William Shakespeare should be the widest known English playwright to the local gallery. How could one man have been privileged with such fame for centuries? Scribes from all walks of life share one theory: Shakespearean themes are but universal. Running your eye on century-old writings is nevertheless no plain sailing. Only a few in the local intelligentsia got enough nerve to establish the Bard in the local scene. Tony Ranasinghe perches high in that dovecote.
Julius Caesar does not stand close to Hamlet or Othello or Macbeth. Its duration is relatively shorter and do not contain the natural Shakespearean features. But still it is one of the most referred creative works in socio-politic analyses. In his 167-page introduction, Tony spells out the Elizabethan era and Shakespeare to the Sinhala reader; an excellent as well as thoroughgoing effort for the sake of especially the Sinhala-only reader, probably a theatre enthusiast.
Tony was born in a period when both the Holy Bible and Complete Works of Shakespeare were made compulsory by the British rulers in Ceylon.
"When it comes to Shakespeare, I was quite an eager beaver in my schooldays. I used to read all his plays, if not, at least anything else written on him. Hamlet captivated me most." Septuagenarian Tony recalls his heydays.
There are times, even now, Tony sits back to enjoy his journey with the 16th century poet. Anything to come by.
"In fact I reduced the duration of the play. I thought it might not go for the Sinhala audience. Julius Caesar is a craftsman-like job, but it provokes cheers only from the serious theatre enthusiasts."
The play wraps up the story of conspiracy against Roman dictator Julius Caesar bringing in elements such as patriotism and honour. Ernest Schanzer in his 'Problem Plays of Shakespeare' attempts to justify why it is problematic:
"Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays. Commentators have been quite unable to agree on who is its principal character of whether is has one; on whether it is a tragedy and, if so, of what kind; on whether Shakespeare wants us to consider the assassination as damnable or praiseworthy; while of all the chief characters in the play contradictory interpretations have been given."
As Schanzer aptly suggests, Julius Caesar is a problem play, more than a tragedy, comedy or tragicomedy. It questions the age-old recipe of political thinking. When Brutus takes the lead role in the conspiracy against Caesar, the former genuinely feels it is for the benefit of the society though his behaviour is naturally put into question by the subsequent turn of events signaling signs of impending doom.
When Bandula Withanage produced 'Merchant of Venice' in Sinhala as Venisiye Velenda, it would have been no play at all had not Tony starred 'famous' Shylock. It should have been the most famous local work for its commonplace features such as subplots and comic characters. It proved its unmatched mettle when the gallery was not much interested in other Shakespeare productions such as 'Midsummer Night's Dream' by both Tony and Bandula.
"I really wanted to produce and play live roles. Unfortunately I grew up old, passing that stage before long."
The good old days of Tower Hall, recollects Tony, saw plays such as Othello, Macbeth and even Anthony & Cleopatra produced on the local stage. It offers fresh historical evidence on the way Shakespeare had been remodeled on the local stage.
Shakespeare had no academic credentials. What he read sharpened his style. He knew people from all pillars of the earth - it could have been a beggar, prostitute, lawyer, mayor or a professor - and he could get closer to them in writing. What he had used as contemporary in his times now seems quite old world. Tony apparently had challenges in translating a centuries-old inscription. Which mode should be ideal: idiomatic, conversational or classical?
"I don't think it is right to go into extremes. You should make use of all these modes. Then only you can achieve what you need."
"The script was not something like this when I first brought up Caesar on the stage. I made several changes in the translation before it went to press. I am very grateful to Prem Dissanayaka for publishing this. I will keep tabs on the sales and think of following up with publishing the rest of my translations of Othello, Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night."
Shakespeare remains too refined to translate for some scholars. How do you translate, for instance, Hamlet's famous quote: 'to be or not to be, that's the question'! Hamlet, Tony points out, is the most famous play which will go on steadily even though other plays might be extinct. "True, you cannot translate something so refined. But most of these plays are translated into Japanese, German and a host of other languages too. I am not sure whether it is an irony or not."
The best way, I think, is to perform the Shakespeare. They are written to be staged and performed rather than to be read in leisure. "But at the same time we should be careful not to go for adaptations. If you remodel him into a Kandyan set up, Shakespeare will be lost. We should always go for originals, especially because our Sinhala audience is not much familiar with the plot outlines." The 16th century poet gradually invaded the silver screen and then the small screen. But Tony is still in love with the stage.
"That is where you get the essence. You get a live feedback, then you are motivated to give life to the characters."
It's simply like painting for Tony. Everybody believed painting will be gone forever with the advent of photography. But painting evolved with more and more branches like impressionism and expressionism. Stage did, and continue to, refresh the audience. How could have Shakespeare stolen the show when there were other men like Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson and Thomas Kid too in the scene? William Shakespeare was a man who was smart to figure out the pulse of the commoner, because he was one himself. The surge of hardships in life, which were constantly at the ready, helped him sidestep his genius contemporaries.
When Tony translated the biography of Dilip Kumar, it was a sentimental experience to him.
"Dilip Kumar has an unsurpassed flair for acting. But as time passed by he was stuck to that, so people got a little bored of him. You know an actor should be updated and should never outshine the character he is given. For example you can never see Marlon Brando or Lawrence Olivier as a carter. Because they outshine the character."
This work is only a first step, Tony says, and someone should do a more brilliant translation. Shakespeare is quite old world, I may be repeating, but doesn't modern English use many of his expressions? Quite a paradox, or is it not?
Et tu, Brute? - Then fall, Caesar!
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/17/art01.asp
Wednesday
Evergreen entertainer no more
With Ruwini Jayawardana
If laughter was the best medicine Annasley Dias was a drugstore. The veteran and versatile comedian was not only recognized for his ability to make others laugh but also the fact that he himself was a cheery and bubbly character.
He was well known for his portrayal of the Hamu Mahaththaya in Vinoda Samaya, the renowned radio drama aired years ago. His talent soon took him to the stage as well as the mini screen, and he lost no time in carving a niche for his vitality and vivid acting skills.
Born to Muthukudu Arachchige Pedris Dias as the youngest in the family, he enjoyed a calm and collected even form in his younger days. He was past pupil of St Francis Government School, Dalugama, St. Paul's Waragoda College and St. Joseph College, Colombo where he followed his studies in the English medium. However he was not ignorant in the Sinhala language for he attended Peliyagoda Vidyalankara pirivena where he was taught the language properly, as it was compulsory to be competent in the language to enter Government service employment. Thus Venerable Walpola Rahula, Bambarande Siriseevali and Kotahene Pagngnakiththi Theras were some of those who guided and nurtured the mind of the young lad.
Closest companions
H D Wijedasa, Alfred Perera, Samuel Rodrigo and Berty Gunathilaka were some of his closest companions, all whom he met during his stint at the pirivena. That was when they turned to comedy plays. Iskolayak was their debut attempt of entertaining the public through comedy.
Following Wijedasa's post of relief announcer at Radio Ceylon the rest of Dias' clique entered Radio Ceylon too. The comedy play Vihilu Tahalu was banned as it focused on condemning the politicians of the time. Soon the group had to look elsewhere for a program to take its place. That was when Alfred confided with Annasley, Samuel and Berty to initiate another program. Hence came Vinoda Samaya during Thevis Guruge's period as head of Radio Ceylon. They were unofficially dubbed Raja Thun Kattuwa (triumvirate) as they were able to work wonders and the program soon shot to fame.
The likes of Eddie Jayamanna, Eddie Yapa and Joseph Seneviratna had been conducting comedy programs, but they were more West oriented. Annasley and co introduced local flavour to the comedy which turned a new leaf in the local comedy scene.
Annasley was employed as an English teacher at Gurukula Vidyalaya for a considerable period. He earned Rs100 before joining Moratuwa Municipal Council as a clerk. As a Grade I Translator at Colombo Municipal Council he engaged in all his part time activities in the entertainment field with care because it was prohibited then for government servants to generate income from outer sources.
One significant feature of Annasley is that he when everybody was rolling with laughter at his witty phrases, he himself was able to keep his composure without even a mere hint of a smile. Significantly there was no end to the amusing experiences which added spice to his own levity. During World War II, he had witnessed a British soldier taking the plunge from an aircraft. The village monk nursed him and saw him back to camp.
Being well read he could well analyze most of what happened around him. He possessed an immense knowledge in both local and foreign affairs. Although he was Catholic, he had a good knowledge in Buddhism too.
He published two works: Vinoda Samaye Hamu Mahattaya, based on his own life story and Vinoda Samaya. His humour did not flow into complicated issues. Rather he dealt with simple things and tit bits which made people see the lighter side of life. Popular actress Mercy Edirisinghe joined them later on in the scene. Portraying comedy in the early 1950s was no easy task especially due to the fact that there was no recorded transmission facilities. You have to transmit it live, which required rigorous rehearsals for an allowance of Rs.
According to Annasley, most of the today's humour programs contain obscene meanings. If not, they contain insulting remarks. His vision was to get across a message without hurting others. This feature is inborn for it is more of an instinct rather than something which can be practiced through learning. Furthermore his jokes were not limited for a specific age group. Both young and old were able to join in the merriment.
With the emergence of the Television, life took a different turn. The trio was well known on Rupavahini when they started the program Vinoda Samaya in 1982. Interestingly their humour always comprised a deep philosophy. This is mainly what set them apart form the rest.
Significantly none of the trio wanted to ascend the ladder by overtaking each other. They were the best of friends till the end and there was no competition among them. They were inseparable in their ventures, be it radio, stage, tv or stage.
Exceptional comedian
Though there were times when Annasley could not cope with his duties at work as he was requested to take part in concerts his superiors were quite understanding. They never gave him a hard time because at the end of the day he always made sure that he caught up on his responsibilities. His family, especially his wife Noeline, two sons, Rajendra and Janaka, daughters Jayamali, Nilina, Manori and Samanthi, too were very supportive towards his work.
The exceptional comedian recently bid adieu to the nation at the age of 81. The final rituals will take place at Roman Catholic Cemetery in Dalugama today. His remains are lying at his residence at No. 378, Old Kandy Road, Kelaniya.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/17/art02.asp
If laughter was the best medicine Annasley Dias was a drugstore. The veteran and versatile comedian was not only recognized for his ability to make others laugh but also the fact that he himself was a cheery and bubbly character.
He was well known for his portrayal of the Hamu Mahaththaya in Vinoda Samaya, the renowned radio drama aired years ago. His talent soon took him to the stage as well as the mini screen, and he lost no time in carving a niche for his vitality and vivid acting skills.
Born to Muthukudu Arachchige Pedris Dias as the youngest in the family, he enjoyed a calm and collected even form in his younger days. He was past pupil of St Francis Government School, Dalugama, St. Paul's Waragoda College and St. Joseph College, Colombo where he followed his studies in the English medium. However he was not ignorant in the Sinhala language for he attended Peliyagoda Vidyalankara pirivena where he was taught the language properly, as it was compulsory to be competent in the language to enter Government service employment. Thus Venerable Walpola Rahula, Bambarande Siriseevali and Kotahene Pagngnakiththi Theras were some of those who guided and nurtured the mind of the young lad.
Closest companions
H D Wijedasa, Alfred Perera, Samuel Rodrigo and Berty Gunathilaka were some of his closest companions, all whom he met during his stint at the pirivena. That was when they turned to comedy plays. Iskolayak was their debut attempt of entertaining the public through comedy.
Following Wijedasa's post of relief announcer at Radio Ceylon the rest of Dias' clique entered Radio Ceylon too. The comedy play Vihilu Tahalu was banned as it focused on condemning the politicians of the time. Soon the group had to look elsewhere for a program to take its place. That was when Alfred confided with Annasley, Samuel and Berty to initiate another program. Hence came Vinoda Samaya during Thevis Guruge's period as head of Radio Ceylon. They were unofficially dubbed Raja Thun Kattuwa (triumvirate) as they were able to work wonders and the program soon shot to fame.
The likes of Eddie Jayamanna, Eddie Yapa and Joseph Seneviratna had been conducting comedy programs, but they were more West oriented. Annasley and co introduced local flavour to the comedy which turned a new leaf in the local comedy scene.
Annasley was employed as an English teacher at Gurukula Vidyalaya for a considerable period. He earned Rs100 before joining Moratuwa Municipal Council as a clerk. As a Grade I Translator at Colombo Municipal Council he engaged in all his part time activities in the entertainment field with care because it was prohibited then for government servants to generate income from outer sources.
One significant feature of Annasley is that he when everybody was rolling with laughter at his witty phrases, he himself was able to keep his composure without even a mere hint of a smile. Significantly there was no end to the amusing experiences which added spice to his own levity. During World War II, he had witnessed a British soldier taking the plunge from an aircraft. The village monk nursed him and saw him back to camp.
Being well read he could well analyze most of what happened around him. He possessed an immense knowledge in both local and foreign affairs. Although he was Catholic, he had a good knowledge in Buddhism too.
He published two works: Vinoda Samaye Hamu Mahattaya, based on his own life story and Vinoda Samaya. His humour did not flow into complicated issues. Rather he dealt with simple things and tit bits which made people see the lighter side of life. Popular actress Mercy Edirisinghe joined them later on in the scene. Portraying comedy in the early 1950s was no easy task especially due to the fact that there was no recorded transmission facilities. You have to transmit it live, which required rigorous rehearsals for an allowance of Rs.
According to Annasley, most of the today's humour programs contain obscene meanings. If not, they contain insulting remarks. His vision was to get across a message without hurting others. This feature is inborn for it is more of an instinct rather than something which can be practiced through learning. Furthermore his jokes were not limited for a specific age group. Both young and old were able to join in the merriment.
With the emergence of the Television, life took a different turn. The trio was well known on Rupavahini when they started the program Vinoda Samaya in 1982. Interestingly their humour always comprised a deep philosophy. This is mainly what set them apart form the rest.
Significantly none of the trio wanted to ascend the ladder by overtaking each other. They were the best of friends till the end and there was no competition among them. They were inseparable in their ventures, be it radio, stage, tv or stage.
Exceptional comedian
Though there were times when Annasley could not cope with his duties at work as he was requested to take part in concerts his superiors were quite understanding. They never gave him a hard time because at the end of the day he always made sure that he caught up on his responsibilities. His family, especially his wife Noeline, two sons, Rajendra and Janaka, daughters Jayamali, Nilina, Manori and Samanthi, too were very supportive towards his work.
The exceptional comedian recently bid adieu to the nation at the age of 81. The final rituals will take place at Roman Catholic Cemetery in Dalugama today. His remains are lying at his residence at No. 378, Old Kandy Road, Kelaniya.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/17/art02.asp
Sunday
Intellectual discussion
Survival of the Buddhist philosophy totally depends on the association of wise. Why is the survival of the philosophy needed? The Buddhist philosophy has methods of relief for those unhappy in technologically advanced society.
We have got almost everything we need, and our strong need is to be happy. Intellectual discussion is one way to be happy. Intellectual discussion itself is a broad concept. An intellectual can live in any person, not only among university dons and other scholars. There are people who know only a little, but essential features, whereas we come across erudite scholars interpreting their knowledge in diverse ways.
An erudite scholar may attempt to interpret and publish another book. They hardly attempt to adopt what they have learned into their daily life. People with little, but essential knowledge, are most practical. They attempt to adopt the essential knowledge they have into the normal life. By hearting thousand stanzas will be useless, if you don’t apply them into practice.
Why intellectual discussion? It is basically required to keep on updating your existing knowledge base. This is helpful to tolerate the pains we come across.
For instance, we keep on listening to Dhamma Chakkapavattana Sutta, which describes the natural disasters we face in life. But when we encounter them personally, we become shocked. We have listened to the Sutta, but did not try to realise the contents. An intellectual discussion is required to work on how to adopt the theory into practice.
People in the Buddha’s period did not have the written form to discuss what they have heard. The absence of a written medium could make them remember what they have heard very clear. They all had a sharp memory. Ven. Ananda is the most common example of the memory strength. They could discuss the Dhamma they have heard.
This hardly happens today. We listen to endless sermons almost everyday. Dozens of books on Buddhism are being published regularly. We listen to and read the philosophy everyday, and we hardly have time to contemplate and review what we have heard and read. We do not discuss but add many things to our head. If we can discuss how to apply essential features of the philosophy in daily life, that will wipe out most of our sorrows.
However intellectual discussion does not help always. What we have discussed some time ago will go away from the memory, which is natural. We should keep on discussing.
Engrossed in Dhamma does not mean escaping from the day-to-day life. Dhamma reminds you the nature of life, when you face things like getting sick and decaying body.
