Portrayal of the conflict with humility

Reviewed by Goolbai Goonesekara

When Punyakante honoured me by asking me to review her latest book " When the Guns Falls Silent" , I did not stop to think how handicapped I would be by the fact that my judgments or rather , my assessments of her latest novel would be coloured by the long friendship between that has endured between us since we were in school together....and to tell you how long That was to be revealed both mine and Punyakante's ages which , I have not slightest intension of doing .

Naturally one does not undertake the task of reviewing a Gratiaen Prize Winning's work lightly- to say nothing of numerous other accolades that have so deservedly been showered upon my old classmate which makes my task even more difficult so, if personal notes and probably personal biases creep into this review.

When Guns Fall Silent Author: Punyakante Wijenaike Publisher: Godage Publishers

First of all, let me say how difficult it has always been to associate the strong and forceful style of Punyakante's work with the extremely gentle and shy school girl she was. I clearly remember that in one of her early novels she hinted at homosexuality and certain material problems which had her old classmates asking each other in total bewilderment where on earth Punyakante had learnt of such things. She had married very happily at 17 and such unmentionable topics were never discussed in the hallowed halls of Bishop's College. Such were the norms and customs of the day I doubted any of us were too clear about matters taken so much granted by the junior set of Sri Lanka today. At this point I am remembered of how a little 10 year old boy told his father who had just said to him," Now Johnny, we need to have a talk about the birds and the bees".

Answered Johnny with aplomb" Sure Dad. What do you need to know? "

" When the Guns Fall Silent " consists of two Novellas...the stories of two young boys, one Sinhalese and other Tamil caught in the conflict which, after that unfocussed and mindless rampage in July of 1983 has rent our lovely island for the last 30 years.

Suranga, the young Sinhalese war hero has just returned home from the front badly wounded and trying to deal with the deep personal tragedy of having lost a leg. His coping skills are handled sympathetically by doctors, nurses and grateful Government. He comes from a farming family and uppermost in his mind is the frightening future looming ahead. How is a legless farmer going to manage?

I know Punyakante does painstaking research into anything she writes and so it was a very pleasant surprise to know that our disabled soldiers are very well treated indeed. Suranga's adjustment to civilian life is fairly easy albeit somewhat introspective and emotional. The author carefully sidesteps using provocative rhetoric or even hinted of religious chauvinism when mentally voicing these thoughts-an all too easy trap given prevalent attitudes.

Alongside Suranga in hospital is his brother, also wounded and awaiting a visit from home. The return home for the brothers takes place fairly painlessly. The family is bound by tradition and is controlled by a widowed mother whom they respect and trust. But events that follow typify real life. The unexpected happens. Suranga falls in love with a Tamil girl and now the purpose of the novel is loud and clear. The author is sounding a note of hope and peace when she describes the mindset of a man of war who has been facing a ruthless opponent in the same war and can yet forget all racial hospitality in his personal life, Sri Lanla can heal war wounds faster through love than all the work of a caring government. Forgiveness is the leit motif of this contemporary and relevant novel. Punyakante makes the comment in her preface that we should not be overshadowed by history. I cannot agree more. I usually cringe with embarrassment when that ubiquitous phrase " Our glorious heritage" is used to excuse all the failings of modern society. I am delighted to note that our Government today no longer harks back to that era of glory preferring rather to make our own in the NOW.

Nonetheless, let us also learn lessons from world history. Let us recall the great Moghul Emperor Akbar who married a daughter of a Hindu king and united two great peoples for over three centuries. The Moghul Empire founded on fanaticism, racism and the cry of the religious Aurangzeb. Punyakante realises that intermarriage is one of the surest ways towards unity. Suranga dreams, Madhuri appeared. Our bodies broke all the barriers of race, caste, language and deformity. Her love turned me into a Prince of Peace". In a movingly expressed story Suranga overcomes his mother's initial anger. He visits Madhuri with a gift of bananas but in spite of being rebuffed angrily by Madhuri's father the gift is reciprocated with a dish of Mangoes. Unification does not need to take place around conference tables of politicians or merely on Government to say so. In the rural villager far more intense forms of unity may hopefully be anticipated if Suranga and Madhuri are emulated.

The couple makes use of modern telecommunication. Suranga gives his lady love a mobile and love blossoms. He believes that out of war torn land there is hope for a liberated people, liberated from pride and prejudice, from divided races, from customs and belief and most of all from fear.

