Sri Lankan Poet and Irish Violinist Marry Music, Lives

Colm O'Riain is an Irish violinist. Pireeni Sundaralingam is a Sri Lankan Tamil poet. They're married and have created a unique music that sounds out their common experience of exile and immigration.
Perhaps the best way to introduce the marital¹ and musical pairing of Colm O'Riain and Pireeni Sundaralingam is from the first time his Irish and her Sri Lankan parents met.
"We initially² were rather concerned as how our parents would react, as we came from different religions, different backgrounds, two different parts of the planet," says Sundaralingam. "When they did meet, they found they had many stories in common, stories of colonialism, of resistance, also of poetry and literature and the music that springs out of that. My father said, 'I don't know what you were so worried about. They're just like our people.'"
The British declared the Island of Sri Lanka a Crown Colony in 1802, one year after they attached Ireland to the United Kingdom, and that Crown unity³ led to the suppression of the Gaelic language in Ireland.
"If caught speaking Irish, you could be sent to jail," says O'Riain. "If caught teaching it, you could be deported⁴."
The Tamil language in Sri Lanka faced similar challenges.
"Tamil language could no longer be used in law courts and schools," says Sundaralingam.
From that common colonial experience grows a song and poem called "Celtic Raag," in Tamil, Gaelic and English.
"If I could choose the language in which I spoke⁵ to you,
I would chose the dark, red tongue of the Tamil Lands,
the yearning⁶ notes, the desert drone,
the heated hum of the monsoon⁷ rising.
If I could choose the language in which I spoke to you,
I would choose to speak in Gaelic,
the sliding scale, the sussuration of breath,
The sound of water beating between us."
"We both come from small islands surrounded by large oceans," says O'Riain.
"I'm sure that the sounds of both Gaelic and Tamil were influenced by the fact they evolved right there beside the ocean," says Sundaralingam.
The couple has performed at the English National Theatre in London and the UN Headquarters in New York as well as at arts and literary festivals around the world. They see a natural meshing⁸ of their two arts forms.
"Pireeni's poetry is naturally lyrical, and the basis of all lyrical poetry is music," says O'Riain. "And I grew up in Ireland where there's a very strong poetry movement."
"It was once said that every poet lives as an exile within his own language, and to write poetry that you have to look at the world sideways on, to feel slightly at odds⁹ with the world, to look at things with fresh eyes," says Sundaralingam.
The two have released a CD called "Bridge Across the Blue," which brings together musicians and writers from different ethnic¹⁰ traditions to tell the immigrant stories of America.

1 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

7 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

8 meshing   

结网，啮合

参考例句：

• The modification of gear is a principal method for improving performance meshing. 齿面修形是提高齿轮副啮合性能的重要手段。
• Exact modeling of gear teeth is based on meshing theory. 摘要根据齿轮啮合原理，建立了轮齿的精确齿形。

9 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。