A visit to the United States

THEATRE: I was given a visit to the United States of America - a brief visit of about one month - sometime during 1975. That program was called an International Visitors Program - a rather prestigious sounding one.

These visitors were chosen from various fields of life such as politics, medicine, engineering, research and the arts etc. That particular year the nominee from the arts was me.

To the best of my knowledge the nominees in the arts field were selected by the United States Information Service. We had a charming lady - Miss Diana Captain - in the service of the local U.S.I.S. at that time. She was a great lover of the arts.

She seldom missed a new play or a new film in the local circuit. She had been nominating my name for this visit [she told me later] over a few years and it was only in 1975 that my name received the approval of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Office.


PLAYWRIGHT: Tennessee Williams

So, to begin with, let me begin this rather interesting episode in my life, with a fistful of thanks to Miss Diana Captain. [I am not sure whether this Visitors Program is still prevalent with the American State Dept.]

As a first step in this Program I had to report at the State Dept. in Washington. Generally we - the nominees - were asked to state briefly our preferences of activity during the visit.

We were asked what we would like to see, where we would like to go, whom we would like to meet etc. Among other preferences I had mentioned that I would like to meet two very special Americans - special to me - personally, if such a meeting was possible.

And the two Americans I wanted to meet were Tennessee Williams, my favourite American Playwright and Joan Baez, my favourite American singer.

Of course there is no promise from the State Dept. or the U.S.I.S. here that all our requests will be met. What the State Dept. does is to draw up a program for just over a month [including travel time] accommodating our requests as far as possible and giving us a chance to see at least a few important cities of America.

And so when I presented myself at the relevant office in Washington, I was told that apart from Washington, I would be visiting other places such as New York, San Francisco, [The Fisherman's Warf] Los Angeles, [Disneyland] Denver, [from where I could visit the Niagara Falls] and Hawai. I was to spend a few days or a week at the most in those places. It was a very interesting program.

In New York I was to visit at least a few theatres, meet a few theatre directors, make a tour of some of the Film Studios, make a visit to a community theatre in Harlem and see at least one play in the famous Broadway.

Finest train ride

The very next day, if I remember right, I was sent to New York by morning train. That is one of the finest train rides I have ever had - a typical American experience. The train was fairly full but the bar, which I accidentally bumped into, was quite full and rather nicely boisterous!

Of course I did stop at the bar to sip a couple of beers and enjoy the fun. It was a long ride of, I think, about six or seven hours. I was met by some official at the New York railway station and taken to a place called the Taft Hotel where I was to stay about a week.

The Taft Hotel [I am not sure if it is still there] was one of the old lodging places of New York and I noticed later that some of the air line staff was provided with transit accommodation there.

That evening I was free to walk about a little bit but remembered a notice in the hotel room that guests had better not take the risk of walking alone in the nights and had better return to the hotel before 9 p.m.

In any case I am hopeless at remembering street names etc. to find my way back and stuck to the straight road making mental note of a few landmarks. That too is a bit of a tough task in a crowded city like New York where most high rise buildings look alike.

My room did not face the street, but a triangle of an inner yard, with all kinds of junk on the ground and from seventeen floors up, that was not a very inspiring site. I made a mental note to ask for a better room with a better view, the very next morning.

The next morning some official from the State Ministry came along and took me out on a kind of sight seeing tour of New York. He showed me the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan Islands, the Bridges, the Beverley Hills area etc and took me to a modest restaurant around mid-day for an 'intimate' lunch.

He chose a corner table with soft lighting and offered me a menu card after ordering for some sherry or some such thing. I forget the man's name now [I have lost his card] but somehow he behaved as if the entire State Dept. was run on his shoulders.

In turn he treated me like the person on whose shoulders the entire Culture of Ceylon rested. I believe it is a calculated strategy of the dollar-oriented capitalist world.

The attitude contrasted sharply with the sledge-hammer kind of courtesy and greetings one comes across in a Socialist [Communist] country.

Both had their own attractions but one could very soon sense the 'artificiality' of both attitudes.

Special friend

Whatever that may be, during lunch that officer told me that I should contact him if I needed anything. "Anything!" He stressed. Then he selected very carefully a card from his wallet - as if he was dealing with gold or diamonds - and placed it on my palm equally carefully. "You can call me anytime, day or night. I am here to look after all your interests. All the time."

He repeated. "All the time ?" " I queried with feigned surprise. "Good Question." He responded gravely. Then he retrieved the card he had placed on my palm. He took out a gold fountain pen from his inner coat pocket and wrote something on the reverse of his card very carefully - once again as if he was dealing with gold or diamonds.

