Yakadaya's final journey

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

'Yakadaya'- Sri Lanka's iron man's body was lying at the morgue of the Colombo National Hospital for a few days. His nephew, who said they didn't wish to claim relationship with him as he was a hardcore criminal, took his body to Manampitiya, Yakadaya's home town, where the 111-year-old went on his last journey yesterday.

Some decades ago, with crimes almost unheard of, Yakadaya had sent shock waves among the people of the North Central Province.

Yakadaya was even lucky to realise his 'precious' dream - meeting the leader of the country - in his old age. On March 4, 2008 he stepped into Temple Trees, on a special invitation extended by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who welcomed him warmly and inquired about his health. Later he said it was the happiest day in his life.

However, news about Yakadaya's death made me pen my memories about the days when he sought 'refuge' in our home - Liyanageya at Mirihana after being brought to Colombo for a radio program in 2005.

This story of Yakadaya is no means an attempt to extol his virtues but rather an account of a 'changed' man.

A chill ran down my spine when I heard that he was to spend the night at our home on that day. What I had read about him, that he was a murderer and a hardcore criminal half a century ago, aggravated my fears.

But....the feeble man, wearing a clean, white, long-sleeved shirt and sarong, with a knotted 'konde' (hair) and a 'saintly' smile dispelled my fears.

We welcomed the old man, who said he was 103 years old at the time. He asked only for a glass of milk, saying he had been starving for a few days. The man with a long white beard and long hair looked charming and never gave even a hint that he was a hardcore criminal in the bygone era.

Relaxing on a chair, in his strong and vibrant voice, he reiterated that he wanted to pursue his dream - meeting the President.

Sleepless nights

We had a few sleepless nights, not out of fear of him, but as we spent time listening to his tales - some humble stories, some heroic, but mostly about crime. Strongly refusing to be called a criminal, he repeatedly said "Mama ahinsakai" (I am innocent).

Born in the early 1900s, in a village called Iriyagama in Peradeniya, Sanchi Arachchilage Jinadasa was a studious young boy at the village school with dreams of speaking and writing well in English.

He paid his English master extra money daily to learn more. When he noticed that the master was a drunkard, Jinadasa first advised him, but later assaulted him. That was the end of his schooling and also his dream to have a bright future.

Jinadasa sadly gained notoriety as Yakadaya when he was just 16 years old, as he bent an iron railtrack bar around a railway supervisor's neck for which a case was filed against him in 1918. The judge at the Polonnaruwa Magistrate's Court had questioned his father whether he had another son who can bend iron bars.

That was the birth of a notorious criminal. Later he committed many offences and was charged with stealing money and gold, assaulting prison officials and murder.

Jinadasa unfolded his dramatic past and said he had stolen money and robbed the houses of wealthy businessmen, not to become rich, but to help the poor who were struggling for survival.

The local 'Robin Hood' of the era had his own Marrion, but he never got a chance to tie the knot with her. A schoolgirl at that time, Soma, a village beauty, had been kidnapped, raped and brutally killed by some 'black soldiers with padlocked lips' deployed during the Second World War.

Seeking revenge, Jinadasa killed over 96 African soldiers and a British Captain. The British Government subsequently ordered him to be taken into custody. He escaped to India with the help of a Tamil friend and returned to the country at the end of the British rule.

When he talked about his 'love affair' with the village beauty, his eyes glistened with tears.

Tragic death

After her tragic death, Jinadasa never thought of another woman and grieved for her. "Even now, she meets me in my dreams and I strongly believe that she is now a goddess. She advises me when I do wrong", said the 103-year-old man, who never shaved his beard or cut his hair since her death.

Serving long jail terms, he became notorious for jailbreaks and attempted jailbreaks, in Welikada, Bogambara and Jaffnaprisons. He served a life imprisonment plus 10 years rigorous imprisonment for the cold-blooded murder of the Maradankadawela Post Master T. Thambiah as he tried to telephone the police. He had stolen Rs. 364.24 in cash, savings certificates valued at Rs. 3842.50 and stamps valued at Rs. 831.26.

"I did not kill him. But the police framed charges against me and fabricated a story. They sent me to jail and even to the gallows", he said denying the murder charges.

