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.
Sunday
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!
Arhath Sariputta
The Yaksha was anxiously waiting for that moment. The monk was serene and deep in his contemplation, his shaven head invitingly glistening. But the Yaksha's mates pleaded with him not to strike the monk's head fearing the bad consequences. The monk's companion's warning fell on a deaf ear. The monk still firm in meditation. The Yaksha could fulfill his desire by striking the monk's head, which could have killed an average person on the spot. For Arhath Sariputta, however, this came like a little poke on his head.
Arhath Sariputta is a famous name in Buddhist literature among a few others: Moggallana, his colleague and Ananda, the Buddha's chief assistant. Sariputta's story starts in a village of Brahmins, being born to Sari in Upatissa village. The Brahmin priests named him after his hometown, Upatissa.
Upatissa had a lifelong companion called Kolitha. Their friendship - it is recorded in both Mahayana and Theravada - had been throughout Sansara until they achieved deathlessness in their last birth. Kolitha, who later became Mugalan, has a different story, though we apparently mention him oftentimes with Sariputta.
Every Buddhist knows that these two young chaps went to see a pageant, which ultimately caused them a depression. Like any other their next quest was for a teacher. Their teacher Sanjaya interestingly turned out to be one of the six so-called contemporaries of the Buddha including Nigantha Nataputta of Jainism.
Sanjaya Belatthiputta - Sanjaya of the Bellattha clan - is famously known for his 'eel wriggler's theory' (Amaravikkhepavadi). Although many Jain philosophers do not like to accept, some opine that Sanjaya studied and was largely influenced by Jainism. However his teachings mostly do not specify any ideals, like Jainism. The following extract from Nyanaponika Thera's 'Great Disciples of the Buddha' (don't get the misconception that the learned priest considered Sanjaya as a great disciple of the Buddha) offers insights to Sanjaya's philosophy.
"If you ask me if there exists another world (after death), if I thought that there exists another world, would I declare that to you? I don't think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise. I don't think not. I don't think not not. If you asked me if there isn't another world... both is and isn't... neither is nor isn't... if there are beings who transmigrate... if there aren't both are and aren't... neither are nor aren't... if the Tathagatha exists after death... doesn't both... neither exists nor exists after death, would I declare that to you? I don't think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise."
However Sanjaya had a great personality to release his students Upatissa and Kolitha in their quest for another teacher when they became disappointed at him. When they returned having discovered the Buddha's teachings, nevertheless Sanjaya did not like to join them on grounds he thought justifiable. Being a teacher of a large retinue, Sanjaya told his ex-students, he cannot just abandon them for the sake of another philosophy, however rich it may seem. Sanjaya was wise to say "Majority are fools, I belong to and cannot get rid of. You may join the clan of few wise men." When Upatissa and Kolitha became Sariputta and Moggallana, most of Sanjaya's students abandoned him. It was too late when Sanjaya realized his mistake.
Of the pair, it was Sariputta who was first fortunate to find the way of purification. He spotted Arhath Assaji, a monk quite collected in his composure. Nothing could have ruffle him; no, not in the least. His calm composure beckoned inquiring Upatissa to wait up. At length, only after making sure the monk's mood is not disturbed, Upatissa approached the Arhath. And then started a new tradition.
I reproduce an extract from Nyanaponika Thera's 'Life of Sariputta' here:
"...the Elder Assaji uttered this stanza:
"Of all those things that from a cause arise,
Tathagata the cause thereof has told;
And how they cease to be, that too he tells,
This is the doctrine of the Great Recluse."
Upon hearing the first two lines, Upatissa became established in the Path of stream-entry, and to the ending of the last two lines he already listened as a stream-winner."
When both Sariputta and Moggallana were appointed chief disciples of the Buddha, apparently the question of seniority arose. There were many who were ordained long before. The Buddha was on the verge of being accused of favouration! Despite his superior status of spirituality as well as knowledge, Sariputta was still humble and modest. He had, above all, excellent qualities of preaching. He was commissioned to preach the monk order in absence of the Buddha.
One well known instance is when the Buddha visited Thusitha Heavens to preach his mother-god. Sariputta was hence not only one of the chief disciple, but he was also the General of Dhamma, Dhamma Senapathi. With all this weighed against his credentials, Sariputta still had respect to his elder Arhath Assaji. No matter where he rests, Arhath Sariputta always paid homage in the direction where his elder was resting. Many misunderstood this mission as following Brahmin rituals too.
The Buddha then said 'as gods their homage pay to Indra, so should a man give reverence to him from whom he learned the Dhamma' in Nava Sutta. One may naturally compare this theory with the simile of raft. That a man should not continue carrying Dhamma like someone who still carries a raft even when he is done with crossing the river. The Buddha encouraged gratitude on top of everything. He proved it himself by enlightening his family.
Sariputta's modesty earned him much popularity in the monk order. He had the props of both modesty and everlasting friendship with Moggallana in reuniting the monk order on two occasions: splits caused by Devadatta's and two other misbehaving monks.
Sariputta was beyond reproach. Yet he was modest in his own way to ask the Buddha for forgiveness when the moment for passing away arrived. The Mother Earth burst out with tears when this moment occurred.
Sariputta came back to his hometown to spend the last days. He had a mission to fulfill. This was a return to layman's life for his Brahmin mother, yet she arranged everything. The Arhath fell ill with dysentery, and a number of heavenly creatures attempted to attend him. His mother saw the arrival of divine creatures and inquired about them from the son. She was stunned to hear that her son is greater to be attended by divine creatures her clan had been upholding. She was quite convinced about her son's position. And then the General of the Dhamma could preach the nine great qualities of the Buddha, hence convince his mother; Sariputta repaid the nursing debt of his mother Rupa Sari in that way.
Arhath Sariputta's life is full with events of inspiration. The Buddha summed up his chief disciple's life as a whole of purity, noble friendship, noble companionship and noble association.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/05/28/fea11.asp
Once upon a time!