How do we get association of wise? It may be hard to find anybody with a sharp knowledge of the essential features of Dhamma. The best thing, in a case like this, is to write down your inspirational ideas on Dhamma. When you read Dhamma Chakkapavattana Sutta, you slowly realise decaying body is something natural which happens to anybody and unavoidable. However in another occasion, you will be upset to see the decaying body, because the memory of Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta has faded off. You will have to be watchful of the mind in such instances. When some such thing occurs, you should go back to the Sutta, or the inspirational notes you have written down on the Sutta.
When nobody is around to have intellectual discussion, the best person is your self. Discuss with self. Keep on analysing what we have heard on Dhamma. There is nothing to be frustrated over in this life. Many people are ignorant and they are subject to do ignorant deeds. What the Buddha’s philosophy teaches us is to be indifferent considering the circumstances. And this is what we keep on forgetting, and what we should write down somewhere to be referred whenever it slips our memory.
We have got almost everything we need, and our strong need is to be happy. Intellectual discussion is one way to be happy. Intellectual discussion itself is a broad concept. An intellectual can live in any person, not only among university dons and other scholars. There are people who know only a little, but essential features, whereas we come across erudite scholars interpreting their knowledge in diverse ways.
An erudite scholar may attempt to interpret and publish another book. They hardly attempt to adopt what they have learned into their daily life. People with little, but essential knowledge, are most practical. They attempt to adopt the essential knowledge they have into the normal life. By hearting thousand stanzas will be useless, if you don’t apply them into practice.
Why intellectual discussion? It is basically required to keep on updating your existing knowledge base. This is helpful to tolerate the pains we come across.
For instance, we keep on listening to Dhamma Chakkapavattana Sutta, which describes the natural disasters we face in life. But when we encounter them personally, we become shocked. We have listened to the Sutta, but did not try to realise the contents. An intellectual discussion is required to work on how to adopt the theory into practice.
People in the Buddha’s period did not have the written form to discuss what they have heard. The absence of a written medium could make them remember what they have heard very clear. They all had a sharp memory. Ven. Ananda is the most common example of the memory strength. They could discuss the Dhamma they have heard.
This hardly happens today. We listen to endless sermons almost everyday. Dozens of books on Buddhism are being published regularly. We listen to and read the philosophy everyday, and we hardly have time to contemplate and review what we have heard and read. We do not discuss but add many things to our head. If we can discuss how to apply essential features of the philosophy in daily life, that will wipe out most of our sorrows.
However intellectual discussion does not help always. What we have discussed some time ago will go away from the memory, which is natural. We should keep on discussing.
Engrossed in Dhamma does not mean escaping from the day-to-day life. Dhamma reminds you the nature of life, when you face things like getting sick and decaying body.
How do we get association of wise? It may be hard to find anybody with a sharp knowledge of the essential features of Dhamma. The best thing, in a case like this, is to write down your inspirational ideas on Dhamma. When you read Dhamma Chakkapavattana Sutta, you slowly realise decaying body is something natural which happens to anybody and unavoidable. However in another occasion, you will be upset to see the decaying body, because the memory of Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta has faded off. You will have to be watchful of the mind in such instances. When some such thing occurs, you should go back to the Sutta, or the inspirational notes you have written down on the Sutta.
When nobody is around to have intellectual discussion, the best person is your self. Discuss with self. Keep on analysing what we have heard on Dhamma. There is nothing to be frustrated over in this life. Many people are ignorant and they are subject to do ignorant deeds. What the Buddha’s philosophy teaches us is to be indifferent considering the circumstances. And this is what we keep on forgetting, and what we should write down somewhere to be referred whenever it slips our memory.
The monk and the law
The recent turn of events led us to contemplate on the role of the monk in the law. Should the monk respect the country’s judiciary by standing up when the Judges approach? A sensitive and complicated issue that has no straight 'yes' or 'no'.
In Britain, the Archbishop has to rise when the head of state arrives. The British constitution rules that the Queen or the King remains highest in the country's echelon hierarchy. This is otherwise in Sri Lanka. Even in an award ceremony, whoever the layperson in the stage has to step down to offer the award to the monk. Monks do not rise for the Speaker in the Parliament.
Ever since the inception of Buddhism, the religion has been considered ultra-venerable in Sri Lanka. Heads of state always sought the advice of the monk. This position is given since the monk was considered aloof from the lay bonds.
The history has the common story of Emperor Ashoka and Ven. Samanera Nigrodha. Emperor Ashoka asked the Venerable monk to take an appropriate seat. The Venerable monk took the Emperor's seat. His justification was that he could not see any other suitable seat than that of the Emperor to impart Buddha's philosophy which is far higher than the whole empire.
Even today political high-ups like President himself hardly make an official visit to a fellow lay person. But he makes official visits to any temple and rises when a monk approaches.
In the case of Judiciary, the Judges are expected to treat both lay and monk equally. Even when monks do not rise for them, they cannot stick to ‘ultra-venerable’ theory. If the Judge has to rise in the temple for the monk, the monk's role in the Judiciary premises should be reconsidered. The Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter, Ven. Udugama Buddharakkhitha Thera, in this backdrop, has declared that monks should respect the law by which they set a model to the lay people.
On the other hand, Judges represent the Judiciary. So rising means respecting the Judiciary, not the Judges individually. Quite similar to the situation when Buddhists worship the individual monks out of reverence to the whole 'Sangha' community.
The President is to issue a directive that clergy should be reserved a separate enclosure in courts. However the issue on which is higher is yet to be solved. Whether it is Buddha's representatives considered as 'ultra venerable', or the Judiciary representatives in this Buddhist country.
It is ironical to see a monk being charged just for airing Pirith in a country where the official religion is Buddhism and Pirith is the normalcy. This is the root cause for the monk being forced to appear in the courts. We learn on grapevine that the petition against the monk was initiated by a Sinhalese, which is paradoxical in a way.
In Britain, the Archbishop has to rise when the head of state arrives. The British constitution rules that the Queen or the King remains highest in the country's echelon hierarchy. This is otherwise in Sri Lanka. Even in an award ceremony, whoever the layperson in the stage has to step down to offer the award to the monk. Monks do not rise for the Speaker in the Parliament.
Ever since the inception of Buddhism, the religion has been considered ultra-venerable in Sri Lanka. Heads of state always sought the advice of the monk. This position is given since the monk was considered aloof from the lay bonds.
The history has the common story of Emperor Ashoka and Ven. Samanera Nigrodha. Emperor Ashoka asked the Venerable monk to take an appropriate seat. The Venerable monk took the Emperor's seat. His justification was that he could not see any other suitable seat than that of the Emperor to impart Buddha's philosophy which is far higher than the whole empire.
Even today political high-ups like President himself hardly make an official visit to a fellow lay person. But he makes official visits to any temple and rises when a monk approaches.
In the case of Judiciary, the Judges are expected to treat both lay and monk equally. Even when monks do not rise for them, they cannot stick to ‘ultra-venerable’ theory. If the Judge has to rise in the temple for the monk, the monk's role in the Judiciary premises should be reconsidered. The Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter, Ven. Udugama Buddharakkhitha Thera, in this backdrop, has declared that monks should respect the law by which they set a model to the lay people.
On the other hand, Judges represent the Judiciary. So rising means respecting the Judiciary, not the Judges individually. Quite similar to the situation when Buddhists worship the individual monks out of reverence to the whole 'Sangha' community.
The President is to issue a directive that clergy should be reserved a separate enclosure in courts. However the issue on which is higher is yet to be solved. Whether it is Buddha's representatives considered as 'ultra venerable', or the Judiciary representatives in this Buddhist country.
It is ironical to see a monk being charged just for airing Pirith in a country where the official religion is Buddhism and Pirith is the normalcy. This is the root cause for the monk being forced to appear in the courts. We learn on grapevine that the petition against the monk was initiated by a Sinhalese, which is paradoxical in a way.
Starving shades outside the wall
When he was wandering along still a saint with no mission accomplished, King Bimbisara wanted him to make one promise: visit him first on the next visit to Rajagaha. The sage’s next visit took five long years of hardship. The Buddha kept the promise when he was in hometown after nine months of enlightenment; King Bimbisara, for that matter, was topmost even above his one-time family.
On the Buddha’s second day at Rajagaha, the king’s palace was experiencing great hue and cry from some apparitions. The apparitions were workers tasked with distributing alms to the Buddha and the retinue, eons ago. But they neglected their duty keeping some gifts for themselves. They suffered so long, for that reason, and became apparitions in Kassapa Buddha’s period. Kassapa Buddha asked them to wait for Gauthama Buddha’s time when King Bimbisara, their one-time relative, gathers merit for them by distributing alms to the Buddha. They waited so long, and had to create a scene when King Bimbisara failed to fulfill what they require.
The Buddha could see the plight in his divine eye and spelled it out to the king. The Buddha accepted the alms by the king and invoked blessings to the dead relatives reciting Tirokudda Sutta.
This contemplative recital is found in Khuddakapatha recitals in Khuddaka Nikaya (short recital section), which is modeled as an elementary textbook for the novice monks. Tirokudda Kanda, hungry shades outside the walls, is the seventh of nine short passages: 1. going for refuge, 2. the ten training rules, 3. the 32 parts, 4. the novice’s questions, 5. protection, 6. treasures, 8. The reserve fund, 9. The good will. The seventh passage elucidates the generosity expounding how gifts to the Sangha can be dedicated to the welfare of one's dead relatives.
Here goes the poetic translation into English by Ven. Thanissaro, an American Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition:
Outside the walls they stand,
and at crossroads.
At door posts they stand,
returning to their old homes.
But when a meal with plentiful food and drink is served,
no one remembers them:
Such is the Kamma of living beings.
Thus those who feel sympathy for their dead relatives
give timely donations of proper food and drink
— exquisite and clean —
thinking: "May this be for our relatives.
May our relatives be happy!"
And those who have gathered there,
the assembled shades of the relatives,
with appreciation give their blessing
for the plentiful food and drink:
"May our relatives live long
because of whom we have gained (this gift).
We have been honored,
and the donors are not without reward!"
For there (in their realm) there is
no farming,
no herding of cattle,
no commerce,
no trading with money.
They live on what is given here,
hungry shades
whose time here is done.
As water raining on a hill
flows down to the valley,
even so does what is given here
benefit the dead.
As rivers full of water
fill the ocean full,
even so does what is given here
benefit the dead.
"He gave to me, she acted on my behalf,
they were my relatives, companions, friends."
Offerings should be given for the dead
when one reflects thus
on things done in the past.
For no weeping,
no sorrowing
no other lamentation
benefits the dead
whose relatives persist in that way.
But when this offering is given, well-placed in the Sangha,
it works for their long-term benefit
and they profit immediately.
In this way the proper duty to relatives has been shown,
great honour has been done to the dead,
and monks have been given strength:
The merit you have acquired
Is not small.
On the Buddha’s second day at Rajagaha, the king’s palace was experiencing great hue and cry from some apparitions. The apparitions were workers tasked with distributing alms to the Buddha and the retinue, eons ago. But they neglected their duty keeping some gifts for themselves. They suffered so long, for that reason, and became apparitions in Kassapa Buddha’s period. Kassapa Buddha asked them to wait for Gauthama Buddha’s time when King Bimbisara, their one-time relative, gathers merit for them by distributing alms to the Buddha. They waited so long, and had to create a scene when King Bimbisara failed to fulfill what they require.
The Buddha could see the plight in his divine eye and spelled it out to the king. The Buddha accepted the alms by the king and invoked blessings to the dead relatives reciting Tirokudda Sutta.
This contemplative recital is found in Khuddakapatha recitals in Khuddaka Nikaya (short recital section), which is modeled as an elementary textbook for the novice monks. Tirokudda Kanda, hungry shades outside the walls, is the seventh of nine short passages: 1. going for refuge, 2. the ten training rules, 3. the 32 parts, 4. the novice’s questions, 5. protection, 6. treasures, 8. The reserve fund, 9. The good will. The seventh passage elucidates the generosity expounding how gifts to the Sangha can be dedicated to the welfare of one's dead relatives.
Here goes the poetic translation into English by Ven. Thanissaro, an American Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition:
Outside the walls they stand,
and at crossroads.
At door posts they stand,
returning to their old homes.
But when a meal with plentiful food and drink is served,
no one remembers them:
Such is the Kamma of living beings.
Thus those who feel sympathy for their dead relatives
give timely donations of proper food and drink
— exquisite and clean —
thinking: "May this be for our relatives.
May our relatives be happy!"
And those who have gathered there,
the assembled shades of the relatives,
with appreciation give their blessing
for the plentiful food and drink:
"May our relatives live long
because of whom we have gained (this gift).
We have been honored,
and the donors are not without reward!"
For there (in their realm) there is
no farming,
no herding of cattle,
no commerce,
no trading with money.
They live on what is given here,
hungry shades
whose time here is done.
As water raining on a hill
flows down to the valley,
even so does what is given here
benefit the dead.
As rivers full of water
fill the ocean full,
even so does what is given here
benefit the dead.
"He gave to me, she acted on my behalf,
they were my relatives, companions, friends."
Offerings should be given for the dead
when one reflects thus
on things done in the past.
For no weeping,
no sorrowing
no other lamentation
benefits the dead
whose relatives persist in that way.
But when this offering is given, well-placed in the Sangha,
it works for their long-term benefit
and they profit immediately.
In this way the proper duty to relatives has been shown,
great honour has been done to the dead,
and monks have been given strength:
The merit you have acquired
Is not small.
Schindler's List: tracing the roots
Elitist writers at Galle Literary Festival (GLF) have one ‘golden rule’: do not give interviews to no-homework journalists. Quite contrarily I could approach Thomas Keneally with the ‘no homework’ confession, because he was glad to welcome someone with a vacant mind - at last! The Sydney-born Nobel and Booker winner hence had an uninterrupted audience.
The sunset in Galle Fortress lifted Keneally’s spirits to head out with his much-talked ‘Schindler’s List’, which was earlier published as ‘Schindler’s Ark’.
“In 1980 I was in a luggage store waiting for my flight. Over a small talk, I found out that its owner is a Schindler survivor. I wasn’t familiar with this name, but Leopold Pfefferberg, the Schindler survivor, gave out some important information about him. I came to know that Oskar Schindler is famous for his Holocaust activities. I was established as a writer by then, and that made Pfefferberg have faith on me. Later we were on our way to Poland to unearth more materials.”
Most of his works are far more fiction. Except for ‘Schindler’s List’ (1982) and ‘Searching for Schindler’ (2007), he admitted. Oskar Schindler is alive with his real name in 1989, and the 2007’s work ploughs on with the Keneally-Pfefferberg journey in search of Schindler’s list. The novel on Oskar Schindler earned Steven Spielberg his first Oscar award for being the Best Director as well as the Man Booker Prize for Thomas Keneally.
Listless people ask Keneally what his fav is. For him Schindler’s has raked in fortune, but ‘Towards Asmara’, a novel on conflict of Eritrea, is one of his favs. Which didn’t perform well like Schindler’s.
“Enough of Schindler’s. Now tell me what do you think about famines?” I was stunned with this abrupt question. I did not need to answer his question on purpose and he took the hint.
“What I believe on famines that they are not natural or god made, but man made. They are political. Politicians need to create them, so they can get benefits from them.”
What an interpretation? And he goes on, “Well, we have exceptions like Tsunami in your country, which are, of course, natural disasters.”
“I have seen many famines myself including Ethiopian famine. You see, I was born with the World War – Australia was never invaded, thank God. But I know the pain of war. And how people suffer from famines. War and famines are both man-made ones to gain benefits.”
Then suddenly he changes the subject to families.
“I love studying families. I have seen families in Bengal, Ireland and Ethiopia in particular. I have written many novels on those families. I fancy seeing them as one entity.”
Family subject tempted Keneally to talk about his own.
“My father was a good storyteller, but he could easily get depressed. In my early childhood I wanted to be a priest, but soon I lost interest when I got disillusioned with the religious system. I took up studies of law, and that was when I started writing my first novelist. I was a schoolteacher and university lecturer for sometime until novel made my destiny.”
Love came to Keneally’s life when his mother was in sickbed. He felt love when he saw Judy who nursed his mother. Finally as in any other story, Thomas Keneally, a young novelist was marrying a beautiful young woman. Change was going to happen in his life.
“Literary festivals are essential for countries like Australia and Sri Lanka. Australia is a country located a little close to Sri Lanka. But Australia comes to know about Sri Lanka through festivals held in either London or New York. When Sri Lanka has a literary festival we can have direct contacts with you.”
