‘Enjoy Enjaami’ a welcome start, say Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils
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‘A spark’ that could lead to greater awareness of Tamil community’s struggles
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‘A spark’ that could lead to greater awareness of Tamil community’s struggles
When ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ fame Arivu from Chennai recently joined a virtual discussion with a group of activists and youth from Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha or hill country Tamil community, there was one person binding them and their histories — Valliamma, Arivu’s grandmother.
She is named in the song that has got over 200 million views since its YouTube launch two months ago. The viral number has intrigued listeners about her story — she was among the Indian-origin Tamils who laboured in Sri Lanka’s tea estates and was later repatriated back to India, with not a patch of land to call her own after years of hard work. Thousands like her returned, and several thousands remained in Sri Lanka, plucking tea every day, building its export-reliant economy.