Sarachchandra or Shakespeare?
 Enough has been said about both these writers: Sarachchandra and
Shakespeare. It's high time, I think, we moved on to other writers. But
we like to cling on to tradition, no matter what comes to pass around
us. We just cannot help it.
The other day I had a light talk with a friend. She was telling me
how fascinating Shakespeare is for her. I gave her a firm yes responding
he is one of my favourite writers too. As usual our conversation dragged
on. I explained what I love most in Shakespeare is he could manipulate
the sources into his own creativity - and that turned out to be
philosophical. My friend seemed to be interested in knowing how he did
that - Shakespeare manipulating the sources, I mean. To explain it
further I took Sarachchandra as an example. He too made use of classical
sources for his stage plays.
Then came her comment, which is interesting.
"Compared to Shakespeare, Sarachchandra is dwarfish."
"Yes," I thoughtfully nodded in agreement. But I wanted to give it a
thought later. Is Sarachchandra really dwarfish compared to Shakespeare?
Definitely he should be, was my first impression too. At length I
started thinking of both writers. To think who is really dwarfish was
something hard to do with my dwarfish knowledge. But never mind, it
deserves a try. As we all know Shakespeare is considered the Bard of
English literature. He used that talent to produce numerous playscripts
and sonnets. He brought forward a philosophy of his own. Apart from that
he was an actor, which is a little known factor. Nothing much is known
apart from all this.
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| William
Shakespeare |
Ediriweera
Sarachchandra |
Who was Sarachchandra? Now this is a question any Sri Lankan student
would find easy to answer. He was a playwright, they would answer
without much difficulty.
Sarachchandra's halo however has a wider range. He initiated his
career as a university don. Not only that, but Sarachchandra wrote
poetry, short stories, novels and published research works. To add, he
was a social reformer too and has been honoured with prestigious awards
such as Ramon Magsaysay award for literature. In recognition of his
contribution to the culture, Sarachchandra was chosen for diplomacy
career too. His creativity sparkled on print, sound and visual media.
Being a bilingual he could experience both eastern and western cultures.
That is Sarachchandra in short, though much more could be added.
Sarachchandra outsmarted Shakespeare not only in works but also in life.
Now, back to my conversation with the friend. I try to recall the
emotions that flashed across her face when she blurted out that
interesting comment. What can they be? Pride? Proud of what? Being
familiar with English? My friend and I are of the same ilk, I think. I
cannot degrade her and consider myself greater simply because I try to
sound superior in this note. We are in essence the victims of one tragic
historical event. That forced us to grow up in the same environs -
colonial Lanka. Colonial mind is one thing, I would rather add, we
cannot get rid of. Sadly or happily I can see ourselves hemmed in by
that wall. That wall is the acknowledgment of our helplessness.
I do not want to degrade the literary personalities as one against
another either. I respect both geniuses alike. But at least if we can
seriously consider the value of our literature with due respect to
western literature, that will be quite a welcome option. Before looking
for other riches, why not look for your own?
I know this cry is mere empty words. Try to join me in crying out
this for the whole world, and they won't hear us. What we must not
forget however is that the cry itself will turn out to be a remarkable
monologue. It will grow husky in generations to come. [email protected]
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