Once upon many times

Serendipity of Andrew George

By Ananda W.P Guruge

Godage International Publishers (Pvt) Limited

Reviewed by Aditha Dissanayake

[email protected]

Resolution: I will not come between you and Andrew George. I will do nothing to break the fascination you are bound to feel when you get to know about Andrew’s quest to find his roots. I will leave you to discover for yourself if this journey proves to be something similar to Alex Hailey’s Roots, or not.

Nor would I stop you from aching for Andrew when you get to read he is seeking a change of scene to soften the “blow of a broken relationship”. Would he find the love of his life within the 696 pages of Prof. Ananda Guruge’s Serendipity of Andrew George? Keep your fingers crossed.

Leave my pen off Andrew, and you might think I will have very little left to write on. Wrong. There are two protagonists here. Andrew and the country he at first, vaguely remembers as an island close to India but later calls the land of the “smiling Brownies” - a country where the people “live not between the old world and the new.. but in a happy position where they can reach for the best in both worlds at one and the same time.

This is the secret of their happiness. No wonder they are always smiling, if not laughing”. The book is an attempt to describe, sum up and embrace Ceylon by mixing a fictional story line with actual facts and real life characters. This is more her story than this is Andy’s.

Focusing as it does with a lens sharp enough to capture the minutest details of the country, from the affluent rural communities in Colombo to the North of the island along the west coast, if any work of fiction can be strong enough to transcend the bridge between the west and the South Asian soul ,it is surely this wonder of a book. Here is what the writer seems to say “Let me take you through a journey beyond imagination. Let me tell you a story”.

And what a story it turns out to be. Though not a nail biter, a page turner, and certainly not “unputdownable”, here is a story to be enjoyed in small doses, basking in the soothing knowledge there will be no unpredictable twists, cynical political analysis or judgemental, negative statements either about the events or about the characters, all of whom possess charm and wit.

It is pleasingly amusing to find the only character who has a rough edge (if it could be called that) is Professor Guruge, himself. He does not initially, invite Andrew to call him by his first name, “he is distant and his overly polite and formal behaviour irks some people”.

Hardly ever do we come across an author portraying himself in the third person, and willingly having the other characters criticize him as does Prof. Guruge in Andrew George.

The story unfolds through a narrative frame work, reminiscent of Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales or, dating even further back in history to the Panchatantra. Different characters take up the story at different times breaking the monotony and adding colour to a snapshot of the tumultuous past, which would otherwise have been a dull grey.

From the “smiling little undergraduate” whose name Andrew could not pronounce or spell at that early stage, to “the old monk who had dedicated the best years of his life to bring hope and meaning to a dying village” to Sepala’s wife, “whose attainments in literature might be as praiseworthy as those in the realm of culinary skill”help make an impression “far beyond the size of their island nation”.

Food. From the exotic to the not-so-exotic, but never bland or mundane, it is hard not to have your throat parched, when Andrew drinks “the beverage served by nature to him in such a delightful container” - a king coconut, making you yearn for one too, or restrain your mouth from watering, your stomach from rumbling, reading about Egg-hoppers, string-hoppers with fish curry, pol-kirihodi and lunu-miris, each seen through the eyes of a stranger who had never tasted them before.

The Kiri-hodi to Andrew, is a bowl of soup, deep yellow in colour with onions, bits of green chillies and curry leaves, he sees an egg hopper as a pan-cake with a poached egg placed on it, and seeni-sambol as onions with the inviting smell of sizzling bacon.

Not only foreigners, but the Westernised urbanites of the present generation of Sri Lankans, who are used to fast food would find it enthralling to read how most of these food is prepared.

Take for example, the preparation of string-hoppers, which Andy feels, looks like “spaghetti or chow mien with the threads thinner and arranged to form something like a circular pad”.

“Vijaya explained how string-hoppers were made with only rice-flour, hot water and salt; that of course, did not include the more important ingredients; technique, hard work and patience”.

Time and again the hospitality of the Sri Lankans is praised to the blue skies, beginning with Andrew’s first Sri Lankan meal, served to him in one of the most fashionable residential areas in London by Dr. Malalasekara and his wife.

This is when he is introduced to “something which resembled crushed cornflakes” with a nice smell. “Our ubiquitous national dish” the hostess tells him and warns, “never believe if a Ceylonese invites you to a meal of boiled rice” and this “salad” served in the humblest to the most sophisticated homes”, because it is only a fancy statement of self-depreciation”. Made with the scraped coconut kernel, woe be to you, if you have not yet tated this elixir.

There is a lot here to keep your lips turned skywards. Here is how a bit of useful information saves Andrew from many a moment of despair and embarrassment. When Sepala shakes his head, Andrew interprets it as “No”. But Vijaya explains “Sepala’s nod was a ‘yes’, Andy! That’s where East and West will never meet. Our nod to signify the tentative or half hearted affirmative is a negative to you”.

