A true work of art

Mallikavo Saha Nuthana Angulimala

Author: Nihal P. Jayatunge

Fast Publishing (Pvt) Ltd., Colombo 10

257 pages Price Rs. 300

Nihal P. Jayatunge has carved a niche in the Sinhala literary world having enriched it with 14 novels during a period of three decades.

Jayatunge’s latest novel Mallikavo Saha Nuthana Agnulimala was recently presented to President Mahinda Rajapakse at the Temple Trees in a simple launching ceremony.

The plot structure of the novel makes it extremely readable with three main characters, being products of the interaction of personal and social realities in the Sri Lankan society of the recent past. The action of the novel unfolds in the backdrop of the tumultuous era of the late eighties, the main characters playing a role in the social and political turmoil. The younger two being activists in the insurgency and the senior character, their enemy who ironically becomes the husband of the female rebel whom he rescues.

Mallika hails from an elitist Southern village, the only daughter of Siriwardene, who wields power through ill-gotten riches. He dreams of climbing the social ladder and wielding more power through the marriage of her only daughter, Mallika to the police officer, Sarath with whom he strikes a friendship to reinforce his grip on the community.

He is in the dark about the special relationship between Mallika and Nande, the son of his mistress. Both Mallika and Nande win scholarships, the former joining a prestigious girls’ school in Colombo and the latter, to a local school. Mallika vehemently opposes her father’s proposal to give her in marriage to Sarath. She rejects Sarath’s overtures.

Meanwhile, Nande joins the rebellion and Mallika follows suit. Having been arrested Sarath rescues Mallika from imminent death by killer squads who plan to kill Nande to permit smooth sailing for his marriage. Mallika is compelled to marry Sarath. Meanwhile, Nande escapes death from the killers led by Sarath.

Thereafter, Sarath and Mallika lead an emotionally unstable marital life. Mallika leaves Sarath and goes in search of her lover who leads a small band of fugitive rebels in a jungle and encounters him. Mallika is with child when Nande is again arrested. She gives birth to a daughter. She is Medha whose curiosity about her ‘parents’ quarrels provide an interesting opening to the novel.

Having escaped from the killers, Nande finds sanctuary in a Buddhist temple and having spiritually elevated, enters the monkhood. He visits Mallika who regards him with respect. Nande, the rebel-turned-monk leads a mission for national resurgence and encounters Sarath, who is at first, perturbed and suspicious, but later is deeply influenced by him.

Jayatunga utilises his creativity and experience to create a true work of art. The authors’ techniques of narration - flashbacks and the dramatic scenes - succeed in exploring the inner worlds of the protagonists - Mallika, Nande and Sarath - who are involved in complex situations, created by the socio-political turmoil and the individual responses, desires and ambitions.

The author has successfully and effectively captured the nuances in the complexities of the protagonists in their interactions with social realities. In this backdrop, the positive and the negative of the human condition interact, illuminating the dark and the deep, and making the bright brighter.

Thus, the brutality of Sarath, the ‘villain’, representing the darker side of the status quo, the magnanimity of the ‘heroine’, the innocence of Medha, the bravery of Dingiri Amma, and the metamophorsis of Nande (Ven. Nandaratana) are portrayed with such intimacy and understanding that the reader is deeply moved.

Jayatunge’s choice of sensuous imagery, his poetic diction, speak volumes of his artistry and sincerity. The metaphors, the author uses, are one with nature, his intimate surroundings, and everyday life, enriching the theme of the novel.

C. A. Lenin Divakara

Formerly of the Faculty of English, University of Sri Jayawardenapura.

Exciting history of premier Buddhist school for girls

With a Fistful of Rice

Buddhist women and the making of Mahamaya Girls College

Author: Indrani Meegama

Histories can have a variety of themes and purposes. They can be national histories, regional histories, histories confined to specific periods, histories of movements, ideas and institutions. Their accounts of events spread over a period of time, or analyses of backgrounds of such events or their relationships to economic, political, or social changes in the substance of history.

Meegama’s present work is a history of a school relating it to a definite social milieu, and recounting its beginnings, growth and development and which also includes accounts of certain key personalities of the period and their preoccupations. It is not the usual history of a school isolated from its social background, or the forces that gave it a shape and meaning.

Here the author has attempted a well researched history which derives its significance from its intimate connection with our national history beginning during British colonial times and ending when we enter the mainstream of global changes as an independent nation with a specific identity.

