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| Sunday, 31 August 2003 |
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In search of origins The Indo-Lankans By S. Muthiah Published by Indian Heritage Foundation Reviewed by ASIFF HUSSEIN This voluminous work is basically a pictorial record of people of Indian origin who trickled into the country with the establishment of British rule in 1796. Running to over 300 pages and illustrated with numerous photographs in both black and white and colour as well as old sketches, this book could be considered a pioneering attempt in inquiring into the 200 year old contribution by persons of Indian origin to Sri Lanka. The work as would be expected begins with 'The Early Settlers' and deals with the various peoples of India who have contributed to the making of the Sri Lankan nation, from Prince Vijaya, the founding father of the Sinhalese nation who hailed from Bengal through the various castes of more recent Indian origin such as the Karava, Durava and Salagama to the Nayakkars of Madurai who gave Sri Lanka its last royal dynasty. The work serves to remind us that most Sri Lankans are of Indian origin, whether recent or remote. It then proceeds to deal with 'The Toilers', the indentured plantation labourers brought hither by the British to work on their tea plantations which formed the mainstay of the colonial economy and which still contributes to the economy of the country in no mean measure. These migrants hailing from the depressed regions of South India such as Madura, Ramnad, Tinnevelly and Trichinopoly in the Madras Presidency today form the bulk of the Malaiyaha or hill-country Tamils. We also learn that it was South Indian labour in the form of the Pioneer Corps which was responsible for building the Colombo-Kandy road and Colombo-Kandy line which still constitute an important part of the transport infrastructure of the country. The work then proceeds to deal with 'The Early Traders', the Memons, Borahs, Parsis, Bharatas, Chettiars and Coast Moors all from various parts of India who greatly contributed to the development of trade and commerce in the country. Next follows 'The Professionals' including the teachers of Kerala such as the Kovoors and Joshuas and 'The Players' such as the Menezes of Goa and the Baigs of Salem in Madras Province. Next follows 'The Entrepreneurs' and it would be surprising to learn that many of the founders of big-time industrial and commercial firms were persons of Indian origin. These include Swadeshi Industrial Works set up by Sundaram Madura Nayagam from Tanjore District and Abans, set up by Aban Pestonjee, a Parsi businesswoman. What is most interesting however are the chapters devoted separately to each of these ethnic groups, tracing their history and migrations and dealing with their prominent families and personalities. Thus among the Bharatas, we are told of the De Mels of Vembar, Victorias of Manapad and the Moraeses of Veerapandiapatnam, besides a host of others such as the Paivas, Pereiras, Roches and Mirandas. Among the Parsis from the Bombay-Gujarat coast we find families like the Rustamjees, Pestonjees and Choksys and among the Bohras of Gujarat we come across the Adamalys, Jafferjees and Heptulabhoys. Among the Memons of Kachch in the Kathiawar peninsula we have the Omars and Bhailas and among the Coast Moors who hailed from Kayalpattinam, Kilakkarai, Kerala and other parts of Peninsular India, we are told of the Seethakathis of Kilakkarai and the Palandys of Kerala. On the whole a well researched work that should go a long way in creating an awareness of the immense contribution made by persons of Indian origin to the country's national life. ******** Refreshing qualities At A Varsity Far Away by Satyajith Rohan Jayasinghe Printed by Piyasiri Printing Systems, Gangodawila, Nugegoda. Reviewed by Carol Aloysius This is an unusual collection of poems for several reasons. Firstly, it is written by an expatriate living in Australia, who belongs to the medical profession which allows little time for writing outside its field. Secondly it has been written in English and Sinhalese- targeting a Sinhala speaking audience who would otherwise not have had an opportunity to share the author's hopes and dreams. In his unusual publication titled "A Varsity Far Away", the author uses the medium of poetry and verse to bare his innermost feelings and emotions. The poems and verses reveal his strong attachment and nostalgia for the country he left behind to live in Australia; his most treasured moments in contrast to his disillusionment with life, and his hopes and dreams for the future. Written in free verse his poems are not always easy to understand at first glance. In many, the central message is often couched in a series of seemingly disconnected images and metaphors. But a closer reading reveals a sharp methodical mind capable of putting together these different images in a manner that brings home the central message more forcefully to the reader. This ambiguity of his images at times leaves room for different interpretations. Take for example the poem "Run brother run" Here the poem leaves the reader with several unanswered questions. "Who is the mystery character whom the poet calls "brother?" Why is he running away and from whom?" Some readers may identify him as a refugee from justice. Others may assume he is the original native of Australia - the aborigine who after forty thousand years of living in the wilderness is now being hounded out of his rightful home by so called civilised society. The poems and verses in this book gain a sense of immediacy and authenticity because the writer draws from his own personal experiences and his immediate environment. In "Illusions", he skilfully weaves the past into the present. His mind goes back to the home of his childhood, and he