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promise, not always fulfilled The refreshing irreverence of the tone and the not too serious prose style complement Ferrey's attempt to give narrative form to the everyday peculiarities of the moneyed Colombo life- style. The invasion of the neighbours at times of death to inspect the innards of one's life like the damp patch in the back bedroom, the phenomenon of building a dream house only to rent it out so it can pay its way, and rich people's households "with hot and cold running servants" are only some of the gems that find narrativisation in the stories. Ferrey's ability to capture the moments of loneliness and despair while describing the hilarious underbelly of the lifestyle of the rich is impressive and well worth watching for the future. Many of the stories cover a wide range of themes particular to the English speaking Colombo middle and upper class lifestyle. There is the story of Jiggy, about an accountant from Pannipitiya who takes the 138 bus and his double, a Colombo 7 socialite with "fast cars, Colombo 7 clubs and bright red women”. It is an interesting attempt at satirizing both the emerging deathly dull suburban lifestyle of the upwardly mobile middle class professionals as well as the penniless and irresponsible upper class ne'er-do-wells with their well lubricated seemingly more interesting social lives. Then there is the story of Oudenard and Malplaquet, Ramilles and Blenheim that attempts a portrayal of the death throes of an earlier era of the moneyed "fisher" aristocracy from a time when rather than Moratuwa being considered a "dreary suburb of Colombo”, Colombo was considered "a dreary suburb of Moratuwa”. Another perspective that is explored in this book is that of expatriate childhoods of the Sri Lankan born in climes that are exotic to the average Sri Lankan reader. O signore Non Sono Degno is a coming of age story of a Sri Lankan boy in an African expat context and is poignant in its invocation of the "Asian infancy" of his homelife, "the African adulthood" of his love life, and his "European adolescence" amongst his peers. Then I also liked the one about a little Kandyan boy flying off from Africa to boarding school in England and having to deal with the exigencies of transcontinental air travel at, as the title says, A Few Days After Eleven. They were sweet stories full of charm. Ferrey also explores the phenomenon of the "returnee” those visiting "home" after several years of expansive lives in other climes. Ice Cream Karma that pokes fun at such "returnees" is hilarious with its recalcitrant label-wearing room boy Upali and his relations with the returnees and their wish to respect the dignity of labour. My clear favourite is the story, Who Wants to be a Millionaire where Frankie an Oxford drop-out, and Mala, a minister's daughter, go off to England, to buy a house. It's a great story of many layers, it describes an upper class Colombo household and a job as a carpenter's assistant in England, all of it punctuated by hilarious philosophizing on the merits of life in the East and the West. The bulk of the story is set in England with the peculiarities associated with finding and buying a house in "Tooting" which Frankie sees as the perfect place for them with the "Tamil news agents, the Filipina domestics and the redneck taxi drivers”. They buy a house there- "easily the ugliest with having been ruthlessly modernized in the émigré style: aluminum windows, pebble-dashing, coloured cement roof tiles and a jazzy concrete grill for a garden wall". They are also embroiled in the domestic squabble between the previous Filipina owner of their house, her daughter and the daughter's West Indian husband. The description of their life in Colombo too is full of interesting details. Mala was the daughter of a minister, now dead. According to Ferrey "Nothing is as sorry as the household of a dead ex-minister. But the family spared itself too much pain by carrying on as if nothing much had changed". Then,
describing the power of the east on Frankie; The Eastern system of "control and appropriation" is described as follows. "The old controlled the young, the educated the uneducated and as for the rich the rich had no doubt at all that they actually owned the poor." But there are times when promising beginnings are left dangling, when excellently unnerving story lines are allowed to go nowhere. And there is some disappointing writing full of clichés and lazy phrasing. For instance the story of the advent of Agnes of God and the "nanny state" ends a little too abruptly; there was no build-up to the episode after which she leaves. And ending with Upali's culinary climax in Ice Cream Karma is a little too contrived. And the invocation of ghosts in Colpetty People-a story otherwise rich with promise-does not live up to its