Singing of the Angels :

Life and times in their myriad shades

Reviewed by Ranga Chandrarathne

With his inimitable style of language and changing syntax, T.Arsanayagam traverses from the past to the present through the forgotten landscape of country life in which once he was a part and parcel and realisation dawns on him that it was he and his family not the village that had been changed over the years. The collection of short stories not only codifies the living history of the author but also the darkest hours in the contemporary Sri Lankan history.

In the collection of short stories entitled Singing of the Angels by T.Arsanayagam, the author offers snapshots of life and the changes that have been brought about by the time and the changing milieu. Some of the short stories among the ten short stories deal with the protracted civil war and the bloody conflict which has riven apart communities, sometimes changing the socio-cultural landscape as never before.

Conflict

One of the dominant themes of the collection is the conflict. In the short story 'The Tramp of the Boots' the author captures a defining moment of the conflict when the army on a retaliatory attack killed a woman who had earlier saved her husband in the military custody.

"...Each hour has to pay the sacrifice. She recognises the officer. Thanges hails him. The officer and his men are moving towards her. She is in her red and orange saree, the Kunkumum vermillion bright on her head. There is the sound of a single shot.

Thanges stands unbelieving, dazed, it seems to be a long time though it's only a few seconds. It's all like something enacted in slow motion.

The forehead between the eyes opens like a flower, petal by petal, red, brilliant vermillion as though her Kunkumum is now an animated flower. Then she drops at the gate and the soldier passes on..." Here was a revenge killing and what the author intends to portray through the gory scene is the plight of such thousands of civilians who became victim of the conflict.

The short story 'Dreams' reveals another aspect of Hindu society. It the devotion and love for departed brother which miraculously leads to series of dreams at the end of which the departed brother has supposed to conceive. Though a bit surrealistic, the story highlights on religiosity of the Hindu society and the vital role that religion plays in the community life.

The title short story 'The Singing of the Angels', deals with a gory aspect of the conflict. It was a mob attack on Tamils and the mob virtually combed the city of Kandy and the suburbs in search of Tamils. The author skilfully captures the fear and the uncertainty entertained by the would-be victim.

" It is the month of July. The flamboyants are in full bloom, red, raw and flaming. The town and its environs are peaceful. One could hear the drums at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth and feel life moving at a slow pace. The great river meanders its way over the rocks and stones while the sound of washing being beaten on the flat smooth rock can be heard over the voices of children frolicking in the water. A quiet day. Suddenly the atmosphere is shaken by the raucous voices of violence. Suddenly the clear blue sky is obliterated by the billowing smoke of burning..."

Contrast

The author aptly draws contrast between the calm and peaceful environment with the burning down of properties that belonged to Tamils in the city by arsonists. The rising black smoke virtually covered the sky signaling the impending communal violence.

"In a moment, the violence has become personal to me, I am no more the onlooker. The rabble is at my door. The fragile gate is being rattled accompanied by blood thirsty creams. The villagers stand around watching, just onlookers, the great circus enacted centuries ago in the great Coliseum. Only I am the sacrifice thrown to the dogs of hatred. My children look at me. I am the cause for their vulnerability. It is I who has exposed them by my being different, other... 'Give the man, we want his blood' is the cry but they are stalled at the gate..."

What is pathetic in the situation is that people have encouraged the attackers by being passive onlookers.

'Singing of the Angles' is not the only such story which unfolded before our eyes. There are many, thousands of such stories where the victims were butchered and killed by parties to the conflict. One of the insightful stories in the collection is 'The Birthday Gift' which, among other things, reveals the human bondage which supersedes artificial barriers such as ethnicity, class and even nationality. The author has exploited the plot of the story to narrate the milieu in which fortune has changed hands many times under the protracted conflict.

"He held my gift, looking at me inquiringly. He tore off the wrapping, opened the box, watched by host of guests standing round the seated figure, drinking, laughing and guffawing in various degree of inebriation. I watched him, extracting a gleaming pair of tan shoes from their soft tissues covering slowly, meticulously, almost ritualistic in gestures when suddenly I felt a dead silence that seemed to engulf me ...thank you I'll never ...He gave me that knowing intimate smile sometimes reserved for a special friend .... he pulled up his Sarong, I saw what the war hero done. He would never need those shoes again..."

The author has skilfully created dramatic situations which sum up the miserable past of the high ranking army officer who 40 years ago was a poor child who could not afford to have a decent pair of shoes. The birthday gift reminded him not only of his miserable past but also the present powerful position he enjoys in society. The short story 'Lucky Number Thirteen', portrays issues of dowry in Tamil Hindu society and the preference of parents for boys. A young couple had only girls and only on the thirteenth time, the girl gave birth to a boy which is in a way jubilation for the Hindu family.

Marriage

Although discussing socio-cultural issues is not new in short stories, it is noteworthy that Arasanayagam touches on the issue relating to marriage in Tamil Hindu society. It is a fact that parents are pressurised to save money for the dowry since the birth of girls and therefore, the girls are considered as burdens whereas boys are valued considering the fact that they would bring wealth to the family. This fact is skilfully portrayed in the short story.

'Reborn' is the short story which depicts the darkest hour in the conflict. It was a retaliatory attack in which Tamil villagers had to pay the price for the terrorists' attack on the army.

"Revenge ...reprisal...let them pay the price... Yes the price someone had to pay the price. He knew there was no logic in it, there was no meaning in anything. All he would ever remember was the poverty of the villagers back home. " I was an agricultural officer in Hungama, you know? ..a village in deep South ?" ...Saparamadu was expressionless. He could only mutter something incoherent in Sinhala. 'ID' stretching out his left hand. Sivalogan handed the child he was carrying to the old man and fumbled in his shirt pocket. Saparamadu returned it still muttering incoherencies. It was at this very instance that Sivalogan felt the jab of hard metal against his body, his body turned into a cold sweat, words would not flow out, and then he heard the click-click of the gun.

Saparamadu turned back silently and walked away not even turning back to see the man collapsed on his footstep, sitting there, staring into the distance, his body weak and cold, dripping with the perspiration of fear and weakness. It was for him a death and an instant rebirth from which he would never recover. "

Language

Arasanayagam's language is simple yet powerful enough to capture the turbulent times during the conflict. What is important is his sheer insight into the mindset of diehard foot soldier who virtually feels that there is absolutely nothing wrong in retaliatory killings.

The collection of short stories not only deals with a myriad of themes such as changing milieu, protracted conflict which profoundly affects the lives of Tamils in the North and the East but also the personal history of the author.

What is significant is that though it is the personal history of the author which is figured in several short stories, it is the collective history of a segment of the population in peace. However, that peaceful environment has been radically changed for the worse during the protracted terrorism which lasted almost three decades.

The author, among other things, captures the human cost of the conflict and the haunting nightmare of terror still very much alive in the peace-loving citizens of the nation. 'Singing of the angels' is not only mere stories which narrates the past and codifies the milieu but also the mindscapes of the population who were once sandwiched between war and peace.