A review even before the movie release is unethical – cards on the table, I agree. Well this is not a review exactly, because I am not going to analyse anything deep on cast or filming – that part can be handled later on when the movie is released. I just need to say that this is one of the few Sinhala movies that struck my heart.
Sanath Gunathilaka’s Ekamath Eka Rataka<$> - dubbed as ‘Once Upon a Time’ in English based on Emile Zola’s ‘For a night of love’ - is not an intelligent movie. Nor is it a standard movie. It doesn’t have a specific story line (so don’t worry I have nothing to lose your appetite on the film). It has neither start nor end. It just flows out.
An ageing man with a crooked back totters down to his office everyday. A cheesy looking young lawyer walks down the streets attracting girls. An aphrodisiac girl lives in a deluxe mansion getting dressed every evening for her suitor. Rest of the characters float along propping up this ‘threesome’. Ageing man plays the lead role whose routine pervades the movie. He has a soft companion at home to hear everything he has to say. Goodgirl is an understanding Labrador Retriever.
Not only that, it is adorned with a few you-know-what scenes. Wow, you can’t wait to watch the movie, eh? For me those scenes are well woven and nicely matched, a rare feature in Sinhala movies. Believe me it is not porn, as some would definitely jump the gun to label; they are very aesthetic and eye-pleasing scenes.
I naturally went back to Sanath Gunathilaka’s performance in Viragaya. I was at a loss. He performed an unrivalled role in Viragaya, but ‘Once upon a time’ man beats Viragaya’s Aravinda at times. In Viragaya he had to work mainly on his body and movement. But here he has to breathe in a complete oddball who can never beckon love but only sympathy. Speech, body movements and facial expressions have to keep on playing out that. And above all Sanath has to do the job of director as well as this lead role. No cakewalk in spades.
Zola’s creativity on the other hand is not so easy to handle on reel; it easily makes the audience yawn. Sanath somehow surprisingly handles that. He makes every scene tell us something. It doesn’t have a specific story, I repeat, but you have to read every scene, for they have untold stories.
The way the girl enters the scene is really impressive. The man was fast asleep with Goodgirl, and suddenly a light is flashed on both of them. They locate the source of the light to the mansion where the girl lives. They spot a girl with stunning beauty who closes the window at length leaving them again in usual darkness.
It also talks about feminine craving for strength and power. Their ability to win over men. Their influence over men. It is about two men and a girl, and how the fair sex has influence over them. Apparently girl falls in love with the younger one. She continues mocking the ageing man, but starts caring for him when she needs his assistance for a matter of life and death. But I don’t like to think the girl chose to care for him because she needed his help badly. I like to think it, their love, is complicated, rather.
The girl is constantly obsessed with her strength and influence over the boy she falls in love with. Her pride is often hurt and the boy even has to sacrifice his most precious thing just for the sake of girl’s pique.
These three are interlinked to each other, and so to say they are afraid of each other. The boy persuades girls in street to mock the man, but he doesn’t face him straight away. The girl doesn’t like the man’s face but loves listening to his flute for hours.
So this is about a love among three. Does the love triumph? What will happen at the end? Watch it. It is really funny! When I say really, count on me for that!
Tell me your dreams
Moon is up above the sky
Deep blue still sky
You are fast asleep
With your hair strewn
Far and wide
Your face is calm and peaceful
You have nothing to worry
You smile in sleep
Tell me,
My love,
Tell me your dreams.
Deep blue still sky
You are fast asleep
With your hair strewn
Far and wide
Your face is calm and peaceful
You have nothing to worry
You smile in sleep
Tell me,
My love,
Tell me your dreams.
Rediscovering Edith Holland
Edith Holland does not seem much a household name for the world audience, let alone Sri Lanka. She is put to the backbenches of the history even on the Internet, since Google hardly produces effective results. Holland may still be cornered in an over-the-hill library.
I discovered Holland first in my father’s bookshelf. I was mesmerised by her writing as a teenager. For today’s reader however, the language may seem old world. At a later stage I thought it better to preserve this valuable book for younger generation. Her archaic language is left as it is, since it deals with a particular era.
Studying Edith Holland, though resources are quite inadequate, is important, since it reflects the Western viewpoint of the Buddhism. The Western interest in Buddhism can be traced as far back as the 16th century when the Europeans first occupied the Asian region, especially Sri Lanka.
The European opinion on Sri Lanka was quite negative that they took the country for a land of primitives. They tried the maximum to implant their culture and religion which is Christianity. Luckily the theory fighters on Buddhism were – though not abundantly present – were sharply witted. Ven Migettuwatte Gunanda pioneered this clan. What is famously known to have taken place at Panadura is the reconnaissance of Buddhism in the face of Christianity’s challenge. Colonel Henry Steel Olcott’s arrived in Sri Lanka. Sir Edwin Arnold authored ‘The Light of Asia’. So to say, the Buddha was born in India, and paradoxically his teachings were expanded in the neighbouring country, Sri Lanka.
It is common belief that the European monks enter priesthood out of genuine interest on the religion, whereas in Sri Lanka most of the priesthoods are a result of ‘force’, as some interpret. Most of the British monasteries are headed by White monks. This also resulted in Allan Bennett who arrived in Sri Lanka in 1898 and to return as Ananda Metteyya, the first English monk.
Of all the English scholars Rhys Davids deserves a special appreciative mention, since they translated the whole Thripitaka into English. Davids’ version is a little ancient and the three canons are again translated into modern English by several monks. However the full translation still comes under the authorship of Davids.
When we look at Holland’s we see an alienated outlook on Buddhism. It is quite visible in the way Holland starts Chapter 2.
“The people in India have always been religious, their religion is very real to them, and has a great influence over their lives.”
These lines indicate Holland’s attempt to introduce the background of Buddhism to the Western world. This is partly because Asian countries such as India and Sri Lanka much lesser known to the Western audience.