The author has not only probed the historical background as a historian, but she has also highlighted conflicts that arose at a very personal level that was part of the struggle to establish the first higher educational institution for girls in Kandy. In this account she has brought together facts that the normal academic historian would have overlooked or ignored.

Whereas historical writing in its infancy assigned a dominant place to the individual, modern historical writing has under-played or even ignored the role of the individual and replacing the main actors with ‘forces’ and ‘movements’. Some histories in modern times specially those written by Marxists or those influenced by them have made the role of the individual insignificant and replaced him by impersonal forces.

Meegama in her wisdom has neither underestimated the leading role of personalities nor totally ignored the social forces operating at the time of the founding of Mahamaya. She is at pains to take fully into account the rise of the Buddhist nationalist movement against the colonial masters, and within that context detailed the indefatigable efforts of a handful of motivated individuals imbued with a sense of our long and glorious history, and the social imperatives of that period.

Meegama has done important research following others like Kumari Jayawardena of a slightly earlier vintage, who devoted her efforts to an unravelling of trade union activity as a precursor to political activity with a general nationalist agenda.

In a short review of this nature a full discussion of the contribution of the much ignored scattered Buddhist revivalist movement and the individuals involved and who sacrificed their time and money and worked with dedication and courage directed them, is not possible. Persons of the calibre of Sarah de Soysa who was not even born in Kandy, was a supremely significant example.

She, supported by Sir Bennet Soysa, her husband who entered national politics later, almost single handed took steps to found Mahamaya in Kandy, the first Buddhist girls school to provide children in the Kandyan area with a collegiate education. Even though she was subsequently sidelined due to her temperament and her clashes with the British-born principal appointed by the board of management following the departure of Mrs. Hilda Kularatne, her great contribution to the uplift of women in Kandy cannot be underestimated.

Hers was a pivotal role in circumstances that were not merely destructive of our ancient Buddhist heritage, but presenting the danger of the replacement of that culture we had nurtured for two thousand five hundred years by another one quite alien. We were not only inheritors of a great Buddhist civilisation, we as Sri Lankan Buddhists over the centuries had also been the fountainhead of Buddhist thinking after its disappearance from India.

Our world historical mission was going to be undermined not only by imperialist designs of an economic nature, but also by the relentless propagation of Christianity by Christian religious groups assisted by the colonial power.

The work before us by Mrs. Meegama is an invaluable contribution to the knowledge we have of our struggles as a nation against the occupying power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. A great deal of historical writing has been done covering the fall of the Sinhala Raj and our submission to the British, but a gap had been left by most historians in dealing with the particular period that Meegama has handled in this book with rare virtuosity.

Tilak A. Gunawardhana

In-depth study of devolution of power

Balaya Bedeema

Author: Prof. Malinee Endagama

Publisher: Pandula Endagama, 4/C, 7th Lane, Pagoda Road, Nugegoda

Price: Rs. 250

The latest work of Mrs. Malinee Endagama, Professor of History, Sri Jayewardenepura University is “Balaya Bedeema - Kumakda? Kumakatada? Keseda?” As the name of the book imply it deals with what is meant by devolution of power, what is the purpose and how it should be done relating to Sri Lanka.

At the outset, the author explains that for the proper functioning of democracy, there should be devolution of power from the Government at the centre to the people at grassroot level. She goes on discussing how power has been devolved from the Central Government to sub-decisions under various systems in different countries.

The author analyses that there could be devolution of power under both the unitary system and the federal system. She discusses how power has been devolved in various unitary system of Governments and federal system of Governments.

She examines at length how power has been devolved in Federal countries like the USA, Canada, India, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland. She analyses how these countries became Federal States, the nature and circumstances prevailing in those countries conducive to a federal system.

Attempts

The author points out that both in 1957 and 1987 attempts have been made to devolve power within a unitary system of government in Sri Lanka. Her contention is the creation of Provincial Governments under the 13th Amendment to 1978 constitution does not fall into either unitary system or federal system and it has created confusion.

The author finds no justification whatsoever of merging northern and eastern provinces as a single unit. She dismisses the theory of Tamil homeland in North and East as a myth and points out that the Tamil domination in the North came into being only after the 14th century. When combined, the Muslims and the Sinhalese are the majority in the Eastern Province. Imposing a domination of Tamils by merging North and East would be a denial of fundamental rights of the Muslims and the Sinhalese in the Eastern Province.

