Circles of Fire

Agni Chakra

Chapter 11

By K. Jayawardene

Translated by Ranga Chandrarathne and Edited by Indeewara Thilakarathne

" It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." -Charles Dickens's Tale of Two Cities

How far was this apt for the era we lived in, I who walked in parallel with it and Shantha who looked opposite direction from it? Though Charles Dickens described this contradiction against the backdrop of the French revolution, didn't such a transformation take place in the socio-economic and political arenas during the past twenty years in Sri Lanka?

Expanding goods and services…

Imported luxurious products…

Knowledge of Information Technology which superseded literacy …

Attractive advertisements which virtually claimed the ownership of the goods…

Isn't the whole of life being interpreted and recreated through the market….

We too were walking along with the generation which made a leap in the history of mankind in two decades in which everything was turned topsy-turvy through the revolution brought about by the media and Information Technology. Shantha said that this limitless 'dream land' which was celebrated with endless structures and models had only created a regime of consumerist objectives. But my experience of it was entirely different.

I thought, though the free market economy had so many interpretations at the surface level, it had indirectly contributed to the elevation of a section of the population. At a glance, one may not be able to make head nor tail of it, it was certain that many were able to cleanse themselves in that current which burst out of traditional social structures. Those people, who were suffering from societal constrains were able to play diverse roles in the new setup.

The space for them to achieve social upward mobility was created by the defining ethos of the consumerist society which totally disregarded traditional value systems such as cast, family respect and respect of the individual. I think that this socio-economic revolution had helped marry girls who had lost their virginity and earlier would have been demanded by society to remain spinsters for good.

With satisfaction, I fixed on 'Gimhana Asapuwa', the cultural centre which was built on an artificial mount. Someone who looked at it from the slope could see the magnificent edifice, reminiscient of a rainbow. The curtains which hung down from its doors and windows were stripped with red, purple, indigo, orange, blue and yellow.

It was the 'spectrum' which divided white sunlight into seven colours. Since the spectrum would affect the human mind, I took care to make use of properties of colours such, as warm and cool to decorate the building. The architect of the institute which specialised in interior design had fused those colours with ease.

Scurrying to and from while appreciating artistic beauty, I thought though the Japanese applied 'art' in everyday life, gradually that practice had gone to the West and returned to Sri Lanka. Was it not post-modernism? Most of them who considered the concept of 'post-modernism' as a phenomenon confined to literature and not as a complex concept which spread over many fields. The speciality of it is that its openness which generates a beacon of light in many areas by fusing colours and light in these distinct fields. This aesthetic is also generated by the fusion of classical and popular art. It is this aesthetic that spread from the living room and dining room to the bathroom. Even the toilet papers were decorated with acrylic coloured animals with the influence of post-modernism. Isn't because of this that the commode is also covered with paintings by world renowned personalities?

The two storeyed building of ours adjoined the Gimhana Asapuwa. The rooms, halls and upstairs of the Gimhana Asapuwa were constructed in such a way that sunlight would filter in and reflect throughout the day. The different images of animals were inscribed on stone tablets against which the artificial waterfall, in front of the building. The picture of the bison which was drawn in Altamira cave in Spain and Lasso cave in France was prominent among them. In decorating those two buildings I was concerned about the pre-historic era since I did not see beauty in modern common carvings and patterns. The curtains and carpets had also been supplied in keeping with this. Since I heard that Sweden was in the forefront of interior design, I obtained some catalogues of interior design from a friend in Sweden.

Following the construction of Gimhana Asapuwa and the house with all modern amenities, I had to look for the security aspects of them. I was careful to install infra-red electronic bugler warning system. It was only after this installation, I felt secure.

Now there was a little space for Shantha and me to communicate. The gap in our decaying lives should have been further expanded by the big house. Earlier the place I was in at home, even for a short time, had not been a secret for Shantha. Both of us were always within the range of each others' sight. I could see and hear her wherever she was in the old house. Now the situation was different. I only knew her presence was in somewhere in the large house fortified by iron walls and pillars. Since Prabuddha had gone to America for his higher studies, Shantha was isolated in this palace. But she had not shown any sign of this isolation being a burden for her.

Yet my understanding was that interaction among people in huge houses would gradually wear off. I felt that some of the traditional thinking and poems had not sprung out of nothing. Songs such ' Piduru sevikala palapathe Ethi Same Natha Maha Mandire' ( the peace of a hut is not found in a manor house) would have been born out of these concepts.

However, this distance had in a way made my life easy. Now I did not have to bother about Shantha in answering a telephone call. Now I had the liberty to call any one and speak about anything. Though all the receivers in the house were interconnected and that she could listen to from any of those codeless extensions of the telephone, I knew Shantha had no such bad habits.