Yet, there is a lot here which is bound to make you wrinkle your forehead and turn your lips down. That taboo subject. Caste. Even though the social barriers had gradually crumbled in modern day Sri Lanka, the end of all social distinctions is yet a dream. “Caste will never be forgotten in marriage and in politics” affirms Vijay.

Even Andrew, with a gap of two generations and three American ancestors does not go unscathed. He is the ‘descendent’ of an “untouchable” and it takes an intelligent Sri Lankan girl to wipe away the stain Andrew feels is on him by being a “one quarter outcaste”. It is redeeming to hear Sita quote the Buddha. “One becomes an outcaste not by birth but by actions”.

Here, finally is a novel where history and fiction is finely balanced, with neither one overwhelming the other.

A work and a world that expands anybody’s vision of Sri Lanka, adding colour to it and enhancing it with hope; i.e as predicted by the ‘jolly professor” Dr. Weera Arthakatha, “If I am to write a poem I will call it ‘Ceylonese shall rule tree-tops”.

“We are like a multitude of bats. We have a folk-tale that says that bats did not know whether they were birds or beasts. So in a great struggle when it was found that birds were gaining ground they said, We are birds - look at our wings”. When the beasts appeared to win, the same bats joined them saying, “look at our teeth. We don’t lay eggs. We nurse our young ones”. So are the Ceylonese - our adaptability is our greatest asset.

‘We shall never despair. We shall never die. And what’s more - we shall rule the tree tops”. On a more serious level here is Andrew’s realization “Whether in a jungle of brick and masonry, metal and glass, bridges and roads...man belonged to one single family, and looked for the same things, experienced the same pains and pleasure, and entertained the same hopes and aspirations.”

In the end, here is a brave, honourable work which provides not only mere entertainment but goes beyond. It teaches. Don’t miss it.

Indescribable Serendib

Sindbad in Serendib

By Richard Boyle

Visidunu Prakashakayo (Pvt) Limited

By Nilma Dole

[email protected]

It is not often that one comes across a book that easily influences one’s train of thought and has been instrumental in igniting passion to read further. Upon reading ‘Sinbad in Serendib’ by Richard Boyle, it greatly enlightened me about the rich history and language derivations pertaining to Sri Lanka and as it is more famously known - ‘Serendib’ or ‘Serendipity’.

In the 1001 Arabian Nights collection, the story of the ‘Sixth Wonderful Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor’ eloquently relates Sinbad’s account of Serendib: “A beautiful country lay before me, and my raft which was tied to the bank, was surrounded by friendly looking Indians.

I rose and saluted them and they spoke to me in return but I could not understand a word of their language. Feeling perfectly bewildered by my sudden return to life, I murmured to myself in Arabic ‘Close thine eyes, and whilst thou sleepest Heaven will change thy fortune from evil to good’.

One of the natives who understood this tongue then came forward saying “My brother, be not surprised to see us, we are the husbandmen and tillers of the soil who came out to water our fields and plantations. We confronted your raft floating on the river and one swam out and brought you to shore”.

Like so, the Serendib hospitality and kindness is evident from times before to the time Sinbad journeyed here and he also gives a brilliant description of how blessed the island is with Mother Nature’s bounty “As it was the place where Adam was banished out of Paradise, I had the curiosity to ascend to its summit and solace myself with a view of its marvels, which are indescribable.

Here are found rubies and many precious things and rare plants grow abundantly with spice trees and cocoa palms.

On the seashore and at the mouths of rivers the divers seek for pearls and in some valleys precious stones are plentiful.” The voyage of ‘Sinbad in Serendib’ has the facts clearly explained in the book because the stories of Sinbad today have been created and have been painted over to make it more palatable.

The essay that really fuelled inspiration was ‘Mermaid Myth, Dugong Reality’ which invokes a sense of yearning to dig into this more, since this wonderful mammal is now facing extinction.

The dugong mammal or manatee has sparked off the mermaid myth because the suckling of its young and the human-like features seen at a distance is similar to that of a beautiful female mermaid. Also, it doesn’t help that before in earlier times, the meat of the dugong was so tender and succulent that there was much killing of it.

In the book, the historical account has it that King Parakramabahu’s beautiful daughter Navaratnavali or Ratnavalli has a desire for human flesh.

According to the book “The facts then came to light, and the King, stripping his daughter of her ornaments, and calling up a scavenger then sweeping out a neighbouring yard gave her to him as wife and drove her out to earn her living in her husband’s class”.

The Rodi women weren’t allowed to cover their upper body which left their breasts clearly exposed and which made early foreign settlers lust after these sensual women as subjects of ‘Victorian pornography’.

Also, the Nittaewo people as related in the essay ‘The Nittaewo: Dagger -Clawed Little People’ focuses on the Neantherdal people who were inhabitants of the island and who fought much with the ‘Veddah’ people, the dominant race in Serendib.

Stories like ‘Horace Walpole, Serendipity and The Three Princes’ and ‘The Anaconda of Ceylon’ draw facts on the language styles and origins of certain words used in English from the Sri Lankan languages - Sinhala and Tamil.