Keneally has also acted in a handful of films. He had a small role in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (based on his novel) and played Father Marshall in the Fred Schepisi movie, The Devil's Playground (1976) (not to be confused with a similarly-titled documentary by Lucy Walker about the Amish rite of passage called rumspringa).
In 1983 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He is an Australian Living Treasure.
“I am a strong advocate of the Australian republic, meaning the severing of all ties with the British monarchy, and published a book on the subject Our Republic in 1993. Several of his Republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement.
Keneally is a keen supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league football club in the NRL.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/02/10/fea10.asp
The sunset in Galle Fortress lifted Keneally’s spirits to head out with his much-talked ‘Schindler’s List’, which was earlier published as ‘Schindler’s Ark’.
“In 1980 I was in a luggage store waiting for my flight. Over a small talk, I found out that its owner is a Schindler survivor. I wasn’t familiar with this name, but Leopold Pfefferberg, the Schindler survivor, gave out some important information about him. I came to know that Oskar Schindler is famous for his Holocaust activities. I was established as a writer by then, and that made Pfefferberg have faith on me. Later we were on our way to Poland to unearth more materials.”
Most of his works are far more fiction. Except for ‘Schindler’s List’ (1982) and ‘Searching for Schindler’ (2007), he admitted. Oskar Schindler is alive with his real name in 1989, and the 2007’s work ploughs on with the Keneally-Pfefferberg journey in search of Schindler’s list. The novel on Oskar Schindler earned Steven Spielberg his first Oscar award for being the Best Director as well as the Man Booker Prize for Thomas Keneally.
Listless people ask Keneally what his fav is. For him Schindler’s has raked in fortune, but ‘Towards Asmara’, a novel on conflict of Eritrea, is one of his favs. Which didn’t perform well like Schindler’s.
“Enough of Schindler’s. Now tell me what do you think about famines?” I was stunned with this abrupt question. I did not need to answer his question on purpose and he took the hint.
“What I believe on famines that they are not natural or god made, but man made. They are political. Politicians need to create them, so they can get benefits from them.”
What an interpretation? And he goes on, “Well, we have exceptions like Tsunami in your country, which are, of course, natural disasters.”
“I have seen many famines myself including Ethiopian famine. You see, I was born with the World War – Australia was never invaded, thank God. But I know the pain of war. And how people suffer from famines. War and famines are both man-made ones to gain benefits.”
Then suddenly he changes the subject to families.
“I love studying families. I have seen families in Bengal, Ireland and Ethiopia in particular. I have written many novels on those families. I fancy seeing them as one entity.”
Family subject tempted Keneally to talk about his own.
“My father was a good storyteller, but he could easily get depressed. In my early childhood I wanted to be a priest, but soon I lost interest when I got disillusioned with the religious system. I took up studies of law, and that was when I started writing my first novelist. I was a schoolteacher and university lecturer for sometime until novel made my destiny.”
Love came to Keneally’s life when his mother was in sickbed. He felt love when he saw Judy who nursed his mother. Finally as in any other story, Thomas Keneally, a young novelist was marrying a beautiful young woman. Change was going to happen in his life.
“Literary festivals are essential for countries like Australia and Sri Lanka. Australia is a country located a little close to Sri Lanka. But Australia comes to know about Sri Lanka through festivals held in either London or New York. When Sri Lanka has a literary festival we can have direct contacts with you.”
Keneally has also acted in a handful of films. He had a small role in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (based on his novel) and played Father Marshall in the Fred Schepisi movie, The Devil's Playground (1976) (not to be confused with a similarly-titled documentary by Lucy Walker about the Amish rite of passage called rumspringa).
In 1983 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He is an Australian Living Treasure.
“I am a strong advocate of the Australian republic, meaning the severing of all ties with the British monarchy, and published a book on the subject Our Republic in 1993. Several of his Republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement.
Keneally is a keen supporter of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league football club in the NRL.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/02/10/fea10.asp
Heads that ruled...
“Social upheavals have at least one advantage,” writes down E R Sarachchandra for an anthology of Sinhalese literature, “they provide rich material for literature.” The late professor seems exact in his analysis since post-independent politics is plump with upheavals offering a host of rich materials for literature.
To have the white lords driven away home was a mistaken prophesy back then. The whites of course said bye, but their spirits stayed on – at least in the country’s politics. What D S Senanayaka had enjoyed as the first premier under a dominion was not what Sirimavo Bandaranaika had in her third official term. What was Ceylon in 1948 became Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka towards 1972 and that explains the difference between dominion and republic; Lanka had the British monarch as its head of state and it became a republic with an self-governing constitution in 1972. Things geared high up towards the open of 1978 when President became important with more powers than the premier ever had. Before the1978 power-shift premier had been heading the government, hence was the highest local authority.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Dudley Senanayaka enjoyed three terms in office. Politics was windfalls for widow Bandaranaike, but she marked her position down history: being world’s first woman Prime Minister and the first ruler of republican Sri Lanka. With J R Jayawardene charter stirring up Sri Lankan history with open economy policy and full-powered executive presidency, the premiership was confined to a ceremonial rank. Exceptions were, nevertheless, unforeseen till 2002 when President and Prime Minister with the majority camp were from two different parties. Constitution had to be reworked and rethought.
Mrs. B was not the only one to sit back with windfall of her husband’s death. Dudley Senanayaka became premier following his father’s death, Wijayananda Dahanayaka following S W R D Bandaranaike’s and D B Wijetunga following Ranasinghe Premadasa’s.
Mirigama representative Don Stephen Senanayake knew his onions thanks to his experience in pre-Independent State Council. Senanayaka had a balanced diplomatic relations with Britain. He refused knighthood but maintained good relations with Britain. Dudley Senanayaka is well respected for his frank politics who stressed on nationalist economy. The landmark of Sir John Kotalawala – famously nicknamed as Bandung Donkey for his political faux pas in Indonesia – is his introduction of country to the United Nations. Despite his Oxford credentials Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike is ironically famous for nationalistic movements. His tenure is well remembered along the political corridors for his drastic changes and for being the first high-up political victim of daylight murder. His successor Wijeyananda Dahanayaka was not too lucky to remain in the office for long. Junius Richard Jayawardene moved to a presidency with executive powers before long. Ranasinghe Premadasa should be the very first one from a modest family to reach premiership, which was naturally followed by executive presidency. As in Dahanayaka’s becoming acting Prime Minister D B Wijetunga became acting president following the death of President Premadasa. He is well known for his simple attitudes as both premier and president. Ranil Wickramasinghe is the youngest cabinet minister who held the premier post twice: first following Wijetunga’s ascension into presidency and second going along election triumph. The second tenure was short-lived as the President Chandrika Kumaragunga dissolved the Parliament. Chandrika Kumaratunga’s victory was inevitable as she brought hope as the daughter of two Prime Ministers. As J R Jayawardena she did not want to be happy with premiership, and aimed at being the world’s fourth woman President, which was no hurdle in the least. Mahinda Rajapakse won a hard battle for premiership over a few other opponents. He was the unanimous choice of the party first for the opposition leadership, second for the premiership and later for the presidency. Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka is well known for his nationalistic attitudes along with anti-terror campaign.
Family links are commonplace in the premier lineage: the first trio and Bandaranaike trio. The turn of events seem all the same. Governor General Lord Soulbury had chosen Dudley Senanayake as his father’s successor over his cousin Sir John Kotalawela, who – quite a paradox – succeeded him as the third premier. Sirimavo Bandaranaike entered the scene following his husband’s death making the stage for their daughter to be in. Ranil Wickramasinghe entered the cabinet as the nephew of President J R Jayawardena.
To have the white lords driven away home was a mistaken prophesy back then. The whites of course said bye, but their spirits stayed on – at least in the country’s politics. What D S Senanayaka had enjoyed as the first premier under a dominion was not what Sirimavo Bandaranaika had in her third official term. What was Ceylon in 1948 became Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka towards 1972 and that explains the difference between dominion and republic; Lanka had the British monarch as its head of state and it became a republic with an self-governing constitution in 1972. Things geared high up towards the open of 1978 when President became important with more powers than the premier ever had. Before the1978 power-shift premier had been heading the government, hence was the highest local authority.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Dudley Senanayaka enjoyed three terms in office. Politics was windfalls for widow Bandaranaike, but she marked her position down history: being world’s first woman Prime Minister and the first ruler of republican Sri Lanka. With J R Jayawardene charter stirring up Sri Lankan history with open economy policy and full-powered executive presidency, the premiership was confined to a ceremonial rank. Exceptions were, nevertheless, unforeseen till 2002 when President and Prime Minister with the majority camp were from two different parties. Constitution had to be reworked and rethought.
Mrs. B was not the only one to sit back with windfall of her husband’s death. Dudley Senanayaka became premier following his father’s death, Wijayananda Dahanayaka following S W R D Bandaranaike’s and D B Wijetunga following Ranasinghe Premadasa’s.
Mirigama representative Don Stephen Senanayake knew his onions thanks to his experience in pre-Independent State Council. Senanayaka had a balanced diplomatic relations with Britain. He refused knighthood but maintained good relations with Britain. Dudley Senanayaka is well respected for his frank politics who stressed on nationalist economy. The landmark of Sir John Kotalawala – famously nicknamed as Bandung Donkey for his political faux pas in Indonesia – is his introduction of country to the United Nations. Despite his Oxford credentials Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike is ironically famous for nationalistic movements. His tenure is well remembered along the political corridors for his drastic changes and for being the first high-up political victim of daylight murder. His successor Wijeyananda Dahanayaka was not too lucky to remain in the office for long. Junius Richard Jayawardene moved to a presidency with executive powers before long. Ranasinghe Premadasa should be the very first one from a modest family to reach premiership, which was naturally followed by executive presidency. As in Dahanayaka’s becoming acting Prime Minister D B Wijetunga became acting president following the death of President Premadasa. He is well known for his simple attitudes as both premier and president. Ranil Wickramasinghe is the youngest cabinet minister who held the premier post twice: first following Wijetunga’s ascension into presidency and second going along election triumph. The second tenure was short-lived as the President Chandrika Kumaragunga dissolved the Parliament. Chandrika Kumaratunga’s victory was inevitable as she brought hope as the daughter of two Prime Ministers. As J R Jayawardena she did not want to be happy with premiership, and aimed at being the world’s fourth woman President, which was no hurdle in the least. Mahinda Rajapakse won a hard battle for premiership over a few other opponents. He was the unanimous choice of the party first for the opposition leadership, second for the premiership and later for the presidency. Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka is well known for his nationalistic attitudes along with anti-terror campaign.
Family links are commonplace in the premier lineage: the first trio and Bandaranaike trio. The turn of events seem all the same. Governor General Lord Soulbury had chosen Dudley Senanayake as his father’s successor over his cousin Sir John Kotalawela, who – quite a paradox – succeeded him as the third premier. Sirimavo Bandaranaike entered the scene following his husband’s death making the stage for their daughter to be in. Ranil Wickramasinghe entered the cabinet as the nephew of President J R Jayawardena.
English episode in Ceylon
“Political disturbances may arise out of small matters, but are not therefore about small matters.”
- Aristotle
Sri Lanka cannot speak high of a still and smooth sovereignty before the European intrusion in 1505; the isle had been fragile for takeovers by its giant-built immediate neighbour, India. However the European involvement was a turning point ushering into a new terrain of culture. The most remarkable chapter in European invasion is the English period, told with a surge of aesthetic complexity in politics and culture.
The English enjoy a well-reputed notoriety far more than their predecessors, Portuguese and Dutch. The English was never happy with their commercial empire set in the coastal area as predecessors, and soldiered on inwards. But it was no cakewalk on a country with geography, climate and warfare beyond the ken. The English landed in 1798 but could take up the whole kingdom only in 1815.
King Sri Wikrama Rajasinha’s rule was constantly scoffed at by his own chieftains. The king descended from a Tamil ancestry and had issues with his personality before the massive popularity the chiefs had. The king cashed in on his power to trample down the rise of chieftains. A complete English rule, however, was the last idea of the chieftains. They had the wishful thinking of enthroning a Sinhala king with the protectorate-type British contribution. The chieftains’ move – for some it is a betrayal – thus drew a halt to the Sinhala royal lineage with its last bastion Rajasinghe taken as a prisoner.
The English had the premeditated benefit of colony management practice which was obviously undersupplied in Sinhala rulers; this outweighed the brilliant military techniques and offensives the Sinhalese were equipped with. Forget about natural disadvantages, but the British could make the best use of chieftains’ negative opinions in outmaneuvering the Sinhalese military strategies. The 1815 achievement, so to say, was naturally in spades for the English. Captain Elmo Jayawardena offers a classic portrayal in his ‘The Last Kingdom of Sinhalay’:
“This was the land, thought the Englishman, of temples and prayer, of a religion that spoke of tolerance and harmony. People have lived here so long, thousands of years. Simple tenants in the land of their forefathers; civilized in culture and rich with tradition. That was before the New World opened and the white men came. All this will coon be finished. Men will rise with the cry of freedom and they will be ruthlessly crushed. When the guns become silent and the smoke clears, the land would have been destroyed beyond recognition. That was inevitable. It was the law of the empire, the way of the colonizer, to take what he wanted, regardless of cost and totally oblivious to the devastating consequences.”
With Ceylon being just one colony in the ‘infinite empire’, Britain enjoyed the supremacy of global power. They held the control of one-quarter of the world’s population by 1922; no wonder ‘the sun never set on the British Empire’. This was the best territory for the British to spread the influence of their political and cultural legacy.
The English, all the same, had many issues to handle with the Ceylon rule. Many English Kalinga Maghas naturally did not wish the preservation of Sinhala culture. However their attempts to crush down the Sinhala culture was never to become a reality. Apparently they had to shake hands on preserving the Sinhala culture in Kandyan convention, which had the backing of Kandyan chieftains as well.
While some rulers were harsh destroying the Sinhalese culture, some had other tactics. They built many Christian schools and made various high-up positions available for local Christian converts.
However the British rule was not up to the satisfaction of the locals. A passage in ‘The Revolt in the Temple’ sketches out the frustration:
“The Chiefs were disappointed and discontented. The Sangha was even more dissatisfied. The ascendancy of a Christian government in the Kandyan provinces constituted a distinct menace to Buddhism. The projected establishment of an English Seminary at Kandy for the Western education of the children of the Chiefs further inculcated the fear of proselytism. The politic patronage of a Christian government was hardly a satisfactory substitute for that of a Buddhist King, nor could the former take the intimate part in Buddhist rites, ceremonies and processions which the latter had naturally performed. It was with difficulty that the Sangha was induced to bring back to Kandy that most sacred symbol of Buddhism, the Tooth Relic. The Sangha was never fully reconciled to the new regime….”
1817 rebellion is the upshot of Sinhalese disappointment over the British governance. The British ruling was forewarned on a rebellion against them towards the close of 1816. One Duraisamy was gathering the support of masses for a rebellion that showed signs of success. Duraisamy’s claims to the throne had a royal weight as was exposed in a trial later on. The British carried out the massacre of the 19th century by wiping out the all able bodied Sinhalese men from the Kandy.
The English employed another shrewd technique of causing ethnic uproar. A Malay appointed as a Muhandiram, a high Sinhalese rank, raked in seeds of ethnic violence earning wrath on the British rule. The Muslim Hadji governed the Badulla area with his army who razed villages in numbers at their own will.
Sinhalese in the meantime had to worry about the Sacred Tooth Relic too; whether invaders lay hands on the sacred object or not. In nature the English had no reason to grab some locally-considered-sacred object, though ironically they seem to have trusted royal claim possibility with the possession of the Sacred Tooth Relic. As the rebellion marched on, Ven. Wariyapola Sri Sumangala shifted the Sacred Tooth Relic from its original place to Hanguranketha, a hard ground. Many rebellions were to follow up in areas such as Matale, Dumbara, Denuwara, Walapane and Hewaheta.
As mentioned elsewhere, the Sinhalese had the advantage of familiar climate and geography over the rivals. Sinhalese found it easy to gun down many soldiers in the British Forces. The British had to summon troops from India to curb the rebellion. The English gazette notification had offered a reward of 2000 Rix dollars to the head of each rebel: Wilbawe, Kiulegedara Mohottala, Butawe Rate Rala and other rebel leaders. The British, at last, could arrest most of the rebel chiefs. Properties of 18 rebel leaders were taken away. Pilimatalawe was exiled to Mauritius Islands.
