Growing up in the war zone of Sri Lanka

May 07, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 08:23 am IST - CHENNAI:

Tara Publishing recently launched ‘The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers’, a story set in Sri Lanka. (INSET) Mike Masilamani.

Tara Publishing recently launched ‘The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers’, a story set in Sri Lanka. (INSET) Mike Masilamani.

In an attempt to tell young adults the complex story of growing up in a war zone, Chennai-based Tara Publishing has recently launched ‘The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers’, a story set in Sri Lanka.

“The story was written at a time, when war was being considered not only inevitable but it was also being glorified. Anyone speaking against it was seen as unpatriotic and viewed with suspicion,” said Mike Masilamani, the first Sri Lankan Tamil author whose works were published by Tara.

The fact that war served as a larger agenda for both warring parties was not open to discussion, said Mr. Masilamani – currently living in Australia – in an email interview.

Pointing to the current challenges in post-war Sri Lanka – where the UN estimated at least 100,000 civilians were killed – he said innocent civilians’ appeal to find their missing child or spouse, to return to the land that was once home and the livelihood they had lost; their plea to provide some closure to the horrors they had experienced fell on deaf years.

“We were a nation goose-stepping towards progress, distance was measured in checkpoints, militarisation had come to stay and every one had to keep in line. ‘The Boy Who Speaks in Numbers’ [protagonist] became their spokesperson and champion.”

The story was staged as a play in Colombo and in Chennai before it was adapted into a book penned by him, with Matthew Frame’s illustrations.

Asked if he considered the story – a satirical account of life in the times of war – relevant five years after the country’s conflict ended, Mr. Masilamani said the problems faced by internally displaced persons persisted.

On the nearly one lakh Sri Lankan refugees “living in limbo” in Tamil Nadu, he said: they “are truly forgotten numbers.

“The war, for many victims struggling to put their lives back on track, is not over. “Presumptuous as it is, if my book reminds readers of their situation, I would consider it still relevant.”

The child protagonist, said Tara’s Editorial Director V. Geetha, presented a startling shift in the perspective of the war. “In the hectic politicking around a war, the horror of the war is often forgotten,” she said.

On the format of the book targeting readers aged 14 and above, Ms. Geetha said: “We can see that illustrations can suggest how menacing a war can be without necessarily being morbid.”

A satirical account of

life during the years of conflict is now a book

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.