Founder: Ashwini Satheeshkumar

What’s your name and a bit about yourself?

My name is Ashwini Satheeshkumar, I’m 19 years old and from Melbourne Australia. I'm currently studying a bachelor of International Relations at Monash University in Melbourne. I also work as an english tutor :)

Why did you start this project?

I have a unique Tamil identity, and in the digital age where stories are at our fingertips, it became apparent to me that each and every one of us has a unique take on being Tamil. I grew up in a multicultural city where no two experiences were even relatively the same, and my aim is to share those stories and to provide a place to hold them in utmost respect. 

What’s one story or memory from your family that’s stuck with you?

Going to Nallur Kovil with my grandparents and my mum for the last time before we moved to Australia. I had just gotten better from having the chickenpox and my uncle had bought me a foam plane. I think about that day a lot, because it was the last time I got to walk around Jaffna with my family, and i didnt even know it. 

How do you stay connected to your Tamil identity in the diaspora?

This is definitely tough, and i think i speak for a lot of us when i say that it was definitely easier to assimilate with the culture of our new cities, then it was to hold on to our own traditions especially coming from an ethnically mixed household, where our traditions were already quite different. I have come to understand the importance of identity and holding on to your roots as I've gotten older, and I’ve started taking Tamil language classes and doing my part to find and hold on to the past that has influenced my present. 

What does being Tamil mean to you?

Being Tamil to me means being resilient, it's getting back up and fighting even when all hope seems lost, it's giving everything your all and even when the world tells you there's no point. I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunities that I have today, and that wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for my dads resilience. Being Tamil is resistance, resistance of what does not serve you. 

What’s your background?

I was born in Kurunagela to a Sinhalese mum and Tamil dad, I don't have much connection with either side of my family to be completely honest as most of my family is spread out across the world. Every choice and stance I make is completely on my own, and I am incredibly blessed to have parents that believe in right, fair and justice. I am studying International Relations and I hope to use that for good. I hope to one day influence some change and I hope that this project helps me get there. 

What impact do you believe storytelling/ sharing stories has?

I think that there is so much to learn from other people's experiences. So far I’ve only interviewed a handful of people, but all of those interviews have taught me something, and I think it's beautiful that here we’re creating- in essence- a memory log, a detailed deep dive into the lives of just some of the members of the diaspora. I believe that there truly is so much for us to learn from each other, and that starts with sharing our stories. 

What’s one goal or dream you have for this project?

I would hope that this project would help the younger generation be proud of their identity. Personally as a child, I spent so long wishing that I didn't look the way that I did, and to think that there are still little girls who look like me who think that same way breaks my heart. There is so much to be proud of in our identities. We are an adaptive people, we can change and grow, but i believe us to be stubborn as well. However else is Tamil the oldest spoken language? There is so much pride to be held from the way we talk to the strength of our people and the one dream I have is to help show that to the world.