Keppetipola and Madugalle were captured and beheaded before the Dalada Maligawa. The British introduced this move to humiliate the ‘traitors’, but it turned out a moment of pride for the patriot to give up life dedicated for a worthy cause in a well-revered place.
Although the English officially said bye to the country in 1948, their style and rhythm still haven’t gone out of fashion. The country remained a dominion: from 1948 to 1972 Ceylon had a British monarch as its head of state. Even the Bandaranaike revolution in 1956 could hardly rework the social strata. English is considered far more superior in Sri Lanka. Many English-speaking locals still sidestep the Sinhala-only crowd.
Aristotle plainly set the record straight with his statement; the English episode was fuelled by a conflict that seemed small but it spread far and wide with its own style, which is not a small matter.
- Aristotle
Sri Lanka cannot speak high of a still and smooth sovereignty before the European intrusion in 1505; the isle had been fragile for takeovers by its giant-built immediate neighbour, India. However the European involvement was a turning point ushering into a new terrain of culture. The most remarkable chapter in European invasion is the English period, told with a surge of aesthetic complexity in politics and culture.
The English enjoy a well-reputed notoriety far more than their predecessors, Portuguese and Dutch. The English was never happy with their commercial empire set in the coastal area as predecessors, and soldiered on inwards. But it was no cakewalk on a country with geography, climate and warfare beyond the ken. The English landed in 1798 but could take up the whole kingdom only in 1815.
King Sri Wikrama Rajasinha’s rule was constantly scoffed at by his own chieftains. The king descended from a Tamil ancestry and had issues with his personality before the massive popularity the chiefs had. The king cashed in on his power to trample down the rise of chieftains. A complete English rule, however, was the last idea of the chieftains. They had the wishful thinking of enthroning a Sinhala king with the protectorate-type British contribution. The chieftains’ move – for some it is a betrayal – thus drew a halt to the Sinhala royal lineage with its last bastion Rajasinghe taken as a prisoner.
The English had the premeditated benefit of colony management practice which was obviously undersupplied in Sinhala rulers; this outweighed the brilliant military techniques and offensives the Sinhalese were equipped with. Forget about natural disadvantages, but the British could make the best use of chieftains’ negative opinions in outmaneuvering the Sinhalese military strategies. The 1815 achievement, so to say, was naturally in spades for the English. Captain Elmo Jayawardena offers a classic portrayal in his ‘The Last Kingdom of Sinhalay’:
“This was the land, thought the Englishman, of temples and prayer, of a religion that spoke of tolerance and harmony. People have lived here so long, thousands of years. Simple tenants in the land of their forefathers; civilized in culture and rich with tradition. That was before the New World opened and the white men came. All this will coon be finished. Men will rise with the cry of freedom and they will be ruthlessly crushed. When the guns become silent and the smoke clears, the land would have been destroyed beyond recognition. That was inevitable. It was the law of the empire, the way of the colonizer, to take what he wanted, regardless of cost and totally oblivious to the devastating consequences.”
With Ceylon being just one colony in the ‘infinite empire’, Britain enjoyed the supremacy of global power. They held the control of one-quarter of the world’s population by 1922; no wonder ‘the sun never set on the British Empire’. This was the best territory for the British to spread the influence of their political and cultural legacy.
The English, all the same, had many issues to handle with the Ceylon rule. Many English Kalinga Maghas naturally did not wish the preservation of Sinhala culture. However their attempts to crush down the Sinhala culture was never to become a reality. Apparently they had to shake hands on preserving the Sinhala culture in Kandyan convention, which had the backing of Kandyan chieftains as well.
While some rulers were harsh destroying the Sinhalese culture, some had other tactics. They built many Christian schools and made various high-up positions available for local Christian converts.
However the British rule was not up to the satisfaction of the locals. A passage in ‘The Revolt in the Temple’ sketches out the frustration:
“The Chiefs were disappointed and discontented. The Sangha was even more dissatisfied. The ascendancy of a Christian government in the Kandyan provinces constituted a distinct menace to Buddhism. The projected establishment of an English Seminary at Kandy for the Western education of the children of the Chiefs further inculcated the fear of proselytism. The politic patronage of a Christian government was hardly a satisfactory substitute for that of a Buddhist King, nor could the former take the intimate part in Buddhist rites, ceremonies and processions which the latter had naturally performed. It was with difficulty that the Sangha was induced to bring back to Kandy that most sacred symbol of Buddhism, the Tooth Relic. The Sangha was never fully reconciled to the new regime….”
1817 rebellion is the upshot of Sinhalese disappointment over the British governance. The British ruling was forewarned on a rebellion against them towards the close of 1816. One Duraisamy was gathering the support of masses for a rebellion that showed signs of success. Duraisamy’s claims to the throne had a royal weight as was exposed in a trial later on. The British carried out the massacre of the 19th century by wiping out the all able bodied Sinhalese men from the Kandy.
The English employed another shrewd technique of causing ethnic uproar. A Malay appointed as a Muhandiram, a high Sinhalese rank, raked in seeds of ethnic violence earning wrath on the British rule. The Muslim Hadji governed the Badulla area with his army who razed villages in numbers at their own will.
Sinhalese in the meantime had to worry about the Sacred Tooth Relic too; whether invaders lay hands on the sacred object or not. In nature the English had no reason to grab some locally-considered-sacred object, though ironically they seem to have trusted royal claim possibility with the possession of the Sacred Tooth Relic. As the rebellion marched on, Ven. Wariyapola Sri Sumangala shifted the Sacred Tooth Relic from its original place to Hanguranketha, a hard ground. Many rebellions were to follow up in areas such as Matale, Dumbara, Denuwara, Walapane and Hewaheta.
As mentioned elsewhere, the Sinhalese had the advantage of familiar climate and geography over the rivals. Sinhalese found it easy to gun down many soldiers in the British Forces. The British had to summon troops from India to curb the rebellion. The English gazette notification had offered a reward of 2000 Rix dollars to the head of each rebel: Wilbawe, Kiulegedara Mohottala, Butawe Rate Rala and other rebel leaders. The British, at last, could arrest most of the rebel chiefs. Properties of 18 rebel leaders were taken away. Pilimatalawe was exiled to Mauritius Islands.
Keppetipola and Madugalle were captured and beheaded before the Dalada Maligawa. The British introduced this move to humiliate the ‘traitors’, but it turned out a moment of pride for the patriot to give up life dedicated for a worthy cause in a well-revered place.
Although the English officially said bye to the country in 1948, their style and rhythm still haven’t gone out of fashion. The country remained a dominion: from 1948 to 1972 Ceylon had a British monarch as its head of state. Even the Bandaranaike revolution in 1956 could hardly rework the social strata. English is considered far more superior in Sri Lanka. Many English-speaking locals still sidestep the Sinhala-only crowd.
Aristotle plainly set the record straight with his statement; the English episode was fuelled by a conflict that seemed small but it spread far and wide with its own style, which is not a small matter.
Hark the Koha's call!
Our elders say it’s time to celebrate the New Year, when the Koha cries out loud. Ornithologists tell us that it’s their breeding season to charm mates, which has nothing to do with any festivity. Twitchers have something to say too: Koha makes that sound mostly from March to August. Koha’s mating call, in Sri Lankan culture, beckons us to rejoice over the prosperity in April.
It’s not so hard to locate the Koha when you trawl the Google with keywords ‘Asian Koel’. Koel belongs to Cuckoo family; most of the cuckoos have migrated from Singapore to settle down here. The Asian Koel is quite welcome, because we like to hear its call to feel the Avurudu stepping in.
Towards March’s end we can see scarlet coloured Erabadu, erythrina indica blossom to lure the Koha to make his announcement. Who knows, possibly the songbird knows its voice has such a melodious tone to charm the would-be significant other. You may hear its sound, but still as ornithologists say, its sight might be thin on the ground. Because Koha is such a coy creature. It’s sometimes seen settled down in deserted areas with its partner. The countries of its residence are mostly India, South China, Australasia. The male koel sings to charm the female and the female sings at a stretch to stay away from other males. Once settled down, they need space to themselves, after all.
Koel has a bad name for its nestling habits. Ornithologists call the poor creature a brood parasite. Which means he never builds his own nest but lays eggs on others. Its hosts - the victims, of course - are always Jungle Crow and House Crow in Sri Lanka, because their eggs look quite similar on the surface. A koel egg is grayish green with red-brown flecks. The crow egg however has a brighter brown colour. The koel is born with that knack for making the maximum of the other bird’s charity. It has a very good sense of nests; it lays only one or two eggs in some nests and seven or eight in most. For the koel, doing away with the crow’s eggs is easy as pie. Koel’s eggs hatch much earlier than those of the crow’s. It’s a menace for the crow, but pity, it can’t help. Sometimes the crow will fly far away never to come back. So the koel has more free time to think big on other affairs. But, credit where credit is due, some koels are believed to build their own nests close to those of crows.
Nowadays it turns out to be a different kettle of fish. The number of koels has gone up, but their breeding is not much spotted because of the lack of crow nests. Crows on the other hand have a good reputation for their weather expertise. With this long remain of the dry weather, the crows sense a food shortage, hence they have to think better of nestling.
The folklore sees the koel as a weather bird too. Some twitchers believe rain and the koel’s call have a link. But then again ornithologists argue this call is purely for the sake of breeding season and nothing else.
Just like the crow, the koel can eat up anything it comes by. It can be an insect, egg or a fish, but adults are mostly frugivores, creatures fed on fruits. They in fact help trees produce more fruits chasing away other creatures.
The koel is called as ‘nightingale’ in India mainly because of its call sweet to ears. The male koel mostly seem as black as a crow, but it’s mixed with glossy blue. The female is more towards being brown. Underside of the both birds are striped white. Other birds of the family differ in complexion.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/03/27/fea30.pdf
It’s not so hard to locate the Koha when you trawl the Google with keywords ‘Asian Koel’. Koel belongs to Cuckoo family; most of the cuckoos have migrated from Singapore to settle down here. The Asian Koel is quite welcome, because we like to hear its call to feel the Avurudu stepping in.
Towards March’s end we can see scarlet coloured Erabadu, erythrina indica blossom to lure the Koha to make his announcement. Who knows, possibly the songbird knows its voice has such a melodious tone to charm the would-be significant other. You may hear its sound, but still as ornithologists say, its sight might be thin on the ground. Because Koha is such a coy creature. It’s sometimes seen settled down in deserted areas with its partner. The countries of its residence are mostly India, South China, Australasia. The male koel sings to charm the female and the female sings at a stretch to stay away from other males. Once settled down, they need space to themselves, after all.
Koel has a bad name for its nestling habits. Ornithologists call the poor creature a brood parasite. Which means he never builds his own nest but lays eggs on others. Its hosts - the victims, of course - are always Jungle Crow and House Crow in Sri Lanka, because their eggs look quite similar on the surface. A koel egg is grayish green with red-brown flecks. The crow egg however has a brighter brown colour. The koel is born with that knack for making the maximum of the other bird’s charity. It has a very good sense of nests; it lays only one or two eggs in some nests and seven or eight in most. For the koel, doing away with the crow’s eggs is easy as pie. Koel’s eggs hatch much earlier than those of the crow’s. It’s a menace for the crow, but pity, it can’t help. Sometimes the crow will fly far away never to come back. So the koel has more free time to think big on other affairs. But, credit where credit is due, some koels are believed to build their own nests close to those of crows.
Nowadays it turns out to be a different kettle of fish. The number of koels has gone up, but their breeding is not much spotted because of the lack of crow nests. Crows on the other hand have a good reputation for their weather expertise. With this long remain of the dry weather, the crows sense a food shortage, hence they have to think better of nestling.
The folklore sees the koel as a weather bird too. Some twitchers believe rain and the koel’s call have a link. But then again ornithologists argue this call is purely for the sake of breeding season and nothing else.
Just like the crow, the koel can eat up anything it comes by. It can be an insect, egg or a fish, but adults are mostly frugivores, creatures fed on fruits. They in fact help trees produce more fruits chasing away other creatures.
The koel is called as ‘nightingale’ in India mainly because of its call sweet to ears. The male koel mostly seem as black as a crow, but it’s mixed with glossy blue. The female is more towards being brown. Underside of the both birds are striped white. Other birds of the family differ in complexion.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/03/27/fea30.pdf
Creativity
“Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.”
Beatrix Potter
I think this quote explains the creativity best. Creativity is, in other words, originality – when you create something, it’s original. Creativity and education are poles apart. Helen Beatrix Potter is known as an English children’s writer, who was taught at home. Her quote, however, does not mean she is uneducated; only that she did not get a proper school education.
Then why education is a barrier for creativity? This is something hard to go into details. It’s easier when we start from the language and literature. Think of two categories: first category thinks creatively but doesn’t have a good command of written language (so to say, written language is what you inherit by education), and the second category is excelled in the written language but not creative enough. Who attracts more audience? In my opinion, it’s the first category.
William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe belong to these two categories respectively. The history of literature maintains that Marlowe is much more learned than Shakespeare. Shakespeare was just an actor who later turned out to be a writer almost by chance. Still, who got the plum audience? Marlowe isn’t even in the A/Ls English Literature syllabus, though every Tom, Dick and Harry knows who Shakespeare is - at least heard of him.
Way back in 1960s, Jacque Derrida, a French philosopher, popularised a particular term - Deconstruction. It’s so hard to locate a simple definition for this term. However deconstruction is simply rewriting a source – that can be history or some contemporary incident – creatively. Shakespeare used to take a source, which is raw in material, and rewrote it creatively. He was largely criticised for anachronism, but it was also a part of his creativity. He cut and chopped wherever necessary, and made it audience-friendly. If you say creativity is inborn, Shakespeare needs no further introduction.
Some opine Shakespeare plays were actually written – or rather rewritten - by Marlowe. It’s something you should see when you study their works; interesting . Anyway just leave both Marlowe and Shakespeare alone. Let’s talk about the latest Sinhala epic work – Jackson Anthony’s Aba. Anthony must have studied many sources too, but our official chronicle is Mahawamsa. If you read King Pandukabhaya’s chapter in Mahawamsa, you will realise the power of creativity. The two Yakshas are killed by the prince’s father to protect them. This is quite absurd in modern sense. So Anthony makes the royal command take the responsibility of their death. You need creativity to deconstruct the actual event. I don’t think this change has damaged the actual history. After all ‘Aba’ is a movie, which needs creativity in first place.
Now don’t get me wrong that education is not needed at all. It’s needed at all. But it’s needed only to sharpen your originality. If you have no creativity, however much you get education, you can’t get it.
They say poetry is best written in simple creative language. Say, you are so excelled in the language, and you use a heavy language as much as possible. What happens? You loose the audience.
I have mentioned that education and creativity are poles apart. But you come across exceptions too. Sarachchandra is the best example, who did the same thing Shakespeare did: rewriting a raw source creatively. On the other hand, G B Senanayaka did not have a proper education, and yet pioneered free verse in Sinhalese poetry. His poetry was full of creativity.
Martin Wickramainghe is a also a good example for the creativity sans proper education. I have heard one saying Mahesh Rathsara Maddumaarachchi, scripts love more passionately than Wickramasinghe. And now puritans will certainly chase me for breaking this news.
Need I write more on creativity, if only space permits!
Beatrix Potter
I think this quote explains the creativity best. Creativity is, in other words, originality – when you create something, it’s original. Creativity and education are poles apart. Helen Beatrix Potter is known as an English children’s writer, who was taught at home. Her quote, however, does not mean she is uneducated; only that she did not get a proper school education.
Then why education is a barrier for creativity? This is something hard to go into details. It’s easier when we start from the language and literature. Think of two categories: first category thinks creatively but doesn’t have a good command of written language (so to say, written language is what you inherit by education), and the second category is excelled in the written language but not creative enough. Who attracts more audience? In my opinion, it’s the first category.
William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe belong to these two categories respectively. The history of literature maintains that Marlowe is much more learned than Shakespeare. Shakespeare was just an actor who later turned out to be a writer almost by chance. Still, who got the plum audience? Marlowe isn’t even in the A/Ls English Literature syllabus, though every Tom, Dick and Harry knows who Shakespeare is - at least heard of him.
Way back in 1960s, Jacque Derrida, a French philosopher, popularised a particular term - Deconstruction. It’s so hard to locate a simple definition for this term. However deconstruction is simply rewriting a source – that can be history or some contemporary incident – creatively. Shakespeare used to take a source, which is raw in material, and rewrote it creatively. He was largely criticised for anachronism, but it was also a part of his creativity. He cut and chopped wherever necessary, and made it audience-friendly. If you say creativity is inborn, Shakespeare needs no further introduction.
