Sathyam Sivam Sundaram :

Anthology of insightful articles

Reviewed by Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

The anthology of articles containing the interviews with W.A Abeysinghe, a prominent Sinhalese literatus and public intellectual offers invaluable insights into not only the life and time of W.A Abeysinghe but also into the cultural and political life of the nation. The articles appeared in newspapers.

The title of the book which can be condensed into three operative words Literature...Society ...and Politics actually epitomise the content of the book. The editor of the anthology Dipachandee Abeysinghe, daughter of W.A Abeysinghe has mentioned that she had taken the initiative to anthologise the articles as her father was not so interested in publishing the articles in book form after he was bored of the lack of response to his diverse articles that he wrote to newspapers over the years on different issues.

W.A Abeysinghe's some of the remarks which are often controversial, are like sharp blades which challenge widespread beliefs in society. Titles of the interviews also give hints to the content of them. For instance, ' Horagal Ahulana Ape Buddimathhu' (dubious intellectuals), ' Sahityakaraya Kelinkala hakida?' (Can the literatus be made upright?) are statements with a lot of connotations. Although Abeysinghe has been widely engaged in literary activities and literary criticism, he has also been engaged for a long time in active politics. It is obvious from the following extract that W.A Abeysinghe believes in a mass movement rather than in political parties. He states, "Thirty years ago, a political party represented policies. But today, a political party is just a group of people. It is a group of people with the sole objective of plundering the wealth of the masses who are in those two great parties. Actually, what I think is that those two political parties had done a greater damage to the country during the past 25 years than even Kalinga Magha, Portuguese or English had done. Therefore, today, the country needs a patriotic mass movement which goes beyond politics. That movement should be able to bring about a transformation in the lifestyle of the people" (Page 104)

In one of the interviews, W.A Abeysinghe expressed his views on literature and that the politics should not influence literature. He says citing Alexander Solzhenitsyn' famous saying on literati "For a country to have a great writer is like having a second government. That is why no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones. ", that when the writer is degenerated, there wont' be a country to listen to him. He concludes the interview with the remark that intellectuals, writers and artists should discuss about their role.

He also expresses his views on the space in the media for literature and writers. In an interview entitled "Why should we read Martin Wickremasinghe?", he presents thought provoking ideas. The interview appeared in Sinhalese newspaper Ravaya to mark the 112 birth anniversary of Martin Wickramasinghe.

He points out how the media step-motherly treat writers.

"Sometime ago, I participated in a poetry conference held in India. The conference was held in Madhya Pradesh and in the capital of the province, Bhopal. On the flight from Bhopal to Delhi, I happened to read a travel brochure with an article on Mysore. In the article, three facts were mentioned about Mysore; that it was famous for betel leaves, for Jasmine and that it was the province where R.K Narayan lived. Koggala is a very attractive tourist destination. But who would say that Koggala is important because of Martin Wickremasinghe. I have never seen in any Sri Lankan travel brochure mentioned Koggala as the birthplace of Martin Wickremasinghe. "(Page 86-87)

In expressing his views on modernity and poetry, Abeysinghe states that academics mercilessly attacked P.B Alwise Perera's poetry. Though he himself is a poet and wrote a large number of poems in blank verse, his views on the Colombo period poetry would encourage readers to re-visit it with a fresh mindset.

Speaking on modern poets, he says, " Though there are talented poets are out there, poetry has today become a fashion. They break sentences into lines. They are like riddles. Therefore, now poetry has been distanced itself from the masses" (Page 246-247)

Oft cited term in the interviews was 'knowledge'. However, what he meant by 'knowledge 'is not mere gathering of knowledge pertaining to a discipline but a vast knowledge and understanding. He said, "knowledge does not mean information. Information can be obtained by browsing the web. As you roam into websites, you can obtain container loads of information. Actually, now information can be obtained by pressing a button. Then what is knowledge? We should not forget that University is given an adjective universal. A university becomes really a university not because different disciplines taught in it but because of the universal knowledge that it imparts"

Speaking at the academic degradation at the universities, W.A Abeysinghe sums up the situation in a speech accepting the Doctor of Literature conferred upon him by the university of Wayamba. He said "I often think that the reason of conferring me a D Lit was that the University of Wayamba does not have a Department of Sinhalese. ". He pointed out that the Departments of Sinhalese have been adversely affected by the academic degradation.

