Plumeria - a story of 'alternatives' and 'alterity'

By Dilshan BOANGE

The piece of short fiction titled "The Plumeria Tree" by Parvathi Solomons Arsanayagam which appeared in the Montage edition of December 5 resonated well in its theme with part of the "Cultural Scene" editorial by Indeewara Thilakarathne that week, which opened a discussion on 'post-conflict literature' being the more appropriate terming for literature that deals with the armed conflicts that Sri Lanka as a nation has gone through in its Post-colonial era of Independence.

The story of "The Plumeria Tree" brings out strong overtones of the impact of conflict on society at large which the reader is made to view through the vantages of the Shan family during a night of heightened security in Colombo.

The craft of language

One of the striking features of the text (of the short story) is that it was a narrative of captivating imagery that the reader encounters at the outset, written in a manner that brings a richness in its language form. The detail with which the author paints the picture of the garden of the guesthouse which is the significant setting for the story to unfold, has a style of the 19th century realist approach in narrative form more than the postmodern manner of a very basic description that keeps it minimal (at times) to leave the reader with space to 'imagine' and create a picture of his own in his mind as the story progresses. The sense of dreaminess seeps in along the descriptions of the garden which captures a poetic element playing on the beauty of imagery. And a notable feature in the language technique of the narrative is that there is a shift from the form of the 'tense' as the story progresses to its end. The story is told mainly in the past tense as is the usual choice with majority of fiction writers, but a shift to the simple present and present progressive verb tense occurs notably from the point where the Shans return to the guesthouse after attending the poetry reading, amidst fears of an insurgency that jeopardizes the well being of civilians, and sits down to relax over tea.

Parvathi Solomons Arsanayagam

The shift to the simple present and progressive verb tense displays a craft of lyrical writer's such as Michael Ondaatje whose works carry a notable trait of this verb tense which is termed 'lyric tense' by certain academic classifications. This use of elements that textures a lyrical quality to the story provides a quality of clam and sedated tonalities that pervade through the text. Though the story thematically brings out foci on the harshness of armed conflicts -from the leftist insurgencies to the separatist conflict that raged on here for thirty years, one gets the distinct feeling that it is very much a scenario that does not hold a great immediacy as events or incidents of great violence. It is very much a glimpse into the past and a reference point with a snapshot discursive through a series of images that are very much part of the tonal canvas founded on the serenity of the garden setting.

Alterity

The sense of 'otherness' brought out rather pronouncedly through the author's choice of ethnic classifications. The Shans aren't a part of Sri Lanka's major ethno-religious segment. They would therefore have certain perspectives shaped by socio-political affectations which the text may provide windows to. While there may be such 'cultural otherness' by virtue of the Shan family's ethnicity, their fears and apprehensions in the wake of social unrest that spirals to armed insurgencies speaks very much of the common human emotions that affect persons regardless of ethno-religious grounds. However, it may be telling from a point of 'class' of how the Shan family and the milieu they represent could be read. It must be borne in mind the armed leftist insurgencies of '71 and '89 were on grounds of fighting a 'class struggle'. And to both these events the text makes direct references. And therefore one may raise the question of whether the text provides a ground to view the matter of the leftist insurgencies from a perspective of class as well as 'cultural otherness'? Another figure of alterity may be found in the foreign 'visitor' who joins the Shans for tea at the guesthouse. She is very much the 'alien' in the Sri Lankan context and fits the space of the cultural 'other' more prominently than the protagonist family.

And on top of the cultural otherness she is posited with, the foreign woman's past occupation as a dishwasher in a hotel in Canada (presumably), which explicitly makes her one of the economically exploited, probably makes her the 'other' in respect of class basis as well when in the presence of the Shans who very much seem belong to middle class citizenry in Sri Lanka.

'Alternatives'

In conjunction with the theme of alterity what runs complimentary to it is the idea of 'alternatives' that is embodied in the 'plumeria tree' concept. What seems to be an arbitrary naming of the frangipani or 'araliya' as plumeria by the foreign woman (who is later revealed as Canadian in nationality) builds on the Shakespearean idea -'a rose by any other name'.

It is interesting to note that the armed conflicts referred to in the text were perpetrated by movements that envisioned an 'alternative' to the existing status quo.

The multiplicity of an object's identity from altering vantages woven around the 'plumeria tree' illustration that the story latterly develops seems very much a statement about how to accept 'difference'.

As a story in the era of post-conflict Sri Lanka Parvathi S. Arsanayagam's short story seems to reflect on the harshness of violence on the civilian psyche from a viewpoint that may not be living in the very midst of fiery violence itself but very much affected by it.

And this undeniable impact shows that memories formed on such experiences, regardless of how time lapses leaves questions that linger unanswered.