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Portrayal of mindscape and human psyche
Reviewed by Ranga Chandrarathne
Man is born to live, not to prepare for life.-Boris Pasternak (1890 -
1960), Doctor Zhivago, 1958
Though seems to centre on the protagonist Pandual, the novel
caricatures dramatic personae in a period of socio-economic
transformation which dictates and conditions their social behaviour. The
author not only codifies the milieu but also pangs and agonies of the
characters and emotional status at diverse instances. What is most
striking is the ease with which the author caricatures the mindscape and
human psyche which is in a way indefinable.
Portrayal of life is the most difficult task that a fiction writer
would attempt at. In away, however, it is the principal task of a
fiction writer.
Although one may encounter same kinds of emotions and conflicts in
life, the socio-economic backdrop against which they take place may
differ from one society to another and one country to another. Situvara
Puvata (The Count of the Aristocrat) by Rupa Sriyani Ekanayake, is such
an attempt to portray life in its myriads forms and how the plight of
the dramatic personae changes not only according to their divergent
social status but also due circumstances beyond their control.
Transformation
The novel is set against the backdrop of a period of socio-economic
transformation. The narrators of the story are two main characters
Pandula and Sarala. Pandula is a wealthy aristocrat who lives in his
property Degeli Kanda and Sarala is a beauty who is a first cousin of
Pandula. Panduala, who is in love with Sarala, has met with a vehicular
accident which rendered him invalid for life. The story is narrated in
the form of diary entries of Pandula and Sarala revealing how they react
to the unfolding events in their lives which throw them into diverse
trajectories. Following the tragic end of Pandual and Sarala’s lives,
the diary is read out to the readers by Sarala’s only son, Pramod who is
the heir to estate Degala Kanda. The story commences on January 1 of
1970s. The diary entries not only reveal the personal histories of the
main characters but also codify the milieu against which the story
unfolds.
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Situvara Puvata
Author: Rupa Sriyani Ekanayake
Suriya Publishers |
“Pundula had told me that he had experienced his body being taken to
the cemetery in a coffin to the sounds of the eerie drum beats the day
when I married Sumittta. But today I really experience Pandula’s body
being taken in a coffin to the cemetery while beating the drum of death
(a drum specially played at a funeral).
Wasn’t Pandula, who possessed great wealth and maintained a higher
social status even after he became paralysed and confined to a
wheel-chair, slowly moves to the cemetery accompanied by handful of
persons, yet another entry on the book of life? It was Punsara who cried
bitterly than I. Such a lament may describe as lamenting of a she-bear.
She cried bitterly beating on her chest and trying to pull her flock of
hair out. I silently fixed on it.
Mathupala followed his master’s coffin with great difficulty, with
the aid of a walking stick. I vacantly looked at Pandual’s pyre as its
roaring flames make the sky over Degeli Kanda red. Pandula was a great
man who stood like an iron wall around us. On that day, I learnt that I
had left with no heart either to lament or to cry… ”
With this evocative passage, the author sums up the tragic ends of
Pandula, the aristocrat who exerted overarching influence on the lives
of the others who associated with him. One of the significant aspects of
the plot is that author has effectively used the protagonist Pandual and
the rest of the characters such as Sumitta who married Sarala, Sarala,
Pandula’s servants Mathupala and Punsara to analyse the human psyche.
The principal mode of operandi to reveal the mindscape of the characters
is the literary technique stream of consciousness. It is the characters
themselves who reveals their statues of emotions. Through the creation
of complex characters such as those of Pandula and Sarala, the author
drives home the fact that the reactions of human mind is extremely
unpredictable and depends on myriads of factors such as personality and
social status.
Complex characters
“Love does not mean craving for each other’s body…you must love the
life of whom you love…Therefore, I have got to think about your
future…it is not funny to marry a disabled person…you contemplate on
before making a decision… I agree to any decision you make…”
Pandula’s dramatic statement reveals the inner struggle that has been
going on in his mind since he became disabled. Sarala’s reaction to
Pandula’s remarks reveals her aspirations for a happy married life which
ultimately leads to her marring Sumitta. It is at this juncture that the
principal characters take a different course.
The author has effectively used Sarala’s character and rest of the
characters to shed light on personality traits of Pandula. Throughout
the novel, Pandula remains a towering figure despite his physical
disabilities and being confined to a wheel-chair.
One of the factors, which makes Pandula different from any other
person in such a situation, is due to his social and financial status.
At a different level, principal actor of the novel is money and social
status which conditions people’s behaviour in a given situation.