"The academic crisis in the Departments of Sinhalese should not arise in an academic community... most of the universities; professors are influenced by caste, Up Country / a low country division and school of thinking. If one speaks against an injustice caused to young students, he or she would be cornered.

We can see narrow-mindedness in Departments of Sinhalese ...there are public intellectuals who have gone beyond the narrow confines of academia. But some university teachers are thinking that they leading the field. The Department of Sinhalese is the worst affected area in this regard."

Abeysinghe is of the view that translations of literary works are popular because original works are poor. He questions why we have stopped translating Sinhalese works into foreign languages after translating Martin Wickremasinghe's works.

"Wickremasinghe's literary works have been translated into many foreign languages. We should be happy about it. But I don't think that there aren't any other literary works at Martin Wickremasinghe's level. Particularly, Sarachchandra's novels are of extreme higher standards. Likewise, G.B Senanayake's books such as 'Medha', 'Varadatta' and 'Charumukha' are literary works with a universal message" (Page 213)

One of the interesting interviews is on the criteria of literature and the language. He is of the view that literature cannot be measured with a foot ruler or marks cannot be given as in Mathematics.

"There are four main functions of language. One is that we use language for listening. It is used, thereafter, to speak and finally for writing.

The writer should understand the nature of language. There is a way in which language should be used for writing, as we called it like inscribed on a stone. So writing is the last stage of language. Therefore, the writer should pay attention to language." (Page 217)

In his acceptance speech at the convocation of Doctor of Literature, W.A Abeysinghe dealt with the perennial questions: who is the literatus ? What is the role of literature, for whom is the literature? in a couple of words citing Russian writer David Kugulnikov who has defined literature as Literature is the conscience of mankind".

Significantly, the interviews that W.A Abeysinghe given to newspapers over the years are not only provides insights into some of the intractable issues which are still relevant but also reflect the milieu in which he spent over half a century , engaging with the dominant discourse of the day in diverse capacities such as a translator, administrator and bilingual literatus.

The splendour of Sri Palee

Reviewed by Deepal Sooriyaarachchi

It was the nineteen thirties. There was a renaissance of education in Sri Lanka. Wilmot A. Perera, a son of the richest planters of the country started an experiment in education with far reaching consequences. That is the commencement of Sri Palee in line of Shanthinikethan of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. On May 20 , 1934 at the founding of Sri Palee the speech made by Tagore is as relevant today as it was then.

"It reminds me of my own work in Bengal, this institution which you have started and I feel that this will be a channel of communication of hearts between your Island and our institution in Bengal. It makes me feel so happy. This rural problem is a world problem, not merely your own national problem.

In India in the olden days our civilisation rested upon the villages. Our culture did not desert the village. In fact this culture had its proper home there because the villages were the cradle of life and now the towns are sustained and maintained by the villagers. Their produce is sold and we produce their necessary of raw materials and we are prosperous. We have our education, our sanitation, and various other advantages for which we owe everything to the villagers, and yet, how small is the return which we offer them. The return for all the services which they have rendered to the towns almost seems nothing and they are neglected.

In the long run we shall pay for it. There is no doubt about it and that is why I feel so happy that you have started this institution which is a protest against this onesided civilisation and the advantages one sided and presently limited only to towns.

My friend, I hope that you will succeed with your mission and we shall join hands from across the seas in Bengal and in this Island."