initial build-up. There is always the feeling that many of the stories are not given the chance to work themselves out fully, that they are somehow finished off before their time. They are always funny and nice..but one was left with the feeling that they could be much more. Although at every stage of every story I wanted to know what happens next, in the end I was a little unsatisfied. I wanted the stories to do more, to go to more definite thematic and dramatic places. While it is all very well to nurture Sri Lankan literary talent I think that it is also time that this talent was pushed a little. There is an emerging genre of writing of the Colombo upper class experience from a western educated perspective. The experiences are interesting; they are often funny and invariably well written. But mere wit, cleverness and polished prose is not always enough to sustain the many volumes covering this experience that seem to be published. One wishes that they would do a little bit more, dig a little deeper. I can think of no other talent than that displayed by Ashok Ferrey in this book, to go that extra mile, to push the envelope. The flashes of brilliantly portrayed pathos, and the light touch with which the irreverence is achieved merits greater, more sustained engagement and elaboration of the themes addressed. Having said that, I must emphasise, I enjoyed the book. Colpetty People is a very promising first book and an often hilarious read. I recommend it and am looking forward to the next. Era
marked by treachery and blood He has selected Pilimatalavuva Maha Adikaram, Ehelapola Maha Adikaram, Molligoda Maha Adikaram, Pilimatalavuva Ralahamy, Udagampahe Adigar alias Kapuvatte Diva Nilame, Ellepola Nilame, Siyapattuve Adikaram, Keppetipola Disave, Pilmatalavuva (Junior) Disave of Sat Korale, Madugalla Uda Gabada Nilame, The Levukes and Variyapola Sumangala Thero as his main characters. The last days of Kandyan rule are recorded in tragedy, treachery, deceit, and blood shed. They were turbulent times; aristocracy conspired against each other, aided by the Nayakkar relatives of the King to whom the Chiefs were indebted, as they the Nayakkars were money-lenders. In case of failure to settle these debts, the Nayakkars would complain to the King who would admonish the chieftain. This in turn led to disobedience to the King with the chief falling into disfavour being replaced by another. The result, jealousy and intrigue. This drama sadly continues to this day! The last King Sri Wickrama Rajasinha in the later stages of his rule became a tyrant as he had nobody to trust except Molligoda who played a double game. Under these circumstances, the chieftains surrendered the nation to the British hoping they would get a better administration and government than a tyrant. But they soon realized this was not to be. The result was the Uva rebellion where Kandyan bravery and courage materialised. The ruler's onslaught, and butchery of innocent Kandyan peasants was perpetrated by the British troops with their fire power. It is against this background that Ananda Pilimatalavuva has selected the chief characters in his book. Political power was in the hands of the aristocracy who held key posts in the administration and manned the Kandyan Courts as well. This group enjoyed very large tracts of land given by the King called nindagam. This gave them economic security, prestige and pomp. During the reign of Sri Wickrama Rajasinha Pilimatalavuva Maha Adikaram was so powerful that he was a 'King Maker'! It was this chieftain who was instrumental in enthroning Prince Kannesamy under the title Sri Wickrama Rajasinha. Ananda Pilimatalavuva records the tragic history of these times, with the Adigar ultimately paying with his life. Pilimatalavuva Maha Adikaram was a true patriot. His wish was to have a Sinhalese to rule over Sinhale. The Nayakkars skilfully blended themselves with the Kandyan national interest and religion, and the inherent jealousy amongst the Kandyan chiefs convinced him that no Kandyan could ascend the throne without outside help. Hence his decision to place his own nominee on the throne and await favourable times to restore the ancient Sinhala line. His courage is shown when Sri Wickrama was ready to pardon him provided he took an oath never to attack his government again. The proud chieftain brimming with patriotism refused to take the oath but said he did not want to hurt the King only to save the country from mismanagement! The Ehelapola family was one of the most noble families in the Kandyan Kingdom dating back to Rajasinha II. They were originally gamaralas (chiefs of villages). Molligoda, Ellepola, Keppitipola, Madugalla and Levuke families were from the Radala Peruva, an endogamous group in the govikula caste which formed the aristocracy of the Kingdom. This family was ultimately driven into the