Pandula’s behaviour is highly convincing given the social and
financial status he enjoyed in life and on the other hand, behaviours of
Sarala and Sumitta can also be justifiable in their specific conditions
and situations. For instance, Sumitta who was financially bankrupt shed
his pride and sought financial assistance from Pandula whom he earlier
looked down as a disabled.
“Aren’t you ashamed of asking a disabled for money? You insulted and
humiliated me… you ruined Sara…As a vulture who comes down from a
mountain like an arrow, you come between us and grabbed Sarala…Now you
are asking me for money.”
Though Pandula insulted and virtually chased Sumitta away at first,
later on he began to lend money to Pandual, never to be returned.
Pandual continue to lend money to Sumitta due to his love for Sarala and
to avenge Sumitta and Sarala. Apart from Pandula’s character, the other
character which occupies a pivotal position in the novel is that of
Sarala.
Although Sarala subconsciously longing for a physical relationship
and for a contented family life which leads her to marry Sumitta, her
love for Pandula continues throughout her life. It is this love which
compels her to compare and contrast Sumitta with Pandula. Love for
Pandula on Sarala’s part contributes to make her marriage sour, leading
to a separation following the birth of her son, Pramod. Following the
separation, Sarala seeks refuge in Degali Kanda estate where she leads
the rest of her life.
Cinematic quality
One of the prominent features of the novel Situvara Puvata (The Count
of the Aristocrat) is its sheer cinematic quality. Throughout the novel,
the author creates dramatic situations and incidents and even the
monologues in the diary entries which can be turned into vividly
realised images. For instance, the scene of Pandula’s body being taken
to the cemetery evokes strong visual images associated with the life of
Pandula. The larger than life character of Pandula is symbolised in a
way by his vast wealth and the estate of Digala kanda and mansion. One
incident which sums up the sheer loyalty of servants to the family is
when Punsara, now an old woman, tore off the deed of gift as it was
given to her, according to the last will, by Pramod.
“In my hand was the deed of gift for Punsara, which according to
uncle Pandual’s will entitle Punsara for five acres of land from Digala
Kanda estate.
Mother did not think of separating Punsara’s portion from the land as
she lived with her in the mansion… I placed the deed of gift on her
hand. I questioned myself whether this piece of paper is of any value
for her. Although it is a meaningless act, I am duty-bound to do it. As
unconsciously Punsara fixed a while on the piece of paper on her hand
and tore it off into pieces… “I can use it to light the fire as firewood
is wet. Pinsidda Vechchave Sara Menike… (Thanks Sara) ”
The author has used a first person narrative and a simple diction
interspersed with dialogues, flashbacks and monologues particularly to
reveal emotional turbulent in the minds of the characters.
The novel is noted for its clarity of expression and contextual
clarity. The diverse threads of the narrative have been well integrated
into the plot making it a wholesome experience, a feature rarely
encountered among contemporary Sinhala fiction. Situvara Puvata is an
insightful read rarely emerge from contemporary Sinhala literary
landscape.
The novel is successful attempts of the writer to unfathomed the
almost indefinable depths of human psyche.
Exquisite tapestry of poetry exploring a myriad aspects of life
Reviewed by Ranga Chandrarathne
It is after a fresh reading of Dr. Malani Epa’s collection of elegant
poetry that I attempted to translate my views, impressions and insights
of her poetry, into a plausible prose. It is indeed a difficult task to
analyse the collection of poetry entitled ‘Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow’
which offers poems on a myriad of themes covering the entire spectrum of
life.
Her poems are vivid in themes, style and throw sharp insights into
diverse aspects of life. In essence, they seem to spring out of her
heart effortlessly and find their ways into diverse styles and into
short and long lines in accordance with the themes that they deal with.
One of the significant aspects of Malini Epa’s poetry is her sharp
insights into life which is amply manifested throughout the collection
irrespective of the themes the poems deal with.
The poem ‘Miracle’ is one such poem which demonstrates the poet’s
power of observation.
“The Miracle
 In the silence of the night
Whilst the whole world lay sleeping
Away from the eyes of man mercenary
On a dew splattered stage
A long legged ballerina
Undulated
In slow motion
To the music of the wild cicadas
And
As midnight struck
Blossomed forth
In unsurpassed magnificence
Another miracle of nature -
The flowering of the Kadupul “
Language
The Kadupul is a flower of rare beauty which blossoms in the night
when the world sleeps. The blossoming of the flower Kadupul is described
as “A long legged ballerina ...”. The language poet uses in this poem is
lyrical in a manner which captures the quintessential characteristics of
a silent night. The ‘ballerina’ appears on ‘a dew splattered stage’ and
in ‘slow motion’ and ‘away from the eyes of man mercenary’.