This was featured in the Splendour of Sri Palee, the 75th anniversary publication of the college compiled by the Past Students Association - Colombo Branch.

The bilingual publication is a rare collection of articles and photographs covering not only the history of the institution, profiles of eminent past pupils, and memories of the yester years but also a comprehensive study of the thinking that is associated with the educational experiment Sri Palee. Unfortunately, this unique experiment was abandoned consequent to the taking over of schools in the nineteen sixties. With it Sri Lanka lost an opportunity to develop balanced youth with freedom of thought and sensitivity to nature and fellow human beings as world citizens.

The book was launched at a fitting ceremony with the participation of the High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha at the college auditorium recently.

The publication has a rare collection of articles by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on education along with the founder Wilmot A. Perera. These can be considered 'must reads' by anyone interested in the development of education.

Sri Palee was founded in line with the principles of Shanthiniketan. To understand the thinking of Tagore the following statement alone is enough.

"Our system of education refuses to admit that children are children. Children are punished because they fail to behave like grown up people and have the impertinence to be noisily childish. Thus the child become the battle ground for a fight between the schoolmaster and mother nature herself. An immense amount of sympathy and understanding and imagination are needed to bring up children. He who has lost the child in himself is absolutely unfit for this great work of educating human children".

To illustrate that the early Sripalians are indeed benefited from an environment created in line with such inspirations the compilers of the book have featured many who have reached global and national levels as a result of educating at this great seat of learning.

The founder Wilmot A. Perera in his vision for the school had mentioned that "Every child cannot become a fully fledged musician or a dancer. But every child can be provided with the opportunity of imbibing the beauty of dance and music and learning to appreciate good music and good dancing. This too should become a part and parcel of a child education.

By going through the Splendour of Sri Palee one can appreciate very much how true the early period of this establishment in providing such an opportunity for the students to appreciate arts and beauty. These are reported as memories and events that took place in the school life far different from those that are available to the students of today.

The ambition of the school had been to develop students who are fit to be global citizens going beyond mere national boundaries. Towards this a trust fund had been created to invite speakers of international repute to address students of Sri Palee. As a result the students at that time had been fortunate to listen to great statesman and philosophers such as Sri Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Srimathee Vijayalakshmee Panditha, Shri Nehru of India and Soong Ching Ling Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China. The speeches made by these distinguished personalities have been meticulously reproduced in the volume.

The "Splendour of Sri Palee" is a fitting tribute to a unique seat of education in her 75th anniversary.

Exploring life through poetry

Reviewed by Ranga Chandrarathne

Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.

-Percy Shelley,

A Defence of Poetry, 1821

The anthology of poetry entitled "Exploration" by Nandani P.R Wikramasingha deals with a myriad of her personal experiences as well as social issues of the day. Essentially the poet abilities lie 's not in the words that go into poetry but the reflection of the milieu.

The anthology contains 40 poems on diverse themes ranging from the poet's personal experiences, impressions and on societal issues. One of the prominent traits of a talented poet is to make a seemingly insignificant event of the day a social stair or at least a critical view out of it. The poet has skilfully depicted the growing gulf between the haves and the have-nots in an everyday scene of shopping in the poem 'Catherine Wheel'.

Catherine Wheel

Well heeled ladies

Gussied up

In skimpy vesture

Exposing bare midriffs

With elegant coiffures

And swaying tresses

Almost indistinguishable

from the mannequins

......

Spending a small fortune

On cloths

In a shopping mall

---

Ill feted ladies

Dressed up in ordinary vesture

...

Moving in the scorching sun

From one shop to another

...

Spending parsimoniously

On cloths

In a street bazaar

The title of the poem sums up the attitude of certain segments of the population who are rich and aping the West. "Catherine Wheel" was a rock band from Great Yarmouth, England with changing commercial success. In a subtle manner, the poet compares 'well heeled ladies' to a rock band and they are dressed up in a funny way 'almost indistinguishable 'from the mannequins in the posh shopping malls. The gulf between the rich ladies and 'Ill feted ladies' is brought out in an ingenious manner; the poet describes the spending habit of the rich ladies who spend 'a small fortune' out of their pockets while the 'ill feted ladies' spend 'parsimoniously' on clothes.