Holland elucidates her interpretation in the Christian perspective:
“Though they never had the opportunity of coming to a full knowledge of God, enough light was given them to enable them to lead noble lives and to guide them into the paths of truth and self denial.”
A closer look at Sidney Stanley’s illustration show the influence of Christian arts. The king and the people are always drawn in the way most of the Christian stories are illustrated.
What is most admirable in Holland’s work is that she rarely interprets what took place in antiquity except for in the first three chapters. She lets the events flow like a novel, which makes a reader unfamiliar with the Buddhism interesting on the religions.
What most of us know about Buddhism is confined to certain events and are in dark over most of the teachings save fundamental ones such as five precepts. Holland gives out the teachings by building up situations. Some have a close relation to Christianity though not equal. Best example is the situation where Ajatasatta admits he has sinned and the Buddha says what he has to suffer will be a little less but would not be totally absent. Holland sometimes has a tendency to use Christian related words like ‘sinned’ which is unavoidable since she must have been brought up in a non-Buddhist environment.
Friday
The global village
Some scholars predict Jackson Anthony's 'Aba' will harm the image of Buddhist culture. With this in the backdrop, we could listen to a well-prepared speech by Anthony on a book launch by Nuwan Nayanajith at BMICH recently. Nayanajith launched his fifth book Gaddarika Pravahaya Hevath Sookiri Batillange Lokaya.
Jackson Anthony's bottom line was the Global Village concept. He raised the interesting question on why the popular concept was not titled 'Global City'.
The village, in the general sense, is a small group of people sharing each others' belongings. The village in the ancient Sri Lanka consisted of agriculture and religion. This symbolised the richness of the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha ruled that any human being should be fed before preached, taking a hungry peasant for example. The ancient villagers had the financial freedom, hence they could spare enough time for religious and spiritual affairs.
Long before the money-involved modern civilisation, the general economy was the barter system sharing goods and services. The village physician may provide his services for a portion of harvest of a peasant, for instance. We have got into the global concept now. Things have now become easier, thanks to the Internet and other convenient mediums available at hand. Now that money plays a major role in our lives, we have varying things to share. Each country, therefore, should have something distinctive to share with other countries in the village of globe.
Japan has Sumo tradition, and they say the British are popular for punctuality. What is our major contribution to the globe as Sri Lankans save tea and garments? Our attempt to absorb the European education is hard, though we have hardly anything original in a European country.
Our own traditions are what we are least concerned about. We consider Buddhism as an over-the-hill philosophy. We are concerned only about commercially-flourishing subjects like Information Technology. We have no base to argue against studying the subjects like Information Technology, though we should focus on our originality at the same time.
When our own people give up Buddhism, many Europeans tread on the philosophy. Some even become monks, let alone accept Buddhism. Many Europeans have the fulfillment of basic requirements – just as the peasant who should be fed before preached – hence they are in a good mental position to absorb the deep philosophy.
Why Buddhism is considered original in Sri Lanka? Buddha was born in Nepal (an earlier part of ancient India) and he had visited Sri Lanka only thrice. However the philosophy was developed and nourished in Sri Lanka, not in Nepal. Even the foreign invasions did not affect the survival of Buddhism, because of hard-living Sinhalese.
Sri Lanka, in fact, is the living epitome of the ancient philosophy, which marks its unrivalled position in the 'Global Village'.
Jackson Anthony's bottom line was the Global Village concept. He raised the interesting question on why the popular concept was not titled 'Global City'.
The village, in the general sense, is a small group of people sharing each others' belongings. The village in the ancient Sri Lanka consisted of agriculture and religion. This symbolised the richness of the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha ruled that any human being should be fed before preached, taking a hungry peasant for example. The ancient villagers had the financial freedom, hence they could spare enough time for religious and spiritual affairs.
Long before the money-involved modern civilisation, the general economy was the barter system sharing goods and services. The village physician may provide his services for a portion of harvest of a peasant, for instance. We have got into the global concept now. Things have now become easier, thanks to the Internet and other convenient mediums available at hand. Now that money plays a major role in our lives, we have varying things to share. Each country, therefore, should have something distinctive to share with other countries in the village of globe.
Japan has Sumo tradition, and they say the British are popular for punctuality. What is our major contribution to the globe as Sri Lankans save tea and garments? Our attempt to absorb the European education is hard, though we have hardly anything original in a European country.
Our own traditions are what we are least concerned about. We consider Buddhism as an over-the-hill philosophy. We are concerned only about commercially-flourishing subjects like Information Technology. We have no base to argue against studying the subjects like Information Technology, though we should focus on our originality at the same time.
When our own people give up Buddhism, many Europeans tread on the philosophy. Some even become monks, let alone accept Buddhism. Many Europeans have the fulfillment of basic requirements – just as the peasant who should be fed before preached – hence they are in a good mental position to absorb the deep philosophy.
Why Buddhism is considered original in Sri Lanka? Buddha was born in Nepal (an earlier part of ancient India) and he had visited Sri Lanka only thrice. However the philosophy was developed and nourished in Sri Lanka, not in Nepal. Even the foreign invasions did not affect the survival of Buddhism, because of hard-living Sinhalese.
Sri Lanka, in fact, is the living epitome of the ancient philosophy, which marks its unrivalled position in the 'Global Village'.
Wednesday
A thought for Poson
Hindus took in the Buddha's arrival as a challenge, since his teachings were mostly at odds terms with Hinduism. Brahmins had a number of attempts to infiltrate the Buddha's monk order and disfigure the teachings, in vain. Brahmins, on the other hand, had fair grounds to carry out whatever they thought effective. The Buddha's teachings shattered the status of Brahmins basking in their unsurpassed glory. The Buddha was well familiar with this situation, hence had a extenuating attitude. He never encouraged a swift conversion of another religious stalwart. Hinduism and Buddhism are poles apart mostly in philosophical terms, though both disciples should respect each other as siblings.