The second story is that of teenaged Suraj, a member of Prabhakaran's army who has surrendered to the Government forces. His best friend falls victim to a stray bullet so Suraj is frightened and lonely in the camp into which he is placed. He strikes up friendship with an older woman, Kala, who is desperate to locate her own family. The two form an unlikely alliance. This situation in the hands of masterly story teller is riveting. Suranga begins to call her 'amma'. He wonders though "Where are my amma, papa and my family. Why are they not looking for me? "

But with a stoicism, found frequently among the northerners of our island Suraj studies hard when sent back to a camp school. In an endearing return to his snatched youth he wonders" Perhaps we can play cricket again. " . He is after all only sixteen.

He starts to feel comfortable in his own world again-one free of bombs and death. It was like emerging from a dark tunnel. Some sort of normalcy is achieved even in the refugee camp and is soon sent to Hindu College in Colombo. He sees Murali-the great Tamil cricketer on television. He is inspired. Slowly his feelings of guilt and alienation begin to subside.

In a telling line Suraj says, " I was an ex-combat-trained for commitment. I used this training now for the progress of my own future". An incident that took place recently in Asian International School causes me to wonder if the same sense of commitment cannot be taught to our own young Colombo boys minus the violence of course. Two little 8 years old were brought to my office. They had been fighting. I addressed the perpetrators firmly.

" Haven't I told you Shafraz that you cannot Touch another child in the school " "But Mrs. G." , he answered with a serious innocent look . " I never touched him, I only slapped him". Violent is not really part of their lives and still discipline is not apparent in most of the Colombo children.

But to get back to our two heroes. There is a contrast between two boys. Suranga also draws on his own war experiences but in the bosom of a loving family. Suraj uses his former training to build anew in the strange world of Colombo. His parents eventually find him but it is clear that his life will not be lived in his own home again. His father urges him to emigrate but for the moment he is a school boy, enjoying delayed boyhood while the future beckons alluringly. "Don't worry about the future", a friend tells him" Your future will find you".

The difference between two young men is also very noticeable in their attitudes to women. Suranga is ready to settle down and is attracted by feminism. Suraj is not ready for a steady relationship. Events have made him far more emotionally reliant. Both young men have a great sense of integrity. The reader feels that they are true to themselves. Their thoughts during their periods of introspection are self revealing. Of course, there is an age difference and the author brings this outmost skilfully. If I were teaching this book as a text one of the obvious questions would be "Compare and contrast the characters of Suranga and Suraj" ...but I am not teaching it although in order to fulfil the very optimistic note for the future that the author has struck, it might be an excellent idea to use " When the Guns Fall Silent" as an AL Literature text. A beautifully phrased, relevant story of our times must strike a sympathetic chord in the minds of every young person. Perhaps someone in this audience can recommend it to the pundits of the Dept of Education!

It is heartening that one of Sri Lanka's foremost writers has chosen this theme of reconciliation and of building anew on the follies of the past. She lays no blame and therefore, she cannot possibly offend anyone in the manner in which she presents her story. I cannot find a better conclusion than to quote from the author's own words ," Let us be united by the same aspirations of hope, desires and dreams of one nation, a progressive and peaceful Sri Lanka for future generation yet to be born".

A new wildlife spectacle

Reviewed by Rohan Pethiyagoda

The past few years have seen a steady outflow of photographic books celebrating Sri Lanka's magnificent wildlife heritage. Ever since Nihal Fernando established the genre with his 'The wild, the free, the beautiful' a quarter century ago (yes, 1986, that was!), and especially following the advent of high-quality digital photography, a growing number of nature-photography books has come to be published every year. And encouragingly, these have been getting better and better.

Sri Lankans are now out there with the best of photographers, each specializing in some aspect of the island's seemingly endless potential for spectacle. And the books themselves have varied from slim pocket-sized tomes to massive five-kilo jobs, evidently designed less to inform and entertain than to help readers accumulate muscle mass (for which misdemeanour I am at least partly responsible and offer a humble mea culpa). For let's face it, the growing number of Sri Lankan wildlife books on the market makes it imperative that authors and publishers look for new ways of distinguishing their work from the rest of the pack, especially given that the photos themselves get progressively bigger and better.

