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179 Story of a Cancer Patient - Henry Jayasena
Column:
Conclusion
"You must eat a lot of chocolate." Abey would advice me quite
seriously. "It's very good for you!" He would then place a bagful of
chocolates on the dinner table. Needless to say who enjoyed them most. I
could eat only a small square or just one blob. I had to be careful with
my sugar.
Then there was Sylvia Weerasinghe, my school mate from Nalanda
Vidyalaya. Yes, Nalanda was a mixed school during the forties and I
believe at least part of the fifties. On the first day she came when she
saw my emaciated form, she just sat down and cried softly without
speaking a word. The three of us sat quietly for some time. We could not
speak. If I remember right, I broke the emotion charged silence by
relating one of my funny stories from the hospital!
Next time Sylvia visited me, at the end of her visit, she brought out
an envelope from her hand bag. Even before we could protest she placed
the envelope in my hands and said - "No, Henry, you MUST accept this.
This is not from the family coffers. It is from the money I earn from
tuition. This is from my elocution classes. No, you can't refuse it... I
want you to have it and spend it on your medicine or whatever... I will
be so happy if you do so..." We could not and did not even attempt to
refuse.
In her next visit also she did the same thing. That day of course I
had to tell her quite firmly - "No more, my dear Sylvia...!"
She turns up every now and then even now. She has changed very little
from her Nalanda days. She is still quite slim, talkative, sensitive and
generous. In our school days she wrote poems and short stories in
English and I wrote poems in Sinhala.
Certainly not to each other! I read her writings as a 'serious'
critic - or so I thought and she read my creations not so much as a
critic but as a fellow aspirant to literature!
Even at that time, as teenagers we were members of the Public
Library. I still remember our fortnightly visits there - Sylvia being
the only girl in the group.
From Nalanda Vidyalaya through Regent Street, past Lipton Circus,
past the Museum, to the Public Library. At that time it was housed in
the present Mayor's Mansion, at one end of the Victoria Park - now
Vihara Maha Devi park.
It was a leisurely, chatty walk. We would pool our resources and buy
a couple of paper cones of Bola Kadale or Konda Kadale and share it on
the way. For five cents we could get enough to munch through the walk,
most of the way.
Yes, Sylvia has not changed much. She still writes poetry.
Speaking of writing, two of my books were launched during my illness.
The first - 'LAZARUS' - a novel, was launched on the 12th of October,
1999. Fortunately I had got the first eye operation done just a week ago
and I could see my audience well. I could also read excerpts from the
book.
Still, I was very weak. I could not stand for a length of time and
holding my water was another problem. Yet I was very keen on this
launch.
It had taken me nearly two years to complete the novel. I had handed
over its publication to Dayawansa Jayakody, just before I fell ill. I
was keen to see it put out soon because it was a tribute to my father -
Albert Rodrigo Jayasena - who died at the age of one hundred and one, in
1987. When you are seriously ill you don't want to postpone things.
"LAZARUS' is based on some of my father's early experiences and
exploits, as a young man of the Angarika Dharmapala era.
He had been taken to England by an English missionary of the Church.
My father being a very impressionable young man, the missionary had
wanted to convert him to work for God.
Some of these experiences my father had related to us now and then
when he was in a good mood. Some he had written down in his letters to
me in later life. I had laced it liberally with my imagination too.
I remember the launch for more than one reason. One was the poor
state of my health and the intense emotion I felt when making my own
little speech and reading out some of the excerpts.
Then there were the elaborate preparations that publisher Dayawansa
Jayakody had made for the occasion, including a little Perehera with
drummers and dancers to conduct the two of us into the auditorium of
Library Services Board.
I also remember Somaweera Senanayake's superb analysis o the book in
his role as the main speaker.
I believe everybody was being extra kind - including the audience who
consisted of members from my family, some very dear friends as well as
devoted book worms who always attend these occasions.
Another reason that made the evening special was that I could see and
recognize faces even from a distance. I could see my burly friend, Abey
Gunapala from Kurunegala, quietly wiping away a tear. This gift of the
sight was fantastic.
This was the first time I was putting it to test, after the
operation, just six days ago. What a difference it made!
Then the last reason is not a very happy one. That night there was
very heavy rain and our house got flooded. We had no time even to move
out. It came so suddenly and there was about one an a half feet of water
inside the house. Both of us sat on the dining table till almost
morning.
That's life, I thought, rather grimly. So much fanfare in the evening
, a handsome cheque from the publishers... and now, this!