The Brahmin attempt seems to be well grounded in many Sinhala customs and rituals. Buddhists celebrate the Sinhala Hindu New Year, which ironically accommodates Hindu rituals. Thilak Senasinghe deals with this subject in his book Mana Ranjana Mithya Katha. His implication that this festival should be wiped out of the Sinhala Buddhist calendar has apparently sparked many arguments in www.pothmithuro.com. Too sensitive it seems, for this is a festival that has been in existence for quite a long period. However Senasinghe takes up many reasons to give the lie to the fact that New Year is Sinhala Buddhist. That takes the cake!
He questions the origin of Sinhala New Year. The New Year is mostly Hindu rather than Sinhala. If you observe the rituals closely, you may feel a twinge of sympathy for being a Buddhist to celebrate a festival of this nature.
The festival gives prominence to neketh, 'auspicious time', which is out of place in Buddhism. The auspicious time is decided on having consulted the planet movement. Any moment with a virtuous thought frame is the auspicious time - this is what is exactly said both direct and indirect in many instances of Buddhism.
Nakkathan pathimeneththan atthobalan upachchaga Aththo Aththassa nakaththan, kin karissathi tharaka
The fool puts off everything waiting for an auspicious time and would not achieve the objective. If you could achieve your objective, that itself is auspicious. What could the stars in the sky do?
Speaking of neketh you should have naturally heard this Jataka tale of 'The groom who lost his bride to the stars', retold by Todd Anderson in 'Prince Goodspeaker'. Here goes a condensed version of this engrossing tale:
"A rich family lived in Benares, northern India. Their son was to be married to a virtuous girl from the neighbouring village. The groom's family decided on a date for the wedding. The bride's family agreed to meet them on the wedding day.
The rich family's special astrologer found out about the wedding day. This made him angry because he was not consulted. He wanted to get even.
The astrologer was in his finest attire on the wedding day, and called the family together. He looked at his star charts very seriously and said that the stars were too close to the horizon, and that planet was in the middle of an unlucky constellation, and the moon was in a very dangerous phase for having a wedding. In other words he said they had picked the worst day without consulting him.
The frightened family forgot all about the wonderful qualities of the intended bride, and remained home in Benares.
Meanwhile, the bride's family had arranged everything for the village wedding ceremony. They kept on waiting for the future husband and his family. They took this as an insult: 'those city people picked the date and time, and now they didn't show up. Why should we wait any longer? Let our daughter marry an honourable and hardworking village man.' So they quickly arranged a new marriage and celebrated the wedding.
The next day, the astrological priest suddenly said that the planets and moon were in perfect positions for a wedding! So the Benares family went to the village. But the village people said, 'You picked the date and time. Then you disgraced us by not showing up!'
The city people brought up what their astrologer advised. The village family said, 'You have no honour. You have made the choice of the day more important than the choice of the bride. It's too late now. Our daughter has married another.' Then onwards the two families were on the warpath.
A wise man happened to come along and attempted to settle them. The city people again brought up what their astrologer said. The wise man said, 'The good fortune was in the bride, not in the stars. You fools have followed the stars and lost the bride. Without your foolishness, those far-off stars can do nothing!'"
This story does not seem to have gone out of fashion. You cannot just count the times this story has unfolded in the so-called modern Buddhist family scene.
Sinhala Hindu New year is initiated as a result of the solar movement. If you can have a poya everyday based on lunar movement, what is wrong with New Year decided on solar movement?
The difference is that every full moon day is made poya for convenience, but the Buddhist does not worship the moon. When the New Year comes in, the Buddhist has to undergo all sorts of god-worshipping activities, including oiling the head and so on.
The Buddhists should respect other religious rituals and should not look down on them. Nevertheless this attitude is not a visa to allow other rituals into the Buddhism. The New Year has a period called nonagathaya before the auspicious time. You should refrain from all kinds of activities such as taking meals.
Senasinghe brings up a funny experience. Once the neketh was set after 12 noon, hence all activities had to be given up by early morning. A monk should have his meal before 12 noon, and for that matter many Buddhists had given either money or dry items the day before.
This is the perfect way of studying how Buddhist alms can be ill-mannered. Hilariously or sadly they had given prominence to a Hindu ritual over the requirements of Buddhist priests.
Senasinghe has an interesting attempt to provide historical evidence for the significance of Vesak as a New Year Festival.
Many kings, including Dutugemunu, had celebrated Vesak with such a glamour. With this Senasinghe raises the apparent question: why can't we have Vesak as our Sinhala New Year?
Vesak bears the highest spiritual emblem in Buddhist history, out of the question. However Poson played a vital role in the establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
No country in the world practises charity the way Buddhists do. They have dansela or alms halls to celebrate on both Vesak, Poson, and sometimes Esala. Although we have our arguments about the way the danselas are being held, still the concept beckons other nations to a fresh spiritual path.
However glamorous people may celebrate these poyas, Vesak and Poson do not inspire use of liquor and animal flesh as in New Year Festival.
More importantly Poson signifies a period when we had fresh and rich diplomatic relations with our immediate neighbour. Buddhism was not instilled in Sri Lanka by force. It is, in fact, a result of friendly negotiations between two noble politicians.
Shouldn't this itself be a fact that should make Poson our New Year Festival?
The Brahmin attempt seems to be well grounded in many Sinhala customs and rituals. Buddhists celebrate the Sinhala Hindu New Year, which ironically accommodates Hindu rituals. Thilak Senasinghe deals with this subject in his book Mana Ranjana Mithya Katha. His implication that this festival should be wiped out of the Sinhala Buddhist calendar has apparently sparked many arguments in www.pothmithuro.com. Too sensitive it seems, for this is a festival that has been in existence for quite a long period. However Senasinghe takes up many reasons to give the lie to the fact that New Year is Sinhala Buddhist. That takes the cake!