I had to send Prabuddha abroad for higher studies as he failed to enter a Sri Lankan university. Though I did my postgraduate studies at the Cornell University in USA twenty years ago on a scholarship, I could only admit Prabuddha to the University of Alabama. The University of Alabama with a majority of black American students was situated in a picturesque land of over 1200 area teaming with flora and fauna. One end of the university was the golf court of the city of Mobil while Municipal Park and museum were situated a kilometer away from the university.

Since Prabuddha was fluent in English from childhood and he scored higher marks in SAT. His English language skills, which was further sharpened up at leading international schools in Colombo and his inborn talent for mathematics would have had an advantage at SAT. However, he did not excel in other subjects.

He said as the first year was not strict, he engaged in sports. His favourite sport was baseball. Besides, he followed a course in IT. His friend was Carlo, a son of a Brazilian millionaire. Except him, Carlo's other friends were girls.

If I had not been the head of the NGO 'Bridge', I would not have been able to perform this miracle. But most of the things had happened positively and in double quick time.

I was puzzled over Shantha's reluctance to accept these positive outcomes of the free market economy. I had an urge to explore the unknown territories of Shantha's journey upstream though I had no intention of observing her activities.

Although every wife is ready to consider her husband's social upward mobility as a victory, Shantha looked at my Professorship, Deanship , my success in the field of literature and the activities spearheaded by 'Bridge' with indifference. Though I did not bother about her willingness or unwillingness on any matter, I was intrigued to find out the cause of her unhappiness. It was this contradiction which acted as 'the thread' that was holding our ties.

In considering this 'contradiction' I felt how important were the clashes of individuals and principles for the continuance of the marriage. It was this clash of principles which had been acting as a medium to take our discussion which was confined to mundane matters, to another area. After a long time, I thought that how dull this transaction would have been if Shantha and I held the same views.

I knew that Shantha had not appreciated two of my books which won literary awards, for some reason but definitely not for jealousy. She was not too happy about my poetry progressing into fiction. The principle reason that she did not appreciate my novels would have been that they had superseded realistic tradition. But I who was abreast with the latest trends and theories in literature, had not believed in what she called 'skills'. I had used 'Streams Of Consciousness, 'modernism' and 'magical realism' in my literary work in accordance with Kumaratunga Munidasa's saying 'The nation which would not produce novelties would not prosper'. But Shantha still played the old tunes.

"Do these people in Universities have self-respect?"

One day Shantha said so after one of my students who held a lecturer post for sometime and now had assumed another position, had visited me. I remained silent examining the magnificent

Wristwatch of moonstone which he gifted me.

"You shouldn't have accepted those gifts"

"I am not so rude as to decline a gift that someone brought me", I turned the boomerang on her.

"Not declining everything; it is ok to accept the cake..."

Though I had a strong impulse to scold her, I repacked the wristwatch in the box without uttering a word.

"I don't know how ethical it is to ask for positions…!"

I had to explain her that this was not a time where positions were given and or asking for them but a time in which positions were bought over. But my anger did not allow me such diatribes.

"Don't speak nonsense!" I said firmly.

"You say that reciprocation is a virtue..! When you reciprocate someone, you would look foul!"

"The politicians accepting commission is also not an offense? "

"That's not!" I said angrily and then whispered "In a way..."

"How can you justify accepting commissions for a wrong doing and cover it up as something outside reciprocation? "

In a flash I recalled the image of Minister Vibhuthiratna who declared open the Gimhana Asapuwa by cutting the red ribbon. How charismatic Vibhthiratna was as the Minister of Cultural Affairs? Wasn't it manifest in his immaculate garment without even a crease? He had such a charming personality that even attracted famous artists, poets and literati participating in the function. How did his dry jokes entertain the artists? I thought through experience that minor workers such as office assistants had real jokes. But when were those jokes cracked in public?

I observed Shantha was stunned for a moment on hearing my interpretation of reciprocation. She must be thinking of my new theory on reciprocation. But what she murmured after that was the sentence which she had used for over twenty years as the 'victory word':

"All depends on blood!"

"Blood..?'' I laughed loudly. I thought my anger would subside to the loudness of my artificial laugh, increasing her degree of pain.

"There are only five blood groups: A, B, AB and O. Division was made on certain blood characteristics. Haven't you heard of them?"

Shantha once again began to contemplate.

I would have only thought of seriously considering the ideas she came out with after a pause in which she breathed heavily, towards the end of my life.

"Yes, there can't be many things beyond the things that which medical science has discovered?