Moments of reminiscences

Prof. Sunanda Mahendra

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Title: Ma dutu Sundara gama: telangapatha

(Telengapatha, the scenic village I have seen)

Author: Jinadasa Jayawardhana

Page count:208

Price: Rs. 300

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From time to time a number of books appears in the form of memoirs and notes on memorable moments of certain human habitats, jotted down by authors who so like to post on these memories to the posterity. The book under discussion, which is written in the form of a series of recollection of the past about six to eight decades ago, is one of the good examples.

The author Jayawardhana, who does not wish to state who he is but remembers his childhood days spent in the village named Telengapatha, sensitively captures several nuances of his experiences, which may have just been unnoticed by some other individual of his time.

The village known as ‘gama’ Telengapatha lies as a spot patch of land in between the Thoarana Handiya, in Kelaniya, along the Mara road from Colombo to Kandy and Colombo to Negombo on the other border.

I felt that I was living in this small village in the way the geographical landmarks and historical details are unfolded from the first page to the last: he draws the mental image of his village several years ago with its bygone splendour and perhaps at times goes to the extent of heaving a sigh of sorrow at the lost image as is normally found with the passage of time into the so called modern technological development.

Gone are the shrubs, thickets, paddy fields, sanctuaries, temples and seats of learning leaving behind some of the traces of the same.

He rediscovers the grandeur of the seats of earnings such as Dharmaloka, and Vidyalankara Pirviena, Gurukula, with their pioneer scholars both monks and laymen.

He remembers some of the worthy periodicals such as Kalaya printed and published by a group of scholars with the leadership of the late journalist D B Dhanapala.

Then he recalls how the itinerant groups of theatremen enter the village with their flashy ways of attracting people to see them and enjoy.

The period under discussion is sometimes the immediate phase of the post war period and sometimes more recent times just before the advent of the university status for Vidyalankara seat of learning.

He recalls the names and deeds of scholarly monks of the calibre of Venerables Ratmalane Sri Dharmaloka, Kotahene Pannasinha and Bambarande Siri Sivali. As these pages are designed to read more easily the factual value too seeps out without much effort enveloping certain narrative forms, monologues and dialogues.

There is five references to the great painter Solius Mendis, who created a unique beauty to the Kelaniya temple.

The author mentioning how the artiste Mendis gained his recognition via the Indian scholar artiste Nandalal Bose and his friend and admirer D B Dhanapala. Furthermore the author too shows how the painter emerges as a qualified and skilled creator after his academic training at Shanti Niketana (202-206pp).

The political and socio-cultural upheavals in the lives of such persons as Sir D B Jayatilake, and Ven. Walpola Rahula are also recorded in an alternative mode of expression (186-190pp). the author who recalls of his intimate moments in life never attempts to be a parochial sectarian in his vision, as he unfolds some of the socio-religious entities.

But may it be said that in the prices of truthful intimate narration he depicts some of the evil forces of behaviour patterns which are disastrous to the common living conditions with a grave sense of dismay he depicts such events as killing animals as a ritual or sacrificial measure to invoke blessings for their own gains.

He heightens the dirty conditions of ill will and hatred that lie beneath those who attempt to bring goodwill to the community at large.

He sensitively records the glory ashe saw but lost today. One of the rare document the reader encounters in this series of notes is the one mentioned as written by Ven. Yakkaduwe Pannarama in 1948 (see P182-185). In this important report the reader observes how with great hardships a priest had to build a seat of learning when the necessary requirements and moral support does not enter the venture.

The learned scholar Bhikkhu Pragnarama, shows the magnanimity of the group effort had been as a necessary force of education needed for the period in discussion, to eliminate the evil forces of ignorance.

The selection of material for this compendium of memoirs is highly readable one perhaps resourceful for researches in the fields of social sciences and Humanities.

According to author Jayawardhana the term ‘telegapatha’ is the result of a certain Telegu prince who had come and settled in this village on his defeat with his retinue envisaged as a dispute, with a warrior king of South Indian region.

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