He questions the origin of Sinhala New Year. The New Year is mostly Hindu rather than Sinhala. If you observe the rituals closely, you may feel a twinge of sympathy for being a Buddhist to celebrate a festival of this nature.
The festival gives prominence to neketh, 'auspicious time', which is out of place in Buddhism. The auspicious time is decided on having consulted the planet movement. Any moment with a virtuous thought frame is the auspicious time - this is what is exactly said both direct and indirect in many instances of Buddhism.
Nakkathan pathimeneththan atthobalan upachchaga Aththo Aththassa nakaththan, kin karissathi tharaka
The fool puts off everything waiting for an auspicious time and would not achieve the objective. If you could achieve your objective, that itself is auspicious. What could the stars in the sky do?
Speaking of neketh you should have naturally heard this Jataka tale of 'The groom who lost his bride to the stars', retold by Todd Anderson in 'Prince Goodspeaker'. Here goes a condensed version of this engrossing tale:
"A rich family lived in Benares, northern India. Their son was to be married to a virtuous girl from the neighbouring village. The groom's family decided on a date for the wedding. The bride's family agreed to meet them on the wedding day.
The rich family's special astrologer found out about the wedding day. This made him angry because he was not consulted. He wanted to get even.
The astrologer was in his finest attire on the wedding day, and called the family together. He looked at his star charts very seriously and said that the stars were too close to the horizon, and that planet was in the middle of an unlucky constellation, and the moon was in a very dangerous phase for having a wedding. In other words he said they had picked the worst day without consulting him.
The frightened family forgot all about the wonderful qualities of the intended bride, and remained home in Benares.
Meanwhile, the bride's family had arranged everything for the village wedding ceremony. They kept on waiting for the future husband and his family. They took this as an insult: 'those city people picked the date and time, and now they didn't show up. Why should we wait any longer? Let our daughter marry an honourable and hardworking village man.' So they quickly arranged a new marriage and celebrated the wedding.
The next day, the astrological priest suddenly said that the planets and moon were in perfect positions for a wedding! So the Benares family went to the village. But the village people said, 'You picked the date and time. Then you disgraced us by not showing up!'
The city people brought up what their astrologer advised. The village family said, 'You have no honour. You have made the choice of the day more important than the choice of the bride. It's too late now. Our daughter has married another.' Then onwards the two families were on the warpath.
A wise man happened to come along and attempted to settle them. The city people again brought up what their astrologer said. The wise man said, 'The good fortune was in the bride, not in the stars. You fools have followed the stars and lost the bride. Without your foolishness, those far-off stars can do nothing!'"
This story does not seem to have gone out of fashion. You cannot just count the times this story has unfolded in the so-called modern Buddhist family scene.
Sinhala Hindu New year is initiated as a result of the solar movement. If you can have a poya everyday based on lunar movement, what is wrong with New Year decided on solar movement?
The difference is that every full moon day is made poya for convenience, but the Buddhist does not worship the moon. When the New Year comes in, the Buddhist has to undergo all sorts of god-worshipping activities, including oiling the head and so on.
The Buddhists should respect other religious rituals and should not look down on them. Nevertheless this attitude is not a visa to allow other rituals into the Buddhism. The New Year has a period called nonagathaya before the auspicious time. You should refrain from all kinds of activities such as taking meals.
Senasinghe brings up a funny experience. Once the neketh was set after 12 noon, hence all activities had to be given up by early morning. A monk should have his meal before 12 noon, and for that matter many Buddhists had given either money or dry items the day before.
This is the perfect way of studying how Buddhist alms can be ill-mannered. Hilariously or sadly they had given prominence to a Hindu ritual over the requirements of Buddhist priests.
Senasinghe has an interesting attempt to provide historical evidence for the significance of Vesak as a New Year Festival.
Many kings, including Dutugemunu, had celebrated Vesak with such a glamour. With this Senasinghe raises the apparent question: why can't we have Vesak as our Sinhala New Year?
Vesak bears the highest spiritual emblem in Buddhist history, out of the question. However Poson played a vital role in the establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
No country in the world practises charity the way Buddhists do. They have dansela or alms halls to celebrate on both Vesak, Poson, and sometimes Esala. Although we have our arguments about the way the danselas are being held, still the concept beckons other nations to a fresh spiritual path.
However glamorous people may celebrate these poyas, Vesak and Poson do not inspire use of liquor and animal flesh as in New Year Festival.
More importantly Poson signifies a period when we had fresh and rich diplomatic relations with our immediate neighbour. Buddhism was not instilled in Sri Lanka by force. It is, in fact, a result of friendly negotiations between two noble politicians.
Shouldn't this itself be a fact that should make Poson our New Year Festival?
Tuesday
Our heritage to the world!
Who wants to be the authority on culture and heritage in our land? For those interested, Hema Nalin Karunaratne is set to floor the gas pedal with his Heritage TV channel on Dialog TV - available free of charge 24/7.
Following his trails along the hallways of Rupavahini and Swarnavahini for quarter of a century, Nalin now heads a satellite channel, a meeting place for culture and nature. Heritage TV has been broadcast on Sri TV since September, 2008 two hours a day.
“I believe we have a robust heritage that the world should learn, study and research. So my foremost aim was to build up a channel thoroughly focused on our heritage. We are now in the process of creating a world audience for Sri Lankan programmes by using more and more foreign languages.
We should tell specifically the Western world what Sri Lanka is.” started off Nalin in a voice thickened with firm resolution.
The channel was officially launched on May 31 at the BMICH with the distinguished participation of Speaker W J M Lokubandara, Culture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Western Provincial Council Minister Udaya Prabath Gammanpila, Youth affairs Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, former Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation Chairman Professor Tissa Kariyawasam and Dialog TV Chief Nushard Perera.
Speaker Lokubandara went back to the times when our ancestors worshipped natural elements such as sun and tree: “We had such respects to natural elements. That became part and parcel of our culture. Even today, we are the archetype of our own past.”