Some opine Shakespeare plays were actually written – or rather rewritten - by Marlowe. It’s something you should see when you study their works; interesting . Anyway just leave both Marlowe and Shakespeare alone. Let’s talk about the latest Sinhala epic work – Jackson Anthony’s Aba. Anthony must have studied many sources too, but our official chronicle is Mahawamsa. If you read King Pandukabhaya’s chapter in Mahawamsa, you will realise the power of creativity. The two Yakshas are killed by the prince’s father to protect them. This is quite absurd in modern sense. So Anthony makes the royal command take the responsibility of their death. You need creativity to deconstruct the actual event. I don’t think this change has damaged the actual history. After all ‘Aba’ is a movie, which needs creativity in first place.
Now don’t get me wrong that education is not needed at all. It’s needed at all. But it’s needed only to sharpen your originality. If you have no creativity, however much you get education, you can’t get it.
They say poetry is best written in simple creative language. Say, you are so excelled in the language, and you use a heavy language as much as possible. What happens? You loose the audience.
I have mentioned that education and creativity are poles apart. But you come across exceptions too. Sarachchandra is the best example, who did the same thing Shakespeare did: rewriting a raw source creatively. On the other hand, G B Senanayaka did not have a proper education, and yet pioneered free verse in Sinhalese poetry. His poetry was full of creativity.
Martin Wickramainghe is a also a good example for the creativity sans proper education. I have heard one saying Mahesh Rathsara Maddumaarachchi, scripts love more passionately than Wickramasinghe. And now puritans will certainly chase me for breaking this news.
Need I write more on creativity, if only space permits!
Does reading make a perfect man?
One batch mate has dropped a short to-the-point mail asking me to confine the facts into one topic. With hats off to her request, I still got to have my say: I just can’t help treading on side alleys. One is connected to the other. Or near enough, anyway.
This time I am trying to edge my subject: reading with the Book Fair season. A fat subject area. I do not want to go into details why a book fair is important on encouraging reading. Sorry for putting it this way: these are nothing but empty talk for me. Especially when you have so many things to think of sideways.
Why read in the first place? Well they say reading makes a perfect man. A funny inbox mail reads: reading makes a man perfect. Nobody’s perfect. So why read?
Professor James Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes fiction is a well-read professor. But all his knowledge was powered to harm the living. Osama Bin Laden is also said to be a well-read scientist. What could he do with his exceptional brain? Reading makes you either a professional or a professor. And some professors are just ivory towers. Is it what we interpret as, or, mean by, ‘perfect’?
The intellectual Dr. E W Adikaram dropped reading towards the last stages of his life. The biography has details on how the philosopher had felt enough of reading and needed time to reflect his readings. This biographical episode cast a spell in my childhood thinking path, and elders got scared that I would drop reading too. You should not get the wrong end of the stick. The Adikaram theory does not prompt dropping reading, as it might be to a lazy reader. His matured decision has a meaning: you shall know what you will read.
Reading whatever falls on your hand is good for language development, but not for the perfection, I think. I bought Adolf Hitler’s biography in a previous book fair, but could not complete the voluminous book. First because of the boring language, and I felt like reading a biography of a notorious politician. You have hair-splitting answers against my stand here. There are political elements in the biography. You can get to know the making of a fixer. You can analyse modern politics with the contents. With many other reasons to justify reading the ‘great work’. May be good for political and social scientists, but not for a simple folk like I. I gain nothing by reading a voluminous biography of a notorious politician written in an archaic language.
So come to think about categories such as religion, literature and medicine. You will get ‘something’. Analysis of such reading may lead us towards a particular type of perfection. Religion brings you the feel of some sort of salvation. Literature makes you forget the real-life drama. Medicine will lengthen the beloved life. And there are many categories that might bring you to the brink of perfection. I have doubts on categories like ‘crime’. Just give this a thought. You are the Jury to choose a category between ‘religion’ and ‘crime’.
Today we live with heaps to read. Internet and Mobiles are worse. Some read papers on the mobile. Now that you have many things to read, even on the go, you got to learn how to read fast. They teach you that faster reading means faster learning. It’s like learning English in 8 days as guaranteed by ‘qualified English teachers’.
Don’t get me wrong in the bottom line. I do not want to spoil your reading habit. Just carry on. But be selective. I am going to stick to my words too this time keeping tabs on my bony wallet.
So happy reading to you all, and keep away from credit cards at the book fair!
This time I am trying to edge my subject: reading with the Book Fair season. A fat subject area. I do not want to go into details why a book fair is important on encouraging reading. Sorry for putting it this way: these are nothing but empty talk for me. Especially when you have so many things to think of sideways.
Why read in the first place? Well they say reading makes a perfect man. A funny inbox mail reads: reading makes a man perfect. Nobody’s perfect. So why read?
Professor James Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes fiction is a well-read professor. But all his knowledge was powered to harm the living. Osama Bin Laden is also said to be a well-read scientist. What could he do with his exceptional brain? Reading makes you either a professional or a professor. And some professors are just ivory towers. Is it what we interpret as, or, mean by, ‘perfect’?
The intellectual Dr. E W Adikaram dropped reading towards the last stages of his life. The biography has details on how the philosopher had felt enough of reading and needed time to reflect his readings. This biographical episode cast a spell in my childhood thinking path, and elders got scared that I would drop reading too. You should not get the wrong end of the stick. The Adikaram theory does not prompt dropping reading, as it might be to a lazy reader. His matured decision has a meaning: you shall know what you will read.
Reading whatever falls on your hand is good for language development, but not for the perfection, I think. I bought Adolf Hitler’s biography in a previous book fair, but could not complete the voluminous book. First because of the boring language, and I felt like reading a biography of a notorious politician. You have hair-splitting answers against my stand here. There are political elements in the biography. You can get to know the making of a fixer. You can analyse modern politics with the contents. With many other reasons to justify reading the ‘great work’. May be good for political and social scientists, but not for a simple folk like I. I gain nothing by reading a voluminous biography of a notorious politician written in an archaic language.
So come to think about categories such as religion, literature and medicine. You will get ‘something’. Analysis of such reading may lead us towards a particular type of perfection. Religion brings you the feel of some sort of salvation. Literature makes you forget the real-life drama. Medicine will lengthen the beloved life. And there are many categories that might bring you to the brink of perfection. I have doubts on categories like ‘crime’. Just give this a thought. You are the Jury to choose a category between ‘religion’ and ‘crime’.
Today we live with heaps to read. Internet and Mobiles are worse. Some read papers on the mobile. Now that you have many things to read, even on the go, you got to learn how to read fast. They teach you that faster reading means faster learning. It’s like learning English in 8 days as guaranteed by ‘qualified English teachers’.
Don’t get me wrong in the bottom line. I do not want to spoil your reading habit. Just carry on. But be selective. I am going to stick to my words too this time keeping tabs on my bony wallet.
So happy reading to you all, and keep away from credit cards at the book fair!
Richness of a culture
Perahera – known as Procession in English – has been fascinating many ever since its inception: Fa Hsien, Robert Knox and S W R D Bandaranaike to name a few.
Though little known for his collection of Sherlock Holmes style writing apart from his familiar field, much respected late premier Bandaranaike has dedicated the last story for Esala Perahera in the collection. The story narrates the proud feelings of the writer on seeing the richness of the culture embedded in the event. Sinhala being made an official language came as no surprise from such a politician though raised in a Western environment.
Perahera has more depth and meaning than procession; in fact the local term has already become the buzzword among foreigners. Perahera is not just a group moving along in an orderly manner, as its English rendering defines. It can well be compared with a board of Chess; every item carries significance with one or many reasons for taking part.
Whip crackers opening the Perahera is a kind of ‘declare open’ function. They announce the approach of the rest of the group. Traditionally only Adigars, the high officials in the king’s court, were allowed to employ whip crackers to announce their approach. This was not an essential item of the Perahera, which was introduced only during Disawe P B Nugawela’s period.
Whip crackers are followed by flag bearers showing the provinces and towns they belong to. Peramune Rala, the leading official, is the first to ride on an elephant. The official has the right to conduct Perahera, and keeps the records of the temple. The next elephant carrying Gajanayaka Nilame, chief officer in charge of elephants, looks regal and upright. Drummers engage seriously in their performance. This is to be followed by many dignitaries like Diyawadana Nilame, and the royal retinue in ancient sense.
The major feature of the Perahera is use of light. The heavy use of light can be a little debatable when it comes to energy crisis. However light symbolises wisdom in Buddhist philosophy, with numerous references. Moving into light from darkness means achieving wisdom ridding the ignorance in Buddhism. Many Buddhist events, especially Vesak, are celebrated with hugely lit lamps and pandals. Buddhism, on the other hand, is not a grim philosophy as many misinterpret; it spots light even in the spiritual life devoid of worldly bonds.
Why Perahera held between Esala and Nikini poya is also theoretically notable. Esala marks the first sermon of the Buddha and Nikini marks the first Dhamma convocation. Buddha started preaching only after Brahma’s invitation, because traditionally Buddhas never set the Dhamma wheel without invitation. The first Dhamma convocation was the need of the hour, as the philosophy was on the verge of shatters following the Buddha’s death, hence the convocation was held with the participation of 500 Arahath monks presided by Ven. Kasyapa. Both events symbolise the survival of the philosophy. Perahara aptly celebrates this theme.
The Perahera is rooted in Indo-Aryan tradition and was a ritual invoking the gods' blessings for rainfall during drought in the ancient. The belief on spiritual forces remained even when the British were occupying the land. When Perahera was banned in the first year of British rule, 1815, a severe drought is said to have followed crippling the country's agriculture. British had to give in for the stern protests of the locals, and lifted the ban and the heavy rains had followed. Superstitious it can be, but it shows the strong local faith on Perahera, let alone admiration. Invaders had a number of attempts to get hold of sacred relics in vain. Many scholars accredit it to the invaders’ need to wipe out the national heritage, while some view that the British shared the local belief of linking sacred relics with royal entitlement.
The Perahera has many origins, apart from its Indo-Aryan roots. As one writer mentions, 'it's lost in the mists of centuries'. Perahera has been continuing ever since taking different forms. Fa Hsien's descriptions on the Perahera, for example, do not have references on Dewale traditions.
The recent history records King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe as the first lay patron who added colour to the modern Perahera with Ven. Welivita Saranankara, the Chief Monk of the country. The royal opinion was that Perhera should have influence from Hindu rituals too, hence many Hindu temples were built alongside Dalada Maligawa.
However, the king had to rethink about his policy because of Siamese monks who wanted to establish Upasampadha ordination in Sri Lanka. They are reported to have been taken aback to observe Hindu elements in the function. The King had then ordered the Perahera to be headed with sacred relics. However in today’s context – as Sir Richard Aluwihare notes in The Kandy Esala Perahera - sacred tooth relic is not carried in the Perahera. Only a duplicate of the casket is carried because it is considered inauspicious to remove the relics from the sacred precincts.
The ceremony starts with cutting down either a jak or rukattana tree that gives out a milky sap. The intention of this procedure is to open the function with a sign of prosperity. Before cutting, the tree is anointed with a preparation of sandalwood and offerings of a lamp with seven wicks, nine betel leaves and nine types of flowers.
Elephant and tusker play a major role in not only Perahera but Buddhism too, unlike other animals. In the case of Perahera, Tusker is the only animal privileged with carrying the sacred tooth relic on the back during the Perahera. Elephant has many allusions in Buddhist references: he is compared with a being who bears all the shortcomings in the life. Campaign against tusker slaughter seeking tusks partly stems from the Buddhist traditional thinking. Dalada Maligawa has interesting and moving stories about tuskers who carried the sacred relics. Raja, stuffed in Maligawa museum, is a ‘living’ example.
Perahera may look as another colourful pageant to a general observer. The Kandy Esala Perahera, strictly speaking, is really not so; it implies a lot of nuances that have survived the ages – they deserve a great deal of patient observation.
Though little known for his collection of Sherlock Holmes style writing apart from his familiar field, much respected late premier Bandaranaike has dedicated the last story for Esala Perahera in the collection. The story narrates the proud feelings of the writer on seeing the richness of the culture embedded in the event. Sinhala being made an official language came as no surprise from such a politician though raised in a Western environment.
Perahera has more depth and meaning than procession; in fact the local term has already become the buzzword among foreigners. Perahera is not just a group moving along in an orderly manner, as its English rendering defines. It can well be compared with a board of Chess; every item carries significance with one or many reasons for taking part.
Whip crackers opening the Perahera is a kind of ‘declare open’ function. They announce the approach of the rest of the group. Traditionally only Adigars, the high officials in the king’s court, were allowed to employ whip crackers to announce their approach. This was not an essential item of the Perahera, which was introduced only during Disawe P B Nugawela’s period.
Whip crackers are followed by flag bearers showing the provinces and towns they belong to. Peramune Rala, the leading official, is the first to ride on an elephant. The official has the right to conduct Perahera, and keeps the records of the temple. The next elephant carrying Gajanayaka Nilame, chief officer in charge of elephants, looks regal and upright. Drummers engage seriously in their performance. This is to be followed by many dignitaries like Diyawadana Nilame, and the royal retinue in ancient sense.
The major feature of the Perahera is use of light. The heavy use of light can be a little debatable when it comes to energy crisis. However light symbolises wisdom in Buddhist philosophy, with numerous references. Moving into light from darkness means achieving wisdom ridding the ignorance in Buddhism. Many Buddhist events, especially Vesak, are celebrated with hugely lit lamps and pandals. Buddhism, on the other hand, is not a grim philosophy as many misinterpret; it spots light even in the spiritual life devoid of worldly bonds.
Why Perahera held between Esala and Nikini poya is also theoretically notable. Esala marks the first sermon of the Buddha and Nikini marks the first Dhamma convocation. Buddha started preaching only after Brahma’s invitation, because traditionally Buddhas never set the Dhamma wheel without invitation. The first Dhamma convocation was the need of the hour, as the philosophy was on the verge of shatters following the Buddha’s death, hence the convocation was held with the participation of 500 Arahath monks presided by Ven. Kasyapa. Both events symbolise the survival of the philosophy. Perahara aptly celebrates this theme.
The Perahera is rooted in Indo-Aryan tradition and was a ritual invoking the gods' blessings for rainfall during drought in the ancient. The belief on spiritual forces remained even when the British were occupying the land. When Perahera was banned in the first year of British rule, 1815, a severe drought is said to have followed crippling the country's agriculture. British had to give in for the stern protests of the locals, and lifted the ban and the heavy rains had followed. Superstitious it can be, but it shows the strong local faith on Perahera, let alone admiration. Invaders had a number of attempts to get hold of sacred relics in vain. Many scholars accredit it to the invaders’ need to wipe out the national heritage, while some view that the British shared the local belief of linking sacred relics with royal entitlement.
The Perahera has many origins, apart from its Indo-Aryan roots. As one writer mentions, 'it's lost in the mists of centuries'. Perahera has been continuing ever since taking different forms. Fa Hsien's descriptions on the Perahera, for example, do not have references on Dewale traditions.
The recent history records King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe as the first lay patron who added colour to the modern Perahera with Ven. Welivita Saranankara, the Chief Monk of the country. The royal opinion was that Perhera should have influence from Hindu rituals too, hence many Hindu temples were built alongside Dalada Maligawa.
However, the king had to rethink about his policy because of Siamese monks who wanted to establish Upasampadha ordination in Sri Lanka. They are reported to have been taken aback to observe Hindu elements in the function. The King had then ordered the Perahera to be headed with sacred relics. However in today’s context – as Sir Richard Aluwihare notes in The Kandy Esala Perahera - sacred tooth relic is not carried in the Perahera. Only a duplicate of the casket is carried because it is considered inauspicious to remove the relics from the sacred precincts.
The ceremony starts with cutting down either a jak or rukattana tree that gives out a milky sap. The intention of this procedure is to open the function with a sign of prosperity. Before cutting, the tree is anointed with a preparation of sandalwood and offerings of a lamp with seven wicks, nine betel leaves and nine types of flowers.
Elephant and tusker play a major role in not only Perahera but Buddhism too, unlike other animals. In the case of Perahera, Tusker is the only animal privileged with carrying the sacred tooth relic on the back during the Perahera. Elephant has many allusions in Buddhist references: he is compared with a being who bears all the shortcomings in the life. Campaign against tusker slaughter seeking tusks partly stems from the Buddhist traditional thinking. Dalada Maligawa has interesting and moving stories about tuskers who carried the sacred relics. Raja, stuffed in Maligawa museum, is a ‘living’ example.
