Remembering a forgotten Sinhala poet

The term 'Colombo Poets' is used by the conventional scholars in a derogatory manner. The group of poets, who flourished during the post-world war period spanning from 1940 to 1960s, is roughly recalled as the period of Colombo poets. These were the poets who had the function of carrying down the poetic legacy n a much broader and more popular sense, especially drawing one's attention common social activities.

These aspects of varying subjects covered areas of nationalism, faith, love, birth, death, poverty, injustice, nature and day to day struggles. Quite a number of poetry magazines appeared in the book market edited poets such as P B Alwis Perera (Dedunna), John Rajadasa (Meevadaya), Kapila Seneviratne (Suvanda), side by side grew poetry associations both the pioneer leadership given by Kolamba Kavi Samajaya or Atakasa.

Then there were extempore poetry sessions widely known as 'hitivana kavi madu'. Some of the poets were so skilled that the four lined verses (sivpada) used to over pour from them to the point that the onlookers were mesmerised. This was indeed a skill which waned off due to several evolutionary reasons.

At this juncture, the poetry was classed into several categories. Some Sinhala poets remained steady and skilful creators with their eye on social realities observed from sensitive vividity. Among the host of such Sinhala poets, two names come to my mind. They are Wimalaratne Kumaragama and Upananda Batugedara. Much has been written about the poet and the creations as regards the former. But the latter remains amid scholars as a forgotten individual, who ought to be rediscovered.

Luckily the other day I happened to meet the daughter of the poet Batugedara, whose name is Visuddhi. She showed an interest in helping to rediscover the skills of her father. As such she asked me a question:

"Isn't it good to rediscover or at least recall my father's skills?"

I had read some of the poetic works of Upananda Batugedara (1918 - 1980), through the good links that existed via the well known senior journalist Gunadasa Liyanage. I was positive about his contributions. Upananda Batugedara, as I knew, was a silent type of person who was in the first instance a bilingual scholar. He had read both English and classical Sinhala poetry and was influenced from both streams.

Batugedara hailed from Handapangoda where scholars abound and obtained primary education from Seevali Vidyalaya in Rantapura under erudite teachers. He was influenced by his father B L Bodhipala, who was one of the leading dramatists in the line of dramatists like John de Silva and Charles Dias. Although unrecorded, but faintly recollected in a flimsy volume of poems dedicated to his late father titled as 'Kandula' published in 1940, this shows traces of literary influence he had.

Batugedara's father was undoubtedly a well known scholar who had the ability to visualize the skills in his son. Batugedara, unlike his father Bodhipala, was solely dedicated to poetic creations where he excelled. His poems came to appear regularly in the poetry pages of Sinhala newspaper and periodicals. He was a regular contributor to Silumina. But he little realized the value of collecting them into a single anthology.

His most discussed poetic work is titled as 'Valakula' which appeared in 1945. On reading the verse, one may see the traces of English romantic tradition Shelley and Wordsworth. Batugedara fuses the aroma of taste gathered from the folk poetic traditions and classical poems of Sinhala literary traditions. This is clearly seen in his third poetic work titled as 'Abisarikava' appeared in 1946.

I feel Batugedara had not been too keen to compile his shorter verses, but experimented on the aspects of ballads, which may have been the storytelling technique via poetic skills. This may have been a starting point. The strangest part of Batugedara is that having left education at Ananda College, Colombo, and Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte, he had joined the Public Works Department or more known as PWD as a Works Supervisor. But it is said that more than his knowledge in mechanics and road works, he had been engrossed with poetic contributions. This then is the blend of science and arts at work.

This awareness is exhibited in most of his poetic works, a neglected part in a poet's life.

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