Nalin was a lad full of spirit when he left Royal College in 1980. He headed many a college functions such as debating team, Sinhala Association and Health Club.
Nalin chose science stream for A/Ls, but still his heart went for Arts. He was still occupied with the college’s arts scene for the next two years, until he stepped into Rupavahini as an Assistant Producer when legendary M J Perera held the Chairman’s office. Rupavahini molded the monumental design of Hema Nalin’s career.
“It so happened when I had to read out a bomb awareness announcement. That was in 1983, when that ‘famous’ catastrophe took place. That was enough for the management to gauge my language and announcing skills. Since then I have been known as a presenter, though producing is still my teacup.”
Nalin introduced the way of the art to announcing, which was quick, witty and original. When the way the many elders passed down the knowledge bored the younger generation, Nalin made it animated. Rupavahini’s education service was a milepost in his life. He was only to see his future with 9.05 fame and the variety of others tagging along him in both Rupavahini and Swarnavahini.
Ever since his childhood, Nalin has been fond of travelling. Today he is a much travelled man both at home and abroad. Even for university dissertations, he used to present the documentary programmes he produced.
“My first overseas visit was to Germany and UK both for three months respectively. I obtained a scholarship for USA for an year when I was in Swarnavahini. I travelled in many countries when I was doing magazine programme Dutu Nudutu.”
Why a special channel for documentaries, when the normal channels have allocated a particular airtime?
“Obviously they can’t spare a prime time for documentaries. They have to divide the time for everything ranging from entertainment.”
Nalin’s channel is not for SMS addicts - this is completely for those who love serious stuff. “But,” adds Nalin, “I don’t look down on teledrama or anything like that. What I wanted is a channel completely focused on documentaries. That’s it.”
Nalin is determined to make his Heritage TV the local Discovery model one day. But he has other issues too. Marketability is such one.
“I buy documentaries - in fact fifty-percent of our programmes. But I ask producers to have the lowest possible budget. We are not teledrama producers, so we don’t enjoy such a lavish market.”
He however has realised the lack of documentary producers, which made him think up of a training institute too.
“We have set up one, and the work will start towards the middle of June. There is an exam for interested ones, and we buy what they produce. It’s completely pointless when I have to go to Kandy to do a documentary on Kandy perahera. There are enough provincial producers who are capable, though they need training. My aim is to generate more documentary producers.”
What else have you got in your mind? No, that’s not at all. Still more to go.
“I need to take these programmes out of Colombo to hold creative workshops. If someone in Anuradhapura has more to say after watching a programme, rather than ‘it’s excellent’, then I think our meaning of education is fulfilled. There are knowledge tanks outside the Colombo waiting to be shared. We have to go find them. For instance Jaffna will be open for us in the near future, meaning we are going to have more to unearth.”
Following all these, Nalin sets sights on a monthly - or perhaps a tri-monthly - magazine containing what was telecast on the channel. When he left his last workplace Swarnavahini, Nalin had no specific idea on what is in store for him.
“I wanted more freedom to do what I am trained in - the documentaries.
I worked at Rupavahini for 16 years and then at Swarnavahini till March, 2008.
You have to leave them when the moment comes in, however much you may love. Whatever happened, I am indebted to my previous workplaces, for they made me who I am today.”
Hema Nalin Karunaratne was more known as a presenter.
However in future he will be the backseat man of many documentaries we watch on Dialog TV. Nalin lives with his wife Dr Iresha Karunaratne and daughter Nalini.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/09/fea23.asp
Following his trails along the hallways of Rupavahini and Swarnavahini for quarter of a century, Nalin now heads a satellite channel, a meeting place for culture and nature. Heritage TV has been broadcast on Sri TV since September, 2008 two hours a day.
“I believe we have a robust heritage that the world should learn, study and research. So my foremost aim was to build up a channel thoroughly focused on our heritage. We are now in the process of creating a world audience for Sri Lankan programmes by using more and more foreign languages.
We should tell specifically the Western world what Sri Lanka is.” started off Nalin in a voice thickened with firm resolution.
The channel was officially launched on May 31 at the BMICH with the distinguished participation of Speaker W J M Lokubandara, Culture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Western Provincial Council Minister Udaya Prabath Gammanpila, Youth affairs Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, former Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation Chairman Professor Tissa Kariyawasam and Dialog TV Chief Nushard Perera.
Speaker Lokubandara went back to the times when our ancestors worshipped natural elements such as sun and tree: “We had such respects to natural elements. That became part and parcel of our culture. Even today, we are the archetype of our own past.”
Nalin was a lad full of spirit when he left Royal College in 1980. He headed many a college functions such as debating team, Sinhala Association and Health Club.
Nalin chose science stream for A/Ls, but still his heart went for Arts. He was still occupied with the college’s arts scene for the next two years, until he stepped into Rupavahini as an Assistant Producer when legendary M J Perera held the Chairman’s office. Rupavahini molded the monumental design of Hema Nalin’s career.
“It so happened when I had to read out a bomb awareness announcement. That was in 1983, when that ‘famous’ catastrophe took place. That was enough for the management to gauge my language and announcing skills. Since then I have been known as a presenter, though producing is still my teacup.”
Nalin introduced the way of the art to announcing, which was quick, witty and original. When the way the many elders passed down the knowledge bored the younger generation, Nalin made it animated. Rupavahini’s education service was a milepost in his life. He was only to see his future with 9.05 fame and the variety of others tagging along him in both Rupavahini and Swarnavahini.
Ever since his childhood, Nalin has been fond of travelling. Today he is a much travelled man both at home and abroad. Even for university dissertations, he used to present the documentary programmes he produced.
“My first overseas visit was to Germany and UK both for three months respectively. I obtained a scholarship for USA for an year when I was in Swarnavahini. I travelled in many countries when I was doing magazine programme Dutu Nudutu.”