For more information, Boyle’s previous book ‘Knox’s Words’ will give valuable insight. Stunning breath-taking places like those described in the essays ‘In Quest of the Great Ruby’, ‘Galle in its Heyday’, ‘Ritigala: The Enigmatic Mountain’, ‘Mulgirigala: Rock of Ages’, as with artistic expressions highlighted by ‘Ernst Haeckel’s Island of Marvels’ certainly show how pleasant the geography of Serendib has been from years ago. Further interesting stories like ‘Tales of the Giant Squid’, ‘The Cobra Files’ and ‘Of Pearls and Pearl Fisheries’ reflect on the adventures of travellers and inhabitants in Serendib.

The essay ‘C.G. Jung’s Field of Vision’ is one of the better essays because it clearly states C.G.Jung’s dream where he saw and describes Serendib like the satellite picture of Sri Lanka and part of India taken by NASA on the ‘Gemini 11 mission’ in 1966.

In every sense of the word, Richard Boyle has delved deep into the archives which have taken him around the world inspired by the late H.A.I. Gonnetileke’s ‘A Bibliography of Ceylon’, Andrew Robinson’s ‘Description of the Anaconda’ and various contributions by the late renowned Sir Arthur C. Clarke, R.K. de Silva, Ismeth Raheem, Manik Sandrasagra, Bill Alpine, Jeanne Pinto, Swarni Shiva Kalki and Mahen Vaithianathan. Much of his findings and research have taken him years to uncover and fit the missing pieces like a jigsaw puzzle. This is the best gift Richard Boyle has presented to Sri Lanka where he has been resident for nearly 30 years.

A cloud in my heart

Not the last words, but...

by Aditha Dissanayake

[email protected]

“Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends.” - Richard Bach

Had this column being written by hand today, the words would be jumbled and hardly readable - you would only have had to glance at the handwriting to realize Aditha is having a bad day today. You will shake your head compassionately (I hope) and turn to JJ’s Sunday Crime or move onto Sajitha’s Passionate Pen. Don’t let me stop you.

Yes, I am not quite here with you this Sunday. My poor scrambled brain is not in working mode today and I am sure I will be squeezing out vaguely understandable sentences. So, today, don’t expect anything too insightful please.

Here is the explanation. I am leaving. I am leaving home, the greatest place on earth, for two years, and The Sunday Observer, temporarily. This will be the last day I will hold fort at Writer’s Den. The key of the “Den” from next week will be with one or the other of my colleagues, if they wish to continue. They might have their own ideas of how to do the book reviews page and I wish them luck.

Click the calendar back by three years and you will find how Writer’s Den was built plank by plank, tile by tile, to provide a home for every scribe in Sri Lanka, poet, novelist, historian, writing in English, Sinhala or Tamil.

Harsh criticism of a creative work, with no kind of humanity involved was avoided as much as possible believing in the doctrine however much we need criticism we need it in a gentle voice. - a voice, aimed for genuine, informed, passionate discourse about literature - a voice, expressive, precise and above all, wholly human.

Dear Reader, my fondest hope today is that every Sunday when you stepped into Writer’s Den during the past three years you found yourself always riveted and never perplexed; enlightened and never unsatisfied. It was such a pleasure to have got to know you, to have reached out and “connected”.

But now, its time to let go. Adieu. Let me part seeking solace in Richard Bach’s words - miles truly can’t separate us. “If you want to be with someone you love aren’t you already there?”

Book News

The Gratiaen Prize and State Literary Award-winning book, The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku will be felicitated and reviewed in a ceremony, “Viewpoints on The Banana Tree Crisis,” to be held in Colombo on Tuesday, July 15th.

The event will be addressed by Professors Ashley Halpe and K.N.O. Dharmadasa as well as by author, Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, who was one of the judges of the Gratiaen Prize when it was awarded to the book. The publisher, Vijitha Yapa, will also speak at the event while the author, Isankya Kodithuwakku, will read from the book.

The Banana Tree Crisis was published in August 2006 and had the unprecedented achievement of being awarded both the Gratiaen Prize and the State Literary Award. The book won the State prize in the Short Story category. It is currently in its third printing.

Salute to our national heroes

It is common knowledge that today most people, particularly those of the younger generations, know very little about national heroes and patriots of our country even of the not too distant past. The main reason for this situation is that books and information about them, are not readily available. Although there are biographies of some of them, they are not easily accessible to the general reader as well as school children.

The writer who has previously written a very useful book on the “Famous Kings of Ancient Sri Lanka”, has now compiled this book containing brief biographical sketches of some of the most outstanding personalities of Sri Lanka during the Colonial era. He has taken great pains to gather little known and almost forgotten information about them.

I consider this as a timely and much needed book, well written and attractively produced and I have no hesitation in recommending it to school children as well as Teachers, specially those teaching the subject of social studies. The general reader would also find this book informative and interesting.

-Professor Mendis Rohanadeera