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| Wednesday, 03 November 2004 |
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Focus on Books Untold story of a lonely woman by Prof. Sunanda Mahendra My attempt at expressing the feeling I had on reading Ranjit Dharmakirthi's new Sinhala novel titled 'Hudekala vu geheniyakage papochcharanaya (Confession of a lonely woman) may not look as easy as I thought. First of all, the central narrative revolves around a pretty young scholarly woman, who is being constantly tortured both physically and mentally. She is nearly sent into isolation or self assured asylum in a foreign strand leaving her birth place. Why and how it happens make a popular narrative line, which I presume, is good reading and page moving for any reader world all over. Within this story line is an outer frame story, where the author RD keeps himself aloof from the main story making himself easy with his own frame story. RD as the author says that the protagonist Maya, the lonely young woman has a story to present to the world. What he does here is to get it from her and allow the reader to say her pulse beat. As such, the entire novel to me, as a reader, is a story within a story. Author, who leaves Sri Lanka for a short visit to a foreign country, makes himself helpful with Maya's encounter. Maya happens to be a character known to the author, while she was in her teen years. As she grows up, there seems to be quite a lot of misgivings and disasters. These are lined up as calamities and frustrations that drive her off to loneliness. The frame story fuses with the inner story in the disclosure of a string of events as narrated by Maya, who meets the author in the frame story living in Paris. She comes to know him, as one Keerthi Aiya through an uncle of hers named Jayantha Mama. Coincidentally, when Keerthi meets Jayantha in Sri Lanka, the latter with reluctance, reveals Maya's 'never to return' Journey abroad. Good narrative According to the Uncle, Maya could be met and perhaps her life story may be a good narrative to be obtained from Maya. Now that Keerthi meets Maya in a foreign strand, they have the chance of talking to each other. In this sensitive area of meeting each other, the elderly investigative minded Keerthi wants to know what really happened to Maya. Maya, who is of immense help and cooperation in a foreign strand makes Keerthi gets closer and know more about her. On his invitation, the narrative conscious Maya promises to send Keerthi some notes in her life to be considered as a material that could go into a better narrative in the hands of Keerthi. On return to the island, Keerthi gets a bundle of papers presumably the notes sent by Maya. He comes to know in unfolding the papers, how she became isolated. Maya's married life had been a failure, due to a stupid and treacherous behaviour of her husband named as Ruvan. Ironically enough, his life packed with alcoholism nearly killed her sensitive rapturous mood all throughout. His inferiority complexes too are depicted as poisonous arrows plunged on her. Ruvan becomes a victim of circumstances making Maya undergo all the calamities a woman could bear. Her home life, office life, day-to-day behaviour, aims and aspirations are all shattered and scattered. The reader feels that, if there is a concept called 'depravity', Maya is symbolic of that. Her prettiness makes her, a hell on earth. Her kindness is grossly misunderstood. Bosses and other well-wishers in the guise of good heartedness attempts at making advances to her. Although she resists them, she suffered internally. Gradually, the reader comes to grips with Ruvan and Maya visualised in the incompatibility. Can a series of calamities of this sort ever happened to a human being? Should one undergo this sort of agony as a human being? Isn't there a way out and get rid of pangs of life? These are some of the inevitable questions the common reader could ask for oneself. Life partner From the very beginning, in keeping with notes sent by Maya, her own selection of Ruvan, as a life partner had been a failure. According to her notes, the very first day of their honeymoon had ended up in agony, for Ruvan had been drinking all night with his good for nothing friendly nincompoops. Then he becomes a foul smelling physically and mentally weakened torture infected marriage partner. Then we see how the office higher ups and the so-called administrative bosses attempt to trap her for her sexual favours. When they fail in this attempt, they try to torture her mentally. Luckily for her, she gets untrapped and becomes a sorrowful victim of circumstances. In many aspects the reader visualises Maya as the name suggests is either illusory or ideal. Her image is never tarnished, and she possesses her frame of morality around her. As such the climax of her life is nothing but a sort of escapism into a better climate of living. She wishes to leave the hell hole that she is trapped into. She is inevitably made to surrender herself from that hell hole and find the better place in the globe. This pardonable escape, I feel, is treated with much care and sensitively reminding one of a spiritual bliss in Patirupa Desa Vasa. Wherever she goes, she is shown as a woman in chains. Even while living with a friend abroad, she finds that she is being once again provoked by the husband of her friend. As such, in the end, she prefers to