Dascon, are you sacrificing your life for me?
Padma Edirisinghe
ROMANCE: The young man seemed very modest, self-effacing and
respectful to the seniors. When I was introduced to him by the editor of
a newspaper now defunct or gone into temporary oblivion the small made
youth gave me his best smile. What name, I asked in my superior hauteur.
"Dascon" he answered.
 Dascon! A familiar name. The particular poetic piece came rolling
onto my mind, whose melody is sure to get lost in this translation. So I
just repeat this line, "Dascon, mage namata jeevithe denavada? (Dascon,
are you sacrificing your life for me?)
It was an international romance of the 18th Century involving three
countries: France, South India and Sri Lanka. The lover was Pedro De
Gascon, son of a team of French men who landed in the island during the
reign of Rajasinghe II.
The king had a penchant for strange animals and strange humans too.
The white hue, the ruddy coloured hair, the peculiar mannerisms
attracted him. They were not allowed to get back.
Some played hide and seek among the lofty hills of the mountainous
kande till they could escape, some married and settled down here taking
on Menikes of a high and low breeds as bed mates. The king favoured some
and gave them rather high posts in the kingdom.
Adventurous era
Rajasinghe II ruled between the years 1632 to 1687. The French team
led by De La Nerolle in that adventurous era when every major European
race was hunting for Asian territory, seems to have come rather late
during his reign.
De La Nerolle (whose own progeny, the Lanerolles are doing very well
here still especially in the literary arena) had been rather aggressive,
riding his horse into the interior of the city, a practice that was
taboo and hence was imprisoned along with his retinue.
But the king was an unpredictable character and a few months later De
La Nerolle and Gascon had not only been given high posts but provided
many a convenience. De La Nerolle married a Sinhala Menike of noble
birth while Gascon married a Mestico female or a Meriggna, of mixed
Portuguese and Sinhala descent.
So the husband was a French Calvinist and wife was a Roman catholic
who kept open house for the Konkani Brahmin Catholic priests like Fr.
Joseph Vaaz. How do I know all this? Young Dascon and his sister working
in the UN office in Colombo maintain a file about the Gascon or Dascon
progeny and it was handed to me for perusal.
I do not vouch for the veracity of the direct descent for details of
the intervening period are missing. More than four centuries have
effluxed since the advent of that French team.
Pleasant appearance
To go back to Gascon who was the groom of De La Nerolle, he was made
Aspanthi Muhandiram by the king, impressed by his pleasant appearance
and subdued ways. Incidentally the youth I met looks the same. Not
presumptious, very quiet.
He seems to care the least whether I accept the facts or not. The
file - maintaining has become a hobby for the siblings hailing from
Kandy, now living in Colombo to earn their bread and butter.
A son and daughter were born to Gascon and the Mestico lady. The son
soon became proficient in many languages. He learnt Portuguese from his
mother and Fr. Vaaz, Sinhala from Suriyagoda Thera and picked up Dutch.
In fact according to the contents in the file, a Dutch governor,
Hendrick De Bevere, in his memories mentions meeting this son, Pedro De
Gascon on a visit to the capital in Kandy and talking to him.
Since his father was French Bevere had spoken to him in French but
the boy answered in gestures displaying ignorance of his father's
language. But he was fluent in his Dutch.
This boy was one day to end his life at the age of 40 years, having
played the role of the Most Romantic and shall we say, the Most Foolish
lover in our royal court history. It is a fascinating tale and we will
begin from the beginning. Rajasinghe II having earned the sobriquet of
"the Most despotic ruler in the world" passed away in 1687, a few years
after the arrival of the French team.
Then began the reign of his son Vimala Dharma Surya II who ruled from
1687 to 1707. The birth and growth of young Gascon would have taken
place during this reign. His childhood had been spent in the royal court
as a friend of the ruling king's son who was to be crowned in 1707 as
Vira Parakrama Narendrasinghe, incidentally our last Sinhala king.
The prince inclined to associate foreigners like Gascon, and the
Konkani fathers had earned displeasure of the native chieftains and an
insurrection was being planned to crown one Pattiye Bandara on the
reigning king's demise.
Gascon played his role well and led the defensive party after
discovering the plot and in return he was made the Maha Adikaram of the
Kandyan Court by a grateful young king who however did not mend his
ways.
He earned the title "Sellam Nirindu" or the Playboy King especially
after he left the traditional royal palaces of Maha Nuwara and
Hanguranketha and resided at a new palace at Kundasale to frolic on the
Mahaweli beaches in the evenings and go hunting in the forest groves
around.
Clandestine affair
He was very indiscreet too when he allowed Fr. Joseph Vaaz to gift
him a book titled "Buddha Prathyakshaya" criticising Buddhism and at a
court ceremony too. Fr. Vaaz had begun building a church in Kandy and
residential facilities were provided to him both by the king and
Gascon's sister. (Today the two young Dascons are Buddhists).
Gascon himself was always in and out of the Court and with the amour
the French are famous for developing a clandestine affair with the
queen.
Of course, the king had many queens but one can deduce that this was
the main queen, Premilla Devi due to the fuss made when she fell ill. A
Bali ceremony was to be performed and an effigy of the queen was being
made probably as the performer or the Bali Adura has to touch the
different parts of the patient while performing the Yaga Homa. This was
Her Majesty the queen and he could not touch her. So a likeness was
being made.
Gascon was parading around in the court and saw the effigy, the naked
body of the queen. The birthmark on the thigh was missing and to perfect
the replica he suggested inserting it. The man working on the replica
promptly obeyed for after all it was the Maha Adikaram's order. The king
next visited the place and naturally all hell broke loose (The husband,
they say, is the last to know). How did Gascon know the location of the
birthmark?
Gascon was executed along with his tutor Suriyagoda Thera. Dr. Lorna
Devaraja, author of "The Kandyan kingdom" however is of the view that
this was a political murder initiated by Sinhala chieftains jealous of
the growing influence of foreigners in the Court and the pervasion of
another religion considered alien.
Poetic exchanges
Did the poetic exchanges as Gascon was being led to the execution
site actually take place? Not likely. Vira Parakrama Narendrasinghe goes
down to history as the first king to wed a Malabar princess.
Would Premilla Devi, a Malabar female own this Sinhala proficiency to
recite these Hitiwana Kavi (instant poetry) especially in a time of such
catastrophe when her lover foolishly divulged knowledge of her intimate
body to men making her effigy? Where had all the wisdom of the Maha
Adikaram fled? He was also an author and a poet having put out many
books, all mostly erotic.
One, however, was a panegyric to his friend the king and named Sri
Namaya. Among other books were Nokkadu Malaya (book of complaints) that
had been written as an appeal to his boss cum friend, the king, to save
him from death but the book is said to have got into the hands of his
enemies and never submitted.
Though Gascon enjoyed a long standing love affair with the queen, he
would have been a married man. Otherwise there can be no progeny, now
working in newspapers offices and the UN. Incidentally many descendants
of Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe, our last king, had worked as journalists in
both Madras and Lake House Colombo.
Another issue is how is it that the unfaithful queen never got
punished? Though her French lover was killed she went French free. So
may be Dr. Lorna Devaraja is correct in her analysis and there was much
more than this mere romance.
However they say there is no smoke without fire and the story of this
sweetly piquant romance of the 18th Century in the Kandyan highlands
still continues to fire imaginations and even provide themes for plays
and films.
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