Recalling his dramatic past, he said he did everything for the'betterment of the poor' who were deprived of many rights in the hands of the rich.

With no proper aim after Soma's death, he thought of devoting his life to help the poor and stand for injustice.

According to an article by J. N. N. Jordan, a retired Deputy Commissioner of Prisons 'A bad hat', Jinadasa was not amenable to discipline; he had served several years with a long stint in the Jaffna Prison where he was found to be heavily involved in trafficking prohibited articles, and acting virtually as a 'tobacco baron' in the prison.

Jinadasa, who was in the Bogambara Prison was sent to the Welikada Prison, where he was to be hanged. The date was fixed and he had only four or five days to die in the hands of the executioner. But, he miraculously escaped death when a special order came into force from the then Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. He ordered that Jinadasa be freed from the gallows and also be released within a year considering his good conduct.

"But, I was in jail for 15 years and did not get the pardon within a year after the assassination of Prime Minister Bandaranaike", he claimed. With no identity card to prove his age, he angrily denied media reports that he was born in 1921 and insisted that he was 106 years, when he last came to our house.

Imagine Yakadaya staying with us for five days! We dropped him at the Fort bus-stand and thought we were free.

Commotion at gate

One day, I returned home from an assignment to be greeted by a commotion! An old man with silver hair, clad in a clean white national dress, was trying to storm into our house. A big cloth bag and several shopping bags were on the ground. The neighbours were trying to comfort him until 'Mahaththaya' came, but the old man was stubborn and restless to get in.

Recognising me, he cried, "Ane nona me kella gettuwa arinne ne." (This girl would not open the gate). My young domestic aide had not opened the gate in fear of the old man whose 'struggle' had broken the peaceful environment in my neighbourhood. Some had offered tea and even food, but strongly believing in witchcraft he had refused them.

It was in 2006 that 'Maradankadawela Yakadaya' paid his third visit to our home. This time he was adamant that he wanted to stay with us 'forever' as he said he loved my son Sandiv. I felt as if I couldn't breathe. He carried his whole 'sesatha' (property ) in three gunny bags - clothes, a pillow and especially a comb as he feared that his hair would get infested with lice, a faded map, a small notebook and new paper clippings about him were his precious items. One may have called him a lunatic, but he never wavered from his dream of meeting the President. Spending long hours in packed buses and walking miles, he travelled from Polonnaruwa or Anuradhapura to meet former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, but never got the opportunity. When Yakadaya was angry, he stormed in to media institutions to get his message across.

A diabetic for years, he did not have any other ailments but claimed that his hands shivered and were lifeless because of the "poisonous drugs injected, by some of the officials to make him silent."

Feeble due to age, but strong in mind, Yakadaya, who was not afraid of men or beasts in his young days, said he was happy as he had no burdens in life and became a true follower of Buddhism.

A 'hardcore vegetarian', he was extremely careful about his meals. Refusing everything we offered him, he finally shared the food that I cooked for my little son. The only 'luxuries' for him were a glass of milk and 'kiri Hodi'.

The iron walking stick was his identity that he was Yakadaya (the Iron Man).

Notorious criminal

Imagine sheltering a once notorious criminal! Reluctant to ask that feeble old man to leave, though we knew he was becoming a problem, we took care of him for another day. The next day we left him with my parents. He happily stayed there but our hopes were shattered the moment he came to know that my father was a retired police officer.

He kept on visiting us. Unable to refuse the feeble old man, we sheltered him again for a few days and dropped him at the Fort bus stand with enough money to take him back to Anuradhapura. We pleaded with him not to travel back to Colombo as it was risky for his age. But he returned to us. The 'vicious circle' continued with him returning to us every three months. Each time, after taking care of him we dropped him at the Fort. Again he stormed in to our house in the wee hours, demanding that we admit him to the Nawaloka Hospital as he had a severe chest pain.

I was afraid for his health and took him to the hospital. The lady doctor checked him carefully and ordered an ECG. Yakadaya said he was very healthy, but weak as he had avoided meals for a few days, and vehemently refused to do the check-ups.

We bought him the vitamins and tablets prescribed by the doctor and dropped him at the Fort bus stand and sighed in relief. Keeping his word, he never visited us again.

But now he has gone, gone forever!