‘Lester by Lester’:

Chartering course to Sinhala readers

By Dilshan Boange

Every screen star ever born owes their parentage to the cinematic eyes and creative pulse of a person lesser publicly cheered and adored – the film-maker. The status of the film’s director is one borne with great dignity and power in the world of art and entertainment. Their visions for work in the art of the moving image create idols in the form of actors and actresses who attract public adulation, the ones whose names endure the test of time get ‘laurelled’ as ‘legends’.

Today in Sri Lanka we cannot talk of cinema, and especially the cinema history our country has developed over the course of the latter part of the past century, without focusing on the body of work created by Dr. Lester James Peries, who now at the age of 95 is the oldest living film-maker in the world.

He is without doubt, owing to the magnitude of what he offered the Sri Lankan cinema-goer in terms of both quality and quantity of films, a celebrity, a star, and one who has clearly ascended to the stature of a ‘living legend’.

The legacy that LJP has produced to the world of cinema during his long active career is one that few Sri Lankan film-makers can fathom to parallel, let alone surpass. The story of each of his works, as to how they got started, from screenplay to film set and the anecdotes and workings that underlay the complexities of film-making are all descriptively and captivatingly on record in the book Lester by Lester; as told to Kumar de Silva.

Arriving towards mid-morning on that warm and sultry Saturday I was greeted by Kumar de Silva who had planted himself on a cane chair right at the doorstep to the house of the Peries’s in the hopes of catching a cooling breeze one may venture to suggest, looking out at the elegant and homely garden of the residence. “Ah! You’re playing the welcoming committee today?”

First visitor

Kumar told me to go right in and proceeded to announce to Mrs. Peries that the first visitor expected had arrived. Although I had met Mrs. Peries briefly at two literary events in the past, this was my first interaction of a more social and relaxed setting.

With abounding warmth and sincere amiability Mrs. Peries invited me to make myself comfortable in the living room of their elegantly ornate home with its walls decked with works of the famous artist Ivan Peries who was LJP’s brother.

Between Mrs. Peries, Kumar and I convivial conversation arose naturally and soon enough the pivotal person arrived – the translator Mr. Athula Samarakoon who is currently the Head of the Fine Arts Department of the University of Peradeniya.

If one may wonder what my involvement is in this scenario, what validated my presence that morning to a social yet purposive meeting pertaining to an upcoming publication; it was in having introduced Athula to Kumar as a potential translator to take on the job since I was well aware of his knowledge on the subject of film and his capacity to produce commendable writing in Sinhala which is on account of having known him as the lecturer who substituted for Dr. Dharmasena Pathiraja at the Colombo University during my undergrad days when I took the course unit on film studies in the course of reading for my Bachelor’s in Arts.

After Athula exchanged warm greetings with all present the first line of conversation that arose was Athula’s recollection of the interview he did of Mrs. Peries many years ago. A somewhat surprised Sumithra Peries then brought back to her memory the interview that was done with her for a Rupavahini broadcast before she left for Paris as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador.

As hearty conversation got in gear and a very convivial air set into the ambience Kumar, the unofficial “foster son” of Lester James and Sumitra asked us, what we would like for refreshment, “Tea, coffee or a cool drink?” As Athula and I both felt a cool drink of water would be the most apt given the climate, Mrs. Peries was quick to add to the range of choices “We also have thambili!” And no sooner did we hear that it was settled that we had hit upon the ideal ‘refresher’ to answer the need of the hour.

Sinhala translation

Over the thirst quenching long cool drink of king coconut we got down to the matter at hand. The Sinhala translation which was under-way, and in need of being discussed between the translator and the persons with moral authority over the subject matter of the book.

Some aspects of translation which take central concern in any project of translating a book from one language

to another were in need of being clarified by the translator so as to ensure the final outcome is one that is satisfactory to all parties concerned.

One of the first things Athula pointed out to Mrs. Peries was that LJP’s oral narrative presented in the book is very poetic in its idiomatic approach and descriptions.

“More than half the words he uses in a sentence build an idiomatic image and turn of phrase,” said the translator who admitted in all honesty that what he had in his hands was an onerous task! And the objective of capturing the image and essence of LJP’s tone with diction that offers more to the Sinhala reader than a mere verbatim translation of the English book was a point that the translator stressed on.