be secluded and reclusive. Human experience Though RD utilises for the most part, the common technique making the protagonist express for herself, it is the human experience that matters. Should a woman living in a so-called developed human community undergo such severe tragic episodes? In many ways this novel attempts to show the disastrous nature of a male dominant world. As such the feminists would approve of the point of view embedded in it. Can't the society be so mad and at the same time be branded as civilised? For me, Maya's narrative is not a mere confession. It is much more than a confession, but an Emile Zolanian ideology of the decay of human contacts. RD complains in his preface to this book that one of his early novel 'sayuru taranaya' was not casually mentioned or commented by any literary critic. Having read that novel, not as a critic but as a common reader, it was not very readable. But this work had gone beyond 'Sayuru Taranaya' in many ways, basically the easy reading narrative technique utilised. I feel that though jotting all these factors one drawback is that the entire narrative lies on a single track of Maya's vision sans the author RD's comments. As the readability grows and the episode's movability develops, the reader forgets the interspersed pangs of life unseen that lay embedded in the main structure. The main stream that binds the readability of this novel lies to a certain degree on the sentimental tone of Maya's notes. This novel reveals perhaps the unbelievable downfall of the humans. Spiritually termed 'parabhava' with the contemporary social matrix, due to the lack of sound mental equilibrium. Exploration into the teaching of the Buddha and Krishnamurti Can Humanity Change? "J. Krishnamurti in Dialogue with
Buddhists", J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) is one of the great spiritual teachers of the 20th century. despite his emphatic denial of comparison of his teachings, with those of other religions, the remarkable affinity of the core teachings of the Buddha with the basic teachings of J. Krishnamurti has inspired many erudite discerning Buddhist scholars both of the Theravada and Mahayana tradition to converse with Krishnamurti on matters which appear as common ground between these teachings. In Sri Lanka the foremost among such scholars were Dr. E.W. Adikaram,
Ven. Ananda Maitriya and Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula. Dr. Adikaram's writings
and talks compiled in the Situvili series reflect the profound influence
Krishnamurti's teachings had on him. (Incidentally Dr. Adikaram in 1970
founded the Krishnamurti Centre of Sri Lanka.) Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula was
an acknowledged authority on Mahayana and Theravada schools of Buddhism. He had lectured at various universities of the world and written articles on the Buddha in the Encyclopedia Britannica. His well-known introduction to the teachings of the Buddha, What the Buddha Taught has been translated into several languages. The Krishnamurti Foundation of England and America have preserved in audio and video tapes the conversations Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula along with the eminent physicist Prof. David Bohm, scientist and author Phiroz Metha and Irmgard Schloegl, well-known authority on Zen Buddhism initiated in 1978-79 with J. Krishnamurti at Brockwood Park in England where the British Krishnamurti Foundation is located. David Skitt has edited these conversations and has brought out in book form this work entitled Can Humanity Change? - J. Krishnamurti in Dialogue with Buddhists which is an invaluable exploration into the core teachings of the Buddha and J. Krishnamurti. The major part of this book consists of five sections entitled: i. Are you not saying what the Buddha said? ii. Is there a state of mind without the self? iii. Free Will, Action, Love and Identification and the self. iv. What is truth? v. Life after death. Major areas It is evident from these titles that they encompass practically the major areas dealt with in the teachings of the Buddha and Krishnamurti. All these conversations are significantly initiated by Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula by propounding the Buddha's teaching on these subjects. With the participation of the others, and the insightful contribution by J. Krishnamurti, each topic is discussed and presented with great lucidity and insight, such that the discerning reader will have the benefit of a comprehensive exposition of each topic. Dr. Rahula opens with the proposition that "What the Buddha taught twenty five hundred years ago you teach today in a new idiom, new style and new garb". He then elucidates some of the common ground between the two teachings, for example, the Buddha's non-acceptance of the notion of a creator God, the Anatta doctrine, namely the denial of an eternal everlasting unchanging soul or atman. Similarly the promise that human life is a predicament, suffering, conflict and sorrow caused by the wrong idea of self and that freedom from attachment, whether good or bad, is freedom from conflict are found as parallels in both teachings. Seeing things as they are (Yatha bhuta nana Dassana) or in Krishnamurthi's words "What is" as the approach to seeing the truth are found in both teachings. Further, the freedom from dependence on any psychological authority is the core of