The untamed road: a visual miscellany of the Sri Lankan wilderness Author: Dr. Lalith Ekanayake

The latest of these, to be published on 11 November is Dr. Lalith Ekanayake's 'The untamed road: a visual miscellany of the Sri Lankan wilderness.' As Sri Lankan wildlife books go, it is physically in the welterweight class, though artistically up there with the best of them.

Spread among 140 large (10" x 14") pages and printed on excellent art paper are as many photographs of truly outstanding quality, most of which you'd be tempted to tear out of the book right then and there and hang on your wall.

In it, Dr. Ekanayake presents the labours of his leisure hours (which, given that he doubles as director of the Navy's medical service and a consultant physician, cannot be many), spent largely in and around Yala National Park. What it is they teach up-and-coming doctors at medical school nowadays 1 do not know, but shutter-bugging is clearly somewhere up there in the syllabus (think T.S.U. de Zylva, Ravi Samarasinha).

Lalith Ekanayake's photos are for the most part memorable because he seems to have an amazing knack for being serendipitously at the right place at the right time (what, I wonder, does he tip his trackers?). Far from being the usual portraits of leopards, for example, his photographs have the big cats gnawing on a monkey head or being charged by a wild boar (really!).

The book comes alive because the animals themselves are, for the most part, doing things we rarely see: combat, hunting, feeding, mating, chasing or, in some cases, being chased. It is wildlife in action, showing nature that is truly red in tooth and claw.

The book itself catches the eye right at first glance. Though not my favourite photo, cover image of elephants in combat (or play, I am not sure which) in a cloud of dust does unfailingly catch the eye. But one needs to turn the pages for the real surprises.

And the pages themselves are entirely in black: the book contains no white paper save for the text. While that novelty alone sets this oeuvre apart from the pack, there is precious little text to distract the eye from the book's sumptuous photography. The result is a book refreshingly free from those pesky typos and bits of insufficiently-researched 'fact' that bedevil some of its competitors. This is a book you're meant to leave on your coffee table so that visitors can pick it up, turn the pages slowly, and mumble the word "Wow!" repeatedly to themselves while waiting for you to put a shirt on.

When I was asked, earlier this year, if I would mind coming along to see some of Lalith Ekanayake's photos, my first response was "Who?". Despite nudging 55 from the right side, I had not yet had my mandatory colonoscopy (yes, that is his speciality) and so was not familiar with the name. As I had done so often, I went along grudgingly and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. "Incredible!", "amazing!" and such like epithets flowed freely as I reviewed the photos. Of course, there were some that he seemed to like more than I did, but these were more than amply compensated for by a substantial number of gems that most Yala aficionados would rest content to have just one of, in a lifetime. Where, I wondered, had this man been hiding all this time? "You might think of doing a book," I said.

And unlike has been the case when I've said that so often in the past, I didn't bite my tongue.

Tell me if I was wrong.

The untamed road: a visual miscellany of the Sri Lankan wilderness will turn heads. If nothing else, it underlines just how much there is to be seen in Sri Lanka's remaining jungles.

The photographs are for the most part drawn from the dry zone, though there is a smattering of nice images from Sinharaja and like places. The book has been produced in Singapore, to a very high standard to boot, which in addition to its size, makes its sale price of less than Rs. 3,000 truly a bargain.

This is a book you need to buy one for yourself and another few as Christmas presents for those you love dearly. They deserve nothing less. I also highly recommend Lalith's exhibition of photographs (much larger than the prints in the book, mounted and on sale) at the Harold Peiris Gallery of the Lionel Wendt Theatre today. It is well worth a visit, and you could also be among the first to buy the book and have it autographed. Lalith Ekanayake has raised the standard of Sri Lankan wildlife photography by several notches. Nature lovers need to remind themselves from time to time just how wonderful Sri Lanka's remaining wilderness, and the animals that inhabit it, is. The untamed road is the best reminder to have come our way in a long time. Buy it and delight in it.

Exploring the correct date of the Maha Parinibbana

Reviewed by Padma Edrisinghe

It is a long way from the world of psychiatry to the world of early Buddhist history. Some who apparently see no connection would say it is even an odd path. But there is nothing to prevent a concerned writer to try his or her hand at any novel topic and even try to unravel buried or bygone mysteries at times enmeshed in riddles and complicated issues. Here Prof. Dissanayake has taken upon himself a very challenging assignment ie. Exploring the correct date of the Thatthagatha's Passing away or the Maha Parinibbana.