Moreover the majority of Tamils are found outside North and East. The Karuna factor indicates that Batticaloa Tamils do not like to come under the Tamils in the North. On the other hand, the LTTE would not agree to de-merger of North and East as all the economic resources are found in the East and the North could not stand on its own. Her contention is devolution of power on an ethnic basis by merging North and East would be an unwarranted and unpracticable solution to the ethnic issue.

Harmony

The author submits that though we could take lessons from other countries, we should not impose an alien system that does not suit our country. She deplores the attitude of those who suggest that there should be a federal system for our country following the models of those countries in the West. She gives convincing reasons why a federal system does not suit Sri Lanka.

There had been a unitary system in Sri Lanka for nearly 3,000 years and various communities have lived together in harmony. You do not get whatsoever reasons, that gave birth to federal systems in other countries, here in Sri Lanka. By imposing a federal system for our country based on ethnic or such like concept would lead to disintegrate the unity of the country.

The author highlights that under the Sinhala regime there had been devolution of power on petty rulers like viceroys, Mapas and Epas and by systems like Rata Sabhas and Gamsabhas. The Gamsabhas were similar to Panchayats in India. By the 1996 amendment to the Indian Constitution, India has incorporated Panchayats to the system of government. According to her Gamsabha is an area that could be utilised in a system for the devolution of power.

Taking an overall picture, the author submits that a federal system of government does not suit Sri Lanka. Rather than basing a constitution on foreign models, she emphasises that we could draw inspiration from devolution of power that was found in our own system of government under the Sinhala regime for thousands of years.

New constitution

The author concludes that a new constitution should be drafted with devolution of powers taking into account the true nature of our country, its history and circumstances.

Such a constitution should in no way hinder the national integration. The drawing of the constitution should not be left solely in the hands of politicians. It should be entrusted to a body of representatives of political parties qualified for such an exercise, religious dignitaries and intellectuals from the civil society.

Although this book is an in-depth study of devolution of power it is presented in simple language and in lucid style that provides pleasant reading. This thought provoking work should be read by all who are concerned on devolution of power in Sri Lanka. It is printed in glossy paper and carries an attractive cover.

W.T.A. Leslie Fernando

Good read for the intelligentsia

Writing that conquers

Re-reading Knox’s an historical relation of the island Ceylon

Author: Sarojini Jayawickrama

Social Scientists Association

Sarojini Jayawickrema’s “Writing that Conquers” takes a fresh look at Robert Knox’s well-known work ‘Historical relation on the island of Ceylon’. This is the first time that a whole book has been devoted to the subject of Robert Knox. Up to now, we only had Knox’s own text, issued by at least three publishers, in various editions, embellished with flattering introductions. We have also had a bibliography on Knox and a book on the words used by Knox.

In Jayawickrema’s book “Writing that conquers’ Robert Knox is critically examined, for the first time, in a publicly available work Jayawickrema is a specialist in English literature, not history. She has looked at the work as a literary text, using the style now in vogue of examining the social context in which a literary work emerges. In the process, she has touched on many aspects that are not usually discussed in assessments or Robert Knox.

Jayawickrema begins her narrative by looking at the European colonisation of South America. She brings before the reader the writings of Oviedo, Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. We see how Europe looked at its colonial ventures. This is something new for the reading public in Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka, we tend to look only at the colonial experience in Asia, leaving out the parallel activity in South America. She examines European travel writings of the time as well and comments on the values depicted in such writings. Travel writing was expected to include sections on the fauna and flora of the country, its customs and people.

Colonial expansion

Jayawickrema says that it is unlikely that Knox crafted the text presently attributed to him. The letters and writings of Knox showed that the text could not have been Knox’s ‘own unaided work.’ His manuscript was an unwieldy mass of material. The text was knocked into shape by Robert Hooke, the Secretary of the Royal Society.

He had put it under chapter headings and the improved grammar and spelling. The East India Company and the Royal Society were interested in the manuscript because the information it contained was useful for colonial expansion. They saw to its speedy publication.

Jayawickrema draws attention to the personality of Knox. She does not see Knox as a hero. She wonders whether he came to Sri Lanka as a spy. Knox had a long association with the East India Company. They sent him on two voyages to Madagascar to obtain slaves. Jayawickrema records his unfeeling comments on slaves.

After that, the Company sent him to the Indonesian islands, with 33 sailors, 30 soldiers, and 24 guns to subdue its ruler. Knox, by his own admission, and quoted by Jayawickrema, did a little piracy on the way. His relations with the East India Company, however, were not smooth, and he was very disappointed with the Company by the time he retired.