the teachings of the Buddha as well as of Krishnamurti, Similarly Dr, Rahula explains that the Buddha's teaching of Satipattana, the presence of awareness or mindfulness, is the same as what Krishnamurti emphasized as "choiceless awareness" or total attention which he said is total virtue. While the Buddha's teaching is that everything is impermanent, Krishnamurti also said that to discover nothing is permanent is the only way for the mind to be free. While the Buddha said that discipline born out of total attention is the only true discipline, Krishnamurti stated that control and enforced discipline are not the way. Biological evolution However, with the greatest humility and delicacy Krishnamurti questions whether the accumulation of psychological knowledge limits freedom and the seeing of the truth. He also questions the transference of the concept of biological evolution into the field of the psyche. He states that the mind must be free psychologically of the idea of progress. Thus in the field of the psyche realization of the truth is not evolutionary but revolutionary and therefore not of time. Krishnamurti states that the whole world, whether it be Buddhist, Christian or any other religion, is conditioned by this idea of gradual progression of becoming better or attaining spiritual greatness in the future. Thus the emphasis on practice, training to achieve this 'end' comes into the scene and as one gets attached to the power or capacity that one achieves through such practice, to break away from it becomes more and more difficult. But this idea of psychological evolution and the importance of practice to achieve progress in the field of the psyche has not yielded any benefit to mankind. As Krishnamurti points out "We have progressed technologically, scientifically, hygienically and all the rest of it, but psychologically, inwardly we have not, we are what we were ten thousand or more years ago". He further explained "I am greedy, that is a fact. I try to become non-greedy, which is non-fact, but if I remain with the fact that I am greedy, then I can do something about it actually, now". He further states that there is no duality even in daily life and that duality is the invention or philosophers, intellectuals, who say there is the opposite, work for that. What is happening all over the world is that we are avoiding the fact and running away from it towards ideals. Therefore man has been conditioned to look for someone, an authority or guru who will say "I will show you how to do it", which is the whole business of organized religion. This, Krishnamurti points out, is an escape from "What is" and one's whole life is wasted on the dissipation of energy to reach this so-called goal. In the section under the head "Is there a state of mind without the self?" Krishnamurti discusses the self and inquires into the whole process of identification which is the movement of thought. He also inquires if this identification can come to an end with death and if death is the continuity of that movement into the next life. He further states that, when we realize the very root of the self is the movement of thought in time, in distance, from here to there, and all the conflicts, miseries, confusions, created by thought is the self and when thought comes to an end, that is a form of death while living. Krishnamurti asks, "Now while living can that death which is the end of thought take place? Not at the end of one's life, which is then a graveyard renunciation that has no meaning." Freedom of choice In the third section on "Free Will Action love.." while defining Will as accentuated, heightened, strengthened desire, Krishnamurti inquires whether desire can ever be free. What is taken as free will is the freedom of choice which exists only when the mind is confused. When it is clear, there is no choice. Thus insight has nothing to do with will. In the forth section on "What is Truth" the concept of time, both psychological and chronological is discussed. Psychological time is seen as an invention of thought and is a means of achieving a desired end and escape from pain through reward. Krishnamurti further states that Truth cannot be perceived through time. "Truth doesn't exist when the self is there. Truth does not come into existence if thought is moving in any direction and cannot be measured, and without love, without compassion with its own intelligence, truth cannot be". Finally in the section entitled "Life after Death", Dr. Rahula states that according to Buddhism, whatever continues after death is not an unchanging substance and the word "rebirth" is a misnomer. Whereas it is really re-becoming (Punabbhava) Krishnamurti postulates when the body dies the desires, the anxieties, the tragedies and the misery will gone on. I die and that stream, that river goes on. In a state of inquiry into why one is suffering, which is free from fear, free from reward and punishment, free from any kind of motive, in that state of inquiry Krishnamurti states, there is insight when one perceives that the inquirer and the inquiry are one. In this same discussion Krishnamurti inquires from Dr. Rahula what Buddhist meditation is and Dr. Rahula states that insightful vision (Vipassana) is true meditation, to see into the nature of things - "what is" and according to original teaching of the Buddha there is no 'system' to attain this. Sathipattana, Dr. Rahula