The poem is noted for the use of International Standard English with appropriate metaphors. The poet has succeeded in making a social criticism out of a passing incident in everyday life.

In the poem 'Collector's item', the poet captures the collapse of feudalism and the emergence of capitalism in striking lines. Once a status symbol has now become a 'Collector's item' and the transformation is painful. The poet imagines as if the ancestors of once rich feudal lords are now looking at from 'blanched photographs' as their decendents 'vend their glory at exorbitant price'.

Collector's item

Four poster beds

Embellished

with ruched canopies,

Pettagama

With ebony carvings,

Calamander settees

And chesterfields

With exquisite craftsmanship

And the other heirlooms

And artifacts

Stood

Declined to leave

The commodious Walawwa

Where they lived an eternity

With dignity

Much as the vendor strive to entomb

Their self-reproach

Culpability

Shreds their tickers

The poem 'Thoughts of an inmate' shows the poet's ability to put herself in someone else's shoes and to depict one's state of mind. In the well crafted poem, the poet captures the loneliness of an inmate in a prison.

"Page by page torn off

From the calendar on the wall

With the hope for the next page

Myself to keep enthrall "

Some of the poems are quite insightful in that the poet has captured profound ideas in a couple of lines drawing experiences out of everyday life. For instance, the poem 'Two Epochs' is about baby sitting. But it is the meeting of 'two epochs' and two generations.

" ....

You are a newborn

Pleading for life

Be close to my bosom

Unto last breath

And see the Pearly Gates "

In the poem "Widowhood", the poet captures not only the emotional void but also the corporal void from a feminist perspective. Apparently the widow recollects her life; the childhood she spent in the care of parents and then the married life, childbearing and the widowhood comes at last in the evening of life. In the last stanza, the poet captures the excruciatingly painful separation. Now the widow is left for herself with a void which is both emotional and corporeal.

"Anguish

Draws the curtain of the day

I reclined partially

On our bed

Acquiescing

In the corporeal loneliness "

"Pastoral Beauty" is a poem which recreates the ambience of peace in a village. The uses of metaphor 'carts and kingfisher 'are appropriate as they associate with the traditional tropical village in Sri Lanka. The agrarian society offers a rather slow moving life which synchronies well with the nature.

"Green parrots worn red chokers

Picking rice in the stubble

Bouncy buffaloes on the threshing ground

Busy letting the glee to bubble

NEW ARRIVALS

New look into Osteoarthritis

Getting an arthritic knee is a long-term process. It is not a direct invention. A small simple weakness in the knee gradually becomes a serious weakness with the use of that defected, untreated knee for a long time. This leads to problems not only in the knee but also in the back, neck and all over the body. Physio therapist A.L.D. Ratnayake's, New look into Osteoarthritis' is an attempt to explain the causes and tips to avoid these situations.

The book is published by Ratnayake Physio Therapy Centre, S. de. S. Jayasinghe Mawatha, Nugegoda.

 Towards Healthy Living

Two new books written by Dr.Shantha Hettiarachchi, have been published. The book in Sinhala, named " Sexually transmitted infections, sexuality and society" was published by Wijesuriya publishers. The book in English named " Towards Healthy Living" was published by Godage publishers.

BOOK LAUNCH

Vimukthi suvayata athvelak

Ven. Palalle Dhammavisuddhi Thera's latest book on Buddhism Vimukthi suvayata athvelak will be launched at Dayawansa Jayakody Bookshop, Ven. S. Mahinda Mawatha, Colombo 10 on January 4 at 10.am. The book is a Dayawansa Jayakody publication.