Vaharai Tamils
[Free but internally displaced]
Sun shine on me.
Suffering humanity
Misplaced?
Well, water!
To fetch a pail of water
Bullet-ridden Tamil civilians
Panichchankeni bridge
Bring back my brother!
Phew!'free' at last.
A shepherd's heart
Yov,this ain't schoolbus
Future? What's that?
Generation gap
Odi villaiyadu pa pa...
Not a hair misplaced!
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Tamarind Tree [Puli YaMaram]
I shall sit under this Tamarind tree
The tree that gave us shade from the scorching heat
The branches that gave us shelter from the monsoon rains
The ripe fruits that kept us surviving
But none could protect us from the falling bombs and rockets
And the sharp-shooting bullets!
Yet we are innocent civilians.
What did we do to deserve such a plight?
I shall keep my ears plugged to the ground
To hear your returning foot steps
We were your shield and fortress
And now you have left us...
WE are weak; just skin and bones
Yet the spark of humanity is left within us
We shall survive.
Under the starlit sky we sleep
Dreaming of freedom.
The haunting howls of the night
Disturb my gentle sleep
I shall be awake
To see whether I could detect your foot prints in the sand on a full moon night.
I have no Buffalo curd, not even a drop of Vaharai honey...
But I have kept half-a-tamarind to share with you: Enjoy lavish hospitality inspite of our material poverty!
So that we can eat and talk of the meaning of humanity.
That which binds us, that which make us more human,
That which truly makes us who we are.
Far beyond the physical dimensions of our restrictions, fears and suspicions...
[ We pray for our suffering people]
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At the inaugural conference of Social Workers Father Peter Pillai said:
"We shall now consider the necessity for Social Services. What are the mainsprings of its action ? It may be that some are impelled to join the ranks of the Social Service Workers from an aesthetic need. Poverty spoils the beauty of the Universe, and this eye sore must he removed at all costs. A few others may throw themselves into the movement in order to gain the applause of men, while still others may swear allegiance to the standard of Social Service, purely from a desire to act for activity's sake. Needless to say that such recruits to the army of Social Service do more harm than good. There are however reasons which make Social Services an imperative duty. With the exception of a few savages and of those for whom hate signified by a clenched fist, is part of the social programme, I do not think there is anyone who will reject the doctrine of the Universal Brotherhood of Man
To those of us for whom the Fatherhood of God is one of the cornerstones of our religious outlook, the doctrine of the universal Brotherhood of Man cannot but shine forth with splendour and illumine our entire life with its powerful dynamism and make of it an inextinguishable source of beneficent activity.
But even to those few who do not go so far and so deep, the Brotherhood of Man is almost axiomatic. How then can anyone stand by indifferent when his brother is in distress and even in misery. Is it possible for us to enjoy the good things of life when we know that our brother is in dire want? I know that certain extreme nationalist theories run counter to this elementary sense of humanity. But such hypotheses are aberrations of the intellect which cannot stand the test of time.
Social Service then as an evident corollary of the doctrine of Universal Brotherhood, preached most strongly by Christianity it is true, but accepted by both Buddhists and Hindus."
Excerpt from [Senator Nadesan]Somasunderam Nadesan at the Peter Pillai Award Presentation, 1984