped. He yielded to a millisecond of intense pleasure. Going against his father’s wishes in that way certainly was my friend’s Superman moment.

With his eyes fixated on the eyes of the former President in the photograph, his glottis vibrating at 110 Hz and his mouth moving slowly, he firmly articulated the word: “gotcha!”

Back in the Bridgetown pub, reflecting and being utterly ashamed by that trespass, Thevaram quickly gulped the remaining Peroni from his glass.

“Forgive me, Father,” he said in a calm voice, “for I have sinned.”

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Latest comments

  • 8
    1

    Prof. Mahesan Niranjan

    RE: The Story Of A Tamil Man’s Confession

    “This morning however, despite half a century of living up to his father’s expectations, the man faulted. Just for a fraction of a second it was, but he did wrong.”

    68 Years!

    “He has been looking at a photograph of Sri Lanka’s former President, widely circulated in social media. No, he was looking at the face. Oh, no, he was looking at the eyes. Oh, no, no, he was looking into those eyes.”

    68 years!

    “There was half a tear drop in each eye, beautifully captured by the master photographer. Two half tear drops, adding to one whole. A thousand words will fail to describe what the photographer had grabbed. You could see deep into those eyes and see behind them. You could sense the frustration, the fear, the helplessness and the desperation of a man who is unable to protect his offspring.”

    68 Years,This morning however, despite half a century of living up to his father’s expectations, the man faulted. Just for a fraction of a second it was, but he did wrong.

    He has been looking at a photograph of Sri Lanka’s former President, widely circulated in social media. No, he was looking at the face. Oh, no, he was looking at the eyes. Oh, no, no, he was looking into those eyes.

    “There was half a tear drop in each eye, beautifully captured by the master photographer. Two half tear drops, adding to one whole. A thousand words will fail to describe what the photographer had grabbed. You could see deep into those eyes and see behind them. You could sense the frustration, the fear, the helplessness and the desperation of a man who is unable to protect his offspring”

    68 Years, fibalyyThis morning however, despite half a century of living up to his father’s expectations, the man faulted. Just for a fraction of a second it was, but he did wrong.

    He has been looking at a photograph of Sri Lanka’s former President, widely circulated in social media. No, he was looking at the face. Oh, no, he was looking at the eyes. Oh, no, no, he was looking into those eyes.

    “There was half a tear drop in each eye, beautifully captured by the master photographer. Two half tear drops, adding to one whole. A thousand words will fail to describe what the photographer had grabbed. You could see deep into those eyes and see behind them. You could sense the frustration, the fear, the helplessness and the desperation of a man who is unable to protect his offspring.”

    68 years!. Congratulation, Finally.

    Finally, Sri Lanka has leaders who understand, the Land of Native Veddah Aethho.

  • 0
    0

    [Edited out] Please write instead of posting links – CT

  • 2
    7

    sinhalese should be really proud of themselves

    • 1
      1

      Proud of what please?

      The ”humility” shown by MR to go to Mullaitivu at the close of election propoganda(late December 2014) and to ask the people to forget the past and to vote for him?

  • 9
    41

    THE DROP IN EACH EYE SHOWS …………HOW THE GREAT HONOURABLE PRESIDENT …..A TRUE HERO OF OUR TIME…………….WEEPING FOR THE TRAITORS…… BETRAYING MOTHER LANKA

    • 11
      2

      He weeps for no one but for himself and the loss of executive powers to do whatever he wanted. True he won the terrorist war and we are grateful for that and he will live on in the hearts of all grateful Sri Lankans. But, please do not try to con yourself and convince the rest of us of MR’s intentions.
      IF he really loved the country he would have continued to utilise the hard earned (and fought for ) peace and develop the country so that all men can prosper and be treated alike. No, he did not do that. He allowed his family members and his goons to rob the county dry, he allowed drug smugglers to flourish and thugs to rule. He took control of the judiciary and also controlled the police and the army. The moment he encroached on the independence of the law and order mechanisms of SL, he lost my goodwill. He was becoming another dictator.
      If he had really loved his sons, he should have disciplined them, when they were young and later when they were beginning to behave like misbegotten princes of the land.
      We do not want such nincompoops as Princes. Frankly we do not want a royal family in SL.
      A man can serve the country in humility or get out. We don’t have royal families in SL and we don’t have to put up with the horrifying abuses heaped upon the country by his sons and other family members and his thugs.

