Philosophical insights

K. S. Sivakumaran

Twelve little stories written in Sinhala in an easy structured manner with a deep insight into Buddhist values are now available in English under the title 'Gone with the Wave'. The writer is an academic turned creative writer with critical sensibility, Professor Emeritus Kusuma Karunaratne. This anthology of short stories is published By Wijesooriya Grantha Kendraya and is available at 812, Maradana Road, Punchi Borella.

The book deserves critical acclaim for the original which is in Sinhala and the translation in English by Swarana Kanthi Rajapakse. The translation is pleasingly readable for its appropriate presentation that would interest a non-Sinhala reader like me.

I could understand better the Buddhist atmosphere and the maxim 'love is the bringer of sorrow' (Pemato Jatati Soho) as pointed out by the critic and admirable translator - Dr Lakshmi de Silva. The latter also vouches for the 'splendid translation' Ms S.K. Rajapakse. The backdrop in most stories is the Nature's onslaught on people and properties in the name of Tsunami.

The first story - 'The Golden Robe'- is elegantly written with an uninterrupted flow evoking a Buddhist atmosphere. It's about a respected and venerable Buddhist priest and the relationship between him and the family of an exemplary Lankan Buddhist holding high position in New York. But it is the unexpected tragedy of the Tsunami and the resultant shock that the young man Suranga experiences that moves you badly.

"She Came to See Elephants" is a poignant story of a British couple losing their little girl called Christine (but fondly called Lanka by her parents in memory of their honeymoon in Lanka) in the devastating Tsunami on their visit to see the elephants of Lanka. The vivid and short description and the powerful images movingly bring pathos.

'Baby Twenty-One" to my sensibility is not as effective as other previous stories. This is probably because of an actuality where false parents were scorned and the real parents who were Thamilians were determined of the parentage by DNA process sometime back. However the writer has written this story in an imaginative way.

Glitter is a little long and could have been a little shortened and connected to the finale in a convincing manner. But then again it is the author's prerogative that matters and not the critic's. One notices that Kusuma is particular in stressing the positive values and she tries to create good or nearly- good characters.

'Vow' - Please read this portion for the exposition of how a child would feel in psychological terms.

"Grandma, can we stay here? If we go home father will beat her (mother) again. We can't go back grandma."

Nandawathi embraced her grand daughter.

"Yes. Of course my precious. Both of you can stay here. This is your home. You can live here forever."

She kissed her grandmother's face. The little girl looked happy. She opened her rosy mouth and smiled.

In a second her facial expression changed. Her face darkened.

"Then grandma, what about my father? How can he live alone? Who is going to cook for him? That's a sin, isn't it? Shall we ask him to stay here? You and grandpa can tell him not to beat mama .Isn't that better, grandma?"

The child shows no bias towards father. She likes both her parents alike. "Grandma- Sadhu! May Lord Buddha bless you and grandpa also! I am going"

Although they were Buddhists they made a vow to the Hindu God Lord Muruga at Kataragama. But on the way of the mother and the child fate struck. Tsunami took its toll as if in a Karmic circle.

I liked the story 'One... Two...Three' very much for the characterization and the subtlety by which she underlines the 'strong bond of humanity'. This again is the story of a man who had lost his three children to the Tsunami. The last sentences conclude with the following comforting humane feelings: "Oh my God. If only help this man!"

The kind young medical officer uttered it not with his mouth but from the depths of his heart.

In 'Grandmother's Gift', I like this expression: "The Demon of the ocean had pirated their possessions". Although the evil people took advantage of the Tsunami disaster to be inhuman, there were the Good too helping selflessly. "Young and old people worked together as one, quite spontaneously and selflessly. They proved to the distressed survivors that they were not alone in their time of suffering; others cared and shared"

'Eyes' - is about 'animals behaving oddly when they sense oncoming disaster. The translator Swarna Kanthi Rajapakse's choice of the right word for the vigorous narration should be applauded. This story ends with a happy note and it is an incredible relationship between a human and an animal.

The title story -"Gone With the Wave" tells about the aftermath of the tsunami disaster and relates to a saved child' possession of a till gone with the wand.

Finally-'Until He Returns' - is a story that gives hope for a family that the bridegroom would return safe despite the horrible Tsunami. Superstitions perhaps could not be totally disregarded in most of the Lankan communities.

I understand Kusuma Karunaratne's anthology of short stories has been translated in European and Indian languages. How about in Thamil?

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