Why a special channel for documentaries, when the normal channels have allocated a particular airtime?
“Obviously they can’t spare a prime time for documentaries. They have to divide the time for everything ranging from entertainment.”
Nalin’s channel is not for SMS addicts - this is completely for those who love serious stuff. “But,” adds Nalin, “I don’t look down on teledrama or anything like that. What I wanted is a channel completely focused on documentaries. That’s it.”
Nalin is determined to make his Heritage TV the local Discovery model one day. But he has other issues too. Marketability is such one.
“I buy documentaries - in fact fifty-percent of our programmes. But I ask producers to have the lowest possible budget. We are not teledrama producers, so we don’t enjoy such a lavish market.”
He however has realised the lack of documentary producers, which made him think up of a training institute too.
“We have set up one, and the work will start towards the middle of June. There is an exam for interested ones, and we buy what they produce. It’s completely pointless when I have to go to Kandy to do a documentary on Kandy perahera. There are enough provincial producers who are capable, though they need training. My aim is to generate more documentary producers.”
What else have you got in your mind? No, that’s not at all. Still more to go.
“I need to take these programmes out of Colombo to hold creative workshops. If someone in Anuradhapura has more to say after watching a programme, rather than ‘it’s excellent’, then I think our meaning of education is fulfilled. There are knowledge tanks outside the Colombo waiting to be shared. We have to go find them. For instance Jaffna will be open for us in the near future, meaning we are going to have more to unearth.”
Following all these, Nalin sets sights on a monthly - or perhaps a tri-monthly - magazine containing what was telecast on the channel. When he left his last workplace Swarnavahini, Nalin had no specific idea on what is in store for him.
“I wanted more freedom to do what I am trained in - the documentaries.
I worked at Rupavahini for 16 years and then at Swarnavahini till March, 2008.
You have to leave them when the moment comes in, however much you may love. Whatever happened, I am indebted to my previous workplaces, for they made me who I am today.”
Hema Nalin Karunaratne was more known as a presenter.
However in future he will be the backseat man of many documentaries we watch on Dialog TV. Nalin lives with his wife Dr Iresha Karunaratne and daughter Nalini.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/09/fea23.asp
Thursday
Battling for ensuring rights
We often think it is virtuous to give alms to them. We entertain pitiful feelings for them. We take them in as a different kind of species. People with disabilities – creatures dwindled down before us ‘with abilities’. Have we ever cared to accept them as normal human beings? Have we, actually? For most of us the answer is apparently negative.
Fortunately it stirred the roundtable talk held at Waters Edge, the other day. Artistes, both government and non-government organizations and many others both with abilities and disabilities, both foreign and local, had something to say.
AKASA – literally refers to the unlimited sky – Association of Women with Disabilities, had obvious grounds to organize this roundtable. Of all those with disabilities, AKASA has identified, woman is in a grave position for being poor, illiterate or semi literate and being the vulnerable sex.
One lady with a physical difficulty shared her experience of being mistreated ever since the childhood.
“I learned the alphabet only at 16. Nobody wanted me to do anything. They had just left me behind.”
Thanuja Nawaratne, a lawyer born with a physical disability, however wanted to give the lie.
“True, it is worse to be born as a woman with a disability in a remote area, but still if you have the right kind of gumption, you can tear across every hurdle. I was born with physical disabilities, and today I am a lawyer despite everything that stood in my way.”
AKASA’s founder president N G Kamalawathi, being herself physically disabled, shared Thanuja’s voice.
“Luckily my parents and siblings never treated me as a disabled child. Like any child I schooled and did a job too. But every woman with disabilities doesn’t enjoy that privilege. They suffer because of others’ attitudes.”
Filmmaker Jackson Anthony toyed with the idea that people with disabilities should be recognized as ‘differently abled people’, though some did not agree with him.
“We are not differently abled. We have no reason to pass up that we are disabled. But it does not mean that we cannot contribute to the society. I may be someone with a disability and you may not have that disability, yet we all can think and we may have same talents. I may require a supporting device to write and you may not. And yet people talk about what we have written, not how we have written!”
Anthony called up the need for a change in attitude too. A number of other artistes such as Bandara Eheliyagoda, Lucien Bulathsinhala and Kularatne Ariyawansa opined that many creative works should come out for the sake of people with disabilities.
“We must create more songs and other creative media to ensure the equal position of people with disabilies.” Lucien Bulathsinhala said.
At AKASA headquarters based in Anuradhapura, a city where the poorest are settled in, donours with pitiful hearts are a rare scene. Kamalawathi makes sure every woman with physical disabilities is occupied in their own capacity. Unlike many organizations for disabled, Kamalawathi’s organization uses funds mostly to create more income-generating programmes.
“Once when I conducted an awareness programme, one particular group of people with disabilities asked for money to come to the venue. I rejected it flat out. If I gave them money, then I naturally accept the fact that they are dependent. No they can stand on their own. But most of them always think of banking on others. This has made people with abilities pity them.”
Kamalawathi works hard to wash off this attitude. It yields results, but slowly. In Sri Lanka, she went on to say, not only the attitude but the facilities for people with disabilities should be changed too.
If you have an issue with transport, you are still directed to social services ministry and not the transport ministry. They go through this kind of encounters in any sector.
Another delegate tabled the question on non-issuance of driver’s license to people with hearing disabilities.
“You drive with all the shutters closed with earphones in both ears. You drive only with signs outside. So do you make use of your hearing ability? In rural areas so many people with hearing disabilities drive without license but not a single accident has been reported.”
“It is no wonder”, one delegate stood up to say, “that people with one physical disability enjoy improved ability on other faculties. If you are blind, your hearing faculty is very much improved more than others. It is not a miracle, but they naturally learn to make the best use of their remaining faculties.”
Kamalawathi shared one of her experiences with foreign volunteers working in Sri Lanka.