explained as the presence of awareness, awareness of every movement, every action, everything. He further states, it is something that cannot be cultivated although modern gurus advocate modern systems of meditation. Dr. Rahula further states that in the Buddha's pure teaching meditation is not concentration which is necessary for secular learning and worldly attainment. Krishnamurti states "Awareness in which there is no choice, no division is true meditation. I say that meditation is the meditator. Give your complete attention to that and see what happens... It has a quality of truth, it has a quality of great beauty, there is a sense of absoluteness about it. Buddhist meditation Dr. Rahula in reply states "I think Buddhist meditation Satipattana is that". Dr. Rahula also explains that the original teachings of the Buddha has over the centuries been in many ways misunderstood and misinterpreted. In the Part II of the book, the Editor has included answers to questions put by others and the vigorous answers Krishnamurti gives maybe of as much interests to Buddhists as to students of Krishnamurti and readers in neither of these two groups. However, throughout these conversations the true spirit of religious inquiry prevails where in the course of these discussions there is no attempt made to arrive at final and conclusive answers. Often Krishnamurti unfolds his arguments by a series of questions, some of which he wants his listeners to allow to sink in rather than answer. Krishnamurti distinguishes between intellectual or verbal understanding and actual seeing - seeing with such depth and clarity that consciousness and action are radically transformed. Thus this book is of vital importance not only because it is a unique documentation of some of the greatest insightful dialogues that occurred in the history of religious thought but it is also of the greatest significance that J. Krishnamurti, the unique religious teacher that he is, has brought out the core teachings of the Buddha into the forefront and their true universality. Therefore this book must not be missed by those who are genuinely interested in the role of the religious mind to contribute to a profound change in humanity. Sarath Lewke Bandara P.C. Pioneering piece of research on parliamentary institutions in Sri Lanka Parliament and Public Accountability in Sri Lanka, Government spending is a matter which touches the lives of all citizens. They, as taxpayers, have a right to expect good value for money. Throughout the democratic world, Parliament, consisting of elected representatives of the people, has been accepted as the ultimate authority on public finance. Dr. Wiswa Warnapala's latest book on "Parliament and Public
Accountability in Sri Lanka" has been released at a time when good
governance, accountability and Constitutional reform are of current
interest. In this work the author combines his extensive academic knowledge of Political Science with his practical experience as a Member of Parliament, particularly as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, to produce a book of distinction. The description of the Constitutional history of the country given in the first chapter is an ideal backdrop to introduce the subject of Parliament oversight role. This chapter outlines the manner in which the legislative branch of the Government gradually wrested control of public finance. History seems to be repeating itself as the author describes how the plethora of Committees led to the frustration of the legislative functions of the then Council. This subsequently led to formation of the executive Committees under the Donoughmore Constitution. Today too we see an emerging trend to have a large number of Committees. The author also gives an exhaustive analysis of the distinction between the Committees under the Donoughmore and Soulbury Constitutions as well as our present Constitution. Interesting view Dr. Warnapala also gives an interesting view of the Standing Orders of Parliament which were modelled on British Practice. In my view the fact that they have proved to be adaptable to three different Constitutions is evidence enough of their durability as well as flexibility, a true classic never goes out of style. The most vital part of this book is the chapter on Financial Procedure. It portrays the different forms of democracy practiced in Sri Lanka under the different Constitutions. The Donoughmore Constitution did not lean heavily on the party system while the Soulbury Constitution and the 2nd Republican Constitution of 1978 reflected a multi-party democracy more tilted towards a two party system. Whether to practice a one party, two party, multi party or even no-party democracy results form practical reality. However the two party and multi party systems promote adversarial methods which in turn promotes incisive criticism of government activity. I believe that this form of democracy is best suited for our country because a high degree of criticism makes for more responsibility on the part of the Government. Dr. Warnapala rightly observes that the Committee Stage of the budget debates still does not provide opportunities to discuss matters in detail as during the time of the State Council. But I believe it is not so much the lack of opportunity as the Members' priorities that hinder the process. Even at the Committee Stage one finds members focusing largely on constituency