British Tamils gathered in London on Monday for an evening filled with an array of performances to celebrate Thai Pongal and mark Tamil Heritage Month. 

Guests filled the iconic Church House in Westminster, which hosted the first UN Security Council in 1946, to watch dance and musical performances depicting the richness of Tamil culture and to hear from British parliamentarians who praised the Tamil community for their contributions to the UK. 

The eleventh annual ‘Kings of Gaana’ took place at Troxy on 10th December, helmed by King’s College London's Tamil Society.

The 18-year-old football player has just penned a two-and-a-half-year contract at Barnsley, making him English football's first ever Tamil professional player. Yoganathan spoke with the Tamil Guardian about the journey so far.

From a small village in North Wales, Vimal has navigated the youth systems up through the academy level and has become the first Tamil footballer to play professionally in English football. He is ecstatic 

“It’s a big day for me and my family, a culmination of all the hard work that has been put in over the last 10 years… It’s just the start of a long career to come and I am proud of this moment”

 A four-year-old playing indoor football at Holywell Leisure Centre to playing at academies at Prestatyn and Liverpool, to now signing his first professional contract at Barnsley, Vimal spoke about the support he has received from his parents. 

“They have been amazing, for the last 10 to 11 years they have had to drive me to training and training centres and have always tried to attend my games”

Landing on the scene with hyper-violent art film 2021’s ‘Rocky,’ Matheswaran swiftly followed it up last year with the equally violent ‘Saani Kaayidham.’ The Keerthy Suresh starrer was a tightly written revenge film with stunning cinematography, performances and score. Matheswaran proved himself to be a highly capable director, and looked to expand his vision and scope with this year’s release ‘Captain Miller.’ Starring Dhanush and scored by GV Prakash, Matheswaran had his eyes set on entering the commercial zone. 

‘Ayalaan’ stars Sivakarthikeyan, is scored by AR Rahman and tackles the extraterrestrial sub-genre of science fiction. In every department, ‘Ayalaan’ is a bigger film than its predecessor. However, whether it is a better film is certainly up for debate. 

Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan, a Jaffna-born trailblazer, has been honoured with an OBE in recognition of his pioneering work in location-tracking technology in the King's New Year Honours.

The founder of Cambridge-based company PervasID, Dr Sithamparanathan devised a cutting-edge real-time location tracking system that has been instrumental in various sectors, including NHS trusts, hospitals, aircraft manufacturing, and retail.

Bodhana Sivanandan, an 8-year-old British Tamil from London, astonished the chess world at The European Blitz Chess Championship this weekend where she was crowned best female player.

Kilmisha, an Eelam Tamil from Jaffna, won hearts across the world as she triumphed on season 3 of the prestigious Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil' Champ competition in India this month. Her performances not only captivated audiences but also shed light on her poignant connection to her people.

It is a link that she remains proud of, dedicating her triumph “to our soil and those who sacrificed their lives for our soil,” in a social media post shortly after her victory.

The podcast miniseries ‘You Have Been Told a Lie - Blood, Borders and Biloela’ has won best podcast in the News and Current Affairs category. Centring around the Nadesalingam family, who hit the headlines and became referred to as the ‘Biloela family,’ the miniseries deconstructs the narrative over six episodes.

The deconstructed mechanical procedure of visiting a museum/gallery is similar to that of going to a Hindu temple: one enters, spends a little time at each piece/God, perhaps spends a little more time with those that interest you/you have a personal connection with. Looking through Tamil Sydney based artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran’s latest exhibition, ‘Idols of Mud and Water,’ this is what initially came to mind.