Story - Jaffna Monitor

Iluppai Tree and the Young Generation

Translated from the original Tamil short story iluppai maramum iḷanñcantatiyum (இலுப்பை மரமும் இளஞ்சந்ததியும்) from the 1976 collection of short stories titled kōṭukaḷum kōlaṅkalum (கோடுகளும் கோலங்களும்) by Kuppilan Ai. Shanmugan. He woke up at around seven in the morning, when it was already rather bright. His little sister shook him awake, calling out, “aṇṇai, aṇṇai.” He stretched lazily, rolled up the reed mat and stood it next to the wall. The house was buzzing with activity. His sibling

April 2026 Story

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Apr 14, 2026 — 7 min read

The Meccan Shawl

Translated from the original Tamil short story makkattuc cālvai (மக்கத்துச் சால்வை) from the eponymous 1992 collection of short stories by S.L.M. Hanifa. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. If you have any questions, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. “Thambi! Mammanifā, do you remember me, son? That day, your wāppā and everyone else remained mum. You were a little boy. But you spotted it like a vigilant crow. You shouted as if you were raise the alarm.” “He is hit, he i

March 2026 Story

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Mar 11, 2026 — 10 min read

Path to Virtue

Hmm! These are supposed to be great men! But their deeds are not that of great men. Otherwise, they would not do as they please… evidently, they are big thugs. But who do they show their thuggery to. To the poor who have nothing. She was a young woman. My blood boils when I think of what she has to put up with this in this world from the day she was born to this day. She grew up with no one to lend a hand. Now they take exception to her morality. Whether she ekes out a living or not, once t

Story January 2026

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Jan 12, 2026 — 3 min read

The Very Internal Investigation

Translated from the original Tamil short story mika uḷḷaka vicāraṇai (மிக உள்ளக விசாரணை) by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. Picture created using Bing Image Creator https://www.bing.com/images/create There is one commonality and one difference between this story and the famous novel by Franz Kafka. They are both about judicial inquiries: the title of his novel is ‘The Trial’ and the

December 2025 Story

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Dec 23, 2025 — 18 min read

Coming of Age

Translated from the original Tamil short story pakkuvam (பக்குவம்) from the 1964 collection of short stories titled akkā (அக்கா) by A. Muttulingam. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. Translated with the author’s permission. “Kantharmadam Sellammā” “Five” “Kottadi Āchippiḷḷai” “Five” “Kokuvil Velāyuthapiḷḷai” “Ten” “Chitfund Nallāmpi side” “Twenty” “Co-operative store Rathinam’s wife” The traditional puberty ceremony was well under way. As people came up and put money

November 2025 Story

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Nov 18, 2025 — 7 min read

Jaffna Swami

Translated from the original Tamil short story yāḻppānaccāmi (யாழ்ப்பாணச் சாமி) by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. This story is not about the Aruḷampalam Swami who was immortalized in song by the great Tamil poet Bharathiyār, calling him the eye of the world and the enlightened vessel that delivers sinners from their suffering. I am about to tell you the story of a different Jaffna Swami

Story October 2025

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Oct 27, 2025 — 20 min read

Directions

Translated from the original Tamil short story ticaikaḷ (திசைகள்) from his 1992 collection of short stories by S.L.M. Hanifa. The original collection is available at noolaham.org. If you have any questions, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. Co-translators: eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ and Fasmila Raviraj. Māntarāṟu river rampaged with full ferocity, like a stampede of elephants in musth. Manikkam’s eyes were fixated on the treacherous maelstroms appearing here and there on the river’s surface, only to

Story September 2025

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Sep 17, 2025 — 6 min read

The Elephant Story

Translated from the original Tamil short story yāṉaikkatai (யானைக் கதை) by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. When Guillaume Vernon, the linguistics professor, read ‘Me Grandad 'ad An Elephant,’ the English translation of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s celebrated novel, he went all the way to Kerala for an audience with the great master and wrote a long essay in French about the meeting. He may wel

Story August 2025

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Aug 16, 2025 — 19 min read