Mrs. Peries who represented with good authority the interests and concerns of LJP agreed wholeheartedly that the Sinhala translation should have its own ‘flavour’ attuned to the Sinhala

readers and their expectations for an enjoyable reading experience. Many it seems are the concerns that must be balanced out between the different parties involved before a translation is sent to the printer!

“It’s a matter of balancing between two cultures.” I pitched in to the flow of dialogue since the question of how each language captures cultural facets that aren’t a hundred percent translatable came up.

Expressionisms after all are central to capture the essence of a culture when approaching it from a point of language as opposed to viewing it in relation to ritualism and mannerisms observed by people.

In certain instances if verbatim translation was applied not only would the flavour of the language be lost but the translated sentence would be meaningless.

The prime example I can think of would be how the English phrase “Carrying coals to Newcastle” seems if translated word for word into Sinhala as popping up in a dialogue between two people purportedly in Sinhala! Or for that matter how would the Sinhala expression “Mona kehel malakda!” seem if translated to an English text as “What banana flower!” The ‘passages’, pun intended, in which the translator has to navigate himself through to deliver a vernacular tone yet maintaining a literary mould, were not without their bends and slopes.

Expectation

Mrs. Peries pointed out that the expectation on the part of LJP was not for a book that would read itself out as an academic work but be accessible to and understood by the lay reader. Athula conceded on the point of LJP’s concern, he also pointed out a prime objective of the forthcoming translation.

The integrity of the work as a Sinhala translation, he said will rest on its ability to represent the mettle of LJP’s approach to addressing an audience on the subject of film. He said it should not be simplified in its tonalities to the extent of nearing commonplace colloquialism as the range for variance between formal speech and colloquialism in the Sinhala language is far wider than with English.

The ‘grammaticism’ involved is far more complex when it comes to Sinhala than English was the central factor that had to be kept in sight. Athula then read out a chapter of what he has already translated and both Kumar and Mrs. Peries agreed that it had the satisfactory tone and phrase to it.

Soon enough we were joined by LJP himself who despite his somewhat delicate state of physical health joined us in the sitting room for conversation.

It was truly a treat for Athula and myself to listen to LJP’s own words of how certain film projects posed logistical nightmares the main example being the children’s film ‘Pinhami’. “When we took the baby elephant to the sugar cane field, he began eating and eating and we had no way of getting him out! He had such a good time eating the sugar cane. He had no intention of taking some for his mother like the script says!” LJP explained to our great amusement. Hearing it from the master himself it was obvious that stories are much easier written than made to film!

Moving image

Sathyajith Ray, the legendary Bengali film-maker had been close friends with LJP. Upon seeing ‘Golu Hadawatha’ directed by LJP he had been so enamoured with the film he had confided in the Sri Lankan maestro of the moving image that he, Ray, was contemplating of doing a Bengali film with a similar storyline! What would have the Bengali maestro offered the world of cinema had he pursued that aspiration, one can now only conjecture.

On a more saddening topic of conversation related to film preservation and the present state of LJP’s films in celluloid form, it was revealed that the cinema copy of ‘Ahasin Polowata’ had disintegrated completely over the course of time!

LJP stressed on how the matter of effective film preservation is a pressing need of the times in our country and that the film archives being set up under President Mahinda Rajapaksa is a productive initiative that will be of great service to the film industry.With over two hours of conversation time being spent with us, it was clear that his present state of physical frailty on account of age had not dispossessed LJP of a sharp and perceptive mind capable of clear recollection and elucidation.

Athula explained to LJP, before our visit was to conclude, his approach devised as a translator, so as to do justice to both the English text and the upcoming Sinhala translation on account of the idiomatically stylised rich language. The maestro film-maker expressed his consent to what was proposed and also his faith in the translator’s ability to achieve a result that will do justice to the original English text, the subject of the book as well as the future readers of the upcoming Sinhala translation.

The Sinhala book is set to be released by Samaranyake Publishers in July and to be formally launched as part of the ‘French Spring Festival 2014’ hosted by the Alliance Francaise de Kotte in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka. The book will provide much insight to Sinhala readers of how LJP’s craft and background stories developed. As we took our leave of the Peries’ that day I felt a tremendous satisfaction at having been able to be part of a discussion that offered much food for thought and lessons to note. The fruitfulness of that day’s discussions will surely manifest in the days ahead.