Mom's Saree

Mom's Saree is a translation of a collection of stories written by Selvam Arulanantham in Tamil and published by Kalachuvadu under the title Chotkalil Chuzhalum Ulakam in 2019. This collection brings into focus the recent past of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils who, in his own words, "have been wandering in different directions from place to place and from country to country like cotton fluff blown around in the air." Each story revolves around a memorable character who is powerful enough to leave the reader's mind with a lingering effect. The impact of these stories on me, a reader who happens to be a translator, has been so profound that I couldn't help coming up with this translation to serve the purpose of a sequel to the original in Tamil. — Mani Velupillai