Revision of dating the Buddha Author: Wijaya Dissanayake Sooriya Publication

Hasn't anybody tried it before.? Many. In fact the author gives a whole list of such findings. The topic kindling high interest and yet carrying an aura of sanctity has even been the pastime of many an academic luminary, inclined towards Buddhist studies or otherwise. But yet there is nothing like delving into this curious mosaic of relevant facts. Here is the author himself waxing it all in elegant English that makes delightful reading.

"The Sri Lankan chronicles remain a curious mosaic, a mixture of erroneous early chronology and fairly accurate invaluable information on the early history of Buddhism."

Actually the purpose of this text is to explore this terrain of muddled chronology and history from varied and novel perspectives and consider alternate avenues that seem, "more empirical, logical and in accordance with common sense and human rationality."

The preliminary section of this book is allotted to the work done by Western scholars in unravelling the correct time phase of the Parinibbana. This results as an outcome of the passion of the Western mind. A welter of facts is presented in this connection that results in some confusion too. Finally the reader can locate "Three chronologies", the long chronology, the short chronology and the median chronology.

The author himself advocates the median chronology going by the Dipavamsa. In fact the sub-title of the book is, "A triumph of median chronology of the Dipavamsa". An ancillary task of the book has been to bring into intellectual focus the Dipavamsa penned in the 4th Century but overshadowed by the Mahavamsa written two centuries later due to its polished style. The author lauds the Dipavamsa as containing a mass of information brought to Sri Lanka from the Archives of the great Mauryan Empire by Ven. Mahinda. But that it was a short, repetitive, inelegant, unscholarly and stodgy chronicle written in Pali verses made it less read.

To get back to the three chronologies perhaps the longest could be 544 BC. At the other end is the Short Chronology that places Buddha's entry into Nirvana to around 380 AD. The Median chronology that palaces the event around 400 BC., is advocated in this book. The lineage of the Maha Theras so accurately given in the Dipavamsa has buttressed the theory. Page 41 gives a diagrammatical presentation of this lineage even placing its evolution against contemporary episodes as Alexander's expansion of power in India. Muddling the issue further is Geiger's calculation of 483 BC while some Northern Buddhist states give incredibly elongated dates. It was going by the 544 BC date that Buddha Jayanthi Celebrations were held in the year 1956 and the author contends that there could be a replay of the Buddha Jayanthi Celebrations in 2017 going by this calculation.

The author asserts that the median chronology is buttressed by extensive archaeological research work done by Conningham and Allchin who are inclined towards the Shorter Chronology which according to him veers towards the median chronology that places it around 400 BC.

Has the author tried to seal the whole muddled issue with this statement?

"However, there is now a definite consensus among all the historians and scholars of the Western world that both dates, 544 and Geiger's revised 483/484 BC are way off the mark ... hence the necessity for revision".

The book evidently invites Buddhist and even non - Buddhist scholars into a discussion on a very significant topic. The author has done his own share to kindle interest with a walter of significant facts pertaining to early Buddhist history.

While developing the main theme the author has touched on valuable matter marginal to it. One such instance is the observation made on the unearthing of sherds bearing crude Brahmi inscriptions with personal names from artifacts unearthed in the citadel of Anuradhapura nearly two centuries before Asoka's reign. It was a surprising find. The conjecture is even more surprising.ie. that the Brahmi script has originated from Aramaic, a semitic script in West Asia where the first civilization began around 3,500 Bc. How interlocked is the world though getting fractured and fissured day by day by fanatics obsessed with trite issues!

BOOK LAUNCH

Mini kana vyagrayanta mediva

Palitha Jayakody's latest book "Mini kana vyagrayanta mediva" will be launched at Dayawansa Jayakody Bookshop, Ven. S. Mahinda Mawatha, Colombo 10 on November 16 at 10. a.m.

"Mini kana vyagrayanta mediva" is the authentic Sinhala translation of Kenneth Anderson's popular books 'This is the jungle".

Jayakody is the author of "Olanda sirakaruge Lanka charikava". "Mini Kana vyagrayanta mediva" is a Dayawansa Jayakody publication.

Divine Poems

Divine Poems by

Vimalothayam Pathmanathan will be launched on November 9 at 4.00 p.m. at the Indian Cultural Centre, Colombo 4.