A harvest of Sinhala childrenās books
Professor Sunanda Mahendra
LITERATURE:āWe are quite serious about the publication of
childrenās books, as we cannot afford to miss or go against the good
intentions and ethics as laid down by the educationists.
First of all we select the suitable manuscripts written by writers
who have a vision and a gift, and then we need creative illustratorsā,
said Prem Disanayake, Surasa books publisher (Fast publications) taking
time off from his busy schedule of printing various types of books,
original as well as translations.
Disanayake is a journalist and an artist himself who knows the tricks
of the trade, and as a result, he makes a judgment and passes on to his
team.
The new childrenās book Taru Ahasai Ketumatiy (star studded sky and
Ketumati) written by Iroshini Asha Ratnavelaand quite well illustrated
by Dasa Hapuvalana, runs to sixteen pages.
I read the book here and there to find something refreshing; it
contained not just the usual childrenās story type, but an alternative
type where there is a story as well as a positive thinking guiding
philosophy. A certain poor girl with keen interest in matters pertaining
to the sky becomes an astronomer.
This may look a mere dream to an adult, but if tested with children I
am sure they would like this kind of story. The story is undoubtedly
sadly woven with events of poverty, sickness and struggles to make ends
meet in the beginning. The tone of sadness however gradually wanes when
the girl determines to make a world for herself.
Anura B. Senevirataneās Hirukumaraya Saha Kammali Minussu (the Sun
prince and the lazy men) revolves round the idleness of people who sleep
till late in the morning hours missing the beauty of the natural
creations like the birdsongs, blooming flowers and the mild sun rays
penetrating through the windows.
Illustrated by Indranath Thenuvara this story tells us the very
people who miss the natural creations, surely miss the creations of the
Sun prince that gives birth to the entire day. A worried Sun prince sees
the greatest of the gods to get advice to make people wake up to see his
creations.
What follows is the sending of a ācock-a-doodle-doā, the bird known
as the cock or the rooster who announces the arrival of morning with his
inimitable sound. But still some of the people are lazy in their beds
and mats ignoring the wake up call.
Then comes another idea, the greatest of the god wants the small
birds too to make their songs heard by the people and the flowers
wavered by the morning breeze to see that they are enjoyed by all
people.
This way all the people were in a way forced to get up and enjoy
which became gradually a habit remaining to this day. Thus the people
claim that the morning hours are brighter than the rest of the time and
the main intention of getting up in the morning seems to be the
enjoyment that goes hand in hand with it.
But still the Sun prince (hirukumaru) unhappily feels people would
fall asleep once again, and to prevent that scene he begins to make the
sunrays slightly intensified. In this manner the child is made to feel
the splendour of the nature creatively.
Folklore
Quite a number of childrenās books that included the Surasa book
label contain material drawn from folklore, history, religion, and
science. Many of these could be utilized for silent reading in the
classroom as well as material for reading with the teacher.
The childrenās book Ratu Puta (The Red Son) by Daminda Jivan
Ranasinghe and illustrated by Tissa Kumara is one such example drawn
from the local folklore source, where the two types of birds known as
the crow and the koha (known as cuckoo in general context), though look
alike, differ from each other in mannerisms.
The female Koha bird lays eggs for the most part in the nest made by
the crow and when the eggs are hatched the crow becomes angry over
seeing the little koha bird coming out of the eggs in her nest.
But here is a story woven around the other side of the matter, as the
koha birds who come to Colombo from the far away Sinharaja forest abode
to rest a while in a crow nest, as the time had come for the female koha
bird to lay the eggs.
The female koha bird, lays her egg in the nest of the crows and in
fear of her enemies, the koha birds leave before the arrival of enemies.
The female crow however is a different type because she does not want to
ill-treat the innocent little koha bird coming out of the egg in her own
nest.
Time is up for the koha parents to see their little being, and to
their much surprise, they see how it is looked after by the female crow
bird despite the opposition from some of the other female crows. The
narrative, to an adult, may show traces of illogical āanti natureā
material.
But the case may look quite different with a child; he/she will gain
more knowledge on the aspects of kindness in social conditions even from
an unbelievable point of view like in a fairy tale. Thus the child comes
to know that at a particular given moment the fateful anger has to be
stopped by some one and the rest of the good things will follow.
Creations
Surasa books also include creations on the reinterpretations to
Jataka tales and folk tales. As usual many stories are woven around
animals like stags squirrels and deer. The birds and beasts appear not
as enemies but as good friends of human beings.
In Pinvanta Girava (The Pious Parrot) by Kamal Sri Liyanage and
illustrated by Bethmegedera Sumanapala one finds a fine example of a
newly created narrative that teaches the children to love the animals by
understanding the inborn nature of their behaviour patterns.
In this example a certain parrot who used to bring disaster to a
certain farmer by plucking the sheaves of paddy is made to be trapped
and the farmer comes to know that the parrot had not wasted or brought
disaster to him in an evil manner, but had made use of his legitimate
share of the paddyfield by taking the seeds to feed the parents as they
are too old to fly.
The tender closeness to parents in their old age is pinpointed from
one point of view. This concept of good heartedness is a religious
attitude, which is treated in many ways in the Jataka collection and
could be reinterpreted in modern terms to socialize the child.
āDo the children still prefer Aesopian parables and La Fontaine type
of stories?ā I asked Disanayake, and the response was instant. āYes they
do and they are still unchallengable.ā
Quite a number of translations and adaptations also have appeared in
this list of books for children. In this manner the Surasa childrenās
books are made available for children of all ages. The children,
obviously, love reading good books and we have to provide them with the
right kind of material.
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