|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 6 June 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Book Reviews Le Carre's 'Absolute Friends': Politically urgent and dictated by rage by Rolando Perez Considered by many as the greatest writer of spy novels, with the publication of his latest book, Absolute Friends, British John le Carre has turned into a plague on the British conservative wing that for years applauded his anti-Communist tales. Le Carre used the Cold War as the setting for his novels for nearly four decades, within which the "democratic world" - thanks to talented and well - educated secret agents - imposed itself on the "sinister maneuvers" of international communism. His career has been one of success in the wake of his first novel, The Spy who Came in from the Cold, which he wrote using his experiences during the raising of the Berlin Wall, when he worked as a diplomat in Bonn. In response to insinuations that his novels related "intimate experiences," Le Carre always denied that he had been a member of his country's secret services. It was a denial that he himself shattered a few years ago, when he opened a window onto his real life: when he was still a university student, he was recruited to spy on his fellow students, especially those who were overly sympathetic to the Soviet Union. That is how the Eton - educated boy, with posts in the Ministry of Defence and later in the Foreign Office, was for half his life - "out of conviction", as he had said, a man with two faces, the main one shaped by M16 "in her Majesty's service". The tenacious ideology of "good against evil" has recently been subjected to review by Le Carre, impelled by the decor of a world that he no longer considers a "human theater" from which to gather material for his stories, not from the perspective of the writer enriched by his books, and the one who "looked at everything with the eyes of one who has just gained access to the property", as he stated in an recent Le Monde interview. Le Carre's participation for some time now in international debates of this burning Earth that is urgently calling for intellectual lucidity, recalls the decorous posture of someone who is being shaken and refuses to keep firing blindly and bound by old ideological convictions, from a tank with too much lethal garbage on top. At the end of last year, after taking part in the international Open Democracy debate on the invasion of Iraq, Le Carre commented, "The United States has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst of the many I remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs, and - in the long run - potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War". For the former diplomat, ex-spy and best - selling author, the plot was very clear to him. He noted that this imminent war was planned for years before Osama bin Laden attacked, but it was Osama that made it possible. Without Osama, the Bush junta would have to have kept explaining issues as thorny as the way he succeeded in getting elected; Enron; his shameless favors for those who are already too rich; his irresponsible disdain for the poor of the world, for ecology and for a endless number of unilaterally repealed international treaties. Perhaps he would also have to explain why he is supporting Israel in its continued scorning of UN resolutions. It is not strange that the same Conservatives who were decorating John le Carre are now rejecting him, and not just because of his active participation against U.S. hegemony and its squires. They are also ferociously criticizing his latest book, in which the one - time "master of the espionage novel" resurrects two agents from the 1970s and brings them to the present as part of a plot dominated by the problems of globalization, terrorism and the invasion of Iraq. It is a novel that its author qualifies as politically urgent("I never had the impression of writing so much in the heat of things and dictated by rage"), which puts the United States on the spot. In a recent interview in Le Monde,Le Carre criticized Tony Blair. "He was deceived or they deceived him as to the information that justified a war with Iraq...something very disagreeable in the world order, something guided by a purely ideological madness". The author explains that his book contains the idea that lies can destroy, and that wrong can triumph even in very intelligent people. He complains that after the Cold War, "we could have done so much, but nobody guided us", and that free trade was exported to the entire world. "Experts have estimated that for Africans to have access to potable water it would cost $25 million per country. There are things that can be done and that in my opinion constitute the genuine initiation of a response to a war on terror. While stress is being placed on the free market, on the power of corporations...poverty will be reinforced and will kill". And on recent years, he commented, "All of a sudden, the former Eastern bloc countries embraced capitalism with the same fervor with which some had adhered to communism. What has emerged since is a consequence of that collapse, the collapse of imagination and of altruism, a lack of vision, of wisdom and common sense... new forms of protest and popular expression have to be invented".Another John le Carre? Answering that question with mathematical precision is not as important as expressing a personal wish: a long life and many books for this new one that can be espied. Courtesy: Granma International. 