Social vision of an eminent scholar

Reviewed by Prof. Sunanda Mahendra

Author:
Dr. Ranjith L. Abeywickrama
A Godage publication

The Sinhala journalist, creative writer and researcher, Dr. Ranjit L. Abeywickrama has brought out a book titled Martin Wickramasinghe's Social Vision’

Though the English reader is perhaps aware of the widespread skills of Wickramasinghe as a novelist, short story writer, researcher and literary critic, they may not have gathered the essence of Wickramasinghe as a social thinker via some of the available English translations. Dr. Abeywickrama attempts to trace as far as possible this essence through a wide gamut lying before him.

His basic premise, as I observed, is six-fold. They are as follows: Cultural concepts, attitudes to religion, literature and literary criticism, attitudes to language, arts and crafts and fiction.

At a time when higher education does not pave the way for these aspects to be rediscovered, the writer Abeywickrama has made a sensitive and resourceful attempt which has taken a long span of time and should prove resourceful to the study of the stance of present literary studies.

Experiences

As a person who did not identify himself to a small literary group of gurukula, Wickramasinghe tried his best to make his various experiences expressed. In the first instance as Abeywickrama observes, Wickramasinghe had dedicated more time for creative writings which depict his social thought processes in a bbroader perspective than is observed in his literary essays with maturity and literary interaction with special reference to Russian literary canons.

Wickramasinghe had changed his vision, which is closer to the indigenous susceptibilities as laid down in such essays as Bamunu Kule Binda Vetima (The fall of the Bamunu Kulaya or an elite class of the rich).

As an analyst of the work of Wickramasinghe the author emphasises that Wickramasinghe had been sensitive and erudite enough to observe the aspects of indigenous arts, crafts and cultural aspects in a broader viewpoint from those who delved in the same function.

In this direction Wickramasinghe becomes a pioneer and social visionary, which should be rediscovered. Abeywickrama highlights in a broader manner, the cardinal points that had been seriously dealt with by Wickramasinghe. Some of them cover the discovery of concepts in relation to tradition, influence of Buddhism, rituals and beliefs and folklore.

Social visionary

As is observed by Abeywickrama, the social visionary of Wickramasinghe depends largely and broadly on comparative findings on his part as a cultural anthropologist.

In fact, it was Wickramasinghe who had clamoured in the first instance to include anthropology as a subject in higher education. But unfortunately this never happened even in the establishment of the universities.

Wickramasinghe had been trying to transcend the barriers of sociology as a narrow discipline.

He had visualised the need for a comparative study of literature and society at large by taking into consideration the studies conducted by such scholars as Malinowsky and Mead.

In his wide gamut of reading he highlights the need for comparative literary and cultural studies by citing examples drawn from essays such as T.S. Eliot's ‘Notes Towards the definition of culture'.

Though Wickremasighe had often referred to the need to study aspects of comparative cultures, he maintained that this should happen by taking serious note of one's own culture.

Indigenous culture

As such he penned several books enveloping the need to rediscover and identify the indigenous culture. One good example is his pioneer attempt, Sinhalal Lakuna, which was a variant of two tracks of extreme critical theories. They are the imitation of Alankaravadaya or the mere aping of the western learning and influence.

While formulating these aspects, Wickramasinghe broadly underlined the need to restudy Jataka tales, folk poems, folk tales and classical ballads such as Guttila Kavya of Ven. Wetteve Thera.