When a Sinhala king cradled a Tamil prince

The colonial system of education almost imprisoned us within an unfamiliar Western world that made the Battle of Waterloo more familiar than the valiant campaigns of Parakramabahu the Great where women unabashedly went along with warriors to nurse them. Who says the nursing profession began in Europe? Any entrancing stuff like this on the native land, I have only garnered after my post-Formal education.

Anyway the memories of the famous Waterloo battle that rang the death knell of Napolean’s might way back in 1815 raked up the writer’s memories by a not so recent photograph showing an earlier French President “Being dwarfed” by a British Regiment called the Coldstream Guards on his first state visit to Britain. Further, I read in a gossipy newspaper that the new President fathers four children by an earlier marriage(illegal or otherwise) while the present first lady is only his partner.

But the focus in the article is not his puzzling civil status (puzzling to unsophisticated Eastern readers) but his height, which is five feet seven inches. The height is described as diminutive.

And the Gallic leader in addition to the shame his race suffered at Waterloo is said to suffer another shame as he makes his way among the very tall British guards.

Dignity

The novice that I am this is the first time that I read about height denoting a statesman’s dignity. I think the islanders of Paradise Regained cared the least about it for we have a saying in our villages, Athi Deergo maha murgho, (the more long the more foolish). Of course, we had our adulation of the Dasa Maha Yodayas, who served king Dutugemunu. They were very tall and sturdy.

And in their young days the parents when going out had tied them to coconut trees to prevent them committing devastating mischief in the neighbourhood. But lo and behold, or deiyo saakkki (Gods be witness) when the parents were returning they saw their kids along the roads carrying the tall coconut trees and frisking. News of these feats spread making the far seeing king Kavantissa summon them to the Raja Wasala to be trained for the likely combat between his son and those of the North. Just like today they were not only paid for doing almost nothing tangible, but given mansions within the capital and steed to ride on. Lucky!

However, when the time came (still BC era) each of the 10 giants played their role so well that the task of conquest by the Sinhala Sanghe was accomplished. Sinhala Sanghe? Actually it emerges by this name almost during the latter part of the Kotte period, reacting against the growing affinity between Sapumal Kumaraya and Jaffna.

A legend even surfaced that he was the son of Panikki, Tamil officer in the Kotte Court. The son accompanying the father to the Rajawasala became the pet of Parakramabahu the 6th and was allowed to grow up as his own son. These are the gem news of history that should be raked up for the task of national reconciliation. Jackson Anthony should be encouraged to make a film portraying little Sapumal, the son of Tamil Panikki, cradling in Sinhala Parakramabahu’s arms.

What amity! What love overriding the grim barriers of race and religion! But as the boy grows up the king slowly poisons his adopted son’s ears by telling him that Jaffna, Panikki’s native land should be conquered and so, it is done. Sapumal emerges the deified hero.

Patriots

However, things do not go smoothly and the patriots including Lanka’s greatest Bhikkhu poet, Ven. Sri Rahula Thera form the Sinhala Sangha after Sapumal bcomes king of Kotte.

In fact the Bhikkhu himself flees from Kotte and makes Thotagamuwa his headquarters to wage the battle better.

He begins to be called Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera after this.

The politics of Kotte becomes more and more murkier, facilitating those from the West to fish in troubled waters. And fish, they did. Ending up with the island becoming a colony of theirs.

The West has been bitterly bludgeoned about the spectre of colonialism, but I cannot forget the ministry officer, Pragnalatha, who once during pre-independence celebrations of the late 1980s (when Isuru Paya had just vacated the earlier military barracks and withdrawn to the then rustic village of Pelawatte, now urbanised heavily) murmured to me, “Padma, true to my heart I cannot fall in with all these victory celebrations though I am a Sinhala and Buddhist and my grandfather had brass buttons on his Jagalettu. How could we have got all these roads and high rise buildings such as Isuru Paya if the Suddhas did not come?”

Treachery

“Sh! Sh!” I tried to silence her and stop her treachery on a sacred day as this by a short cut, “See. Thailand. Minus the blessed colonialism it has all this.” The celebrations were over but Pragnalatha, granddaughter of a Mudaliyar of the South pursued me to my seat.(Poor dear, she was so fond of me and now dead and gone).

“I was thinking of what you said. Thailand I mean. How did they become so clever minus colonial aid and they are so short.”

“I have not noticed that about the Thais and it is not nice to make personal observations like this” I wished to get rid if her as my table was full of unattended files due to many coming to ask me about this and that about the bygone days not that I minded.

In fact only yesterday at an alms-giving for an old colleague introduced me to his wife, “It was she who informed us that when people approached Rasingh Deiyo, for a favour they introduced themselves as Balugaththo. Here is Your dog, your Highness”.

Coming back to my friend, Pragnalatha she went on.

“But I read that Burma is refusing entry to a certain tribe because they are ugly and short.”

Future

Telescoping into the future, I added like an Anjanam Eli Karaya prying years ahead, “I see in the future that our statesmen will never be dwarfed by anybody.

They will be standing neck to neck even with the tallest.

Their moustaches will bristle defiant challenging even the Mara Sena for during the coming decades, that is the 90s they will be going through hell’s fires, the bitter trauma strengthening them. Unlike Sarkozy, the predecessor of Hollande they need not stand on wooden boxes or stand on tip toe or wear stacked heels borrowed from their wives.”

A ministry boss returning from the celebrations passed by along the corridor of our office room.

”Gossiping on pre-Independence Day out of all days! How do you expect the land to prosper with everyone having a merry time,” he stopped and bawled.

I felt somebody crawling between my legs, Pragnalatha, my friend had vanished between them. My 5’3” would not have allowed that trick that five-footed Pragnalatha did to avoid a disciplinary note. Shortness and diminutive size do pay almost as the “longness” and gigantism. “But Athi Dheergo Maha Murgho” too pays.

And the Sinhala Sangha, a repetition of it will only harm the island’s amity and peace.

Today Kotte Raja Maha Vihara Prince Sapumal is worshipped as a god. And this could be considered as a symbol of racial amity.