nostalgically recalls its "noise and clamour, exhaust fumes and overcrowded buses, polluted waterways, soldiers armed with assault rifles," during a brief respite from his ward rounds, until "an electronic message 'Call Ward 41' pulls me back cruelly into the land of Reality. Although living far away from his native land, it is evident that the ethnic war raging in his own country is very much in the mind of the writer who has dedicated his poem, "Song for the unsung hero" to the fallen soldiers. The poems also reveal a deeply religious man. His faith and gratitude to his Maker comes through in poems such as "Worship" and "Creator at work", which are hymns of praise to his Creator.A nature lover he does not fail to take a swipe at modern technology and its impact on Nature as in the poem "Technology triumphs". The most refreshing qualities of his writings are the subjects he has chosen to write about - not abstract passive themes, but concrete subjects that bring life to his poems because they are all about life and people. To quote his own words, "I peeped into the galaxy of life and that what I witnessed took the form of words and sentences. They reproduced by observations like cloned beings... and took the form of poems and prose." An unusual and readable book written by author who expresses the hope that his experiences will be mirrored in the eyes and minds of other human beings. As he himself has stated at the beginning of the book," if one catches a glimpse of his/herself in the poems/verses, therein lies the success of my venture." ******** The making of Mahamaya Girls' College, Kandy : A history of woman power "With A Fistful of Rice" Reviewed by Dr. Lorna Dewaraja (Director, Bandaranaike Diplomatic Training Institute, Colombo) "With A Fistful Of Rice" unravels the fascinating saga of the founding of Mahamaya Girls' School in Kandy at a time when Buddhist education had suffered a severe setback due to the relentless onslaughts of Christian missionary enterprise. The "halmita iskole" was the derogatory term applied to it by the Westernised elite since the school began with funds collected by humble housewives collecting a fistful of rice everyday in a clay pot and selling these pots periodically. Such was the need for a Buddhist Girls' School in Kandy providing English education. Indrani Meegama in this well researched study reveals how the Kandyan and Low Country women got together to meet this challenge. Her work therefore is not only an investigation into the beginnings of Buddhist women's education but also a history of woman power. The names of many women who would have remained "unhonoured and unsung" emerge from the pages of this book showing how commitment and concerted action by tradition bound wives and mothers, by no means feminists, were successful in founding an educational institution which today is a beacon of light to the Kandyan districts. Considering their devotion to their cause, the names of Sarah Soysa, Hilda Westbrooke Kularatne, Bertha Rodgers Ratwatte and Soma Pujitha Goonewardene should be written in gold and Indrani Meegama should be congratulated for highlighting their inestimable services. The work is well documented, both primary and secondary sources have been consulted with intensive care, and is written in a fluent, readable style gripping the reader with personal anecdotes intermingled with a great deal of factual information, regarding the revolutionary socio-economic and cultural changes that were affecting the country in the early 20th century. This book should be read not only by all Mahamayans past and present, but by all those who are interested in the history of education and in the activities of women, who rendered a silent service and shaped the destinies of thousands of girls who entered the portals of Mahamaya - the school constructed by the fistfuls of rice collected by the humble housewives of the Kandyan areas. ******** A moving narrative 50 yrs - Political Analysis Sri Lanka & Tamils by S. K. Kasilingam Published by Muhunthan Publishers, France S. K. Kasilingam has made a name for himself for the cutting edge of his journalism. His latest publication which he claims is the English translation of "Ennul Ennodu" the Tamil account of why elders deserted their country of birth and adopted other lands with harsh weather conditions for living is a moving narrative. Kasilingam cautious the reader that his "is not a history book" (page 106). So, diversions such as "Oliver Gunathilake" being Governor General during the time of D. S. Senanayake (Page 66) or "After the assassination of Bandaranaike in 1956...." (Page 80) can be dismissed as trifles for the author makes no elaborate claim to record history. However, the anecdotes that dot him moving tale of woe lighten up an otherwise sad record of a series of events that over the years created in the Tamil mind that a calculated campaign was afoot to relegate them to a position of second class citizens. They have now turned against those forces to carve out for themselves a place under the Sun in the Island that is their home. The episode of a Judge apologising to him in open Court and the shock and guilt that overcame him when reading of the Sudden death of ex-Minister M. Tiruchelvam and his own misreporting of the death of a 'Sinhala Racist' who had only suffered injury, touch on the travails of a newspaper journalist. Kasilingam's 50 yrs: Political Analysis Sri Lanka & Tamils echoes the thoughts of many who flay politicos of all hues and ethnicities for the ills that have visited this country. D. S. and J.R., the Bandaranaikes, G. G. Ponnambalam have all received a generous share of his biting comments and this narrative is well worth a read for the entertaining punches that the author revels in handing out to them all. - FACTOTUM |
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