Thinking out of the box

Reviewed by Sureshni Pilapitiya

Sinhala only
Author Manuka Wijesinghe
A Vijitha Yapa Publication

The book Sinhala only written by Manuka Wijesinghe is the final part of an interesting trilogy, the first two parts were Monsoons and Potholes and Theravada Man. She is the author of Silhouettes of Justice as well.

The author is a dancer, playwright, a practitioner of alternative medicine and a lover of languages. Her books are described as ‘journeys’ by foot, cart, train and car into the soul of the island and its people.

The book consists of political and social changes and how the Sinhala Only concept changed the ways of the Sri Lankan life and gave them the - “frog in the well” attitude.

The reader can go on a journey of exciting and interesting conversations, opinions of people who represent different cultures and backgrounds of society. They will see see life and society from their perspective.

Principles

The author seems to have written a book of the most extraordinary principles, quite different from the traditional way of thinking. She questions certain attitudes of the Sri Lankan people and their myths and beliefs.

According to the author, the book is about how Sinhala became a political issue. For some parties in Sri Lanka, it was a political agenda. The purpose of bringing out this book is to present a story.

“We produce extremists in all religions. There was a time when the lost people of the country were the youth.

The entire youth of the country was sacrificed. The concept is not to communicate. Most people think that language is all about communication. No it's not. English is not Kaduwa which is a weapon used for harming people. We had a linguistic problem. We need diversity. It is an evaluational process.

English

This is something that Sri Lankan people have misunderstood. The use of English is very important. It is through English we communicate with the world.

A lot of power-hungry people brought out this Sinhala Only concept. The people who wanted this concept sent their children abroad to be educated. But children who did not have the privilege to go abroad had no chance of studying further or those who could afford pursued with their studies.

It's not a book which will make anyone happy. There will be a lot of criticism.

The book consists of many interesting chapters, including “The religion of Buddhism is declared inviolable”. The story is based on a history lesson in a lecture hall and about the annexation of Kandyan territories and the treaty of 1815.

There is a student called Molligoda who is very proud of his Kandyan birth, but he is ridiculed by others.

A heated conversation starts between him and a Tamil colleague about his name and it ends up with the female students being embarrassed.

Mala, another student, while having a conversation with the history professor says, “not Ceylonese, Sir, Sinhalese history”. The professor, though he teaches the Paranavitana's theories, says that “not to let men like Paranavitana hijack their history”.

Mala does not believe in Pirivena education either, so she nearly stops herself from arguing with Molligoda”. The author believes in being radical instead of telling lies. “I wanted to write this book because I was affected by the educational system.

"There is another interesting chapter which depicts the problem associated with the letter Sri. The Tamil people protested against it, saying that it created a language barrier and also an ethnic conflict. The book is mostly about diversity. It has a lot of dialogues and it's a story of friendship.

It is not about enlightenment, it is about opening your eyes and waking up. It is a part of a trilogy about the Island. It is about understanding and learning of differences. It is all about tolerance. Even the educational institutions have failed and it is up to the individuals to react.