What is varalaaRu?

varalaaRu (Ta. for history) is an electronic discussion list for experts and lay people who are interested in the fast evolving history of the currently 'Tamil Speaking' people of Sri Lanka (Ta. Ilam, Ilankai). Many formerly and or still Tamil speaking communities such the coastal as well as interior Sinhalese (or Sinhalised) communities or social groups (castes) such as the Durava, Salagama, Karava, Demalagatara, Kinnaraya, Bharathakula, Ambataya and many other Sinhala social groups with Tamil/Malayalee origins. We also would like to discuss about Colombo Chetty community as well as the varied communities of the Islamic faith who do not consider them to be ethnically Tamil but mostly speak in Tamil or a variant Tamil dialect known as Arwi/ Sonakam. Our aim is to increase the awareness of the unique history of these communities and archive it for future reference.

The list uses English and Tamil fonts based on TSCII from Jan’99. Download free fonts/software from http://www.tamil.net/tscii/tools.html

We welcome your participation and suggestions.