The poem ‘Fortune teller’ is not about the young and rag-clad fortune
teller but about the mindset of the man who seeks ‘her’ service to read
his future. The focus of the poem is ‘She’ and it is stressed in the
very first line of the poem.
“The fortune teller
She
Squats at my feet,
This modern day eve
Supple curves ensheathed
In gaudy garb
Gleaming tresses in a not atop
Scraped back from
A tanned face
Bare of powder and paint
Glances, under thick lashes
Covert and shy
Pouting lips, betel tinted
Moving in a chant
Reading my future
My callused palm
Cradled in her soft hands
But I do not hear
For I am lost in a dream
where she is my future “
Trance
While the fortune teller in a trance is engrossed in reading the
future of the man who has placed his hand on her tender palm, the man is
also in a kind of trance. He scans her from head to toe stealthily
admiring her youthful beauty concealed in ‘gaudy garb’. Apart from using
apt metaphors and language laced with potent images, the poet maps out
the mindset of the narrator and a myriad of his emotions. From the very
beginning of the poem, it is clear that the narrator appreciates the
beauty of the fortune teller.
The narrator’s secretive desire to appreciate her youthful beauty is
skilfully paraphrased in the expression ‘Supple curves en-sheathed…’.
The expressions such as ‘This modern day eve’ sum up the gulf of
differences between the narrator and the fortune teller in terms of
their social status. In a subtle manner, what the poet says is that
intimate relationships across diverse social strata are quite possible
even in this modern day. The last line of the poem ‘where she is my
future’ epitomises the idea that the narrator has already fallen in love
with the fortune teller.
Although this is the maiden collection of poetry by Dr. Malini Epa, a
salient feature of her poetry is sheer maturity in terms of language,
use of metaphors, imagery and insightful observations. One of the
brilliant poems is ‘True Blue’. Although the poet speaks about ‘True
Blue’, the poem is not about the colour blue or what the ‘True Blue’ is
but is about an airman who valiantly fought and sacrificed his life for
the sake of the nation and its peace loving citizens.
“ True Blue
He traversed azure skies
Stalking the foe
Country before self
Ever on his breath
Even as enemy fire
Turned his blue garb
Into crimson shroud
And orange flames
Left charred remains “
Nature is a recurrent theme of the collection. It is interesting to
look at how the poet has dealt the theme of nature. “Wild and Beautiful”
and “Peradeniya in April “are some of the poems which deal with the
theme of nature.
“Wild and Beautiful
Growing wild
A wayward child
Creeping out of crevices
Sneaking up out of Nooks and Crannies
Seeking sunshine
Lighting up the darkest corner
Nature’s prettiest bouquets
In God given hues
Scattered in delightful disorder
Surpassing the best planned border
Uncared for, unfettered
Is it freedom that you thrive on
Growing in such sweet abandon? “
“Peradeniya in April
(The Cat’s Claw Vine)
A bedazzling golden veil
Cascading over
towering treetops
That skim the skies
Startling the heavens
With a royal display
Of nature’s grandeur
Awakening April
To a gilded world
Beauty ephemeral,
No artist can portray
Nor words describe
But leaves the beholder mesmerized “
By comparing the two poems with the famous poem “Ode to Autumn” by
John Keats, it is obvious that the poet has, over the years, developed
classical English idiom in poetry which is universally appreciable.
“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; “(Ode to Autumn)
“A bedazzling golden veil
Cascading over
towering treetops “ ( Peradeniya in April)
Philosophy
In the poem “Wild and Beautiful”, the poet compares the wild flowers
to a strong willed child. The flowers come out creeping through
crevices. In a way, the poem is not a mere description of a wild flowers
but it is about a philosophy that the nature’s way is the best way. That
‘disorder’ which nature offers is, perhaps, the best order which knows
no bounds. The poem’ Peradeniya in April” is similar in character to
John Keats’ poem ‘Ode to Autumn’.
What strikes is the way in which Dr. Malini Epa describes the
indescribable sublime beauty of Peradeniya in April. The sheer beauty of
blossomed flowers is like ‘a golden veil’ ‘cascading over the towering
treetops’. Though the poet uses classical English poetic idiom, the
experiences are uniquely Sri Lankan yet universally appreciable. This is
one of the rare attributes of the poet which is sadly lack or in most of
the cases absent in contemporary Sri Lankan poets in English.
