Sybil at 88

by Husna Inayathullah

Sybil Wettasinghe is considered as the icon of children's literature in Sri Lanka. She is acclaimed as a storyteller and illustrator of stories for children worldwide.

The story of her life as a writer and illustrator spans over six decades. Most of her writings are translated into many languages and have been published the world over.

The first creation of Sybil Wettasinghe is 'Umbrella Thief" which was published in 1956. Born and bred in the southern part of Sri Lanka, she feels so nostalgic about her childhood days that she spent in the village of Ginthota. She reminisced the times that she played in the garden, bathing and playing games in the dark, deep and thick jungles with her friends. She says that all her stories are her personal experience and her childhood memories.

Wettasinghe says that a children's writer should be a child at heart to write for children and she says that she still feels that she is a child and could level with their kind of thinking. She loves being a child at heart and today so many children love her for what she is. "When I left my village I was very sad. When I was brought here to Colombo, I recall the lovely days that I spent with my grandmother in the village. That eight-year-old child who left the village is still living in me and that is what made me write stories for children. I go down to a child's level when I create a story," she says.

Beginning

"I entered the Holy Family Convent in Colombo. At the beginning I found it tough to cope up with the new school system specially due to the English language. Later, however I became comfortable with it. I disliked mathematics as I was not good at doing sums. I was a chatter box and a naughty child at school. Anyway, everyone at school realised my ability to draw and illustrate. They loved it a lot. Once I did a mural at school and I was scared that I might be punished by my school Principal, Rev. Mother M. Annunciation after being found out. Instead, she appreciated and encouraged me. She said, "Sybil, there lies your pot of gold. One day you will make your mark as a great artist."

Sybil Wettasinghe, the frightened child in the classroom has made her mark in Sri Lanka and the world. She narrates her beautiful days while working for the newspapers. She first joined the Lankadeepa newspaper when she was just 17 years. She became the main illustrator of the Janatha newspaper. Her entry into Lake House gave access to an entire world of newspapers and she wrote and illustrated for the Sunday Observer, Silumina, Daily News and Sarasaviya with aplomb.

She blushed while saying that she met the love of her life when she entered the Lake House newspapers."The interest of the 'Janatha' Chief Sub Editor, Don Dharmapala Wettasinghe in me continued and it blossomed into a subtle romance and we got married. He loved me not only for my personality and ways but also my writings and illustrations," she said.

Publication

She says that it was their dream to produce the book "Kuda Hora." It was their first project together and to improve the publication, Sybil Wettasinghe had done a fresh series of illustrations. The book in black and white was accepted by H.D. Sugathapala in his Nava Maga supplementary series as the first book to be published.

Sybil Wettasinghe is a mother of four - two sons and two daughters. Suriya, the eldest is an architectural draughtsman, now in retirement. He helps his mother with illustrating books. Sashi, the eldest daughter used to be an accomplished Bharatha Natyam dancer and teacher who lives in Scotland with her husband and children.

Her younger daughter Kusala has been working as a journalist for 12 years and now works as a development psycho-social practitioner. Vinod, the youngest son is a senior graphic designer for a television channel. Wettasinghe now lives in her house with maids to look after her. She is happy when her children and grandchildren come to visit her. She says that it is her husband who made her into the person she is today and says the most poignant moment in her entire life was when she felt her husband's fingers gripping her hand and slip away in the hospital bed and that she knew he was gone. "I went home, not in tears but with a sense of loss and pain," she says.

Celebrate

Don Dharmapala and Sybil

Wettasinghe who was born in 1928, was happy to celebrate her 88th birthday on October 31, 2015. She says the first six childhood years she spent in her village are the most cherished days. Her remote village has remained in her heart through the many decades of her life. Her father Hikkaduwage Sawadwris de Silva was a building contractor by profession and her mother Kotanadurage Joslin de Silva was a skilled lace maker with an eye for beauty. She says that her parents wanted her and her siblings to move into Colombo for higher studies and good job opportunities. Her mother did not want her to illustrate and write all the time but wanted her to become an architect. She was put into the architectural college but she disliked to continue with it, she said.

Wettasinghe is proud to say that she is the one and only children's writer and illustrator in Sri Lanka who continuously writes for children without a change in the profession. She says that writing is a good profession and there is good potential only if one writes well."I have lived writing and I write aiming at children. My books sell quite well and throughout my life I have only lived with the income that I get from selling my books. People like Martin Wickremasinghe lived by writing. The younger generation of writers should study the art of writing well so that they can become good writers," she says.

Admire

Sybil Wettasinghe said, "I am my own friend. I never confine to myself. When something goes wrong I find my own solutions. I admire myself. When I was two years old my brother was born at my home. My aunt who was with us on that day made a pol sambol and told me that it was "Raththaram Badu." I ran around the house screaming that I had rice with Raththaram Badu. I liked it a lot and still my favourite food is pol sambol. I like to eat it with jack fruit, dry fish and manioc. I like to drink tea with hakuru (jaggery). My favourite books are the Dracula stories and reading them is really thrilling. When it comes to my favourite colour I like blue a lot. Most of my clothes and ornaments are blue. I love cooking and it is one of my favourite activities. My family loves the food I cook and they appreciate me a lot."

Wettasinghe has won much international acclaim and her children's stories secured awards both in Europe and Asia. In 1965, her story 'Vesak Lantern' won an Isabel Hutton Prize for Asian Women writers for Children. Her first book 'Kuda Hora' was chosen for the Best Foreign Book Award in Japan in 1986 and in 1987 it won the Japanese Library Association Award as the most popular children's book. 'Kuda Hora' was translated into seven languages. Wettasinghe has held exhibitions of her work in Japan and Czechoslovakia and in 2003 she was invited to Norway for a book festival for well-known authors. Internationally her work has received high acclaim and attention specially for its vernacular themes and styles.

Sybil Wettasinghe’s latest book is “Squeaky, the Little Piggy.” Pointing at a little squeaky piggy which was lying on the table, she explained the reason which made her write the story. It is a very interesting story published by the Adith Publishers which is her son’s publishing house. She dedicates this book to her grandchildren.