A story of three characters: Arjuna, Muditha and Pulasthi
No
one ever got paid to coach chess in my school. It was always old boys
who coached the team. The seniors coached the juniors, the juniors
helped with the newcomers. The coach handled the seniors. No payment.
There was something about repaying debts owed to the alma mater. There
was also the joy of teaching, seeing players improve and securing
trophies.
Arjuna Parakrama |
Each coach left a mark and speaking strictly for myself, Arjuna
Parakrama, one of the strongest players in the country in the seventies,
was the greatest influence when it came to chess, both in playing and
coaching. It was not just about chess with him. It was how to approach a
particular game and most importantly about what was important, over the
board and outside it, particularly the latter. Chess was a small part of
a larger universe and what he taught about chess and in those long hours
of having to suffer his sarcasm and caustic remarks was eminently
applicable to life in general.
Values and attitudes
We teach the way our favourite teachers taught or like to think we
do. I know I tried. So did my successors, but no one I can think of
matched the standards set up Arjuna as Muditha Hettigama, the most
successful coach of this school and himself a National Champion.
I
recently heard that there are chess ‘coaches’ who earn around Rs.300,
000 a month. I know for a fact that most of them are unqualified to
coach. Forget values and attitudes, their knowledge of the game is at
best basic and are not equipped to push talent even half way towards
potential. When I heard this, I thought of both Arjuna and Muditha,
especially the latter because Arjuna coached in different times where
values were different, economic and social pressures different and
therefore the idea of ‘remuneration’ was marginal.
Muditha has coached his old school for more than a decade now. Given
his success rate (his teams have won more national championships than
any other boys’ school in the country), if he were to translate coaching
time into opportunity cost, he would earn at least as much as a full
time coach. I did a small calculation, assuming he’s been coaching since
1998. That’s 13x12x300, 000, making Rs. 46.8 million. I am trying to
think of a single coach who has said ‘no’ to that kind of money. The
only person I can think of is Sarath Eriyagama, a man who has an equally
or even more celebratory record as coach (Girls High School, Kandy) and
who was instrumental in popularizing the game both in Kandy and in other
districts of the country.
Retired persons
There are people like that. Pulasthi Ediriweera (I just heard that
this colleague of mine actually is titled, ‘Kalapathi’; he is modest and
it shows) is one of them. Pulasthi has designed more than 150 stamps and
that’s a fact that few would know; stamps don’t carry name and signature
of artist. Only philatelists would know. More importantly, Pulasthi is
the present President of the Society of Arts and has been so since 2008.
He’s also been the Principal of the School of Art run by the Society of
Arts for more than five years. The School of Art, founded way back in
1887, has been running this programme for many years now. Pulasthi,
along with seven other teachers, give all their Saturdays to this
school, voluntarily. It is a programme for those left behind and those
who for whatever reason don’t have access to the mainstream art schools.
There are toddlers and there are retired persons who have the time and
the inclination to pick up and explore something
Pulasthi Ediriweera |
Muditha Hettigama |
they loved but never had the opportunity to indulge in. Among the
students are those taking ‘Art’ as an O/L or A/L subject, those who are
in different streams but are interested in entering higher educational
institutions offering visual arts degrees, and undergraduates, teachers
and even principals who want to further develop their skills.
Educational trips
The Society organizes exhibitions every month to showcase the best
works of the students. They organize workshops as well as educational
trips. They spend the occasional Sunday visiting schools where there are
no art teachers or where the art teachers are interested in exposing
their charges to informed and more competent instruction.
Pulasthi has been doing this for six years. That’s over 300 days and
close to 3,000 hours. I don’t know how much that would be in terms of
rupees. He doesn’t count, of this I am certain. I know that there are
times when he helps out a colleague who is crunched for time, copying
the style and completing the relevant illustration, sacrificing his own
work and time. All for free. Few return the favour. He would say, I am
sure, ‘me mage vidiha, e eyaalage vidiha’ (this is my way, that’s
theirs). I don’t know anything about art, but I do know this: we are not
thankful enough to the Arjunas, Mudithas and Pulasthis of this country.
www.malindawords.blogspot.com ([email protected]) |