matters and voters' requirements. In a way this is understandable. The constituency is the life blood of the member and so it must be natural for him to give priority to highlighting the needs of his voters rather than speak of the larger national needs. Tradition and convention The debt owed by our Parliamentary System to our first Speaker, the late Sir Francis Molamure, is aptly acknowledged by Dr. Warnapala. Parliament is an institution which should run on tradition and convention while the executive should be innovative and dynamic. The establishment of sound tradition falls heavily on the shoulders of successive Speakers and this task appears to have been admirably handled by Sir Francis. While it would be impossible for treasury officials to draw up a perfectly balanced budget, the practice of resorting to supplementary estimates definitely reflects bad management. Dr. Warnapala highlights the fact with reference to many instances and appears to be definitely convinced that these practices should be minimised. According to my observations in Parliament, supplementary estimates receive no critical debate and very often are passed at the end of the day's proceedings without a vote. It is of course the duty of the Parliament to call upon the Government to explain the proposed estimate and inquire why it was not envisaged during the annual budget. Dr. Warnapala functioned for a number of years as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Therefore his description and comments about this Committee has the expert's touch. Considered as the most important of all Parliamentary Committees the role of the Public Accounts Committee is to probe the management efficiency of the Government. The critical comments made by Dr. Warnapala highlights the necessity for a government to have a long term plan for development activities, within which the annual budget should contain phased expenditure. He also focuses on the lack of time for Members of Parliament to make a detailed study of the reports of the Auditor-General. It is here that Members could call upon the Research staff in the Library and the Committee staff to help. I hope that the modernisation measures currently in progress will contribute staff to help. I hope that the modernisation measures currently in progress will contribute to the improved efficiency of Committees, particularly the Public Accounts Committee. The relationship between the Public Accounts Committee and the Auditor-General is of vital importance for the proper functioning of the Committee. The PAC, above all should function irrespective of political expediency and probes should be on items meriting consideration and not for the purpose of causing embarrassment to any particular political party. If the case were to be otherwise the Auditor-General would be reduced to the pitiful state of being the rope in a political tug-of-war. The author's observations or the lack of Parliamentary interest in the reports of the Public Accounts Committee and the establishment of Public funds which are not probed by to Parliament gives much food for thought. It is a matter which should receive serious consideration and suitable practices should be adopted to give effect to the basic principles of accountability. Many of the Acts of Parliament which establish various funds require the Auditor-General to audit their accounts and for annual reports of their administrative bodies to be placed before Parliament. Therefore there is ample ground for placing such reports before the Public Accounts Committee or COPE. Complex role The suggestion of exposing the Committee proceedings to the media is also interesting. The Committee on Public Enterprises which took over some of the work of the PAC has a more complex role, having to probe the activities of semi-governmental profit making organisations. Dr. Warnapala gives an exhaustive account of it's workings laced with critical comments. The chapter on the role of the treasury is very thorough though I would have liked to see description of the methods of assessing the Government's projected income included. This is one thing that the Parliament should look into in detail to ensure that projected income from taxation and various other sources is realistically assessed. The book also contains a clear and simple analysis of the major features of the Financial Regulations. So too the various funds and their administrative mechanics are critically surveyed. The proposals contained therein for establishing Committees on estimates and expenditure also merit serious consideration. Dr. Warnapala also focuses on the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act no. 3 of 2003 which is a very important piece of legislation introduced in the recent past. Or particular interest is his view of the pre-election budgetary report which is required to be produced and how it conflicts with the hitherto practices electoral culture where extravagant promises are made at election time. Dr. Wiswa Warnapala's book contains a wealth of material and is bound to influence the future development of Parliamentary culture. It is a book which should be on the shelf of every MP and Government Department, as well as every teacher and student of Government. He deserves to be congratulated and I hope he is able to continue his literary activities despite his demanding job as a Deputy Minister. Finally, a