Perahera may look as another colourful pageant to a general observer. The Kandy Esala Perahera, strictly speaking, is really not so; it implies a lot of nuances that have survived the ages – they deserve a great deal of patient observation.
In search of sanctity
Lihini was feeling worn-out when she trekked down the sacred mount. She could not just put up with the fatigue. In no time she lost her balance and fell down a rock cliff. Some believe this took place in Hatton route and others think it is Ratnapura route. Whatever the route pilgrims stop over at one particular place to bid adieu to Lihini and resume the journey.
Sripada is a pilgrimage that was hard when the modern transport was quite unheard of back then. Our ancestors used to declare the last wills and initiate the pilgrimage. This is Buddhists’ Mecca since they have a great faith on this mountain believed to be accommodating the Buddha’s footprint.
The pilgrims never climb the mount alone. They are always in groups which have a chief each. The group chief is normally handpicked from the elder generation. They always kept tabs on what came out of their lips. They entertained fears for divine forces that reigned over the territory.
Lieutenant Malcolm narrates an interesting story on beliefs of divine forces. During the British rule the monks in the vicinity of Sripada had a belief that no White could climb the mount without impediment. Malcolm wanted give the lie to this local Tutankhamun's Curse attitude. He started the journey at 11 at night. No rains stood in the way as they were warned. Lieutenant’s team stumbled upon many things including dilapidated army castles. It took four hours to climb one hill of the whole range. The climbers somehow reached the peak at eight the following morning.
They proved the monks wrong, and came the most celebrated event hot on the heels. They fired three gunshots to mark their victory. Still they did not seem to have any idea of islanders’ fame for sanctity and calmness. Malcolm was regretting that he could not bring the Union Jack to hoist in the territory. Such was the thought of invaders by then; Sripada was only a joyride, it was no spiritual voyage in the least.
This account is found in the Sinhala translation of William Skeen’s ‘Adam’s Peak – Legendary, Traditional and Historic Notices’. The original which was written in 1870s is now a rare find. Yasapala Wanasinghe has translated the work with his additional resourceful notes, may be because the White thought stream poles apart from ours.
Sripada journey, though infrastructure has improved quite a lot now, is still arduous and the baggage makes the journey heavier. However it is not so for the pilgrims. Even if they feel honest, they would not dare say that. They fear the wrath of deities and consider it as a verbal misgiving if any such thing comes out of your mouth. Whatever said and done night trek is the most enduring as well as enjoyable journey. Especially in season, you wouldn’t be alone. Back trekkers would keep your spirits lifted by ‘hosannas’.
A commonly known hosanna is Aggala kan don putha meaning ‘son you should eat Aggala’. Aggala is a victual with sweets and pepper mixed inside which stimulates the body into the chilly environment.
Tamils have grounds to identify Sri Pada as their Sivanoli Padam. They have dedicated a number of places to God Siva; they are mainly Trincomalee and Mannar. The Tamil work Thadchana Kaylasa Manuium describes the birth of Sivanoli Padam in chapter 6 and 7.
Three rivers spring from Siva’s footprint on the mount’s top. They are called Mahaveli, Menik and Kavari. Mahaveli river flows towards Trincomalee. Menik river is up to Kataragama, which is considered to be owned by Siva’s son Subramniyam Sami. Kavari river is up to Mannar. All these three rivers are considered holy by Tamil Hindus.
The Muslim reverence for the mountain fascinatingly stems from a Christian source. Ever since the times of Apostles, they had formed a number of different opinion groups. Those who followed Plato, the Greek philosopher, placed Adam as the first man in the earth and started paying homage to him. In one of the ancient sources they are believed to have had great faith in body relics too. This is the starting point of Muslim devotion towards Adam’s peak, though they were scoffed at by then.
This belief on a first man stole the show in Arab world. Arabs took in Prophet Muhammad as the first man on earth and started worshipping him. Muslims believe that Adam was lamenting on a mountain in India until he met Eva who was in a hill over Mecca. Koran brings up an incident about Adam’s fall, but never goes into details. The belief that Adam lived on what is Sripada for Buddhists got instilled on Arab minds only after their navigators came across the mountain.
How did Buddhist pilgrimage start off, naturally the question arises. According to Mahawamsa, the Buddha left his footprint on his third visit to Sri Lanka. Ancient literary sources reveal that a king from Kashmir had visited Sri Lanka in the first century AD to worship the Buddha’s footprint.
Deity Saman, whatever the belief that he holds authority over the mountain range, is a Buddhist disciple. Buddhism does not reject the idea of gods and deities - it turns down the concept of praying gods. So to say deity Saman is someone who has achieved Sotapanna, the first stage of Buddhist sainthood. An average Buddhist has a fair reason to worship deity Saman, for he is above the normal human, being a deity as well as a Buddhist saint.
Sripada is a pilgrimage that was hard when the modern transport was quite unheard of back then. Our ancestors used to declare the last wills and initiate the pilgrimage. This is Buddhists’ Mecca since they have a great faith on this mountain believed to be accommodating the Buddha’s footprint.
The pilgrims never climb the mount alone. They are always in groups which have a chief each. The group chief is normally handpicked from the elder generation. They always kept tabs on what came out of their lips. They entertained fears for divine forces that reigned over the territory.
Lieutenant Malcolm narrates an interesting story on beliefs of divine forces. During the British rule the monks in the vicinity of Sripada had a belief that no White could climb the mount without impediment. Malcolm wanted give the lie to this local Tutankhamun's Curse attitude. He started the journey at 11 at night. No rains stood in the way as they were warned. Lieutenant’s team stumbled upon many things including dilapidated army castles. It took four hours to climb one hill of the whole range. The climbers somehow reached the peak at eight the following morning.
They proved the monks wrong, and came the most celebrated event hot on the heels. They fired three gunshots to mark their victory. Still they did not seem to have any idea of islanders’ fame for sanctity and calmness. Malcolm was regretting that he could not bring the Union Jack to hoist in the territory. Such was the thought of invaders by then; Sripada was only a joyride, it was no spiritual voyage in the least.
This account is found in the Sinhala translation of William Skeen’s ‘Adam’s Peak – Legendary, Traditional and Historic Notices’. The original which was written in 1870s is now a rare find. Yasapala Wanasinghe has translated the work with his additional resourceful notes, may be because the White thought stream poles apart from ours.
Sripada journey, though infrastructure has improved quite a lot now, is still arduous and the baggage makes the journey heavier. However it is not so for the pilgrims. Even if they feel honest, they would not dare say that. They fear the wrath of deities and consider it as a verbal misgiving if any such thing comes out of your mouth. Whatever said and done night trek is the most enduring as well as enjoyable journey. Especially in season, you wouldn’t be alone. Back trekkers would keep your spirits lifted by ‘hosannas’.
A commonly known hosanna is Aggala kan don putha meaning ‘son you should eat Aggala’. Aggala is a victual with sweets and pepper mixed inside which stimulates the body into the chilly environment.
Tamils have grounds to identify Sri Pada as their Sivanoli Padam. They have dedicated a number of places to God Siva; they are mainly Trincomalee and Mannar. The Tamil work Thadchana Kaylasa Manuium describes the birth of Sivanoli Padam in chapter 6 and 7.
Three rivers spring from Siva’s footprint on the mount’s top. They are called Mahaveli, Menik and Kavari. Mahaveli river flows towards Trincomalee. Menik river is up to Kataragama, which is considered to be owned by Siva’s son Subramniyam Sami. Kavari river is up to Mannar. All these three rivers are considered holy by Tamil Hindus.
The Muslim reverence for the mountain fascinatingly stems from a Christian source. Ever since the times of Apostles, they had formed a number of different opinion groups. Those who followed Plato, the Greek philosopher, placed Adam as the first man in the earth and started paying homage to him. In one of the ancient sources they are believed to have had great faith in body relics too. This is the starting point of Muslim devotion towards Adam’s peak, though they were scoffed at by then.
This belief on a first man stole the show in Arab world. Arabs took in Prophet Muhammad as the first man on earth and started worshipping him. Muslims believe that Adam was lamenting on a mountain in India until he met Eva who was in a hill over Mecca. Koran brings up an incident about Adam’s fall, but never goes into details. The belief that Adam lived on what is Sripada for Buddhists got instilled on Arab minds only after their navigators came across the mountain.
How did Buddhist pilgrimage start off, naturally the question arises. According to Mahawamsa, the Buddha left his footprint on his third visit to Sri Lanka. Ancient literary sources reveal that a king from Kashmir had visited Sri Lanka in the first century AD to worship the Buddha’s footprint.
Deity Saman, whatever the belief that he holds authority over the mountain range, is a Buddhist disciple. Buddhism does not reject the idea of gods and deities - it turns down the concept of praying gods. So to say deity Saman is someone who has achieved Sotapanna, the first stage of Buddhist sainthood. An average Buddhist has a fair reason to worship deity Saman, for he is above the normal human, being a deity as well as a Buddhist saint.
On ‘Bringing Tony Home’
Of all the literary contributions by Tissa Abeysekara I think ‘Bringing Tony Home and other stories’ is the best – even surpassing his other works in English such as ‘In My Kingdom of the Sun and the Holy Peak’ and ‘Bringing Tony Home – a story in three movements’.
Those who haven’t read his two books with the titles bearing Tony’s name, will now have a question: what is the difference between ‘Bringing Tony Home and other stories’ and ‘Bringing Tony Home – a story in three movements’? The latter was a novella – on a dog called Tony - which won the Gratiaen whereas the former title, the last one, has three more stories added to the original novella on Tony.
Abeysekara uses inverted commas sparingly in the last one. That was to indicate his stream of consciousness. His sentence patterns have three lengths: very long, middle and short lengths.
He makes use of situation unlike his other English works to evoke his nostalgia. He has four stories with strong melancholic plots. The first story on Tony is an offshoot version of his previous novella. It’s about a dog who was abandoned by a family because of economic circumstances. The second story ‘Elsewhere: Something Like a Love Story’ is about ‘bittersweet’ memories of a ‘forbidden’ love between a young couple. ‘Poor Young Man: A Requiem’ has a young many trying to inject sense into his relationship with his father. The last of the collection is called ’Hark, The Moaning Pond: A Grandmother’s Tale’, where a much older man revisits the loss of his grandmother and experiences a profound revelation of her place in the history and mythology of her people. Count on me all these four stories are equally interesting, since each of them has a gripping story to tell you.
His language is not that simple and seems old world. It doesn’t have the modern Ken Follett touch, but is adorned with the olden day Charles Dickens style; the sentences of rich complexity evoking a plethora of meanings. More particularly he didn’t seem to be familiar with the common language used by many Sri Lankan writers in English. His language is alien in that sense.
He spoke high of bilinguals because he was one himself. Speaking of bilinguals, he was all over India’s R K Narayan. Abeysekara did not live in such close quarters to Narayan in language though they tended to use complicated sentences at times. Narayan was more a story teller while Abeysekara had the knack to touch his own heart without making the reading bored.
All the stories that come in the last book are his memories. He does not hide it; in fact he brings out his personal information like his full name too in some instances.
Those who haven’t read his two books with the titles bearing Tony’s name, will now have a question: what is the difference between ‘Bringing Tony Home and other stories’ and ‘Bringing Tony Home – a story in three movements’? The latter was a novella – on a dog called Tony - which won the Gratiaen whereas the former title, the last one, has three more stories added to the original novella on Tony.
Abeysekara uses inverted commas sparingly in the last one. That was to indicate his stream of consciousness. His sentence patterns have three lengths: very long, middle and short lengths.
He makes use of situation unlike his other English works to evoke his nostalgia. He has four stories with strong melancholic plots. The first story on Tony is an offshoot version of his previous novella. It’s about a dog who was abandoned by a family because of economic circumstances. The second story ‘Elsewhere: Something Like a Love Story’ is about ‘bittersweet’ memories of a ‘forbidden’ love between a young couple. ‘Poor Young Man: A Requiem’ has a young many trying to inject sense into his relationship with his father. The last of the collection is called ’Hark, The Moaning Pond: A Grandmother’s Tale’, where a much older man revisits the loss of his grandmother and experiences a profound revelation of her place in the history and mythology of her people. Count on me all these four stories are equally interesting, since each of them has a gripping story to tell you.
His language is not that simple and seems old world. It doesn’t have the modern Ken Follett touch, but is adorned with the olden day Charles Dickens style; the sentences of rich complexity evoking a plethora of meanings. More particularly he didn’t seem to be familiar with the common language used by many Sri Lankan writers in English. His language is alien in that sense.
He spoke high of bilinguals because he was one himself. Speaking of bilinguals, he was all over India’s R K Narayan. Abeysekara did not live in such close quarters to Narayan in language though they tended to use complicated sentences at times. Narayan was more a story teller while Abeysekara had the knack to touch his own heart without making the reading bored.
All the stories that come in the last book are his memories. He does not hide it; in fact he brings out his personal information like his full name too in some instances.
Hiripitiye Rala's dream
Hiripitiye Rala had a dream. A white-clad human approached him and uttered: Kotte kalale kisille, data medaganna rale. This onomatopoeic pattern sounds puzzling in Sinhala and weird when said in English: ‘Kotte’s rug in armpits, better brush your tooth officer’. Hiripitiye held the rank equivalent to today’s Diyavadana Nilame, the chief officer in charge of Dalada Maligawa, which was then in Kotte. He deciphered the cryptic statement: ‘affection for Kotte is gone to the trash bin, bring the Tooth to the centre, officer’ (officer, give up affection for Kotte and move the Tooth relics to Kandy).
Hiripitiye Rala left for Sabaragamuwa to see Ven Devanagala Rathanalankara Thera, Incumbent of Delgamu Vihara. This was when King Dharma Parakramabahu IX reigned the kingdom which was under Portuguese dominance. We still have this legend thanks to elder generation, likes of Tissa Abeysekara D P Wickramasinghe who have written it down.
But the threat – as the legend has it - was not yet over. The Portuguese were after the relics too for they shared the common belief of attributing royal symbol of authority to the sacred relics. They feared a rightful Sinhala Buddhist king in possession of the relics. Delgamu Incumbent had to make a strategic move. He made artificial replicas in ivory, replaced in its original place and gave the other to Vidiya Bandara. The genuine one, he kept to himself, well preserved inside a grinding stone, in Palabaddala until he met the rightful heir to the treasure.
Portuguese were taken in by the fake relics and sent it to Goa. They somehow got the wind of accurate news later on, though in part. They still relied on anti-Portuguese Vidiya Bandara, who they feared would become a king. Bandara was arrested in Jaffna on orders of Goa’s Archbishop who then destroyed the relics. Portuguese were yet to know the fate of genuine relics still preserved inside something they would never ever fathom.
Don John, who grew up with the Portuguese, ascended the throne by then. Delgamu Incumbent went all the way to see the new king with the relics. The king was happy too. He gave up Catholicism and became known as Wimaladharma. Two of his major tasks were to build a separate mansion for the relics and a temple for Delgamu Incumbant.
How did Wimaladharma – who was Don John - easily give up his faith and what made Delgamu Incumbent trust him? It is but an interesting saga about Wimaladharma’s ancestry.
King Sitavaka Rajasinghe killed Sundara Bandara lest the latter would take over the kingdom. For Bandara’s luck he had sired a son who was known as Konappu Bandara. Following the father’s death Bandara took up Roman Catholicism becoming Don John and lived along with the Portuguese, his motif being to avenge his father’s death.
However he was expelled to Goa for something he did offensive in Colombo. He won the favour of the Portuguese after a while, and was sent back to Colombo. For the throne there were disputes: Don Philip descending from King Karalliyadde who reigned before King Sitavaka Rajasinghe demanded more rights to the throne, though John proved himself to be more effective. The Portuguese finished off all affairs with a Dear John letter. John was any way not in very much good terms with the Ceylon’s first European invaders.
This only wreaked an unwanted havoc for the Portuguese. John rioted against the Portuguese and Philip, having mustered the support from Kandyan aristocrats.
Wimaladharma was never all over the Portuguese again and he did all his best to preserve the relics. His brother King Senerat, who succeeded him, had reverence for relics too. He took all steps to protect them from the Portuguese.
Hiripitiye Rala left for Sabaragamuwa to see Ven Devanagala Rathanalankara Thera, Incumbent of Delgamu Vihara. This was when King Dharma Parakramabahu IX reigned the kingdom which was under Portuguese dominance. We still have this legend thanks to elder generation, likes of Tissa Abeysekara D P Wickramasinghe who have written it down.
