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Sri Lankan novelist tells a story of the civil war

BY LINDA HOU

In print | Published November 5, 2009

Vasugi V. Ganeshananthan never intended to become the spokesperson for 20 million Sri Lankans, not counting the millions who left the country as part of the Sri Lankan diaspora. Yet with the publication of her new novel, she has been asked to fill that role in her lectures throughout the United States.

“I wrote a work of fiction,” Ganeshananthan said. “While it makes sense because people are interested in the Sri Lankan diaspora, I think it’s very interesting for me to be put in the position of a spokesperson because … that devalues the rest of my community who are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves.”

Ganeshananthan was invited to give a reading and lecture Friday on her first book “Love Marriage.” Her novel explores the themes of family and war through the tale of a Sri Lankan family spread all over the globe because of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The book was named Best of 2008 by the Washington Post and was long-listed for the Orange Prize. 

Following a reading of the book, Ganeshananthan spoke of the history of the Sri Lankan Civil War and its effects.

Deshi board member Ramya Gopal ’10 invited Ganeshananthan to speak at the college.

“I asked her to talk about her book and about … as she was researching for the novel, what did she learn about the Sri Lankan war … and the intersection of how fiction kind of works to tell the stories of war and conflict,” Gopal said. “[W]hereas some fiction is philosophizing generally about something … her book is rooted in historical context.”

Gopal first learned of Ganeshananthan and her book through Sepia Mutiny, a South Asian American focused blog that Ganeshananthan regularly contributes to. While studying abroad in London, Gopal also read Ganeshananthan’s book. She then met Ganeshananthan at a conference for the South Asian Journalist Association, for which Ganeshananthan is in charge of Student Affairs. There, Gopal asked Ganesh-ananthan to come to Swarthmore to speak. Ganesh-ananthan readily agreed.

“I didn’t expect her to give such a non-literary talk in addition to reading from her book,” said Myles Dakan ’10, who attended the lecture. “It was really well done, especially because of her caveat about not being a spokesperson for all Sri Lankans.”

Though “Love Marriage” is a work of fiction, Ganeshananthan wrote it only after conducting research.

She interviewed people from the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka. At the same time, Ganeshananthan emphasized that her work isn’t meant to be read as a history of the Sri Lankan Civil War, but instead as a fictional story based on the war.

“My favorite quote from the evening … was ‘I’m as accurate as is interesting,’” said Jen Spindel ’10, who attended the lecture for her creative writing course. “I write mainly speculative fiction and often base stories on science and/or religion, so I found this statement to ring true with my writing experiences.”

In the process of her research, Ganeshananthan said that she changed her views of the civil war and said that she edited her novel accordingly.

“When I first wrote this, I kind of had this Western idea of [a] ‘Tamil versus Sinhalese’ war, but I realized it was not,” Ganesh-ananthan said. “It was multisided.”

Yalini, the protagonist of the novel, was born on the day that the Sri Lankan Civil War broke out in July of 1983. The war continued for nearly 26 years, ending in May of this year.

Although the story begins in the U.S., it moves back and forth between countries and time as Yalini reconnects her family story for herself and the reader through a series of anecdotes by her family members, including her uncle, an ex-Tamil Tiger dying of cancer.

The Tamil Tigers, officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, were an insurgent group that fought against the Sri Lankan government during the civil war. In Sri Lanka, the Tamils make up less than a one third minority, while the majority Sinhalese comprise most of the other two thirds.

Due to their large numbers, the Sinhalese also make up a majority of the Sri Lankan government. The Tamil Tigers viewed the government as aggressive and launched a series of attacks in order to create an independent Tamil land in Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Tigers used techniques such as child soldiers and suicide bombing, earning the label of terrorists by countries around the world including the United States among.

When the Tamil Tigers were defeated this year, the war ended. During the war, many Sri Lankans, especially the Tamil, escaped to countries like the United States and Canada.

Though “Love Marriage” is Ganeshananthan’s first book, she has written a variety of other works, including short stories and news articles for the Atlantic Monthly, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Sepia Mutiny and the American Prospect.

Currently, Ganeshananthan is crafting a second book while working as a visiting professor at the University of Michigan.