bouquet is also due to the Staff of the Parliament library for assisting Dr. Warnapala to collect the raw material for the very useful work. Priyanee Wijesekera - Secretary General of Parliament A journey into the past "This Other Lanka", Author: D. T. Devendra, Sixty-three years ago, (1941) when D. T. Devendra's book, "This Other Lanka" first appeared, this Island was, in many ways, very much, another Lanka. True, World War II was two years on, but changes, if ny were taking place, were not markedly discernible yet. Those of the older generations would know that the first three decades or so, of the 20th century, had run on an exceptionally quiet pace, with hardly a ripple of excitement of any sort: add to this the economic depression prevailing, that was a sobering influence throughout; the country was jogging along at its old pace. The old Lanka ('This Other Lanka' of DTD's book) to which the author takes his readers, was still intact. It could even be said that it was the same 'Ceylon' of which John Still had written in his "Jungle Tide" a decade earlier for, the jungles were very much still around. I had a pleasant surprise when, one day last month, I received a copy of a second edition of DTD's book, inscribed for me by his topnotch Civil Servant son, Tissa thus: "... a memento of the book you bought as a school boy in 1941 ... etc. etc." At once I was overwhelmed by a host of memories on reading this for, it referred to a very sentimental tale with which however, I will not bore the readers now; but, suffice it to say that before the first edition of the book came on the book-stalls in 1941, "Lake House" who published it, for the now-defunct 'Ola Book Company' put out a notice in their newspapers that the book ("This Other Lanka") could be had at a special pre-publication price of Rs. 2.50 by those who would send the money; now, didn't I say money was very scarce at the time? So, for a school boy, Rs. 2.50 was a fortune! Yet, I managed to find this money and, on sending them a Postal Order for that, sum, had the thrill of receiving the book and, reading it with even greater thrill! but how short human happiness can be: in less than two months the book was stolen, and that ..... with my knowledge! But, that is another story. Devendra's book has many virtues: the overall virtue being that it takes today's readers to a Lanka that has all but vanished. Sixty-three years ago, life flowed at an easier pace; the population had not yet taken its upward leap; towns were less crowded and the villages, truly rural and derelict; commerce, sluggish and in abeyance; though the motor vehicle was already making its presence felt, yet, the bullock-cart was still on our town roads and took us a century back in time! Outside the towns the unspoilt countryside awaited the traveller and the roads ran through lush farmland and virgin jungle where the cry of bird and beast was still heard. It is to this pleasant countryside, along sequestered by-ways, scarcely-trodden paths, that Devendra takes his readers to long-abandoned jungle fanes and forest-bound archaeological sites. Tireless, he trudges miles on foot through thick jungles haunted by wild elephant and bear for the sheer love of seeing them, reminiscing their past with his readers. This was the time teachers, particularly, those who taught History ..... and, let us remember that D. T. Devendra was one of the most distinguished and respected teachers of his time ..... took boys of the Senior classes on trips, often on cycles, to archaeological sites and places of historical interest. Most of these places at the time were remote, far away from human presence, lacking roads or facilities of communication: there was therefore, always an element of adventure in visiting them; even places like Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Nalanda were largely uncleared and, conservation either just beginning or not yet undertaken. The pictures Devendra paints of places like Nalanda, Sorabora, Divulankadavala, "Vatadage of the Wilderness" (Medirigiriya), Elahera, at the time, still remained under forest cover, infested with dangerous animals and were very often the happy hunting ground of treasure seekers. The ruin at Nalanda can be taken as an example: at the time Devendra visited it, it was still truly a ruin, with the stones scattered in all directions, thickly covered by a thorny bramble and with only a foot path to connect it with the main road: today, what has happened at Nalanda could be taken as typical of what has happened at many of the archaeological sites he describes in the book: today the Nalanda 'Gedige' is entirely conserved looking spick and span and even its location slightly shifted! A well-laid out motorable road connects it to the main road. Impenetrable jungle Places which the author approached on foot for several miles in great apprehension for wild elephant and bear, sometimes having to cross dangerous rivers like when travelling to see, what he calls, "The Colossus of the Wilds" which, as this writer is aware, is the present day, massive recumbent Buddha statue at the remote village of Ataragallaeva, are at present, places where the forests have disappeared, colonists have settled down and some of them at least, are busy villagers. In an easy like, "Maedamahanuwera", we follow DTD through impenetrable jungle, secured by mountain fastnesses, where our kings, in times of