Martin Wickramasinghe's Koggala transmuted

By Amal HEWAVISSENTI

Martin Wickamasinghe, the towering intellectual of Koggala seems to have counted himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth to have been born in Koggala, a legendary village in Southern Sri Lanka. His books "Ape Gama", "Upanda Sita" and "Gamperaliya" with transparently autobiographic elements offer a complete dissection of life, beliefs and practices of ordinary people in Koggala. These books are readily acclaimed as the most original works of imagination in Sinhala language.

Martin Wickramasinghe, who later leaves Koggala for Mt. Lavinia, comments on how he captured the spirit of the village of Koggala in his introduction to "Gamperaliya" in 1941. "The village which is the background for this novel is a hamlet situated on the Galle-Matara main road about ten miles from Galle. The village is illustrated not in the way it appears now, but in the way it appeared some thirty years previously. My endeavour to portray the people, their professions and culture was rather successful because I myself had the first super opportunity to witness them around twenty years ago (before I came to Colombo)".

The opening sentences of the first chapter of "Gamperaliya" paints Koggala in its true colours. "Koggala is a narrow stretch of land which establishes its boundaries up to the sea on one side and a picturesque river on the other. The Galle-Matara main road which runs like a ribbon separates Koggala from its exposed coastline that is redolent of a compound or a verandah of a common village house. Any trace which might say that the village of Koggala is at least seven thousand years or so old, is not found on the ground unless one way find the clues under ground...."

The action of "Gamperaliya" starts with a festival at Kaisaruwatte Muhandiram's house three or four days prior to the Sinhala New Year of April in the year 1904. Kaisaruwatte Muhandiram's house which was popularly labelled "Mahagei Watta" and was surrounded by an impressive coconut grove is no longer to be seen today. Instead the old house where Martin Wickramasinghe was born stands majestically with many of valuable tools, furniture and the library cherished by him. Today, his house and property have been declared a museum of folk art - an abode that once inspired him to pen books of profound, original and challenging insights.

It becomes blatantly obvious to the visitor that Koggala that Wickramasinghe portrayed, has changed out of all recognition and its traditional landscape has been eclipsed by the emergence of an industrial setting. The present scene provokes a surge of nostalgia. The pastoral scene of Koggala has gradually tapered off towards the present and the visitor's mind flies back to scenes and characters that Wickramasinghe so fascinatingly represents.

The Galle-Matara main raod which he termed a (black) ribbon across Koggala has become one of the busiest and heavily traversed roads in the island today. The bullock carts in a tranquil atmosphere are replaced by heavy traffic particularly containers carrying massive freight.

In 1942, the village of Koggala went through dramatic changes. During the World War II, people were removed from Koggala within 24 hours to prepare the effective ground for establishing an Air Force base and an airport. It is interesting to note that an engineer who was immensely taken up with the charming appearance of Martin Wickramasinghe's house, unhesitatingly selected the house for her office. Had it not been for her choice, Martin Wickramasinghe's house would definitely have been among those houses and buildings which were virtually razed to the ground.

In today's Koggala we witness the absence of small children like small Martin Wickramasinghe admiring the beauty of fish of various hues, playing in pools of sea rock, picking sea shells and oysters, children comparable to Upali or Jinapala involved in blithe escapades are definitely a thing of past in typical Koggala. Even small children under strict supervision from elders are seen enjoying the sea waves, yet they have lamentably failed to have the natural mirth and enjoyment as the children in Martin Wickramasinghe's writings did.

Even though Martin Wickramasinghe's Madolduwa in the novel is illustrated to be a colossal island in the middle of Koggala Oya, the present Madolduwa is in a shockingly deplorable condition with its eroding banks, what we picture when reading his novel is in pronounced contrast to the present condition of the island which is being intensely polluted by unscrupulous visitors. The stretch of water around Madolduwa seems to be covered by a thin oil slick - probably the effect of motor boats daily cruising the island.

The village of Koggala is transfigured by Wickramaisnghe through his healing powers of art. However, it was the natural picture of Koggala a few decades ago. It is pretty evident that people of Koggala have let themselves distracted by a monotonous regularity of life and the tranquil environment that the writer has glorified has drastically changed. He describes the grand and impressive stone called "Kotawana Gala" which attracted the admiration of passers-by.

The "Sekku Gala" (an uncomplicated device used to extract oil from coconuts) which was widely used by the villagers has become an object which is rare and unusual. Today several "Sekku Galas" preserved in houses for a long-time, are kept on display as decorative items in holiday resorts and hotels.

Today the only "Sekku Gala" that can be seen in a house in Koggala is being preserved in the premises of Martin Wickramasinghe's house. The desiccated coconut industry which was in full swing by the time Martin Wickramasinghe lived in Koggala has totally vanished and people today are used to buy coconut oil or plam oil from supermarkets.