The second launch was my little book 'Baalha Gilano' - the original
Sinhala publication of the present book. It was launched on the 26th of
February, 2000, together with reprints of five of my plays.
There is a little story behind Baalha Gilano. During the first phase
of my illness, somewhere early in 1999, the present publisher, Mr.
Sirisumana Godage came to visit me one afternoon. He had published just
one little slim volume of Children's Plays written by me some years
back. He had paid me handsomely too - even above normal royalties.
That was my only association with Mr. Godage.
When he heard that I was ill he called me and came to see me that
very afternoon. Before he left he presented me with some money - a fair
amount. I protested saying that he owed me nothing. He simply said, "
No, Mahattaya, these are not royalties. This is a gift from me. What are
we if we cannot help a writer when he needs it?"
Frankly, I needed the money at that time. I accepted the gift
gratefully. Even at that time I had been thinking about writing a book
about my experience with the dreaded cancer. I told Mr. Godage about it.
"When I write the book I will bring it to you for publication." I
told him. "And I hope you will publish the book.." "I certainly will."
Said Mr. Godage. "Not only that, I will publish whatever other scripts
you have... There is no problem about that."
And that was how the five plays also came in. That was a very happy
day too, for me. After all it is not often that a writer gets six of his
works published on the same day! But much more than numbers, the event
is very memorable to me.
By this time I had got my other eye too attended to. I was also in
much better physical condition than in October, the previous year when
my novel 'Lazarus' was released.
I read excerpts from Baalha Gilano and also participated in reading
excerpts from the plays. Manel, Wijeratne Warakagoda and several others
sang the songs, recited the Kavi and enacted some of the scenes from the
published plays such as Apata Puthe Magak Nethe, Tvat Udesanak,
Maranjana Veda Warjana, Diriya Mawa and Makara. Dr. Somaratne Balasuriya
presided and poet W.A. Abeysinghe was the main speaker.
He praised my effort as a genuine and worthy expression of a man in
distress. He recommended that it should be introduced to the schools
too. Mr. Godage, the publisher, sat there as usual, smiling, and made a
very polite and short speech about his involvement. My sight was
actually pretty bad when I wrote the pages.
More often I wrote it with one eye, closing the bad one. But it was
very good mental therapy for me.
So this was a very special occasion for me. I felt stronger than I
really was. I was very moved when Manel and Waraks recited some of the
lyrics from the pastoral play Tavat Udesanak - which means 'Another
Dawn'. It really was a new dawn for me. This time I managed to keep my
voice under control when it was my turn to speak.
I had invited some of the participants in the real life drama to be
present and accept a copy of the book as a tiny token of my
appreciation. So, Dr. Dayasiri Fernando was there as a very special
guest.
Mrs. Nanayakkara, Nilanthi and Rupika were there from Ward No.23 of
the Kalubowila hospital. Dr. Balawardhana could not make it as he was
away in Badulla. My dear friend Sybil Wettasinghe was also there to
share the moment. Mrs. Nanyakkara unashamedly shed a tear or two when I
presented the book to her. I had never seen her like that in the ward.
There she was known as a stern person.
When I presented the book to diminutive Nilanthi, I remember the
night of fear I gave her in Ward 23. These people were so very dear to
me. Our old media friend H.M. Gunasekera was the presenter that evening.
Some of my new found 'golayas' from the stage were also there for the
readings.
They were from the new production of my 1968 play Apata Puthe Magak
Nethe which I rehearsed and presented on stage just a few weeks ago.
That was very therapeutic too. No, that night it did not rain.
It was such a pleasure to leaf through the freshly printed books and
inhale that print-perfume which is like elixir to a writer...
Thought of the Week
So, 'Baalha Gilano' - The Story of a Cancer Patient is over. I
relived some of those moments when reproducing it once again in these
columns. Often I wondered how Manel, my son Sudaraka, my family members
like my Akka, my friends and I too went through all the torment, the
unpleasantness and the pressure. It is more than six years now since I
underwent my last session of chemo therapy.
I have gone for the occasional check up - not very regularly I must
say. There are other murmurs and heaves from the frail body - not of
cancer I hope fervently. I keep in touch with Prof. Dayasiri Fernando
and Dr. Balawardhana and complain to them of aches and pains. Life goes
on much weaker than it was at the time I wrote the book, mostly due to
old age and some of my bad habits.
I hope the readers have gathered something from my narrative. There
is little else to say except for the circumstances of the passing away
of my beloved wife Manel. I think I had dealt with that earlier. I will
be back with you just for a note of goodbye. The rest will be silence.
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