A fascinating facet of expatriate writing

Mataka Divaina (Island of memories):

by Ranga Chandrarathne

The latest book of poetry by Sunil Govinnage, Mataka Divaina provides an insight into world of expatriates who have left shore and adopted foreign soils. As an expatriate writer domiciled in Australia, Sunil's experiences were different from many other poets who write poetry in Sinhala.

In a way the anthology is studded with pleasant as well as pangs of a sensitive poet, though lives in Australia, tries to express his heart-felt feelings of his adopted country, estrange tongue the people speak which is readily adopted by his children and deep-seated feeling of strangeness.

In a preface to the book, Prof. Wimal Dissanayake writes, Sunil's "Mataka Divaina" takes readers to a estrange world; a world, at times, pleasant, and fascinating at another time, fierce, always with a sense of disappointment.

Sunil speaks from this world with a unique tone a significant aspect of Govinnage's poetry is that he has expressed his experiences and thoughts from a perspective of an estranger, rather detached from the scene.

As a result, he adds new dimension to Sinhala poetry another theme that springs from his poetry is the universality of the medium, though time has devoured many things, destroys and ruins but the poem can supersede time.

The Mute Sea and My heritage

I came leaving my heritage

Like a drop of morning spittle

Breaking free from the fear of war

That hung heavy on the heart

Swiftly crossing the Mute Sea

My babies on my shoulders

Their mouth still unsweetened

By the first golden breast-milk

The sound of their mother tongue-

Killing all our heritage

Losing mother and father

A close host of friends

Casting away life's richness

Thrusting away

Our language from the tip of the tongue

We have come to a land

Estrange to us, unfamiliar

Swiftly crossing the Mute Sea

Each morning we awaken

In the smooth soft beds

Of our new native land

To the Kookaburra's mad laughter

As constant sneezes stream like rain

Like steam rising from the kettle

The burden of my catarrh

Flows to my mind again:

Like some inheritance

Banished from the mother-land

It has come here

My catarrh, the burning, the pain.

(Translated by Lushxmi De Silva)

"The Mute Sea and My heritage" brilliantly translated into English by Prof. Lushxmi de Silva, is one of the evocative poems in the anthology which brings back the nostalgic memories of the land the poet left and the encompassing feeling of estrangeness of the life on the land he adopted. Though not expressed always, this estrangeness engulfing the every facet of life on foreign soil is a phenomenon common to most of first generation immigrants.

This is one of the reasons that those immigrants build up their own cocoons in their adopted lands and conduct "cultural shows" from time to time to get rid of this all encompassing estrangeness.

However, their children acclimatise well in the adopted land and lead rather a cozy life albeit totally or partially detached from their parents land of birth. For them, Sri Lanka evokes no especial feeling like those of their parents and is only a name of a country on the world map.

The poem "A New World" describes the freshness and the splendour of the adopted land which is compared and contrasted with the mother land.

Field of victories, filled with wealth and splendour

I have not seen a single destitute

No buses here are packed with passengers

A seat is there whenever you get in

The driver greets you with a friendly word

Gladdened I gaze and feel my heart grow full

The adopted land is so different from the land of birth. The air is clean, happy and the life is rather cozy that the poet wishes to spend the rest of his life on this land of bliss.

"Mataka Divaina" codifies poet's experiences in Australia and rather melancholy memories of the life he spent in Sri Lanka. This is an excellent collection of poetry that perhaps, for the first time turns new chapters in Sinhala poetry as expatriate Sri Lankans ilk of Govinnage write on their experiences in Sinhala. The book provides an insight into the life and experience of expatriate communities.

The writers other books include Black Swans and Other Stories, White Mask-New Australian Stories and the forthcoming Black Australian.

Ajith Samaranayake in his famous "Sunday Essay" writes about "Great People" in an author's first anthology of short stories. Black Swans and other stories, Govinnage sketches the Australian scene dexterously.

On his first day at work Siripala Wickremasinghe is told that his name sounds funny and with typical Aussie insouciance it is suggested that he shorten his name to Singh.