"I have written my home number on the reverse side of my card here. Call me anytime, if you need anything. Night or day. If you are not happy with your accommodation, if you want to meet a special friend, if you think your allowance is insufficient - just call me - any time."

The official stressed looking gravely at me - as if I was the biggest dignitary he had ever had to deal with. "Thank you ever so much indeed." I responded, genuinely moved by this man's concern.

"I don't think it will become necessary to worry you in that manner. Your Government is treating me extremely well. Too well in fact. I am grateful to you." I added, warmed by a bit of sherry.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Jayasena. It is our duty to look after our honoured guests." The man was beaming. "I just wonder whether you could fulfil just one of my dearest wishes."

I began with reluctance. "Of course I can. I am sure I can." He enthused. "Just tell me." He was beaming even more. "I would LOVE to meet one person in your country.

A man I adore. A very special person as far as I am concerned." I managed to say. "It couldn't be the President himself, could it be ?" He winked at me. "No, certainly not", said I. "Who, then ?" was his next animated question.

"I would very much like to meet a very special playwright of your country - the cleverest, the most sensitive and the most poetic of your playwrights." I ventured. "Good Heavens ..!" Said the officer. Actually he did NOT say it. It just escaped him. He heaved a huge sigh. "Never mind. Let's have his name." He added throatily.

"I would like to - even for a brief minute or two; if it is at all possible - I would like to meet your man ...Tennessee Williams." I finally managed. Very slowly. Very carefully.

I realized immediately that the poor man was nonplussed. It looked as if all his sangfroid had gone down his toes. His face nearly fell on his plate. I felt sorry - I felt extremely sorry for this poor officer. After all he was just a Govt. Officer like me at home.

Silly request

"I made a silly request. Please forget about it." I was quick to add after wetting my throat with a sip of sherry. My man too sought the help of a bit of sherry. He sat up straight in his chair.

He retrieved his chin from his plate. He took another sip of sherry. "Not at all." Said the partly recovered man. "No sir, your request is not a silly request. It is in fact a very reasonable request. In fact I would like to meet him too, myself - although I am not a man of the theatre."

He adjusted himself further. "The trouble, my dear Sir, is that nobody knows where he is. I don't think even he knows where he is!" He concluded as if he had just won a battle.

"That is the truth. He is never in one place. I don't think he even has a home. Nobody knows about a family either. He is a wanderer. A vagabond, if you like. Just like one of his characters in one of his plays. What's the play.."

"The Glass Menagerie." I prompted sadly. "Right. That's the play. He is like - what do you call him - he' like Tom in that play. People say that Tom is actually Williams. That he had projected himself in Tom." The man sighed deeply. "That is exactly why, I wanted to meet him." I said even more sadly. "Even for a moment."

I staged that play in my country, in my language, in 1966. And I played the character of Tom. I can't get through even a few pages in that play without choking. It is so beautiful. So sensitive. We staged it the very next year, in 1967, in one of our Open Air stages in our foremost university.

There wasn't a single dry eye in the audience.." I went on in a sudden rush of emotion.

"That's incredible." Murmured the mesmerized officer. He had been taken totally by surprise. "I have some notes in my pocket which says that you are a dramatist and that you have staged one of the plays of our man Tennessee Williams.

But I was certainly not aware that it is the self same play and that you had played the part of Tom in it. I am doubly sorry that I am not in a position to fulfil your request. I am really sorry, sir." He held my hand in a tight grip - a gesture of appreciation.

"You did this play in 1967 ?" He asked me. "We did it in 1966 in Colombo. It was in 1967 we had that university showing." "I was ten years younger then. I was not this bald at that time. So, I managed the character of Tom fairly adequately.

The part of Amanda - you know the part of the mother - was played by my wife. I went on to add. "But that's incredible.!" Emoted the officer, totally taken aback.

Thought of the week

November 23 was my dear wife Manel's birthday. She would have been 70, if she was alive. It has been two years and four months since she left us.

I have still not learnt to cope up with her loss. Whenever I go to see a play, attend a wedding, meet friends etc., I still feel she is beside me. My thoughts are very much with her this week.

They say it is not good to keep thinking of the dead because it disturbs their onward journey in Sansaara. I wonder if that is true. How can one desist from thinking of someone who was so beloved ?. In any case the mind is so recalcitrant that it does not always heed the dictates of the head.

Wherever she is I wish her peace, contentment and health with all my heart. That is if she is already born among us. If she is in some Heavenly abode, my wishes might be redundant. I believe beings [?] in such a state are always at peace, that they are content and that they have no health problems?

I miss you very very much, my Dearest.

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