Milieu defining nature of Agni Chakra (The Circles of fire)

By Ranga Chandrarathne

One of the prominent characteristics of a novel is that it depicts the time, personages that dominated the era as well as the socio-economic changes akin to that period which had a marked bearings on the lives of the population at large.

This milieu defining nature is not confined to fiction alone but is also valid vintage point to study the merits and demerits of other forms of art such as cinema and drama. Another important aspect of literary creation is the deeper analysis of human psyche and the graphical depiction of unique mentalities of divergent characters which represent not only different shades of opinions but also diverse strata of society, the prevalent class structure and the ethos of the society at large. A deeper analysis of humanity in a literary creation, apart from defining the milieu in which it is written, is a characteristic which ensures universal appeal for such creation superseding the cultural and at times, linguistic barriers.

It is also this characteristic which immortalises a work of fiction or any other art form including drama and cinema. For instance, Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago is not only a passionate love story but a potent indictment of a dictatorial society where the plight of a man as the life that he has accustomed to was torn apart by external forces beyond his control. Apart from the depiction of dictatorial society, a salient characteristic of 'Doctor Zhivago' is the deep analysis of human psyche under trying circumstances and a portrayal of superb characterisation. The flesh and blood of the novel lies in the vividly represented characters and the author's use of other materials such as trying circumstances and principally the uncertainty brought about by war to cause emotional dilemmas of the characters.

Creations such as Bertolt Brecht's 'Caucasian Chalk Circle', Anton Chekov's short stories, Leo Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' and Akira Kurasawa's films enjoy universal appeal to people of many cultures because of the universal appeal of these art forms.

Milieu defining nature in Martin Wickremasinghe's work

Among the Sinhalese literati, Martin Wickremasinghe's works are marked for their superb characterisation, vividly realised scenes which play a seminal role in the plot and the milieu defining nature. It is pertinent here to examine, albeit briefly, seminal characteristics of Martin Wickremasinge's work which shedslight on defining characteristics of Sinhalese literary production with emphasis on milieu defining nature of them. Wickremasinghe's trilogy 'Gamperaliya' (Village in transition), Kaliyugaya (Era of Kali) and Yuganthaya (End of an era), apart from their literary merits, codified the milieu in which they were written.

Gamperaliya captures the uneasy transition from feudal society to an emergence of a market economy at the tail end of the British colonisation in Sri Lanka. The sub-text of the novel is the evolution of Sri Lankan society and the changes that have been brought about by the inroad of capitalism in remotes parts of the country.

Wickremasinghe's creations are marked for lucid language, contextual clarity and use of refined form of colloquial Sinhalese idiom utilised as effective tools in his literary work. Apart from defining the milieu, they are also superb analysis of human psyche and emotions, for the first time in Sinhalese fiction.

Agni Chakra (The Circles of fire) as social criticism

The importance of Agni Chakra to the evolution of contemporary Sinhalese fiction can be considered on many counts. One of the principal characteristics of the novel is in its milieu defining nature.

If Martin Wickremasinghe's 'Gamperaliya' depicts the socio-economic changes that occurred in the aftermath of independence, Agni Chakra depicts the fundamental changes that occurred after 1977.

The year 1977 marked a watershed in the socio-economic transformation of Sri Lanka not only from an economic point but also from ethical and moral perspectives.

The unbridled consumerism has changed the hitherto prevalent ethos of high thinking and plain life, compelling members of the society to earn money by hook or crook.

The principal character of the novel

Prof. Saddhamangala Sirinivasa plays myriad of roles representing multiple sectors of society such as academia, field of literature and as a principal member of a NGO. In a strange way each sector complements The other. The narrator of the story is the main character, Prof. Saddhamangala Sirinivasa who belongs to a generation of men and women who come from the bottom of the social strata and reach the upper echelons of society by virtue of free education.

The seminal characteristic of these men and women with a miserable childhood is that at certain point of their evolution, they have changed their birth-names and sometimes religion often with the intention of burying their miserable past for good. For instance, Balithiyanagedara Saddhapala assumes the name of Prof. Saddhamangala Sirinivasa and marries a young-bookish lady of considerable fortune only to be used as a launching pad for his phenomenal rise in diverse fields.

Over the years, he realises most of his goals including sending his son Prabuddha abroad for studies. However, Saddhamangala can hardly enjoy a healthy sexual life with his conservative wife, leading to numerous liaisons with female students. On another plateau these liaisons highlight the fractured emotional life Prof. Saddhamangala Sirinivasa who suffers from nightmarish vision of his childhood which he spent with a traumatised mother. The author questions the very purpose of rat race that Prof. Saddhamangala Sirinivasa engages in. Saddhamangala cannot manipulate any of his possessions including his wife and the son.

The sub-text of the novel is the evolution of Sri Lankan society particularly in the post -1977.

The author vividly captures the changing reality in a financially-motivated milieu where the individuals have been reduced to mere numbers at the whims and fancies of free-flowing, borderless capitals.

'Agni Chakra' defines the contemporary milieu as vividly as it could have been in a contemporary literary creation.