Eternal struggle confronting the dark side
A Moment with Hinnihamy
Author: Sobani Iddamalgoda
Godage Publishers, Colombo 10
Review: Ranga Chandrarathne
FICTION: Sobani Iddamalgoda's seminal novel "A Moment with Hinnihamy",
steeped in Greek myths and T. S. Eliot, has discussed the dark side of
human-beings. It is a story of Ying and Yang or black and white or the
day and night which complement each other and forms a complete day.
 Sobani asserts that the dark side within self should always be
confronted and that it is a kind of eternal war that each and every one
wages at all times. This war goes on subliminally for most of us.
Unconsciously waged an its effects manifested outwardly.
"And the watcher smiled in contempt and remembered how Ensina had
lost her cool in the morning when she had once more, violently
admonishing her younger daughter against the covert, physical
relationship she was encouraging with the village thug whose sole means
of income was by picking coconuts for the affluent. In the morning,
shrouded in his army of anger, Ensina had given herself, body and soul
to him and, he had enjoyed her.
Corruption comes by degree he crooned, and the young damsel walking
with head bowed sedately beside Ensina felt her pulse dance at the
memory of her disreputable lover's passionate kisses under the hedge
that bordered their garden."
Physical relationship
Here it is a clear case of a seducer older than time. One who is
enjoying the mother and daughter and mother warning her daughter to
discontinue the physical relationship the daughter having with the
village rake.
This is the myriad of sex relationships in an 'idealistic' village
and the relationship is rather polygamous. But the primeval rake sits
behind the scenes, controlling all other sex relationships, whether
legitimate or illegitimate, a master Puppeteer.
On her admission, the author affirms the old adage that 'a blend of
the spirit and the flesh' is needed for a 'satisfying life'. In other
words, for a successful life, makes up of a sound body and a soul or
mind is essential and this seduction starts in the mind of all of us.
Her contention is that the evil is part and parcel of self and one
should strive hard to identify and confront it. One of the universal
characteristic of a complex character is that it is neither black (evil)
nor white but a delicate mixture of them. The evil nature dormant in the
self would rise to surface from time to time.
"Have all those who could give you pleasure. Let me show your
pleasure. Let down your walls Hinnihamy and let me in.... It was such a
one who had taken the bird form and who now waited for Hinnihamy's
psyche to open Look woman, look at yourself in the mirror.
Look at that gray in once lustrous hair. At least now, enjoy the
sensual pleasure that can be still indulged in." Here the author has
used a third person, be it Mara or the personification of the force of
incessant war between emotions and reason which goes on within self.
This is universal though contained and controlled by culture, up
bringing and one's society which is either liberal or conservative.
Inner struggle
As the story is set in the Sri Lankan context, the inner struggle is
an intensified one due to the constrained and artificial barriers placed
on one's life virtually confining them to a smaller world of extended
family and more or less to a close-knit circle of friends.
"A Moment with Hinnihamy" is written in a down-to-earth language
albeit with a complex structure or rather a labyrinthine structure which
absorbs many by-stories and metaphors drawn from diverse sources.
The book is an ideal read for serious readers and is published by
Godage International Publishers (Pvt) Ltd. It also marks an important
phase in Sri Lankan writings in English in terms of its unique structure
and diction which is idiomatically Sri Lankan.
There is an element of fantasy in the novel. Deities, Super natural
elements, the destroyer (Mara) is one aspect of this fantasy. The
central character Gurun (Gurunnanse) is a very rare character in Sri
Lanka.
He is educated in Cambridge, U.K but prefers to teach the rural
children of Sri Lanka. He is not at all the conventional type of 'mind
free of evil'. So Gurun becomes an ideal character in the author's mind
- the connection between the East and the West- but is such a blend
feasible?
Mythological images
Structure wise, many Greek mythological images are used as symbols.
For example, Persephone symbolizes woman who is eternally preyed on by
evil.
However, as the story is based on so many psychological factors and
full of philosophy in raw form, it can be aptly described as loose-knit
psycho-analysis embedded in a novel.
Therefore, it has shed light into the human mind and human behavior
and contributed less to the Sri Lankan literature in English.
Structure-wise, the book is closer to Sinhalese than English. Thereby,
seriously compromising the readability of the novel.
Perhaps, the writer's intention would have been to convey life
experiences in the contest of traditional village in an authentic manner
with a diction similar to that of Sinhalese used in that milieu,
resulting in the labyrinthine structure with rather a slow-moving
sequence. The rather unusual cover was designed by Sandun Abeysekera. |