'Janagahana adhyanaya': Births, deaths and migration by W.R. Gamini De Silva, Librarian, Rajarata University. Author: Indralal De Silva, Professor of Demography (Chair), University of Colombo. Demography is the study of the size and composition of human population, particularly births, deaths and migration. Both historical recordings and projections of future populations are calculated to provide the basis for economic and social planning. Prof.W. Indralal De Silva's recently published monograph on Population Studies with reference to Sri Lanka in Sinhala deals with most of these facets of demography mentioned above. bibliographies Furthermore the publication which consists of 386 pages with bibliographies at the end of each chapter also deals with such topics as Urbanization, Nuptiality, Family and Household, Family Planning and Abortion, Labour Force, Population and Environment and Population and Development. The chapter on family planning and abortion is well presented and documented with tables. A glance at the chapter headings of the monograph would reveal that it deals with the subjects on Population Studies in Sri Lanka quite comprehensively, systematically and logically. The chapter on reproductive health and abortion in Sri Lanka brings forward facts on family planning methods and on various family planning devices prevalent in Sri Lanka at present and in other developing countries and in the developed world. While describing the local trends on the topics the author draws parallels to SAARC countries and other countries of the world. There are facts and figures in world population trends, trends in international migration, International Conferences on Population and Development (ICPD) and Human Development Indexes (HDI) of different countries. These additional facts have enhanced the value of the book as a reference source and also serves as a guide to comparative studies. The publication is an eye opener to the problems that Sri Lanka would have to face with an increasing population size and changing population structure accompanied with such issues as ageing, urbanization, family planning and reproductive health, unemployment and poverty. The publication would also arouse an interest in undertaking research in the field of population studies in Sri Lanka and the bibliographies presented in the body of the publication would serve as the guidelines for any such future research. The monograph also contains necessary information on how to compute various rates, ratios, indexes and projections related to population studies. Inputs (data) for the computation of such measures are obtained from Sri Lankan sources and importantly readers are provided with detail analyses on population issues by using them. The publication is a well designed reference book for G.C.E.(O/L and A/L) students, undergraduates and post-graduate students pursuing Population Studies as a discipline. It would also serve as a source of inspiration for those engaged in research in the field of Population Studies with special reference to Sri Lanka. However the monograph would serve its purpose better if more attention is paid for the construction of models and policy recommendations. Prof. W. Indralal De Silva, the author of the publication is a specialist in the field of Demography and Population Studies having obtained his MA and PhD. Degrees from the National University of Australia. He had also served as a guest lecturer at the Harvard University and Australian National University. Further he has contributed articles to international journals immensely. By authoring this publication, Prof.De Silva has made a tremendous contribution to the dissemination of knowledge in the field of Population Studies in Sri Lanka. ###### 'Sridas Maathangi': Carnatic gems on the Veena by Dr. S. Raman, University of Ottawa, Canada Sivasambo Sridas in keeping with his promise has produced a sparkling collection of Carnatic gems on the veena (a three CD-set) as a follow up of his release of the popular twin CD-set on the flute. The current collection entitled "Mathangi" named after the mythical Goddess of Veena boasts thirty purely Carnatic uruppadis (literally ornaments) that are quite familiar and popular among the elite Rasikas of Carnatic Music. It includes ten choice compositions of Saint Thyagaraja, four well-known compositions of Papanasam Sivan, two magnificent pieces of Patnam Subramnia Iyer (including Raghuvamsa Sudha in Kathanakuthukalam that was composed exclusively for playing on the instruments) and nice popular selections of Bharathiar, Rajaji, Agasthiar (Srichakra Raja), Purandaradasa, Mysore Vasudevachar and a lilting Thillana in Desh by the Maestro Lalkudi Jayaraman. The compositions span twentyfive lively ragas and there are four ragamalikas, Sridas has rendered each piece preserving the delicate nuances with a subtle display of the characteristic gamakas which is the life essence of Carnatic music. Legendary Like the legendary Mali, Sridas is a self-taught genius in both Veena and Flute who has devoted over 50 years of his life to perfect the art of playing these instruments with constant contacts with the great Savants of Carnatic music. Just as he considers Maestro Dr. N. Ramani as his manasika guru for Flute, he pays obeisance to Sangita Kalanidhi