invasion, he says, sought refuge and, where the invaders found it difficult to reach them and, on retreat, were ambushed and utterly routed! In the villages he visited, like Divulankadavala, the few available people were illiterate, malaria-ridden and ill-nourished, living in little clusters of wattle-and-daub huts. Here is a conversation of the author with a village elder: "Been to Kandy, Kawurala; there is a great Esala Perahera there, you know?" "Aiyo Sir, what Kandy for the likes of us!", says Kawurala. These jungle habitations which the author visited sixty to seventy years ago are, most of them, highly populated and even urbanised: places like Sigiriya are like carnival grounds not only on week-ends but also on weekdays. The frequent devil-dancing ceremonies and the itinerant Chinese Clothes vendor that he says he saw at the time, are non-existent now, in the Southern coastal strip. Devendra's love of Nature and its simple charms is seen everywhere in the book: the wilderness, the untrodden paths, half-forgotten jungle fanes, the sounds of birds and beasts, the forest denizens, are all described with a rare devotion; his language in these instances assumes a lyric quality: "The river gurgled past broad and pleasant fields, fringed by
mangroves and kaduru trees... little eddies swirled past us; "Kapparakata-puvak
puvak sang a 'koravakka', safe in a gloomy recess among the rushes." Then again: "We returned in the gloaming, hoping to see the forest life of
the parland; darkness came soon: it swallowed the men of Divulankadavala." One more important matter that needs comment here is, Devendra's deep and well-cultivated antiquarian interest. In this regard, it would perhaps, interest today's readers to know that it was this life-long interest and insatiable addiction to visiting, studying and writing about places of archaeological interest and matters of antiquarian value, that ultimately brought him to the notice of the then Archaeological Commissioner Dr. Paranavitana and finally to leave the teaching profession and join that Department as an Assistant Commissioner: there could not have been a better choice: where the man's vocation and avocation became one! On antiquarian matters, his was not merely a passing fancy; his knowledge about archaeological sites, a artefacts, of folk-lore, folk-tradition is truly amazing; he takes the reader to the origins of our culture, laying bare our roots as a people, particularly, of the Sinhala Buddhists. A good example is his reference to god Saman, the titulary deity of Adams Peak, where he takes the reader to prehistoric times and relates him to Lakshman of the great Bharatha Saga of Rama and Sita! Similarly, of Mihintale, where he shows, that the name derives from the name of the wood-goddess 'Mininal' of an ancient Folk tradition, prevailing in the area, before the latter-day advent of Buddhism. Also, few would know that the 'Diyavadana Nilame' now attending on the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Dalada Maligava, was at first a personal attendant attached to the bathroom of Kandyan Kings and that it was King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe who, in his great devotion to the Tooth Relic, transferred this official to the Dalada Maligava. With this surprising familiarity of his, with the country's vast corpus of Folk traditions, Folk lore and historical small-talk, he is able to acquaint the uninitiated reader, with some of the mysteries hidden behind the mists of time. Also, the book reveals DTD's vast knowledge about the numerous gods, goddesses, demons, spirits and of the many rites, formalities and ways and modes of ceremonies involved in propitiating or placating them; these things which give a distinct identity to a people, are fast falling into desuetude today and, no doubt, would soon be lost with the highly commercialised culture that is advancing on every front. In his essay on the "Lord of the Vanni Forests", he regales the reader with the most absorbing tales attached to the god Aiyanar of the Vanni. So too, with the Folk traditions attached to the Minneriya Tank. Hoary past Appropriately, the book comes to its end with a 'Pilgrimage' to Anuradhapura: how better could this book, which is indeed, a 'Pilgrimage' into our hoary past, end, than in this manner! Going on pilgrimage to Anuradhapura, even as late as 65 years ago was, still an adventure and was not undertaken lightly, on the contrary, it was done with much thought and preparation in awe and reverence by our villagers. DTD describes how these unsophisticated folk go through all the formalities involved in the round of worship of the numerous sacred sites staying overnight in the sacred city and how, on conclusion, when they are ready to return, certain touching formalities which they consider, in their innocence are mandatory for the occasion: the younger ones ("Kodukarayo") gather round the elders and spreading a towel before their feet would fall down and worship them in all humility asking for their blessings (Pav Samakireema") and the elders, in turn bless them with tears in their eyes! It takes the Sinhala Buddhists to their roots. Here is a book that will take you by the hand to the hoary past of our people and see their souls. This is a book of lasting value to which one can return again and again. M. B. Mathmaluwe **** Back **** |
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