Status of women

Jayawickrema objects to Knox’s questionable presentation of Sinhala women and his utterances about king Rajasinghe II. She tries to provide a corrective to this and in doing so goes well beyond the subject of Knox. She describes the status of women in Kandyan society and the privileges and freedom these women possessed.

She gives us her own account of the kingdom of Rajasinghe II, using historical sources such as Rajasinghe’s communications with the Dutch. She provides us with a very interesting description of his court, and the manner in which he dealt with the Dutch ambassadors.

This is supplemented with three illustrations of the audience given to the Dutch ambassador. She also points out that some of the foreigners captured by the king decided to stay on in the kingdom. They held positions under the king.

In the last section of the book, Jayawickrema examines the connection between Knox and Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. She focuses on Defoe’s modification of the ideas taken from Knox. This work is Jayawickrema’s doctoral thesis and carries references to a wide range of documents. It is written in a flowing, readable style.

The carefully selected illustrations, facsimiles and maps help to enhance the text. I recommend Sarojini Jayawickrema’s “Writing that Conquers” as a good read for the intelligentsia and a welcome gift for Christmas.

Kamalika Pieris

Conquering Hearts

Author: Wimal Abhayasundara

Godage International Publishers (Pvt) Ltd., Colombo 10

150 Pages

Price Rs. 450

Conquering Hearts is a collection of poetry written in English. Some of them are translations from Sinhala poems written by the author.

The fragrant abode which is my heart “Meditation”, Vesak Vesak”, “Powers”, “A Thera who rescued Buddhism”, “The golden splendour at Buddha Gaya”, and “It is a bliss - the birth of a Buddhas” have Buddhism as their theme. The rest of the poems deal with other subjects.

The book of poems has a special relevance because Wimal Abhayasundara is one of the most outstanding literary figures in Sri Lanka. He has shown his poetic genius in works such as “Nava Baaga Sanda”, Tun Sesath Rata,”, “Vana Pasa Malin Puda” and “Nishadi”.

Abhayasundara has also written a novel “Mihiriya” and two collections of short stories “Sirimali” and “Udyana Yatrava”. -

Liyathambara

Editor: Arthur U. Amarasena

Taneste Enterprises Ltd.

Media and Publishing, 1054, Centre Street, Suite 512, Thornhill, Ontario L4J8E5

Liyathambara is a monthly journal for Sri Lankan women living in Canada. Perhaps this is a pioneering venture.

The latest edition is full of interesting articles on food, love, driving, psychology, jewellery and interviews. One good aspect of the magazine is that all the articles are short and can be read quickly by busy housewives or professionals.

The interviews with Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapakse, the First Lady of Sri Lanka, throws light on her life pattern and thinking.

The centre spread story on perfumes traces the origin and development of the thriving industry. However, the short story “Anthima Bus Eka” (the last bus) beginning on page 25 abruptly ends on page 26. Apart from such lapses, the lay out and selection of articles and pictures are satisfactory.

The Thrilling Three

Author: Nathasha Samarasinghe

Pansilu Offset Printers, Boralesgamuwa

The Thrilling Three is the first novelette written by a 11-year-old student of Colombo South International College, Kalubowila, Dehiwala.

The young writer has been able to keep the reader in suspense right from the beginning. In this novelette all the ingredients of detective novel are found in good measure. There are three girls - Nishamalee, Himalee and Nimesha - who go on a trip to the hill country. They see a strange figure in the night and decide to find out who the stranger was.

Nathasha has used secret doors, secret rooms, towers, a huge round hall with no rooms, cigarette butts and a big handkerchief to sustain the tempo of her story.

The story is exciting and Nathasa shows promise as a talented writer.

Amaraneeya Loka

Siduveem Davasin Davasa

Author: Saman Kaluaarachchi

Suriya Publishers, Colombo 10

395 pages, Price Rs. 600

Saman Kaluaarachchi’s latest book Amaraneeya Loka Siduveem Davasin Davasa spells out the world history day by day. In other words, it gives the world’s important events that took place on each day of the 12 months making itself a ready reckoner for the scholar and the student.

According to the author 15 years of research has gone into produce this valuable book. He has left out events and dates which cannot be verified.

The author has mentioned the English terms wherever necessary. He has also included a valuable index towards the end of the book.

RSK