But the threat – as the legend has it - was not yet over. The Portuguese were after the relics too for they shared the common belief of attributing royal symbol of authority to the sacred relics. They feared a rightful Sinhala Buddhist king in possession of the relics. Delgamu Incumbent had to make a strategic move. He made artificial replicas in ivory, replaced in its original place and gave the other to Vidiya Bandara. The genuine one, he kept to himself, well preserved inside a grinding stone, in Palabaddala until he met the rightful heir to the treasure.
Portuguese were taken in by the fake relics and sent it to Goa. They somehow got the wind of accurate news later on, though in part. They still relied on anti-Portuguese Vidiya Bandara, who they feared would become a king. Bandara was arrested in Jaffna on orders of Goa’s Archbishop who then destroyed the relics. Portuguese were yet to know the fate of genuine relics still preserved inside something they would never ever fathom.
Don John, who grew up with the Portuguese, ascended the throne by then. Delgamu Incumbent went all the way to see the new king with the relics. The king was happy too. He gave up Catholicism and became known as Wimaladharma. Two of his major tasks were to build a separate mansion for the relics and a temple for Delgamu Incumbant.
How did Wimaladharma – who was Don John - easily give up his faith and what made Delgamu Incumbent trust him? It is but an interesting saga about Wimaladharma’s ancestry.
King Sitavaka Rajasinghe killed Sundara Bandara lest the latter would take over the kingdom. For Bandara’s luck he had sired a son who was known as Konappu Bandara. Following the father’s death Bandara took up Roman Catholicism becoming Don John and lived along with the Portuguese, his motif being to avenge his father’s death.
However he was expelled to Goa for something he did offensive in Colombo. He won the favour of the Portuguese after a while, and was sent back to Colombo. For the throne there were disputes: Don Philip descending from King Karalliyadde who reigned before King Sitavaka Rajasinghe demanded more rights to the throne, though John proved himself to be more effective. The Portuguese finished off all affairs with a Dear John letter. John was any way not in very much good terms with the Ceylon’s first European invaders.
This only wreaked an unwanted havoc for the Portuguese. John rioted against the Portuguese and Philip, having mustered the support from Kandyan aristocrats.
Wimaladharma was never all over the Portuguese again and he did all his best to preserve the relics. His brother King Senerat, who succeeded him, had reverence for relics too. He took all steps to protect them from the Portuguese.
Niluka
The Katina ceremony was held as usual in the temple that was one time stronghold for a certain political party. The donors gave a great help to make this a success. In fact one donor collected 45 parts of Rs. 1000, apart from her own addition of Rs. 7000 from the pension. When the series of Katina ceremonies was about to reach its end, that means the last great ceremony, the Katinanisansa Ceremony a certain woman was observed making friendly chats with the chief prelate of the temple.
Dark, with one part of a tooth left, as it goes to say, the woman seemingly boasted about her well-to-do family background to the Chief Prelate, who immediately made her the main organiser in an upcoming event to much dismay of original donors. The chief prelate is however not to be blamed according to sources, as he is not known to the cunning nature of the woman named Niluka.
Niluka’s nature came into light with the bag distributing ceremony. She was posted as the main sponsor leaving the original donors behind. It is now the talk of the town how Niluka became the main sponsor of the event. It still remains a mystery.
Dark, with one part of a tooth left, as it goes to say, the woman seemingly boasted about her well-to-do family background to the Chief Prelate, who immediately made her the main organiser in an upcoming event to much dismay of original donors. The chief prelate is however not to be blamed according to sources, as he is not known to the cunning nature of the woman named Niluka.
Niluka’s nature came into light with the bag distributing ceremony. She was posted as the main sponsor leaving the original donors behind. It is now the talk of the town how Niluka became the main sponsor of the event. It still remains a mystery.
Doctor, I have cancer!
Cancer sees no age when it takes over a victim, for Dr. Tiam’s youngest patient is about two years old and the oldest patient is 75. Dr Ang Peng Tiam earns reputation as one of the best cancer specialists in the Southeast Asian region. He currently serves as a Consultant Medical Oncologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore, where he was recently sharing his specialty with a foreign delegation.
This C word has the natural tendency to give people the creeps sometimes creating the worse misconception that it is a terminal disease. The disease can be cured or at least controlled, Dr. Tiam emphasizes, on two grounds: early but accurate detection and best but proper treatments. The patients in late stages should be given treatments that lengthen their lifespan assuring them a serene death.
“Confidence is ultra important. It is the bridge between the doctor and the patient. Most of the tumours can be wiped away, and we can make the patient’s life long. I always point that people have no reason get scared of this disease.”
Majority of Dr Tiam’s patients come from Malaysia and Indonesia, while he gets a good number of patients from Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar as well. He is well respected for his expertise in oncology, study of tumours, which is essential in cancer treatment. He frequents foreign seminars on cancer to freshen up his expertise.
Many come to him for his opinions both physically and over the phone.
“Consultations do not cost me anything, so I don’t charge people for consultations. But I cannot see everyone all the time, and I know some patients would not want to ask certain things, either because they are scared, embarrassed or just confused. So I wrote a book called ‘Doctor I have cancer. Can you Help me?’”
Patients like to hear things. Mostly positive, but that’s not always a possibility. But there should be words of comfort to lift their sunken spirits. The book that runs for 120 pages is consisted of 10 chapters with interesting stories of cancer survivors in Dr. Tiam’s life.
“All doctors understand the fears that our patients have. We do not and should not brush such fears aside.”
Dr Tiam has his own strategies of winning his patients’ confidence. He keeps a database of every patient. In case a patient does not believe that their doctor has seen enough of worse cases and fared well with them, Dr. Tiam has the records as examples.
Controlling cancer can sometimes sound costly. One of his patients wanted to stop medication because it was too expensive. The doctor had to accept the terms, and he did. Within a few months her left breast’s tumour made a comeback causing the lady to get back to medication however expensive it turned out to be.
When Dr Tiam started specializing oncology back in 1990s, there were only five experts in the whole Singapore.
“It’s a subject that keeps on changing. We have a good number of drugs with minimal side effects. Its exciting nature itself brings me satisfaction. First we study the natural history. Then comes the treatment methods, which is the deciding factor.”
Oncologist’s work role starts with the diagnosis that confirms positive cancer. They have to stage the disease to survey how far the disease has spread to decide on the treatment option. Some stages require radiation surgery which means the oncologist has to work hand in hand with the surgeon and radiotherapist. Dr Tiam has come across the three commonest kinds of cancer: breast, lung and gastrointestinal cancer.
His line of work may seem full of despair to somebody. “Being optimistic is an essential requirement for an oncologist,” says the doctor, “if you get frustrated over seeing some of your patients dying of cancer and in worse stages, then you are in the wrong position. I always enjoy looking after cancer patients, because I always believe on cure. And if I feel it’s really too much some day, I’ll quit this job for a teaching position or research.”
Dr Tiam came back to Singapore in 1991 completing his overseas training to found and head the Medical Oncology Deparment at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). He has the natural knack for research, although he hardly has time for any now. He was honoured for his medical contributions in 1996 which was to be followed by many of the genre.
Even at 50s, Dr Ang Peng Tiam looks very much younger with his face always smiling full of hope. Whoever sees him will be left with the memory that will keep on haunting: cancer – no worries about exceptions - can be cured, and we are not alone fighting against the ‘dreadful disease’.
This C word has the natural tendency to give people the creeps sometimes creating the worse misconception that it is a terminal disease. The disease can be cured or at least controlled, Dr. Tiam emphasizes, on two grounds: early but accurate detection and best but proper treatments. The patients in late stages should be given treatments that lengthen their lifespan assuring them a serene death.
“Confidence is ultra important. It is the bridge between the doctor and the patient. Most of the tumours can be wiped away, and we can make the patient’s life long. I always point that people have no reason get scared of this disease.”
Majority of Dr Tiam’s patients come from Malaysia and Indonesia, while he gets a good number of patients from Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar as well. He is well respected for his expertise in oncology, study of tumours, which is essential in cancer treatment. He frequents foreign seminars on cancer to freshen up his expertise.
Many come to him for his opinions both physically and over the phone.
“Consultations do not cost me anything, so I don’t charge people for consultations. But I cannot see everyone all the time, and I know some patients would not want to ask certain things, either because they are scared, embarrassed or just confused. So I wrote a book called ‘Doctor I have cancer. Can you Help me?’”
Patients like to hear things. Mostly positive, but that’s not always a possibility. But there should be words of comfort to lift their sunken spirits. The book that runs for 120 pages is consisted of 10 chapters with interesting stories of cancer survivors in Dr. Tiam’s life.
“All doctors understand the fears that our patients have. We do not and should not brush such fears aside.”
Dr Tiam has his own strategies of winning his patients’ confidence. He keeps a database of every patient. In case a patient does not believe that their doctor has seen enough of worse cases and fared well with them, Dr. Tiam has the records as examples.
Controlling cancer can sometimes sound costly. One of his patients wanted to stop medication because it was too expensive. The doctor had to accept the terms, and he did. Within a few months her left breast’s tumour made a comeback causing the lady to get back to medication however expensive it turned out to be.
When Dr Tiam started specializing oncology back in 1990s, there were only five experts in the whole Singapore.
“It’s a subject that keeps on changing. We have a good number of drugs with minimal side effects. Its exciting nature itself brings me satisfaction. First we study the natural history. Then comes the treatment methods, which is the deciding factor.”
Oncologist’s work role starts with the diagnosis that confirms positive cancer. They have to stage the disease to survey how far the disease has spread to decide on the treatment option. Some stages require radiation surgery which means the oncologist has to work hand in hand with the surgeon and radiotherapist. Dr Tiam has come across the three commonest kinds of cancer: breast, lung and gastrointestinal cancer.
His line of work may seem full of despair to somebody. “Being optimistic is an essential requirement for an oncologist,” says the doctor, “if you get frustrated over seeing some of your patients dying of cancer and in worse stages, then you are in the wrong position. I always enjoy looking after cancer patients, because I always believe on cure. And if I feel it’s really too much some day, I’ll quit this job for a teaching position or research.”
Dr Tiam came back to Singapore in 1991 completing his overseas training to found and head the Medical Oncology Deparment at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). He has the natural knack for research, although he hardly has time for any now. He was honoured for his medical contributions in 1996 which was to be followed by many of the genre.
Even at 50s, Dr Ang Peng Tiam looks very much younger with his face always smiling full of hope. Whoever sees him will be left with the memory that will keep on haunting: cancer – no worries about exceptions - can be cured, and we are not alone fighting against the ‘dreadful disease’.
Sri Lankan English?
Sri Lankan English set off a firestorm between an editor of an English national weekly and a literary panel at a previous Galle Literary Festival. The editor had side props from a Kelaniya English Honours student. GLF 2009 had the same environment, and I was looking forward to seeing the courageous duo once again, in vain.
GLF is ‘famous’ to have confined their forum mostly for foreign ‘elitist writers’. So did this local panel who wanted to sing hymns for Sri Lankan English fictionists over Sinhala writers. For them, Sri Lankan English writers have more depth and they reach a wider audience, than the Sinhala writers. Editor and undergraduate – I am proud of you - braved it claiming it was an elite snobbish faux pas<$> to pass such comments.
Now we are at the heart of the subject. Is Sri Lankan English fiction better than Sinhala? Do they have a wider audience? Just because they handle English, does that mean they are a privileged lot? Or whether they write with more in-depth? My faith – be it fair – is that it is not.
There is a reason. I observe three common negative features in Sri Lankan English:
1. Winding sentences with obscure words and less idioms, phrasal verbs and expressions.
2. Ubiquitous basic errors in spellings, punctuation and subject-verb order
3. Lack of proof reading and sentence reconstruction.
I do not need to generalize this, but still with these features, we have doubts about an international audience, let alone ‘in-depth’ nonsense. Even when it reaches international market, we have doubts about their quality. We should take the Sinhala fiction in this backdrop. Sri Lanka’s Sinhala fiction evolves – apparently – faster than its English fiction. For that matter, most of the Sinhala fiction are readable, with short sentences and good editing, hence is well polished and well positioned.
There is another fact above all. The Sinhala fiction has more in-depth outlook of the society it speaks of. Most of the Sinhala writers are village-born, and the language they use goes alongside. As for Sri Lankan English writers, most of them are settled beyond our shores, and does not have a very good view of the very society they were born in. If Sinhala writers could write their originals in English – not translated by others – the international market would have loved to accept them. But it does not happen. Most of the Sinhala master storytellers with an excellent command of their own society cannot handle English the way they handle Sinhala. And writers for whom English is cakewalk cannot claim for an excellent command of the society they speak of. This is the hybridization they speak up in literary circles. Ediriweera Sarachchandra was a bilingual and yet he could not get the effect he built up in Sinhala when he wrote in English. Ashley Halpe could not make the same effect in English when he translated Wickramasinghe’s works. Sri Lanka’s English writers, such as Sarachchandra and Halpe are very proficient in English, and all the same they do not live up to the same grade translating pathos and nuances of the culture into an alien language. Because Sinhala and English are two different languages. You can translate Shakespeare or Sarachchandra, and you don’t see the Englishman in Shakespeare and the traditional villager in Sarachchandra.
SLE writers are so fond of banking on obscure words, must be thinking it would show up their scholarship. The complexity or the beauty of the writing, for most of the Sri Lankan English writers, lies on words not on the sentence patterns. We can see this clearly when we compare SLE with non SLE (British and European suburbs) novels:
“The second group which consisted of ancient, secret remedies for all the ailments under the sun, he studied.” (from an SLE novel)
“She would be lively, he felt sure: she would wriggle and scratch. All the better.” (from a non SLE novel)
Non SLE writers work the language with simple words; their aesthetic complexity lies on the sentence patterns. Where most of the SLE writers use obscure words, non SLE writers use idioms and phrasal verbs. They are rich with many kinds of expressions.
The memory of the editor and the undergraduate now gladdens my heart. They called the kettle black cannoning into that GLF panel. The panel had to eat humble pie: Sinhala writers are far better than Sri Lankan English writers – not to worry about exceptions.
GLF is ‘famous’ to have confined their forum mostly for foreign ‘elitist writers’. So did this local panel who wanted to sing hymns for Sri Lankan English fictionists over Sinhala writers. For them, Sri Lankan English writers have more depth and they reach a wider audience, than the Sinhala writers. Editor and undergraduate – I am proud of you - braved it claiming it was an elite snobbish faux pas<$> to pass such comments.
Now we are at the heart of the subject. Is Sri Lankan English fiction better than Sinhala? Do they have a wider audience? Just because they handle English, does that mean they are a privileged lot? Or whether they write with more in-depth? My faith – be it fair – is that it is not.
There is a reason. I observe three common negative features in Sri Lankan English:
1. Winding sentences with obscure words and less idioms, phrasal verbs and expressions.
2. Ubiquitous basic errors in spellings, punctuation and subject-verb order
3. Lack of proof reading and sentence reconstruction.
I do not need to generalize this, but still with these features, we have doubts about an international audience, let alone ‘in-depth’ nonsense. Even when it reaches international market, we have doubts about their quality. We should take the Sinhala fiction in this backdrop. Sri Lanka’s Sinhala fiction evolves – apparently – faster than its English fiction. For that matter, most of the Sinhala fiction are readable, with short sentences and good editing, hence is well polished and well positioned.
There is another fact above all. The Sinhala fiction has more in-depth outlook of the society it speaks of. Most of the Sinhala writers are village-born, and the language they use goes alongside. As for Sri Lankan English writers, most of them are settled beyond our shores, and does not have a very good view of the very society they were born in. If Sinhala writers could write their originals in English – not translated by others – the international market would have loved to accept them. But it does not happen. Most of the Sinhala master storytellers with an excellent command of their own society cannot handle English the way they handle Sinhala. And writers for whom English is cakewalk cannot claim for an excellent command of the society they speak of. This is the hybridization they speak up in literary circles. Ediriweera Sarachchandra was a bilingual and yet he could not get the effect he built up in Sinhala when he wrote in English. Ashley Halpe could not make the same effect in English when he translated Wickramasinghe’s works. Sri Lanka’s English writers, such as Sarachchandra and Halpe are very proficient in English, and all the same they do not live up to the same grade translating pathos and nuances of the culture into an alien language. Because Sinhala and English are two different languages. You can translate Shakespeare or Sarachchandra, and you don’t see the Englishman in Shakespeare and the traditional villager in Sarachchandra.