When he protests that this might make him sound a Sikh he is informed that there is a Tamil called Frank because that is what his wife calls him although his real name was Bala.

The upshot is that his name is shortened to Siri, Aussies being great people at shortening names though Wickremasinghe, of course, is a bit of a mouthful.

Sunil Govinnage is an IT professional domiciled in Australia.

Biyen Thora Gabini Bava (pregnancy without fear)

It is heartening to see so many specialists in the medical field, who are well versed in both Sinhala and English languages presenting books in their respective fields and disseminating their knowledge for the benefit of Sinhala readers. Earlier this type of books were available only in English.

Dr. B. G. A. Vidyathilaka, the consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician in 2005 presented the book Obtath Babeck a women's hand book on infertility. Now with his vast knowledge and experience in the field he has come out with another book Biyen Thora Gabini Bava (pregnancy with out fear).

Although the birth of species is a necessity for the continuity of the human race, the author in this book draws attention to the fact, that annually over 500,000 deaths take place in the world in the course of pregnancy and child birth. His opinion is that most of the deaths occur due to ignorance and negligence and could be avoided by proper care and knowledge. Accordingly, he has written the book Biyen Thora Gabini Bava to educate and instruct readers about pregnancy and child birth.

The book contains A to Z from the pregnancy to the child birth. It begins with changes that occur in a women with the pregnancy. It explains how to cope with pregnancy and how to deal with minor complications during the period. It emphasises the importance of attending clinics and following the instructions. It illustrates when to make use of modern techniques like scanning and other devices. It goes further to educate women how to maintain their beauty and figure with exercise and other means even after child birth.

The author in the book draws attention to the hidden dangers in pregnancy and what steps should be taken in an eventuality. He defines that only 16% of deaths have occurred at delivery and 60% have taken place after the child birth. Hence the problem is not over with the birth of the child.

There may be also unforeseen complications at the delivery. He also gives instructions as to the special care that should be taken in case of mothers suffering with blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems.In the chapters dealing with the growth of the foetus in the womb, he discusses how to deal with abnormal formation of the child.

The damage that could be done by various germs are discussed and he warns that they could cause the death of the foetus or make the child an invalid. The author deals with rubella, chicken pox, toxoplasma, hepatitis B. Syphilis and AIDS during the pregnancy and how to treat such cases.

The author emphasises that anaemia should be prevented during the pregnancy and advises as to what food should be taken to make both the mother and the child healthy.

He recommends a list of food that should be taken during the pregnancy and exercises that could be done. He also suggests what to avoid during the period. He makes a special study of the emergencies that could arise during the pregnancy, indicated by the movements of the foetus and excessive bleeding etc. He also illustrates the accidents that could occur during the delivery. He discussed the steps that should be taken in such situations.

There are chapters dealing with normal delivery and various stages in the course are discussed. However in this process there could be abnormal labour and the author analyses the duties of the doctors and the staff in this eventuality. Coming down to the Caesarian operations the author illustrates when to resort to this popular exercise.

Dealing with the intensive care unit in the maternity hospitals the author observes that people shudder when they hear of it. He brings out the figures for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 in the ICU in the De Soyza Maternity Hospital to prove that out of the patients treated there, less than 1% have died. He allays the fears and shows that ICUs are a blessing for pregnant mothers.

The author illustrates that in 1947 that there were 1,650 deaths for every 100,000 child births in Sri Lanka. In 1998, within a period of 50 years it has been reduced to 60 for 100000.

This has been achieved due to the efficiency of doctors and staff in 'hospitals. Although he does not rule out deaths due to negligence, he Iaments that when a death occurs because of unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, the media makes a big issue of it often on hearsay.

This book is written in simple Sinhala and could be easily understood by the average women in Sri Lanka. Although the book also deals with medical techniques, it is presented in a readable style.

This book is a must for pregnant women and should be there in the libraries in Sri Lanka as well. It is neatly printed in glossy paper with many relevant photographs, diagrams and drawings.