K.P. Sivanandam (and Sarada Sivanandam) for his typical Tanjore style veena play. Strict adherence to Sruti and padaantharam is characteristic of his style. He emulates the vocalist very closely in rendering the kritis and creates the illusion that the veena is actually singing to you. Hence purists may object that he has not fully exploited the full potential of the Veena which extends beyond the human ability. But in defence of Sridas one may state that in this endeavour he has attempted to portray the prowess of veena in comparison with the human voice rather than display the uniqueness of the instrument through elaborate aalapana and kalpana swarams. Sridas effectively demonstrates how the veena could voluptuously adhere to the vocal renderings by the greats in their hey-days. For example Sarasasamadana suddenly sparks the memory of Mani Iyer, Thamaraipootha Thadagam that of M.M. Desikar etc. Swararagasudha in Shankarabharanam has been given a pride of place in Vol 1. He has delineated the raga quite exhaustively following up with thaanam not only in Shankarabharanam but also in the popular ragas Kaanada, Kaambothi, Shanmugapriya, Kaapi and Sindhubhairavi in a Ragamalika mode. In vol.2 where he seeks to treat "Kalikiyunde" as the main piece he has also played thaanam in Keeravani. It would appear that Sridas has included thaanam more for comprehensiveness of his reportoire than to exploit the veena for its particular potential with respect to thaanam exposition. In fairness to Sridas it will be observed that his endeavour has been directed more towards exploring the scope of carnatic music via the veena as against exploitation of the musical instrument veena for its technical potential. We could, perhaps, expect this virtuoso to attempt some emphasis to the latter aspect in his future releases.The Mridangam and Ghatam accompanists have done an excellent job of support without being obtrusive. There are some slight technical pitfalls in the sound recording which a keen ear would detect. The sound engineer should pay more attention to these aspects in future recordings. Full description of the contents of the CDs as well as sample audio clips are available at his web site www.sridas.com. As a Sri Lankan-Canadian Sridas is currently busy training the next generation of Carnatic Music Instrumentalists at his Studio Sri Lalithakalakendhiram in Toronto, Canada. ###### (April 14, 1979 to April 14, 2004) 25 Years of Television in Sri Lanka Reviewed By E. Weerapperuma Edited by Sajeevani Helan Muthumuni, Rasika Sampath, Indrajith Sri
Perera and Sujeewa Aravvala with editorial guidance and supervision by
Rev.Fr. Ernest Poruthota. On June 05, ITN, the Independent Television Network marked its Silver Jubilee. And the event was marked with the launch of the book '25 years of Television in Sri Lanka', by the students of the Catholic Media Institute (CMI). The tenth publication of the Institute covers the period from April 14, 1979 to April 14, 2004 and carries the results of a survey on the operation, and development of television channels since the first step was taken by Shan Wickremesinghe, with the support of Anil Wijewardene and Bob Christy, an American. At the launch, Director of the Catholic Media Institute, Rev.Fr. Ernest Poruthota said that it was the only comprehensive historical research book on 11 TV channels in Sri Lanka and observed that it was a collective work of the students of the Catholic Media Institute, who participated at the 'Conferral to Media' programme. Divided into four sections with a preamble, which discusses the future of TV in Sri Lanka '25 years of Television in Sri Lanka' deals with TV as a media, its history, TV in Sri Lanka and the emergence of different TV channels in the country with the passage of time. It also records the felicitations to TV by UNDA, SIGNIS and the Sumathi Group. The articles dealing with various aspects of the Television as a media having its greatest influence on society, family, on children and adults, TV globalisation and nationalism, invites the reader to go in search of alternatives. The effort to chronicle 25 years of television for the perusal of future researchers in this field and the bibliography for reference and further reading, is laudable. The content of the 865 page book brings back memories of the input of Yugoslavian TV for the 1976 Colombo Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement and the first ever launching of the ITN - Independent Television Network - in a small room at Mahalwarava, Pannipitiya, by the two Sri Lankans and their American friend, without a single penny received from abroad as financial assistance. It also speaks of the emergence of 11 TV channels within the past 25 years. The greatest achievement is the ability of a Sri Lankan to provide the opportunity to people in 180 countries to view TV programs from their living rooms with the launch of TVLanka, on March 8, 2003. The book also brings back memories of the launching of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation in 1982 and other channels like MTV, Sirasa, Shakthi, ETV, Swarnavahini, Dynavision and TV Lanka, and recalls the dream of Arthur C. Clarke to have Geostationary Communication Satellites. This book which carries the result of a TV survey conducted in the country, undoubtedly will be a very valuable source of information. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
