Memories of a female administrator

Reviewed by Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa

“Women and elephants never forget”
- Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
US writer.

Several shining female stars have brightened the firmament of Sri Lanka's Administrative Services, that have flourished over a fairly long span of time. In spite of the fact that some of these female administrative officers have been able to scale the super-rungs of Sri Lanka's bureaucratic structure, only a few of them-if at all-have made an attempt to record their personal experiences, in an articulated form, to transform those fugitive memories into some lasting version of that legion of administrative officers. The determined author has presented to the public domain, her own personal record of state service, in a work titled Man Salakunu (Landmark).

At the outset, I cannot help but stress, that the present work is a worthy triumph of indomitable personal courage and unflaggingly sustained effort.

The person who commands the limelight through this biographical achievement is State Administrative officer Hema Jayaweera.

Challenges

In her foreword to the work the author narrates, how she clung on to her dream, facing challenges that would have proved to many a person, placed in that kind of situation, shattering and insummountable obstacles. The author looks back on the formidable ordeals she had to encounter during the run-up to the writing of her book.

From early on, she was obsessed with the idea of recording her views at book length. But her unswerving loyalty to her official responsibilities, resulted in her getting home after office duty with a car-bootfull of documents to work on, forcing her to put off her own book-writing project.

Over and above this, family matters that demanded her concentrated attention made her once more to set aside thinking about her biography. The husband was terminally ill. In the slip-stream of the sorrow, brought on by his passing, the mother fell ill, from time to time. The official work-load burgeoned.

But, she confesses her special efficiency at remembering things of the past, helped her unfailingly in writing this book. The opening statements in the book establish quite effectively that she is adept at arresting reader-attention. She begins the narration, recounting an episode relating to her undergraduate days. She visited a government office, with a fellow-student, seeking bureaucratic relief to redress a grievance, that was troubling her family profoundly.

After nearly half-an-hour of harrowing waiting in the ante-room of a senior assistant secretary, the official arrived. Her matter was thrown aside brusquely, with a cynical disregard for the feelings of the helpless young-woman who had a case to present. This, incident proved the turning-point in her life's career.

She made up her mind to reach a similar bureaucratic status, at some future date, but, to treat the public in a totally different manner, with a dedication to provide the relief they seek. The story of the writer's life from then on pivots round her professional involvement with state bureacracy. The narration of her life as an official in the state administrative service is recounted with an astonishing attention to detail. To my mind, this is an oblique index to the deep love of life she possessed and the unfluctuating loyalty she continued to have towards her professional responsibilities.

Her memories are absorbingly punctuated by her sustained description of the habits, mannerisms and eccentricities of one person she worked with. The freshness of outlook she maintained throughout her years of service makes her biographical chronicle, a form of traveloque and a kind of sociological study of people and then relationships.

While serving in the dry zone, the author visited sites hallowed by history and religion. Her memories of those are recorded with an unfading vividness.

Author Hema Jayaweera's bureaucratic odyssey is a multi-faceted presentation. It provides ample evidence of her humane approach to the problems that torment the masses.

Bureaucracy

Drawing upon her undergraduate memories of her encounter with the tearlessness of bureaucracy in some areas of state administration, she ordered her own administrative philosophy to project a humanism towards the helpless masses.

Several episodes in this work, are illustrative of that attitude. She quite profusely makes references to a wide range of officials she has met and worked with, in the higher echelons of Sri Lanka's administrative service. Her story exudes a positive optimism. It is not marred by rancour or jealousy towards anyone.

What impresses a reader, is the pre-eminent readability of the style, the author has resorted to.Although the book's staple content is the life of a person, any reader can readily get absorbed into its story-line, because of the compelling lucidity of its verbal deployment.She ends her work, with a suffusing note of amity and generosity. In her concluding phase, she avers that most of the persons she worked with were humane people. This generous compliment, extends right through all the ranks of political leaders, bureaucratic bosses, co-workers and those who assisted in her duties. All told, this work by Administrative officer Hema Jayaweera is an optimistic tome, with a therapeutic value.