BETA

It seems the documentary movie ‘No More Tears Sister’, featuring the tragic life of Dr.Rajani Thiranagama (1954-1989) and directed by a Canadian Helene Klodawsky, is now being promoted vigorously by  interested parties. One blurb I read states, “No More Tears Sister – explores the price of truth in times of war. Set during the violent ethnic conflict that has enveloped Sri Lanka over decades, the documentary recreates the courageous and vibrant life of renowned human rights activist Dr.Rajani Thiranagama.” But, we all know that blurbs are merely blurbs, even if hyped by incorporating the phrase ‘price of truth’. Let me present here, a contra view on Sister Rajani’s career as a human rights activist in Jaffna.

I borrowed the title of this essay from an old Hollywood movie ‘Two Mules for Sister Sara’ (1970), featuring two endearing icons of my era – Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine and directed by Don Siegel. In the wake of recent revelations which appeared in the Colombo Daily News (see below), I had humorously adopted this movie title into ‘Three Mules and Sister Rajani’, to refer to the so-called four Tamil human rights activists, who co-authored the much hyped Broken Palmyra (1990) book.

 The‘Two Mules for Sister Sara’(1970), featured Shirley MacLaine in the title role as Sister Sara. Generally in Clint Eastwood genre, female lead characters do not stand out, with a few exceptions like this movie, or ‘The Bridges of  Madison County’ (1995) or the recent ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2004). Of course, the ‘Sister Sara’ in the Two Mules for Sister Sara was no authentic nun, but a prostitute in the garb of a convent Sister, of a plot set in the Mexican back-county of 1860s.