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Gleanings:
Entering Meta-Physical world
K. S. Sivakumaran
Have you read Sathya Amorik's second novel 'Ma... I Promise' - the
first was 'Touched by Jesus'. Both are available at Lake House Bookshop.
Who is this writer anyway? Well, she was born a Lankan, a mother and
presently married to a business man- Amorik Singh and lives in
Singapore.
I have not met her so far, but had spoken to her over the telephone
and corresponded with her via e-mal. This factor plus that she is a
'realized soul' in terms spiritualism make it difficult for me to
analyze her works. Had no prior contacts been made, I would have
expressed my impressions independently. However, let's see what her
publishers - (Emerald Publications, 30, Marsiling Industrial Estate,
Road 5, Widefield Industrial Building, Unit No. 3-02AQ, Singapore
739211) have got to say about her books to do Justice to the author.
It took me months to complete reading this book amidst my various
occupations.
This was partly due to the heaviness of the subject although the
readability went smooth and partly due to my slowness in understanding,
digesting and assimilating the crux of the novel turned spiritual ideas.
"Her writing skill surfaced after intense spiritual awakening, which
prompted her to write her first book in which, she talks about her life
and experiences that reveal spiritual truths. The second book is also
written with divine inspiration. In this book, she links reality with
the unknown through her metaphysical writing that brings into focus the
subtle forces and their influence on the physical world."
The blurbs describe the content well.
My concern was to read this book as pure fiction that is devoid of
relating 'transmigration of souls', 'life after death' and ideas like
that incorporated in the work.
Because it is an engrossing and exciting novel written by a Lanka
born Thamilian woman (presumably a Hindu) portraying the upper class
English people in London is remarkably interesting that I preferred her
to stop with that.
She should have written a separate short novel based on the child
character Jim's talking with her dead mother.
Sathya's familiarity with the cities, counties, manners, speech
patterns in the United Kingdom and more particularly her mastery of the
English language and the precise and colourful style makes me feel
envious of her creativity.
Her studies of characters in the novel are astonishingly realistic
even though she is elaborate in her descriptions as most women writers
usually do. Indeed her novel is better than the average love or romance
novels of the West primarily because the meat in her story is carved out
of genuine spiritualism as felt experience of hers. Her spiritual
experiences are essentially that of a believer in Hinduism. As a Hindu I
can understand what she is trying to show in her Works. This in turn
makes her a messenger of carrying Hindu philosophy to a Western
Christian audience.
But one point that should be made is that the writer is universal in
her outlook. For her Christianity as in her first novel or the angels in
the second novel and her understanding of Hinduism is all same. She
believes in one Almighty. If one sees everything then parochialism
vanishes.
Everything in this world is designed. God is not visible to all. He
speaks through his agents who are unaware they are speaking on behalf of
God.
I think that she wants the astonishingly a genius young boy Jim born
to Alan and Christina, the central character.
"The story revolves around a boy, his unwavering affection for his
mum and the unshakeable belief he had in her words. The author takes the
reader through a journey of unseen reality" says the blurb.
But I found her characterisation is not too real even though the boy
has had fantasies to see different worlds and meeting her mother in
disguise.
This 310 page book has four long chapters (nowadays people have no
leisure time to read longish 19th century type novels). Chapter 1: Ma...
You are my world; Chapter 2: Ma...don't leave me, please; Chapter 3:
Ma... I will seek you; Chapter 4: Ma... I Promise. It was the 3rd
chapter that made me lose interest in the book because I had attune
myself to the mental state of a young boy almost instantaneously to go
through an experience that the boy had undergone. Hence the delay in
writing my impressions of the otherwise fascinating book.
The felicity of Sathya Amorik's writing skills and style is in my
opinion, a model for clear, lucid and beautiful expressions.
You would enjoy the book if you do not want to read and finish it
within 24 hours.
I have a question. Do our English Departments academics in the
Universities read the fiction in English by our Lanka born writers who
live abroad? Do the historians of Lankan English Literature read at all,
all the writing in English in local newspapers? In recent times I
enjoyed reading the novels of Maurice Perera, Abe Daisy, Samantha
Sirimanne Hyde, Siri Ranawake, Sunethra Rajakarunanayake et al who gave
me immense pleasure in understanding the world outside Lanka. I haven't
read Vasugi V Ganeshanathan as yet.
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