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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

The story of the Sri Lankan middle class
Remembering him coming down the Marrs Hall hill in the Peradeniya campus in the mid-fifties and doing a quiet walk passing Jayatilleka Hall, we never imagined Gunadasa Amarasekera would rise to be an outstanding figure in Sinhala letters after Martin Wickramasinghe. Of course, by the time he came to Peradeniya to join the Faculty of Dentistry, he had a short story, 'Soma' written as a student of Nalanda in 1950, recognized as one of the best short stories in the world that year.

'Soma' along with others appeared in his first collection of short stories, 'Rathu Rosa Mala' in 1953. A year later, his first novel, 'Karumakkarayo' was published. Since then his writings have appeared at regular intervals. He soon made his name as a novelist, poet, short story writer, critic and, of course, in more recent times, a leading voice in the Jathika Chintanaya movement. His tally of writings is quite impressive – 12 novels, seven collections of short stories, five anthologies of poetry and seven works on literary and social issues.

Amarasekera is ready with his latest novel, 'Gamanaka Meda' where he continues the story of the evolution of the middle class in Sri Lanka which has been the theme of his novels in the past two decades. The Visidunu publication to be launched on April 27 deals with the period 1970-77 and discusses the political and social forces that worked during this time along with the personalities involved.

Amarasekera started the narrative with 'Gamanaka Mula' referring to the period 1930-48 and in the second book, 'Gamdorin Eliyata' continued the story of Piyadasa in the backdrop of the fast-changing socio-religious and political scene from 1948 to 1956. While the third book, 'Inimage Ihalata', deals with the dawn of a new era beginning with the 1956 political upheaval, the fourth titled 'Vankagiriya' traces the efforts by the middle class to grab power that was once held by the upper class and the fate of the intellectual in that context. The fifth volume titled 'Yali Maga Vetha' deals with Piyadasa going back to the traditional style of living which he had once rejected with contempt. The sixth, 'Duru Rataka Dukata Kiriyaka' relates Piyadasa's experiences during a stint abroad as a result of which he becomes a changed man both in mind and heart.

While his publications are popular among the reading public, many of Amarasekera's writings are being extensively used as educational material from the 0/Level and A/Level right up to post-graduate stage. No other Sinhala writer possibly can boast of such a record.

An interesting feature is how two of his works – 'Asathya Kathawak' and 'Premaye Satya Kathawa' which did not gain much recognition at the time they were published in the late seventies, won the Gratiaen Prize for creative writing as well as the State Literary Award for the Best Translation, when translated into English 25 years later.

The translations were by Vijitha Fernando. Incidentally the two novels have just been released as one since the two stories are interlinked. Amarasekera prefers to call them "twins". The new publication also carries a critical evaluation by Gevindu Cumaratunga.

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