Discussion

shan ferando
4 months ago

History is the main weapon the tamils have. When you ask them to write down their “legitimate grievances “ all you get is a history lesson. The Sinhalese know their sins of the past but what we want to know is what your legitimate grievances are. Unfortunately the tamils themselves don’t know. Given that the Sinhalese are not prepared to give you a separate state (after all, majority of tamils live in the south) books like these are good to learn history but does nothing to help solve the problem. If fact it helps to create further divisions within Sri Lanka. But the tamil diaspora (including the author) will continue to live a good life in the developed west.

jhon whote
4 months ago

Tamil grivence is simply to have the ambition to control srilanka simply put.Tamils(Jaffna) think that they are better peole than sinahalease and the sinhalease are afraid that their country will bcome tamil bcause some 200 million tamils live in tamilnadu which is 20 miles from srilanka.Also sinhalease are angry with tamils as they licked the britishes back sideand never fought against any occupation army (dutch,english)from 1700 s to 1815.year1815

Lil 10
4 months ago

Looks like an interesting novel and the author seems to be a fascinating and humble person. Hope to read it soon!
To Shan- You are right, books like this will not help your problem, for that you need a self help book or see a shrink.

Sinahala Man
4 months ago

[The Sinhalese know their sins ]
Just because some thugs did that, one cannot generalise as, this has been done by Sinhalese.
Then some Sinhalese has saved the lives of Tamils, and never mentioned in that Sin Assignment. Also some tamils / muslims also did similar things, and why not that is taken into consideration.

One last thing,
Any of these issues r going to get resolved if SL is devided based on Ethnicities ?

Rangika Kotta
4 months ago

While most of the countries in the world have minority-majority problems that can never be eleminated due to situations that can possibly arise, those problems in some countries do not contenue to be conflicts as they are powerful nations.
When such a situation takes place in a poor country like Sri Lanka , It becomes a play -ground for conspiracies in the country and arond the world.
Finally , a country can become more unstable and more vulnerable peices.
This book does not seem to be presenting any idea that appreciates unity of different people. It does not mention about other minorities live with sinhala people.It would be a modal if this author could present any innovative suggessions towords rebuilding up the unity ant trust between Sinhalese and Tamils, that has been lost for 25 years rather than help to tear the nation that she was born.

Ajith Dissanayake
4 months ago

Write some things that will facilitate the unity and coexistence of all communities in Mother Lanaka. It is no point of carrying out postmortem and justify futile war.

Arumugam Theva Rajan
4 months ago

I salute the author born during the time J.R. Jayawatrdene demonstrated to the world what the intended genocide master plan of thew Sinhalese is. He spoke justifying the killings and destrucytion of property without remorse. Percival Rajapakse has fully implemented the genocide master plan. The likes of Pewrcival Rajapakse may thinkl that “Demalunge uruma nettung samppornema invarkara thibenewa.
Mama navayugaye Dutta Gamani rajathumawena sinhala mahajanaya piligannu.” But the strongesdt struggle of the Tamils have just started in healthy democratic circumstances with the those Tamils unborn and unknown in Sinhala Ratta the possible name in the intended new Percival Constitution." Every Tamil diaspora familyn must buy at least two copies and present one at least to their friends or neighbours who are people of the country where they are settled. This is a sure way of carrying to the world at large the sins of the Sinhala leaders (not the avaerage Sinhala peasants)in perpetratingn the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
must encourage the wriyter by

Preman Rajadurai
4 months ago

Even if any solutions suggested within a unitary Sri Lanka as is if the Sinhala’s are going to adopt it. It’s a lost cause this will continue and finally Sri Lankans will kill each other alraedy the Srath & Mahina have started, this is just the beginning. Sinhalese believe this is by destroying Tamils is the only way to prosperity and how sad this is and then adhere to Budhism on the other hand. War is over treat all Sri Lankans equal !!!!!!

Nadaraj Dharmalingam
4 months ago

What about Tamils killing each ather? Distroing all who said ’’no’’ to Pirabhaharan? He hung up two childern before their perents and Sinhala media did their best to bring it to the world.What about the other tamil parlimentarians.New tamil genaration specially,out side the country bearly know the truth and have been distroing the Tamil profile being extremist.

Muththusami Shivashan
4 months ago

Yes .Being one of Tamil diaspora,spending good life in the west sometimes I feel shame.Helping 25 year old war being 25 years old,having never been to Sri Lanka what we did for Tamils in sri Lanka so far is nothing but making the loose their lives.Sinhalese take advantage of what we are doing Just because the way we look at our problem is different from the way the world look at it.Finally Sri lankan gov. would be the best of all.Shame on me.

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