Delving into multiple layers of Tamil identity

The Hindu

9 hours ago

The rich repository of Tamil heritage and culture has largely remained invisible to the wider world, said Nirmala Lakshman, Publisher and Chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications, speaking at a discussion on her book The Tamils, at the Bangalore International Centre here.
Ms. Lakshman described how it took her four years of multiple journeys across Tamil Nadu, studying, researching and listening to stories of people, to come up with the book.
'I spoke to epigraphists, historians, experts as well as ordinary people who generously shared their experiences, their sense of culture and tradition, and I discovered that multiple narratives coexisted,' she noted.
It was during this journey, Ms. Lakshman said, that she realised how a large part of it still remained unknown to the larger world.
'Many expert voices had not been heard outside of Tamil Nadu and Tamil world which led me to realise that the wealth of knowledge of the rich repository of Tamil heritage and culture has not been visible to larger world, and the nuanced and better-informed reading of Tamil history and society as seen through their eyes could be highlighted in my book.'
'Through The Tamils, I hope to convey my personal insights to what I have learned about Tamil culture, history and literature to an audience of not just Tamil people, but also to non-Tamil speaking people everywhere,' she further added.
Connection to roots
The discussion, moderated by Ranvir Shah, founder of Prakriti Foundation, and introduced by Ramachandra Guha, writer and historian, delved into multiple aspects that have shaped the Tamil identity.
'The Tamil diaspora is as strong in Tamil as people in Tamil Nadu are. In places like Malaysia, there is a thirst to know more about one's roots,' said Ms. Lakshman, who further added that the research for the book was a journey of discovery for her too.
According to her, Tamils, as with many other communities, are a complex demographic and carry with them a weight of history that goes back several millennia. Pointing out that there are about 90 million people across the world who identify themselves as Tamil, she recollected how, when she visited places like Malaysia, the diaspora there expressed a strong desire to know more about their roots, despite having migrated at least three generations ago.
The essence
'In this book, I tried to find that Tamil essence as I weave through history and story, talking to a wide spectrum of people. So that in that sense it's an anecdotal and personal journey,' Ms. Lakshman remarked while further adding that today, a Tamil in Tamil Nadu is no more a Tamil than a Tamil in Malaysia or Sri Lanka or Canada.