அக்கா (தொகுப்பு)

A few months ago, I embarked on a project to translate akkā (அக்கா) the first collection of Tamil short stories published by the veteran writer A. Muttulingam. Mr. Muttulingam is widely regarded as a doyen of Sri Lankan Tamil literature. While some of his more recent works have been translated into English, his very first collection had not been until now. The original collection was published in 1964. The stories contain vivid portrayals of life in Sri Lanka, specifically Jaffna, in that era.

In translating these stories, I had a specific group of people in mind: people who are interested Sri Lankan Tamil people and culture, but are not able to read Tamil. I hope that my translations will make quality Sri Lankan Tamil literature a little more accessible to this group which consists of different constituencies: (1) Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil scattered all over the globe during the Sri Lankan civil war. Their children are now in their twenties and thirties, (2) In the countries where the Tamil diaspora made their new homes, it has introduced Sri Lankan Tamil culture, food, and art to many people, and (3) last but not least, the Sinhala people, who along with Tamil people, suffered through a civil war; perhaps the suffering would have been less if each group understood the other group a little better.

The eleven translated stories that I published here over the last several months are here. You can also access them as a single PDF. The PDF version, since it is newer, has some corrections and updates.

If you enjoy these translations, please share them with anyone else who may be interested in quality Sri Lankan Tamil literature, but have not had the opportunity to read the originals.