Chapter 3 Cyclone
– I have already written a novella , AMERICA , in Tamil, based on my life at the detention camp. The journal, ‘Thaayagam’ was published from Canada while this novella was serialized. Then, adding some more short-stories, a short-story collection of mine was published under the title America by Tamil Nadu based publishing house Sneha. In short, if my short-novel describes life at the detention camp, this novel , AN IMMIGRANT , describes the struggles and setbacks a Tamil migrant to America faces for the sake of his survival – outside the walls of the detention camp. – V.N.GIRITHARAN –
When Ilango woke up again from deep sleep, it had not yet dawned. All the others were still in bed, fast asleep. Ilango felt a little surprised to see it. “What is this, something unusual that I am not getting sleep…?’, he wondered. That noon he was to be released from the detention camp. Could it be the impact of this realization in the innermost depth of his heart that had caused the sleeplessness in him? Possibly… The ecstasy of freedom is something miraculous; indescribable. The ecstasy of breaking the shackles is something very unique. Once again, his eyes moved in all directions. The hour of the night appeared to still be immersed in the stillness before day-break. The prison warders were also more than half-asleep. Just for a short while. The dawn would soon break. Another blossom of the day would open its petals in the all too busy city. His life would be pushed into another place. In that new place, only God knows what all events and environments await him. It doesn’t matter; as long as there is the determination and enthusiasm in him to love life and welcome it with open hands, he need not have any fear. As the soft blades of grass, which, despite the incessant stamping of numerous feet, keep on stirring afresh, he too would be forever rising. And, as the feathered species that never get tired of hailing the day-break, he too would be singing the glory of a new day. It was during the last several months that everything in his life turned upside down.