Artscope | Online edition of Daily News

'All of us are political, while some of us choose to remain depoliticized for different reasons' - Lal Medawattegedara:

Politicised by choice

How do you teach social cohesion to a seven-year-old? Easy, just read to them 'A Cat, a Rat and a Snake'. Because that is what it is, a fable in the guise of a children's story. 'Live and let live' is Mapo the protagonist cats 'catosophy' in this story by Lal Medawattegedara, included in Milk Rice - Stories for children. His genius lies in this versatility. He is one of those writers who is equally competent in writing conflict stories as well as children's stories.

Lal Medawattegedara, this week's encounter on Daily News Artscope, is a journalist turned writer turned academic. He is 'trying hard not to run away from finishing his first novel', between reading for his MA at Peradeniya and working as an English literature lecturer at the Open University. He is also currently engaged in compiling a children's story collection, which might see the light of day before his novel.

A: Since 2003 I have been engaged in creative writing projects for children. Having conducted many workshops for children, when someone asked me why I have not written any children's stories, I was ashamed. This is what initially induced me to write children's stories. When Perera Hussein Publishers came up with the Milk Rice - Stories for children project I submitted the story 'A Cat, a Rat and a Snake', which received good reviews, which further encouraged me.

A: Social cohesion. The cat, a four legged animal that hunts animals for food or fun, is on top of this power chain, the snake is perhaps on the same level as the cat and the rat is at the bottom, often the victim. In the story I try to depict how these three different creatures learn to coexist within this power structure, while respecting each others territory and rights. In fact the story came out at the height of the war.

Q: As the main resource person of 'First Flight' (British Council's Young Learner's Centre creative writing project) do you believe that young writers are rooted in Sri Lankan culture?

A: The definition of Sri Lankan culture is vague and subjective. Some Sri Lankan children are more cosmopolitan than others; they are rich and can afford travel. These experiences invariably seep into their writing. Moreover any writer is influenced by what he or she reads. As far as setting goes, anyone will select a setting that he or she is familiar with. Whether the setting is local or foreign should not be a problem as long as the writer knows what he or she is talking about.

Awards and accolades

His very first attempt at fiction, The Window Cleaner’s Soul, a collection of short stories, was short-listed for the 2002 Gratiaen Award. His short story ‘Tears Of A Coffin Maker’ was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service. He also won the first place in the 2006 short story competition conducted by the English Writer’s Co-operative for ‘Can You Hear Me Running’.

A: It depends on how Sri Lankan literature is defined. If Sri Lankan literature is writing that is 'set' in Sri Lanka, then such writing would not qualify. But, in my view, literature is not about setting only. It is about human emotions and human reaction to the immediate environment. It is difficult to pinpoint Sri Lankan literature within the wider definition of literature. I think what is loosely referred to as Sri Lankan literature is literature on Sri Lankan context and consciousness by Sri Lankan writers.

Literature is a combination of social, political, economical and psychological aspects. I would not attach a definition to it, especially where young writers are concerned. They write about what they are familiar with and in my opinion this should not be discouraged. We cannot force a child to write about a culture he or she feels alienated from.

A: I used to like Rushdie for his word puns. He plays a lot of gymnastics with the language. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's unexpected twists inspired me. I like Toni Morrison for her particularly feminist style of writing. I have also been influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre. Milan Kundera and Ismail Kadare had a deep impact on how I approach writing. I am especially attracted to Yasmine Gooneratne's flawless style of writing, which is ideal for prose. I can't really discount any writer. I have taken a little bit from everyone.

A: I engage in research whenever I am in doubt. For instance, in the case of 'Can you hear me running', I spoke to a few people in the army to learn about the mechanism of guns. For 'Tears of a Coffin Maker', which involves a prison break in Matara, I spoke to people in the area and went through a lot of photographs of Matara and took eye witness testimonies of how the tsunami ravaged the Matara town.

Q: In 'Can You Hear Me Running' you criticise class prejudices. Is it pragmatic to expect a society to completely denounce these values?

A: Class differences are inevitable in any country. But I try not to give labels. My duty as a writer is not to push ideas into people's heads, but perhaps to demonstrate what class prejudices do to people. The class system is a power struggle.

This creates a lot of anger. In fact most of the conflicts in Sri Lanka are a result of this power struggle. This is never more apparent than in Martin Wickramasinghe's novels. It is because of such ridiculous values that Nanda in Gamperaliya finds it so difficult to find a partner.

Q: Social criticism in some of your stories involves satirising the attitudes of lower middle-class, please comment.

A: Consciously or unconsciously I may have used satire to point out that some of the attempts made by individuals of the lower middle-class to imitate those of the upper-class is ridiculous.

Q: Do you believe that you have been successful at accurately depicting the lower middle class?

A: I have done my best, not to depict the lower middle class per se, but to depict their values and ideologies.

Q: You use a lot of vernacular in your writing. Why and how do you use it to develop and enrich characters?

A: Vernacular reflects a character's particular position in society. For instance the language of a three-wheeler driver is quite interesting and sets him apart from the rest of the society. Using vernacular in the dialogue makes him a unique individual, thereby developing the character. Moreover certain expressions are extremely difficult to capture in English. In such instances I use vernacular.

A: English has already created class distinctions. This is why it is referred to as the 'Kaduwa'. But this is gradually diminishing, since English is more accessible and no longer the exclusive property of the elite few.

A: Maybe there is something to learn in suffering. When things are going good you tend to get complacent.

Q: Does 'To Die For' suggest a certain numbing of political opinion in the younger generation?

A: It focuses on a person who has failed to understand the politics in a highly politicized situation. This is true in real life. Even while the insurgency was taking place there were people who were completely oblivious to what was going on.

Perhaps the younger brother in the story did not understand the politics behind it because he was just a 12 year old boy at the time of the insurgency. Different politics have replaced the politics of the time in which the story commences. All of us are political, while some of us choose to remain depoliticized for different reasons.

A: A person is eligible to vote at the age of 18. This means that he or she is already political. Moreover university education is geared to teach them to look at concepts critically.

A: Obituaries have a tendency to always focus on the good of the dead. I found this a little too hard to believe. This is why I wrote a satirical counteractive obituary.

A: There are three stories which are the result of the direct influence of the conflict in 'Can You Hear Me Running': the title story, 'Poetic Licence' and 'The Last War'. A writer is conditioned by the political situation in which he or she is in and his psychological frame of mind is decided by it. When the conflict was at its height I missed bombs by inches. I was stuck in three hour traffic jams when roads were close for the safe passage of VIPs. I waited for hours in buses so every single vehicle could be checked by the army.

As a journalist I was exposed to the insurgency as well as the war against terrorism. During the insurgency I remember writing names of at least 50 people who died, every single day for nearly three months. These experiences invariably influenced my writing.

A: It does not empathize with the act of 'suicide bombing', but rather the suicide bomber as an individual through bringing to light the kind of conditions that drove her to become a suicide bomber in the first place.

A: According to research, literature tends to promote war. Conflict literature could be of two types: those that blatantly promote war and those that demonstrate the suffering of war. The common belief is that literature that portrays suffering tends to promote anti-war sentiments, I have my doubts. According to Freud, human beings carry primitive instincts of violence at their core. If so, I have my doubts that a poem about suffering will actually touch those instincts.