hands of the British. Molligoda Adigar played a double game bribing the royal ambassadors to give false information about Ehelapola to the King. Ehelapola was deprived of his position and replaced by Molligoda who ultimately had to seek protection under the British. He signed the Kandyan Convention as first Adigar. Pilimatalavuva Ralahamy Udagampahe Adigar alias Kapuvatte signed the Kandyan Convention but was involved in the Uva rebellion and taken prisoner by the British for helping his cousin Pilimatalavuva Disava to escape; he was released from prison and appointed Maha Gabada Nilame and Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa on November 27, 1823. Ellepola Nilame - Siyapattuva Adikaram was accused with Pilimatalavuva of attempting to enthrone Mampitiya Bandara and was condemned to death. Subsequently he was exonerated but he may have been out of office as he was not a signatory to the Convention. Ellepola, an elderly Senior Chieftain joined Pilimatalavuva alias Kapuvatte/Ehelapola, and Madugalla in the Uva rebellion as he valued Sinhalese independence more than the office and personal benefits he got from the British. His properties were confiscated by the British who offered 1000 Rix dollars for his capture. Ultimately he was captured and beheaded near the Bogambara Weva and so ended the life of this brave Sinhalese patriot. Keppitipola joined the freedom fighters of the Uva rebellion and was one of the leading chieftains along with Madugalla and Pilimatalavuva Disava. The author goes into details of the rebellion which ended in the capture of all the chiefs. Keppitipola and Madugalla were beheaded on the outskirts of Bogambara Veva while Pilimatalavuva was confined to safe custody in Colombo and was banished to Mauritius later. Wariyapola Sumangala Thero removed the Sacred Tooth Relic from the Maligawa and joined the rebellion with several followers. He was ultimately captured at Dambulla and sent to prison in Jaffna, being ultimately pardoned by Governor Sir Edward Barnes. The author has done extensive research into Colonial Office records and authorities in English and Sinhala to produce a well-written, very readable book. Challenges
faced by Buddhism This book comprises transcripts of speeches given at a public meetingheld on June 26, 2002 to commemorate the third death anniversary of thefounder of the German Dharmaduta Society, Asoka Weeraratna (later known as Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thera). The book contains the speeches of Ven. Bellana Gnanawimala Maha Nayake Thera ( Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Buddha Sasana, 2001), Ven. Rathmale Punnaratana Thera (Chief resident monk of the Berlin Vihara, Dr. Granville Dharmawardena (President of the German Dharmaduta Society), Dr. Anula Wijesundere (Member of the Presidential Commission on theBuddha Sasana, 2001), Dr. H.B. Jayasinghe (Vice - President of SUCCESS ),Gamini Perera (President, SUCCESS, Colombo Branch), D. Ananda de Silva (Meditation Instructor and Committee Member of the GDS) Saumya Kodagoda and Manel Lakdivdas (Vice- President of the GDS). The book explores the scope of the work of the Buddha Sasana Commission, identifies the challenges confronting Buddhism particularly in the area of unethical conversions and the measures that should be adopted by Buddhist organisations to meet these challenges. Ven. Bellana Gnanawimala Maha Nayaka Thero will preside at the launch. The other speakers scheduled to address the meeting are: Ven. Welimitiyawe Kusaladhamma Nayake Thero ( Member of the Presidential Commission on the Buddha Sasana, 2001), Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thero (Asgiriya Maha Vihara, Kandy), Dr. Granville Dharmawardena, Dr. Anula Wijesundere and Attorney-at-Law Mr. Prasantha Lal de Alwis ( Legal Adviser to the Special Committee assisting the Buddha Sasana Commission in drafting legislation to prohibit manipulative religious conversions). With new legislation prohibiting unethical conversion due to be introduced in Parliament this month, in accordance with the recommendations of the Buddha Sasana Commission, this meeting willprovide a platform for leading Buddhist monks and laity to discuss the issues relating to the need for such legislation and the wrongs intended to be remedied by the proposed Act. There will be an opportunity for public participation in an open discussion at the conclusion of the speeches made by the panel of speakers. The meeting is being sponsored by the Colombo based German Dharmaduta Society. The launch will be at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mahaweli Centre, 96 Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7. Minister of Buddha Sasana and Deputy Minister of Defence Ratnasiri Wickramanayake will be the Chief Guest at the function. |
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