  • 4
    1

    If this is supposed to be satire, I dont get it. Forgive my ignorance.There have been too many deaths already.

    • 9
      1

      SE: I see no satire. Just plainspeak saying however good you are, you cannot sympathize with MR’s tears. I remember Maheshan wrote earlier that MR defeated
      the Tigers and celebrated victory over Tamils.
      Get it?

    • 0
      1

      NOT satire.
      The man who didn’t raise his voice against the killing of journalists, politicians, aid workers, clergy, laymen, students, IDPs, …… and who stopped investigations into crimes and who refused to publish reports of inestigations had tears for his son!
      Neither human nor humane.

      NOT certainly Buddhism.

  • 10
    2

    “”He has been looking at a photograph of Sri Lanka’s former President, widely circulated in social media.
    Oh, no, no, he was looking into those eyes.

    There was half a tear drop in each eye, beautifully captured by the master photographer. Two half tear drops, adding to one whole. A thousand words will fail to describe what the photographer had grabbed. You could see deep into those eyes and see behind them. You could sense the frustration, the fear, the helplessness and the desperation of a man who is unable to protect his offspring””.

    you are wrong mr Mahesan Niranjan ,
    He does not love or care about his mongols,
    Like Pirabaharan, how many children he disposed with LTTE.
    the Bugger,Sri Lanka’s former President, M P Jarapassa was crying because of he was worried about the lost and loosing of black money from carlton tv network.

  • 14
    0

    I like to see Mahinda’s un-dyed hair and un-dyed facial hair.

    Bloody fake!

  • 1
    0

    A bit of gloating by the learned professor?

  • 2
    3

    Mahinda is not weeping for his son at all. He is genuinely weeping for the countless murdered journalists, widows,orphan sons and daughters, war and torture victims he created whilst in power. He is a strong man, he now feels it in his heart how the other surviving family members are still hopelessly yearning for the safe return of their loved ones. That’s the truth, the whole truth! Forgive Gotabaya and him for their past sins.May he come back to power and be a better soul.

  • 4
    9

    This filthy Professor Mahesan, can afford to write this sort of garbage from his cushy and comfortable living environment in the UK. These are the guys responsible for fuelling ethnic violence in Sri Lanka. In fact he is a beneficiary of Prabhakaran’s “Tamilian Enterprise” that was created through the master plan of sending Tamils as refugees to western developed countries. Well,Proffesor Mahesan’s contribution to this “Tamilian Enterprise” did not do much to save Prabhakaran and his terrorist masters. Of course “Tamilian Enterprise” of the bogus refugees now have adopted “Tamil Diaspora”. Hey fellow Mahesan, do us some good and don’t rekindle your glorious past of being a subscriber to Prabhakaran’s dream and stop meddling with the Sri Lankan affairs; you are citizen of the UK and it is unthinkable that you put your dirty finger into the affairs of another sovereign nation.

  • 5
    4

    I don’t know what the others see in those eyes. I SEE THE EYES OF A MURDERER.

  • 1
    0

    After 68-years of independence Prez MR is 70 years + 3 months. So to Sivapuranam Sivaram two half tear drops mean full tears will never drop from Prez MR’s eyes.

  • 0
    4

    Mahinda is weeping for the 40,000 Tamils murdered during his period as Prez

  • 1
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    To bganendra
    Please edit and post to read:

    Mahinda is weeping for the 40,000 Tamils and “another 70,000 or so Sinhalese murdered by another Tamil” during his period as Prez

  • 1
    1

    Mahinda Rajapakse’s tear filled eyes would melt any parent’s heart. But, in this case it might carry a bit more weight if MR also contemplates return to our coffers he and his family had pilfered at least in the last 10 years. We may not have the proof as all the evidence had been destroyed but we may not need any if you and your family could explain how you have amassed a massive fortune in US$ and Sri Lankan Rupees that had enabled you all to buy up mansions, Walawwes and lands from your ministerial salaries alone.

  • 1
    1

    I hope this man sheds bucketloads of tears in the remaining days of his pathetic life as a mass murderer , thief and a scoundrel.

    The pain and suffering he caused to the many thousands of his fellow countrymen is unimaginable. He is shedding tears for his son who is a thief and a suspected murderer of Thajudeen. Did he ever shed a tear for the thousands of innocent people he murdered in the name of fighting separatism. The more pain this man suffers the more pleasure I get in seeing him suffer.

  • 0
    0

    Very well written……

    :-)

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