Waves of tears
 The
end of a particular turbulent era in a country may perhaps give way to
multi-faceted creative impulses inclusive of poetry, drama, narratives
and various other genres. On reading the creative work, which I may not
brand as a conventional novel, titled as ‘Waves of Tears – a Sri Lankan
tragedy’, written by Lal Keerthi Fernando, printed and published in Sri
Lanka, by Richmond publishers (2009), I was enmeshed with a dilemma. The
writer Fernando who is stated to have lived in Denmark for 36 years has
collected copious material that would go into the making of sociological
work that covers, various aspects of terrorism, bomb blasts, treachery,
violence, refugee states, visa issues asylum seeking plans to blast
dams, the nefarious interferences on the part of various foreign
organizations both political and others etc.
The writer Fernando notwithstanding the issues as suitable for a mere
documentation process, had decided to mould all the material into
readable narratives, which are partly episodic and partly true to life
investigative reporting with actual names and positions of people who
matter. The writer at the outset underlines the fact that he lives in
two places: one in Denmark, the other in Chilaw, in Sri Lanka.
He had collected material from various sources, places, people and
social events over a period that spans the entire beginning and the
visible ending of the LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka. While allowing the
foreign reader who would read his work in English he helps them or
guides them through a series of short snapshots regarding the places
that matter in her work. Then he embarks into two major episodes as his
main narratives. Mr. Jorgen who appears as the protagonist of the first
major episode is introduced from 65pp onwards until he is extradited
from the country for his disastrous plans, in the most secretive manner
hiding in a yacht and in a hotel in Nilaveli in Trincomalee. Jorgen is a
person whose character is portrayed as a secret agent whose plans are
gradually uncovered by the local Navy and Army regiments.
The commencing chapter is titled as ‘Cia and Israel connections). The
preceding short chapters look like the scene setting for Jorgen to
enter. The chapters that follow are packed with the action plans of
Jorgen, which are titled as ‘Nilaveli’ and ‘gun smuggling’, ‘Navy
alert’, arrest and drive to Colombo from Trinco, meeting Rear Admiral,
informing President and getting Mr. Jorgen out of Sri Lanka. Having got
rid of Jorgen, the Norwegian, the writer Fernando visualizes many more
similar episodes of interest from the point of view of terrorist
activities in country. As the second major narrative he selects or
rather collates the episode of Rajan and Savithri commencing from the
chapter title d Raju (119pp) gradually the reader is taken on a journey
that covers a whole gamut of techniques utilized by the LTTE terrorists
to dismantle the peace and harmony of the country. The writer presents
various images of people who are shown as latent behaviorists and crowds
who will take the chance to dismantle the community living by bomb
blasts. They even go to the extent of planning to blast dams.
The narrative of Fernando now touches on various hard work of police
and army to combat the issues. Yet the dismantling the order goes on.
Raju the planner is shown as a vicious person who hates himself in
several guises (128pp). The chapters pertaining to him and his future
wife Savithri unfold in he work on two layers, first as a romance, and
then as a tragedy. Raju and Svhithri become creators of disharmony in
many places. They are responsible for their misdeeds.
But they are caught by the destiny. Though the reader may not like it
so much, both of them escape into foreign strands. In the first instance
Raju leaves for Denmark, as a refugee and Savithri joins her while being
pregnant. As the writer underlines, their destiny is composed by Karma,
where the child, the baby boy born to Savithri in a Danish hospital is
blind and deformed. It is Savithri who laments for her crimes cuddling
the new born. Then the narrative takes another turn of events. Raju who
was a medical students a few years ago, gets the chance to complete his
studies, and become s a qualified medical doctor. For Fernando the
creator of these events based on partly true to life vents, it is now a
chance to send them to another country. That happened to be Perth in
Australia. They are made to live in an apartment, and some of their
family members too join them.
All in all the writer Lal Keerthi Fernando looks more of an
experimentalist who handles his source material to help his reader to
know some of the hidden areas encircling terrorism.
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