Meeting Azavedo!

Padma EDIRISINGHE

When Sri Lankan writers are at a loss for a theme they fall back either on the conflict in the North or on above topic. The writer, readers would cynically observe fares no better. Could be or could be not. In fact once I came across a pathetic piece on a young descendent of the royal line of an African country, Ethiopia, if I remember correct, who after the Britishers had made pell-mell of its dynasty removed the prince to England, dressed him in European attire and began to teach him English. But what did he finally do he pined for his home and hearth and for his mother and then died just hating the English.

The biggest compliment the reigning queen of England assumed that she had paid him was, "Poor sweet boy. He hardly looked an African!".

Tell that to Obama!

I have also heard of a sad story in our own country of the wife of a patriot who was shot by the British requesting the foreigners to educate her son in English as a compensation for making him fatherless. They readily consented and had him admitted to a hostel in a premier English college in Colombo but the boy pined day and night for the fields and the cascading waterfalls of his upcountry terrain, for the warm embrace of his mother that he developed a psychosomatic illness and passed away in the dormitory never having mastered the English alphabet, which turned out to be his phobia.

However not all went the same way. In fact a good deal of literature put out by today's younger generation writing in English-most of them expatriates- reveal the fact that they have become the beneficiaries of their grandfathers deciding to quit the native home and hearth and make full use of the Western education and aligned culture. The nostalgic longings they exhibit here and there could be genuine or faked to deceive the reader that their heart is still with Mother Lanka. The stark truth here is that the broad thinking and intellectualism they display have transcended national, racial and religious barriers.

Can one say, "Much ado about nothing", No. At least nothing, to the conquistadors themselves. I remember having a chat with a former Minister of Cultural Affairs. Now don't run away with the idea that every other day I have chats with such formidable characters. But he was a sweet ageing man and knew a lot and we had to patiently wait on our seats till the prize - winners lined up to receive their awards. He said that he has just returned from a trip to Lisbon where he had tried to trace documents with regard to their period of rule here and was disappointed. He learnt that at the time the Ferenghi rule ended here, Portugal was in turmoil due to domestic issues and all documents were removed to Brazil. Some which were later brought back to Lisbon too made their exit when an earthquake destroyed the building in which they were kept. I cannot vouch for all what he told me for I have not been to Lisbon myself.

And while we are so preoccupied with these invaders and hold umpteen seminars and symposiums on their rule here along with many other aligned topics, the Portuguese seem to be quite oblivious of us. For they were almost the super - power in the world in the 16th century. They were ubiquitous having stretched their empire from the North Coast of Africa to Macau in China. No international law existed to regulate their activities. Might was right. The Iberian peninsula itself had suffered for centuries from Moorish yoke and now liberated, the Portuguese were groping their way to power and glory. In 1454 the Congo basin was discovered and in 1494 Vasco Da Gama made his famous voyage to India rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Then in 1,500 Cabraal discovered Brazil for Portugal. Excuse the dirty word, "discovered" used since these countries had existed ever since the world began. Even the mighty sub-continent of India, world historians would say was discovered only in the 15th century whereas the Upanishads and the Vedas with their philosophical speculations were being recited around midnight fires at the foothills of Himalayas when those in Northern Europe were running wild in the nude or wrapped in leaves or animal skins braving the freezing cold and nettled forests.

Portugal, frenzied by their initial successes just plazoned ahead. And of course Papal power formed the main prop. Both were in need of help in an amazingly widening world. The doctrine preached by Christ had expanded from the shores of Galiee to European lands north of the Meditaraniam due to Roman king Constantine's conversion and Vatican had become the world's embassy of Heaven. All other faiths were regarded as pagan and had to be wiped off the earth. The Pope needed a partner for this sinister plan and little Portugal was willing. It would give a moral justification for their land grabbing too.

The Three Bulls issued by the Pope in 1493 partitioning "the newly discovered lands" between Spain and Portugal culminated the process. "Bull" was certainly an apt word for this brazen and utterly illegitimate act of partitioning a major part of the world between two countries just because they were of a particular faith.

Peculiar dramas trailed this process. Some politely call them "Synthesis of civilizations". Some impolitely call them Denigration of very high civilizations. The battle still goes on filling intellectual vacuums for those who have nothing much to do. Vast majority of the world's population spend their time finding ways and means of sustaining themselves and their families. For a fortunate few such effort is redundant. And if they are academically inclined that long period of what is known as the period of imperialism throws up many an interesting topic, some even descending to trivia if viewed via a normal perspective.The fusion of words, of dress, of customs, of even racial amalgamation - these read tantalizing while some would just scoff at the whole thing and say things like Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be. For it is just one world full of humans who keep tripping on each other. I once met a Portuguese female at a party. She had a pretty face and a way of dishing out compliments as saying that our island is very beautiful. Her generosity made me say that their race once ruled a part of our country. may be I wanted to find out how she would react to that.

"Did we? Oh. Jesus. Never knew that. And so far away".

"It was partly to propagate the message of Jesus that they came so far"

She sidled up to me and confided three things. One, that history was never her forte. Second that I was very human.

Human? Gods! Had LTTE propaganda succeeded in projecting that the Lankan Sinhalese are an inhuman lot en masse and human ones one comes across rarely.

Third fact was, "You know we are a very poor country now"

Ditta Dhamma Vedaneeya Kamma, I intoned.

What, she exclaimed utterly perplexed.

"Punishment follows atrocious behaviour, is the general meaning".

She gave up on me and turned to another. Azavedo was her surname. Could be a descendent of General Azavedo who is said to have spiked babes of families who refused to be converted. Sometimes he is said to have watched with glee from the balcony of his Malwana Palace the tiny corpses being thrown to the Kelani river bend flowing by. But Miss. Azavedo who sat by me was a farcry from him and 25 generations had trekked in the intervening period.

She turned to me again to share a packet of roasted gram and I told her, "You too are very human" Not because of the gram but the friendliness bubbling in her.

In the world of humans, what would you expect humans to be except humans? Inhumans, can abound among Yakshas and Rakshas but even they are said to be human tribes carrying totemic names. Better stop trying to unravel the human issue, yet concentrate on the sameness of humans.