“One Swiss volunteer told me that what we have in Sri Lanka is what they had 200 years ago. I felt the same thing when I visited some foreign countries like UK and Switzerland. Even in trains and buses, their foothold is as same as the platform. Here we can’t use the transport properly. Some places do not provide access for people with disabilities. Transport minister has given a pledge that they will provide mobility-friendly service in the near future. I am happy to hear that.”
Towards the end of the roundtable talk, everybody agreed on one thing: people with disabilities are neither differently abled nor less abled. But still they have a difference. They need props to carry out what a normal individual do without hassle. Some need specs to see, and some need not; some need hearing aids to hear, and some need not; some need crutches to walk, and some need not - yet their contribution to the society remains equal.
Monday
Fear not tumour!
Dr Anselm Lee is Consultant Paediatric Haematologist-Oncologist at Children’s Haematology and Cancer Centre, ParkwayHealth, Singapore. He recently shared his views on this three-fold subject area at a seminar organised by ParkwayHealth.
His expertise is Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT). This is also known as Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). It is a medical process in haematology and oncology often treated on people with disorders of blood, bone marrow and mostly cancer.
Dr Lee helped established the paediatric BMT program in Queen Mary Hospital and started the first paediatric BMT in the hospital that year. He performed the first BMT for thalassaemia, a severe form of congenital anaemia that is common in Southeast Asia, India and Lee performed the first case of umbilical cord blood transplantation in Hong Kong. In 1995 in response to the needs for a growing population in another part of Hong Kong, Dr Lee moved Tuen Mun Hospital where he restructured a paediatric haematology and oncology service, establishing a successful team and providing a quality and world class service to a population of 1 million.
HSCT is required mainly for three diseases: Acute Leukaemia, Neuroblastoma and Thalassaemia. This process includes both mature and immature forms. And also stem cells. Stem cells or Bone Marrow when infused can repopulate damaged bone marrow.
He treats cancers in children including leukaemia, brain cancers, lymphomas, neuroblastomas (cancers of the adrenal gland), Wilms tumour (cancers of the kidney) rhabdomyosaromas (cancers of the skeletal muscles) and other sarcomas, germ cell tumours (cancers of the testis, ovaries and related organs, bone, liver, retinoblastomas (eye cancer) and other tumours.
HSCT is an answer to malignancies such as Leukaemia, Neuroblastomas, Advanced Solid tumours and recurrent cancers, but has negative features too. First you have the complications of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Infections. Graft rejection and drug toxicities are some of them.
Dr Anselm Lee had his initial training in London 19 years ago. He first graduated from the University of Hong Kong and underwent his postgraduate training in the Department of Paediatrics, Queen Mary Hospital, the university of Hong Kong. His subspecialisation in paediatric haematoloy and oncology started in 1990. As a Croucher Foundation Fellow, he underwent training in paediatric oncology and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in the Institute of Child Health Department of Haematology and Oncology, the Great Ormon Street Children’s Hospital in London.
Lots of students select all these three subjects basically because they have lost interest in the reduced number of patients.
And on the other hand local health does not have enough facilities. It needs looking after patients and then it becomes more of a family thing. Lots of students do not like to delve in family affairs.
In Singapore the specialists are less than 10. But in London you get quite a number of specialists. Dr Lee has been to Sri Lanka twice.
“I think Sri Lanka has many qualified doctors. But technology wise to be honest they are quite lagging behind. They need a little more training as well for that reason,” he said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/05/11/fea25.asp
His expertise is Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT). This is also known as Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). It is a medical process in haematology and oncology often treated on people with disorders of blood, bone marrow and mostly cancer.
Dr Lee helped established the paediatric BMT program in Queen Mary Hospital and started the first paediatric BMT in the hospital that year. He performed the first BMT for thalassaemia, a severe form of congenital anaemia that is common in Southeast Asia, India and Lee performed the first case of umbilical cord blood transplantation in Hong Kong. In 1995 in response to the needs for a growing population in another part of Hong Kong, Dr Lee moved Tuen Mun Hospital where he restructured a paediatric haematology and oncology service, establishing a successful team and providing a quality and world class service to a population of 1 million.
HSCT is required mainly for three diseases: Acute Leukaemia, Neuroblastoma and Thalassaemia. This process includes both mature and immature forms. And also stem cells. Stem cells or Bone Marrow when infused can repopulate damaged bone marrow.
He treats cancers in children including leukaemia, brain cancers, lymphomas, neuroblastomas (cancers of the adrenal gland), Wilms tumour (cancers of the kidney) rhabdomyosaromas (cancers of the skeletal muscles) and other sarcomas, germ cell tumours (cancers of the testis, ovaries and related organs, bone, liver, retinoblastomas (eye cancer) and other tumours.
HSCT is an answer to malignancies such as Leukaemia, Neuroblastomas, Advanced Solid tumours and recurrent cancers, but has negative features too. First you have the complications of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Infections. Graft rejection and drug toxicities are some of them.
Dr Anselm Lee had his initial training in London 19 years ago. He first graduated from the University of Hong Kong and underwent his postgraduate training in the Department of Paediatrics, Queen Mary Hospital, the university of Hong Kong. His subspecialisation in paediatric haematoloy and oncology started in 1990. As a Croucher Foundation Fellow, he underwent training in paediatric oncology and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in the Institute of Child Health Department of Haematology and Oncology, the Great Ormon Street Children’s Hospital in London.
Lots of students select all these three subjects basically because they have lost interest in the reduced number of patients.
And on the other hand local health does not have enough facilities. It needs looking after patients and then it becomes more of a family thing. Lots of students do not like to delve in family affairs.
In Singapore the specialists are less than 10. But in London you get quite a number of specialists. Dr Lee has been to Sri Lanka twice.
“I think Sri Lanka has many qualified doctors. But technology wise to be honest they are quite lagging behind. They need a little more training as well for that reason,” he said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/05/11/fea25.asp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)