Comments on: “පොට්ටුව” අහිමිවීම http://www.vikalpa.org/archives/353 alternatives that matter Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:36:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: JM http://www.vikalpa.org/archives/353#comment-596 Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:45:20 +0000 http://www.vikalpa.org/archives/353#comment-596 Oh please. I rarely ever see any Tamils wearing Pottus in Melbourne. Lots of Sikh migrants also stop wearing the turban and trim their beards after they come here. The Vietnamese no longer wear straw-hats, and I hardly see many Sudanese walking around with spears or any Scots in kilts these days. Are they all being oppressed? Sinhalese do not wear the redda-hetta or the sarong either. If these Tamils are trying to blend in with the rest of the Sri Lankan society by trying to dress, look, and act like the rest of us, that's something to be happy about. Perhaps they think it's better to embrace a Sri Lankan identity rather than segregating themselves from the rest of their fellow citizens by retaining alien cultural symbols native to Tamil Nadu. It's not just the Pottu that's disappearing. Many young Tamils in Colombo have Anglo or non-ethnospecific Tamil names and most of them speak decent Sinhala. Just look at Shehal the blogger. Oh please. I rarely ever see any Tamils wearing Pottus in Melbourne. Lots of Sikh migrants also stop wearing the turban and trim their beards after they come here. The Vietnamese no longer wear straw-hats, and I hardly see many Sudanese walking around with spears or any Scots in kilts these days. Are they all being oppressed? Sinhalese do not wear the redda-hetta or the sarong either. If these Tamils are trying to blend in with the rest of the Sri Lankan society by trying to dress, look, and act like the rest of us, that’s something to be happy about. Perhaps they think it’s better to embrace a Sri Lankan identity rather than segregating themselves from the rest of their fellow citizens by retaining alien cultural symbols native to Tamil Nadu.

It’s not just the Pottu that’s disappearing. Many young Tamils in Colombo have Anglo or non-ethnospecific Tamil names and most of them speak decent Sinhala. Just look at Shehal the blogger.

]]>