Fictional portrait of an up-country Sinhalese village

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

'A Mansion in the Village' codifies the socio-economic life in a traditional upcountry village and the lives of the villagers in a semi-feudal set up. The manor house which is the centre of the plot offers a panoramic view of the socio-cultural life of a traditional village in transition. The members of the clan who received foreign education adapt themselves to the whirlwind of changes taking place in a globalised milieu yet preserving the age-old customs and always looking to the welfare of their subordinates and workers. The novel written in an unassuming simplistic diction offers insights into the life of planters and the high society in the upcountry. It portrays a moral-bounded society in almost self-sufficient up-country village where people of diverse ethnicities live in harmony. Unlike in Martin Wickremasinghe's Gamperaliya, here the clan who occupies the mansion and owes a vast fortune survives in a globalised milieu acquiring life skills to face the challenges of modernity.

The principal difference between a book of sociology and a fiction on a given setting is that former records the facts and figures and socio-cultural traits, for instance, of a village while the latter codifies the living history of people of that village together with facts and figures of the village.

The novel A mansion in the village by Maithri Samarasinghe belongs to the latter category where the author portrays a traditional up country or Kandyan village in transition. Although the novel does not run beyond 154 pages, the thoroughly engrossing story captures the lives of three generations in a clan which shares a manor house in a semi-feudal set up. Sub-text of the story is the uneasy passage from feudalism to modernity in a traditional up-country village. The story is narrated through the diverse voices of the members of the clan and those who have been associating with it.

The story commences with a well-crafted passage which captures a sense of awe-inspiring on the part of the main character of the novel. The youth heir to a fortune arrives on completion of his education in Morocco. The author suggest in no uncertain terms that the aunty who brought up the boy had prepared him for this journey to Sri Lanka and his eventual meeting up with his relations in the manor house.

"The call of birds hailed the rising of the sun. I was awakened to the beauty around me. I am in the island of my dreams. I heard the sweet chirping of the birds.

Through the heavy curtaining the rays of the sun lit my room. I tossed my blanket aside and walked to the large bay window, with an impatient gesture I drew the curtain aside. I cannot wait any longer I must get about the purpose of my visit.

Aunt Helen had promised to pay for my passage. It was she who gave me specific instructions to lodge at this hotel which is in close proximity to the place I had to visit. This trip had been planned years ago. She had shown pictures and sketches and talked about my trip to this island paradise so much so that, today was a fulfilment of those plans. I felt I could not waste another moment in bed. As I was getting ready so many thoughts crossed my mind. Will I be a welcomed guest? ....

I opened my brief case and hurriedly got hold of the treasured document my Aunt gave me. I then pushed it into my shirt pocket for easy access. Soon I was walking down the driveway of the hotel I was lodging at. "

Sense of place and time as a dominant theme

One of the dominant themes of the novel is a sense of place and the change of milieu. The clan which owns half of the village with a growing fortune has been portrayed as a caring social institution which always looks to the welfare of the villagers and the dependants of the clan.

A sense of place can be defined as an intrinsic characteristic of a place or the meaning that people give to it. However, more often it is the mixture of both. For instance, some places are distinctive from their physical characteristics such as Old Dutch Fort in Galle or the historic city of Jerusalem. Some places are distinctive because of the values ascribed to them such as white cliffs of Dover and sacred city of Kandy.

In the novel, A Mansion in the Village, the place central to the theme is a traditional Kandyan village and the lives of the clan primarily revolves in and around the village and in the manor house which in a way is a potent symbol of the past, present and the future of the clan.

"My heartbeat was quick, my lips were dry and my thoughts went dumb. Am I in this place that my Aunt called home of the 'aristocrats'? The two pillars would have a tale to tell of their past glory.

There was no doubt about the fact that I was in the exact location of my aunt's memories. Yet, a question that sprang whether my efforts and aunt's were all a useless exercise!

I could not miss the stately cypress trees planted at intervals along the driveway. The beautiful herbaceous boarders flanking driveways were all over grown.

It had lost the care of gardener. The gloom I walked into was very much akin to the fairy tale of the Grimm brothers' The Sleeping Beauty which I have read in my childhood days. ....

