M.B. Mathmaluwe the educationist of the under-privileged turns 90 - Part II:

Turning the young into sensitive beings

Satharathilaka BANDA ATUGODA-.Former Ambassador

'Detha bima oba passata waruwi nisalawa hun ege kes rodak ma muhunehi hepethma,
Maseku handa naga dengaluyen nisala bora diya kelambini'( Sinhala)

'Crouching with hands behind, when a string of hair of hers seated silently, touched my face,
A fish yelling moved about, the quiet water got disturbed' ( English translation)

These comparisons were possible only due to the depth to which Sir, went with us to explain the poetry behind the verses.

The most important contribution these teachings made on young lives was that they became sensitive beings, emotional, aware of the human mind, searching for worldly solutions for problems faced by people who came to them.

In their professional fields that training in understanding the nature of varied issues in correct perspectives, helped resolving them.

His creations

Mathmaluwe created poetry, drama and wrote essays. One of his Sinhala translations of a Chinese poem, the writer could remember was the following:-

"Seda salu hendi ege gamanin negena handa ada ko ane
Paluwe kirigarunda ethuru maluwa duwili bendemine
Thawa wedei sokaya hade ha sokayak ne me wage
Iwasumai senasumai ko ada lebena hetiyak noma henge"

This is obviously how the Emperor Wu-Ti, second century B.C. laments the passing away of his chief queen, Fu-Gen “he does not hear the footsteps of the love who wore silken dresses; the palace lawns and the tiled garden are dusty; his sorrow enhances when he sees these; the peace and tranquility he yearns for never comes"

When these lines were read the ethos and the emotions on the love-lost, is portrayed in a natural way; it becomes one's own experiences, may be. A yearning to read it in original dawns and the pupils themselves attempted at translations. In fact some pupils became masters at these techniques and that is how our Gurudev sent us forth with confidence to undertake difficult tasks.

Drama

The drama on Kashyapa's last night at Sigiriya, before he went to war with Mugalan and his farewell to the two daughters, was a poignant moment in his stage-play. It was a tremendous success, in school and many accolades were received on it.

The use of poetic language of Mathmaluwe, depicted the sheer desolation and loneliness faced by Kashyapa that night from the Sigiriya rock, citadel. The writer had quoted them before too but, two sentences from Kashyapa's soliloquy would show Mathmamaluwe's poetic excellence.

“Tomorrow I go to war; tomorrow shall decide my fate; my chances of success are very good; my armies are stronger; I have all the advantages, but, but, I have this strange foreboding that disaster awaits me in this war. How is it! Why!”

"Along these marbled walls and through these long corridors I hear the lonely forest wind howling alone lone cry. I see it bereft of human life; I see elephants wallow in the mud"

To the two daughters he says, 'we will meet in the field of Ambakola or in heaven'. The tragedy was well-ensconced in Mathmaluwe's lyrical language.

He created another drama from Robert Frost's poem 'Death of A Hired Man'. Silas the servant of Mary and Warren had come back after some time when he was very ill, having no where to go; Warren refuses to take him, but Mary, makes him a place to lie down; Warren is furious, and goes to see him. The dramatic moment comes when Mary questioned Warren,'Dead' was all he answered'.

To adopt to Ceylon at that time the chosen characters were Sena, Kumari and William. William was the hired man. 'Home is the place where when you have to go there they will have to take you in; you have not got to earn it' Kumari says Sena. The working class conditions were dramatised in this play, and the human kindness necessary to assuage their feelings by the society, was depicted in it.

This connoisseur of arts, teacher out of the ordinary and the moulder of human beings was transferred from Akuramboda at the height of his service when he was needed most by the under-privileged pupils of the school, due to some jealousies of some persons, to which the writer does not intend going into detail.

He served later in Pujapitiya Maha Vidyalaya, Matale Science College, Principal of Gantalawai M.V., Millawana M.V. Matale and Christ Church College, Matale.

Future leaders

In all these schools his services produced, administrators, diplomats, medical doctors, engineers, Principals, teachers and basically, good citizens, who rendered their services to Sri Lanka, to other parts of the world, basically where humanity was at the core.

They will felicitate him on his 90th birthday tomorrow (3) at Matale at Rock House with a launch of his writings, and a luncheon get-together. This essay is to mark this occasion and invite Mathmaluwe's past pupils.

His writings

Mathmaluwe is a scholar of repute, a writer, researcher and most sought after literary reviewer and critic of contemporary Sri Lanka. The two publications of his writings, which appeared before, were 'Selected Essays of Mr. Mathmaluwe' (2004) and 'The Buddha an the Emperor Aurelius' (2007). These books deserve a place in any worthy library. The essays are must reads, encompassing Mathmaluwe's encyclopaedic knowledge on literature, archeology, history, paintings, art, irrigation and social issues. On his birth anniversary, a new collection of his essays will be released, titled, 'Musings of Old Age On Books-Men-And Events.'

He was in the Editorial Board of the classic work on Matale, titled, Historic Matale - a treatise on the history of Matale, meritorious land, which produced many a hero in the past, who saved our land. M.B. Mathmaluwe would be a 'son of the soil', who enriched it, with his multi-fasceted contributions, in the field of education and writing, who sent forth his pupils to serve humanity, reminding the blessed words of the Buddha. Sir, as I end this tribute, to you, for moulding our talents, aptitudes and grooming us in delivering our best towards, humanity, I bless you with long long life amidst us, advising us when and where we go wrong.

Concluded