Apart from nature, one of the dominant themes of the collection is
life in its diversity. The poem “Fiery Protection” epitomises the life
of the poor who ekes out a living and who are virtually excluded from
the civilisation. The poet sheds sharp insight into the sorry plight of
the woman who tries to keep the fire burning. In metaphorically, the
rain, wind and water leaks through the hole in the cajan sheltered- roof
into the fire, all are the difficulties and constrains that the poor
woman encounters in her daily struggle for life. The poet realistically
captures the abject poverty of the woman and her fears and anxieties.
“Fiery Protection
Dusk was falling.
The rain had ceased
an ominous silence reigned
But for the thudding of her heart ,
fast and loud
And the sound, eerie and monotonous
Of rain water, still dripping
into the rusty bin.
through the gaping hole
In her cadjan roof
the hole the mighty monster had made
before the fire., hurriedly lit
with the last dregs of kerosene
had frightened it away
Crouching in the dark
trembling with terror
she fanned frantically, the dying embers
praying that the marauder would not return.
In fact, the title poem “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow” deals with the
theme of poverty. The poem ends with a memorable line “He is too frail
to join the fray of today” which captures the plight of the man who
leads a gypsy’s life on the pavement.
The poet also attempts to shed light on different aspects of life.
One of the insightful poems that captures the so did realities of middle
–class life is Retirement.
Retirement
Staring into the dark abyss
Of an unknown future
Heart leaden, throat dry
He lies awake
Fearing the morrow
Grieving, his leaving
The only world he knew
Where he toiled
Buried in musty files
For all of his worthy working life
Soon it will be dawn and
The dreaded day would be upon him-
His sixtieth birthday!
A new chapter, a new life
Of loneliness, sorrow and strife …
He will set out as before
Let the long hours go somewhere…”
What is significant is that the poet portrays the harsh reality of
life of the middle class and of the so called ‘white collar’ office
workers who often work in the government sector. In this particular
case, the elder office worker is a life-long boarder who has been quite
used to the routine of office work from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. It seems
that he has been a hard-worker or workaholic who simply has no life
outside the office routine. However, routine comes to standstill when he
reaches sixty, the age of retirement. He has become nobody yet he wants
to show the fellow lodgers that he is not retired and still goes for
work. In a down-to-earth diction, the poet aptly captures the plight of
the office worker. Isn’t it a modern day tragedy?
Malini Epa’s collection of poetry ‘Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow’ is
full of such insightful poems which shed light on myriads aspects of
life , particularly in the context of a developing nation where each and
everyone suffers from poverty. The collection of poetry “Yesterday,
Today and Tomorrow” stands out as one of the best collections of poetry
to emerge from the contemporary cannon of Sri Lankan writings in
English. May her poetry be an object lesson for a generation of aspiring
Sri Lankan poets in English.
New Arrivals
Sumithra Peries’ biography
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Author:
Vilasnee Tampoe – Hautin |
Sumithra Peries, Sri Lankan Filmmaker by Vilasnee Tampoe –Hautin is a
biography of a Sri Lankan pioneer woman filmmaker Sumithra Peries who is
part and parcel of the cinematic legacy of the nation. In this well
researched biography, the author not only narrates her life story but
also the historicity of her films and the colourful personalities
associated with Sumitra Peries who was a one-time Sri Lankan Ambassador
in France.
Guy de Maupassant’s short stories in Sinhala
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Agula saha Venath
Katha |
Agula saha Venath Katha is a collection of short stories by Guy de
Maupassant ( Le Verrou autres contes ) translated from French into
Sinhala by Chandeera Gunawardene. The translation gives French insights
into the Maupassant’s work for Sinhalese readers. The author Chandeera
Gunawardene is a young lecturer in French in the Department of Modern
Languages in the University of Keleniya.
Adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Ideal Husband
Apuru Samiya is the Sinhalese adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Ideal
Husband by Saman Pushpa Gunasekara. It is a Godage Publication.
Apuru Samiya
An adaptation by Saman Pushpa Gunasekera
S.Godage Publishers
Sultana
Sultana is the Sinhala translation of Jean P Sasson’s Princess by
Saman Pushpa Gunasekara. Sultana is a Sarasavi Publication.
Sultana
Author: Jean.P Sassson
Translator: Saman Pushpa Gunasekara
Sarasavi Publishers |