The lonesome figure I saw, bending over a piece of knitting, was a pathetic sight. This broke my heat to see a once stately figure in my Aunt's memories, became so frail and helpless. She created a picture of loneliness. I asked myself, is this life? Is this what most of us have to face one day? Aren't there any left to care for the one who unselfishly cared for others? Is this the reward for having dedicated her life and wealth to the less fortune? "

The author skilfully represents the waning glory of the clan through the decadent state of not only the manor house but also its present occupants. However, the miserable state of the manor house would be changed with the returning of the narrator from Morocco followed by his guardian Aunt Helen.

Here the sense of place is created by Aunt Helen for the boy who is to take over the management of the property. The same gloomy place which represented the waning glory has soon become a symbol of prosperity and life with the arrival of the young man.

"The still and sleepy place I walked into in the past had become a hive of activity. I heard loud voices coming from the corridors. The infectious joy spread through its roomy halls. The men and women present were so full of unexplainable joy. Was I the total stranger who brought this change?

It was a Royal welcome indeed. The faithful maid was transformed in keeping with her mistress. Aunt Yasmin had done up her hair just like the former days that I remember, from the photographs Aunt Helen had shown me. She appeared to be the same person she was. "

The manor house is also a place that evokes strong feelings in the heir who has just returned from Morocco. Throughout the years since his birth at the manor house, the room in which the narrator spent his first couple of days has been maintained in its former state awaiting his return. Generations of servants have been serving the clan and often considered as part and parcel of the clan. As Punyakante Wijenaike' Giraya (Nut cracker), in A Mansion in the Village, the servants enjoy a strong sense of belonging to the place and a close attachment with the members of the clan.

"I was amazed to find that the fragrance in a room closed for so many years still remained fresh and lived in. Soma sensed my surprise. "Mater all these years, my duty was to look after this apartment, dust, change the bedding and expect your return any day". I could not believe what I heard. However, seeing is believing, they say. I am now having an encounter with my past. It is so real and tangible, that I flopped into a beautiful cosy sofa. This was too much for me to absorb. These memories surely cannot pass me by and be forgotten. ….

I am now in the apartment my parents had spent seven months after my birth. The cot I slept in and the stool Soma sat on, siging lullabies to rock me to sleep were still in their place. ….one could even be envious of a household help being so faithful.

I studied the portraits of my parents, my grandparents, Aunts and uncles. I gazed at my own picture as a baby. "

The story, among other things, shed light on the socio-economic environment of the village. Although the author is not specific about the milieu, it is obvious from the descriptions that the village is a prototype traditional Kandyan village.

The majority of the villagers as portrayed by the novel are farmers and workers who look after the paddy fields and tea estates belonging to the clan.

Though the relationship between the members of the clan and its subordinates are hierarchical in outlook, the relationships go beyond mere commercial enterprises and generation of servants seem to respect and love the members of the clan while the members of the clan look to the welfare of the servants and to improve their lot.

Sinhala and Tamil New Year

One of the important cultural sights is the Sinhala and Tamil New year. The chapter on the New Year describes not only the age-old customs that the villagers and the clan practised although the members of the clan are Christian but also the close relationship the clan maintain with the villagers.

"Soma promised to accompany me to the village headman's house. " I will have to give him prior notice". I never addressed her by her name I always remember to call her amma (mama).

She was a real mother to me and to my Aunts. She told me that all the sweet meats and baskets of fruits would be gifted to the home for the elders and down the road and to the orphanage. This has been the custom of my grandparents too. "

It seems that the carrying on the customs associated with New Year is significant given the fact that it signals that new generation of the clan would follow the same customs associating with the clan and thereby preserving the order.

The young man would soon adapt the new environment and begins to love the order. However, it is strange that the young man implicitly agreeing to the plans made by his Aunts. For he agrees to marry a girl who is proposed to him.

This aspect has, to a certain extent, robbed the characters of their authenticity in terms of portraying them as characters out of life.

The author's intervention is obvious on many instances. There are passages which sound rather artificial. One such instance is when the newly wedded couple holidaying in Morocco. The couple compares Morocco with Sri Lanka.

"In Morocco we saw massive development. It was not the same place I had lived in! There was indeed a great contrast to our environment. Here it was mostly man made beauty. The rows of beautiful flowers were so much like those growing in colder regions of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a paradise without a mistake. The green around us whenever we travelled…"

The novel ends with a positive note that remembers of the clan would preserve the order by leading simple but dignified lives according to the will of God and that they would share wealth with others.

" ..remember wealth gained honourably is for a purpose. It is meant to be shared not to be squandered"

In terms of its portrayal of up country village the novel A Manson in the Village stands out as one of the best contemporary Sri Lankan novels in English.