Dr. Rajani Thiranagama's Portrait

DESCRIPTION
The University of Jaffna Teachers' Association displays the portraits of deceased university academics in the Senior Common Room. When an academic or ex-academic dies, a commemoration event is organized by the Association and afterwards the portrait of that person displayed in the Senior Common Room. When Mahendran Thiruvarangan ('Thiru') joined the University of Jaffna in 2010 as a Temporary Lecturer, the portrait of Rajani Thiranagama was conspicuously absent even though 21 years had passed since her death. Thiru and several others raised this issue inside and outside the University of Jaffna. A commemoration event for Rajani Thiranagama was organized by the Teachers' Association in 2013 and still the portrait was missing. Thiru and others raised this issue again and in 2022, her portrait was displayed (two weeks prior to this image being submitted for storing in the South Asian American Digital Archive). Dr. Rajani Thiranagama was a subject of many conversations and featured in numerous artifacts that encompass the Archival Creators Fellowship project on Ilankai Tamil Feminism, for which Thiru was an interviewee and advisor.

ADDITIONAL METADATA
Date: 2022
Subject(s): Mahendran Thiruvarangan
Type: Photograph
Source: Archival Creators Fellowship Program
Creator: Kartik Amarnath
Contributor: Mahendran Thiruvarangan
Location: Jaffna, Sri Lanka

PROVENANCE
Collection: Kartik Amarnath Fellowship project
Donor: Mahendran Thiruvarangan
Item History: 2022-07-08 (created); 2022-07-12 (modified)

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