The malicious, grief stricken memories of the 30-year-old civil war, the Palmyrah tree, the taste of Jaffna chicken curry savoured years ago - these are the vague, yet inter-related memories that crowd us in the South when someone says ‘Jaffna’, due to the very limited encounters and engagements that we have with the peninsular. Although years have passed since the end of the evil civil war, Jaffna is a separate state for many living in the South, as the language, culture, economy and many other things have kept us at a distance.