SLE writers are so fond of banking on obscure words, must be thinking it would show up their scholarship. The complexity or the beauty of the writing, for most of the Sri Lankan English writers, lies on words not on the sentence patterns. We can see this clearly when we compare SLE with non SLE (British and European suburbs) novels:
“The second group which consisted of ancient, secret remedies for all the ailments under the sun, he studied.” (from an SLE novel)
“She would be lively, he felt sure: she would wriggle and scratch. All the better.” (from a non SLE novel)
Non SLE writers work the language with simple words; their aesthetic complexity lies on the sentence patterns. Where most of the SLE writers use obscure words, non SLE writers use idioms and phrasal verbs. They are rich with many kinds of expressions.
The memory of the editor and the undergraduate now gladdens my heart. They called the kettle black cannoning into that GLF panel. The panel had to eat humble pie: Sinhala writers are far better than Sri Lankan English writers – not to worry about exceptions.
Live without water!
“We have always thought big about water. With giant dams and canals, men move rivers, stop oceans, create massive lakes, make deserts green. Some of our feats of water engineering are great successes–such as the polders and dikes of the Netherlands or thousands of years of irrigation along the Nile. They save lives, reclaim land, and enrich whole populations. Some have been disasters, muddying waters that once ran clear, their benefits never outweighing their cost in destruction. Diane Raines Ward , Water Wars,”
- Author unknown.
In simple, water is an essential requirement for any living organism, including the human. Its abundance in some countries contrast with many countries where it is but quite a luxury.
Because of its vast impact on the society, it has become a social subject attracting political attention. Water politics is more known as hydropolitics coined by John Waterbury – the author must have really wanted to bury the part of his name! - with his book called ‘Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley’. The book deals with political conflict linked with the world’s longest river.
The abuse of water in many ways lead to social crises like global warming and desertification. Many countries exist largely dependent on water, and has the tendency to run into crisis if the water availability goes down. This is despite the fact that fresh water is the human right as well as the requirement.
The Middle East is well known to be affected by the dearth of water supplies, mainly because the primary rivers flow through international frontiers. Statistically the region, which is 5 percent of the world’s population, has only 1 percent of the world’s fresh water supply. They keep on reusing the water.
The areas that needs conservation of drinking water have adapted grey water for latrine purposes. This kind of water is mainly processed from dishwashers and washing machines. Many countries however do not necessarily conserve drinking or potable water. The majority of the world’s population drink polluted water, yet they survive dreaded diseases such as diarrhea.
The rivers had and continue to cause disputes among the nations. For instance the Ganges has caused a fight between India and Bangladesh, which was a part of the former sometime back. This was so even during the Buddha’s time.
Water privatization is another major conflict. This stems from poor quality, price increase and ethics of water consumption. Previous governments attempted to privatize water, but did not succeed because of mounting protests. It was the same in Bolivia when its privatization schemes were immensely fought against. Privatization Gurus opine that the process is the only answer to water related crisis such as diseases. But it does not seem to be so in countries such as Philippine where water was privatized with the consultation of World Bank. Prices have gone up, hence do not reach the poor inviting outbreaks of diseases.
The fast decline in water availability signals quite a trouble. This questions the stability of health and biodiversity essential elements of the globe. Although a UN report stated ‘there is enough water for everyone’ it would not be seem so in the future, with high level abuse of water.
Water used in the production is termed as virtual water, and it becomes virtuous in its religious uses. There are certain terms coined according to the religious rituals. Ablution is a ritual of washing in many major faiths such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Shinto and Judaism. Christian priests baptize with water and respect Holy Water, because ‘the earth was formed out of water and by water’ as the Bible rules. Fake Buddhist saints are known to have the ability to convert water into sacred water with threads.
In food science, salt and sugar affect the boiling and freezing points of water. A food scientist must understand the nature of water to determine the success of their products. Hardness of water has a dramatic effect in the quality of products such as beverages.
The world has a rich history of human awareness on water. Etruscans used the knowledge on hydrology and hydraulics in their water management systems. The ancient knowledge evolved into the present set up creating a legal background to this natural element.
The standard formula of human intake of water varies, because the kidneys is flexible for different levels of water. More water make the kidneys generate more urine. Medical recommendation for travelers in desert, where the water is a luxury, is to drink sparingly, decreasing the intake daily.
Any living being – we repeat - has the natural right and requirement of uninterrupted access for Water. However still most parts of the world deprive their living beings of this rights and requirement.
Good bye, Tissa Uncle!
Sad tidings of his death make us contemplate the legacy Dr Tissa Abeysekara has left behind. It is but a deep contemplation, for he was a genius – with a distilled halo: journalist, scripter, filmmaker, actor, presenter, novelist and above all a brilliant bilingual. In fact he is a rare species of all times let alone his own.
Even at his age – would have been a septuagenarian next month – when most of his contemporaries dined on ashes, his hands had still been full. He could still speak without blabbering. He could still write sharp and witty. When most of his contemporaries left our shores for a comfortable life, he stayed with us to share his thoughts.
Abeysekara had two turfs which he could tread on with much ease: cinema and literature. His literary life started with a teenhood short story for Dinamina and the filmic life started with a tea man’s job. It was a journey from the tea tray to the grandstand. He belongs to the camp of Martin Wickramasinghe who did not have university credentials. Yet Abeysekara was a gifted idol, who didn’t care a heck about doctorates.
Looking back at his life, he seems to have had that Midas touch in whatever the field he stepped in. When he joined Lester James Peries for the first time in 1964 it was almost a miracle. It was when Peries employed young Abeysekara as the dialogue writer and the first assistant director for Gamperaliya. He was later to see the movie clinch the Golden Peacock award for the best feature film. His scripting then followed up with Nidhanaya, a much precious reelwork now.
He had faith in aesthetic beauty more than spirituality. His powerful pathos in portraying the militant spiritual personage of Kudapola Hamuduruwo in Lester’s Puran Appu was natural. The role was relatively short-spanned but it won Abeysekara the Presidential award for the best supporting actor. The way he reacts to white man’s gunshot in the film still remains haunting in our hearts.
Abeysekara was very enthusiastic about the culture he grew up with. Anything you inquire, he could spell it out in his own inimitable eloquent accent. On culture and related areas, only a few other than Abeysekara will claim such a vast storage of knowledge.
Abeysekara had a strong bilingual backing from his family; paradoxically though his mother spoke only Sinhala. He handled both languages with equal mastery, which is rare in our generation. His vocabulary was vast at times, but he used the right idiom at the right place. His sentences were roaming on long routes at times, but they had rich meanings.
Language’s creative use was his concern, on top of everything else – even more than cinema. He spoke high of reworking the language towards his last days. He had much to say on narrative style. He reminisced his childhood days which influenced him with sound patterns.
“If I die and am born again as you say I will be, is that, which is reborn, the same me?” queried the man from the Buddha, and the Buddha replied, “Neither you, nor yet any other.
Likewise what follows in this book, being truth recreated through memory, is neither true, nor untrue. But then, does it matter?”
So starts his latest – did he ever fathom it would be his last? – book ‘Bringing Tony Home and other stories’ (published as part of a partnership between North Atlantic Books and Scala House Press; available at leading bookshops). We are happy we could give the first coverage on his book (see December 3, 2008 Daily News Artscope).
Thinking of you, Uncle Tissa – for I am very much younger than you, and you didn’t like to be called ‘Dr’ or ‘Sir’ either – I need to go back, stroke gently, those lines you have conceived in your ‘requiem’. I glance them on a mirror that reflects your thoughts clearer than ever:
“We need to sit down and have that long frank talk, just the two of us. You must tell me everything. I will listen. I have the time now.” (Poor Young Man, A Requiem: Bringing Tony Home)
Good bye charming wizard of our times, we know it must come to pass. But death should have spared you for a few more years – at least for that long frank talk. Death should have spared you!
Story behind Sinharaja
Sarath Kotagama, first professor of ornithology in Sri Lanka, is one living witness behind the Sinharaja as a World Heritage Site. He recalled his experiences as far back as 1970s.
“The Government appointed a committee to probe whether this rainforest was appropriate to be designated conservation. The committee concluded that the scientific evidence is inadequate to make Sinharaja conservation. We had to prove Sinharaja’s value scientifically. It was the starting point of many challenges ahead.”
The Government was willing to provide all the facilities. But Sinharaja turned out versatile for scientists of many disciplines. The research was on the top gear and scientists stumbled upon many a rare feature in Sinharaja.
“One such discovery is magnet diversity. It was in fact news to the world. Your compass does not show directions properly because of the magnet diversity. And we further discovered that the forest is the habitat for many endemic flora and fauna. Finally we ended up with more than enough evidence to influence the Government to go ahead.”
The team worked day and night for months. Many university students were on the job. In the end it did not become just another conservation site; 1978 saw it being designated as International Man and Bio-Sphere Reserve, and Sinharaja reached its pinnacle when it was declared as UNESCO World Heritage site in 1989. Sinharaja is surrounded by 22 villages, and the residents used to take whatever they want from the forest.
With World Heritage site declaration, their opportunity became illegal. A World Heritage site might go unattended, and sometimes gets damaged by the natural force - man. Villagers alone can harm the forest. Professor Kotagama and his team had to take up this challenge too.
“We employed many youngsters from the village for many conservation tasks. We made them feel the priceless value of this asset.”
Shortcomings, however, were incessant. The World Heritage Site became more of a picnic for the average tourist than something to be preserved. They didn’t know – or may be didn’t care - the damage they do to the nature by littering. Not only the villagers, then, the whole mass had to be made aware of the value of this asset; something you can’t achieve overnight.
“We prepared an action plan on how to make people aware. Seminars work out a very little. People mug up what lecturers say, leave, and nothing happens afterwards. So we thought about giving them hands on experience. We thought it’s practical to start with school-goers.”
A team of scientists pulled out all the stops – once and for all – for a period when Bull dozer and Timber Jack were a common sight to the villagers – because Sinharaja was just another plot of land for commercial logging back then.
The Sigiriya dispute
Sigiriya has so many disputes to offer. The foremost dispute is the purpose on which it is built. Scholars entertain diverse opinions on the purpose it is built. Some opine that King Kassapa built it as a military fortress to protect from his brother Mugalan. Some maintain it was a meditation monastery.
However as Dr Senarat Paranavithana categorically points out, artistic remains give the lie to the belief that the Sigiri was a military fortress. He explains that it was nothing but a resplendent fortress built for King Kassapa’s comforts.
“The palace on the summit of the rock, the gallery and the ornamental features on the hill-side, were of no use for purposes of defense, and it was not to protect himself from enemeies, as some modern writers aver, that Kasyapa built this unique residence and took up his abode there. As the Chulavansa categorically states, Sigiri was built as a replica of Alakamanda paradise on top of Mount Kailasa; and Kasyapa resided there as the embodiment of Kuvera on earth.” (Dr Paranavithana’s Sinhalayo)
He has been posthumously criticised for this view on Sigiri. Professors A Liyanagamage and Siri Gunasinghe provide a scholarly backing to Paranavithana’s concept. They maintain that evidence in Mahawamsa is not strong enough to convince the theory of Sigiri as a military fortress. As Gunasinghe mentions, Mugalan had been away in India for 18 years and posed no threat to him.
Nishantha Gunawardena a historian living in America exposes a Chinese record from 527 CE of a letter sent by Kassapa to the Chinese court which indicates that he kept good diplomatic contacts with outer world rather than being stuck down in a fortress. He also accepts the fact that the chronicles contain loopholes. He observes that the chapter 40 in the sequence of Kassapa’s legend is missing in Chulavamsa mysteriously. Some scholars believe that this chapter never existed.
Dr Paranavithana comes across another story in inscriptions about the two sons of Dhatusena, which maintains that Kassapa did not actually kill his father. The story explains how Kassapa fulfilled his father’s wishes by building a strong rock fortress. Prof Gunasinghe also supports the idea that Mahavamsa was wrong in labeling Kassapa as a patricide.
Scholars also entertain the theory that the frescoes have Ajantha influence. Prof Gunasinghe sees no convincing evidence to prove this theory, though he observes similarities between Ajantha and Sigiri frescoes. This theory sprang up because Ajantha frescoes were discovered and were already discussed when Sigiri frescoes came to the scene.
Scholars have different opinions about visitors and the scribes. Prof Paranavithana suggests most of them were just ordinary visitors whose writings portray the period they lived in. This period shows a high literacy rate in the then society.
Gunasinghe’s logic is that Kassapa should be understood to see Sigiri in a proper insights. Sigiriya is a work of genius, which is obviously human. Kassapa is not the man chronicles want us to think he is. Gunasinghe raises the point that Kassapa reigned the Anuradhapura kingdom while he had a passionate life at Sigiriya in his leisure.
Kassapa is introduced as a patricide in Mahawamsa. However Gunasinghe’s theory is that the Mahawamsa authors did it on purpose for two reasons: Kassapa’s mother is low-born and for that matter the Mahavihara clergy did not have a good attitude about him.
On the chronicle narration of Dhatusena’s torturing his own sister, Gunasinghe raises the question as to how a great ruler as disclosed in chronicles itself would have ever done any such thing. And the reasons the chronicles lay down are not material evidence for it says that Dhatusena did so because her son had whipped his wife, Dhatusena’s daughter.
The frescoes have sparked disputes too. Some take them as celestial maidens, while some take them as Kassapa’s concubines. Dr Paranavithana believes it is a result of court ladies and other terrestrial beauties of the time handing down the job of painting them to painters. Dr. Gunasinghe disputes this theory saying that the frescoes are mere human imaginations like Kalidasa’s Megha Duta
Hard times of a monarch
Even King Dutugemunu did not build Ruvaweliseya in one day. For he could not witness the glamour of the giant creation he initiated with unsurpassed piety. As the famous legend has it Prince Tissa had covered up the Ruvanveliseya for his dying brother king. It was sight for sore eyes, but King Dutugemunu’s mind’s eye was elsewhere.
The king maintained a book of merits where he recorded all his virtuous activities. It contained luxurious times when he initiated the Ruvanveliseya project as well as hard times when he braved the odds.
Dutugemunu was fleeing back from Chulanganiyapatti loosing the battle for his brother Tissa. He was journeying to Mahagama with two close associates: minister Tissa (not his brother) and mare Dighathunika. They were starving over the noon, and the minister offered food for Dutugemunu first. Dutugemunu placed food in a golden vessel. He needed to give the first portion to an Arhath. And he was determined to see an Arhath to share his portion with the Sangha order.
Arhath Thera Gothama sensed the king’s determination through his divine faculties. He approached the king to partake the meal. When the King put the first portion into Thera’s bowl, minister did not want to have his portion. Neither did the beast. They both gave up food. The Arhath shared the whole meal with the Sangha order in chunks. For a run-of-the-mill person this may look stupid. But the threesome were happy and felt fulfilled.
Dutugemunu did not let his virtue slip by even at hard times. His virtue is such. Read Mahawamsa’s chapter 25 to take a glimpse of the monarch’s inner beauty.
“When he [king] had bidden them farewell and had given them leave to depart he lay down again and thought: `Without the brotherhood you shall never take a meal,’ thus our mother and father have caused to swear us in our boyhood at the meal. Have I ever eaten anything whatsoever without giving to the brotherhood of bhikkhus?’ Then he saw that he had, all unthinkingly, eaten pepper in the pod, at the morning meal, leaving none for the brotherhood; and he thought: `For this I must do penance.’”
The Chulangani story wraps up the complex yet sensitive relationship of Dutugemunu-Tissa siblings. Soon after King Kavantissa’s death, Dutugemunu and Tissa were on the warpath for the throne. The war that took place at Chulanganiyapatti killed a good number of Dutugemunu’s troops. Dutugemunu had to flee to Mahagama where he mustered enough support for another battle which made things worse for his brother. However the brothers were reunited later on with Tissa becoming part and parcel of King Dutugemunu’s entourage.
Dutugemunu as a monarch actually deserves respect historically although some may not agree so. Some look down on Dutugemunu primarily for his brutal military activities against the Tamils. But his intention was to regain the invaded territories and unite the country. He identified Elara, his Tamil counterpart in North, as a virtuous ruler and made a tomb for everybody to pay homage.
Mahawamsa’s chapter 25 goes on to say:
“Should a man think on the hosts of human beings murdered for greed in countless myriads, and should he carefully keep in mind the evil (arising from that), and should he also very carefully keep in mind the mortality as being the murderer of all, then will he, in this way, shortly win freedom from suffering and a happy condition.”
We shall rediscover King Dutugemunu, the man behind Ruvanweliseya!
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