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The Seeing Eye By Ransiri Menike Silva Published by Kandy Books, Rs. 350. Available at Vijitha Yapa, Sarasaviya and other leading bookshops Reviewed

The title given to this collection of short stories is very apt. The author does seem to observe people and events with a keener perception than most of us. She writes what I would call essentially Sri Lankan stories with sensitivity and a deep understanding of the complexities of human behaviour. The incidents out of which Ransiri Menike Silva has skilfully created people and situations to which the ordinary reader can relate, are not sensational – they are the stuff of everyday life.

She captures the reality of an absurd quarrel between brothers, a sharp difference of attitudes in respect of one particular thing between an otherwise harmonious couple, or the trying nature of a spouse who is over-generous in sharing his family's limited portion of the good things of life with a needy family across the road, with clarity tempered with compassion and sometimes a trace of humour.

In her first story, "The Barber Shop", she invests an ordinary happening, such as a little girl's going with her father and brother to the kind of barber saloon that was common many years ago, with the excitement a child might feel. We see the commonplace through the fascinated gaze of a little one. When the girl's mother eventually decides to take her instead to "The Ladies' Hair-Dressing Establishment" where her big sister had her hair cut, the child's first reaction is to cry and refuse to be comforted, when her father and brother next set out to the barber's shop without her. Yet, true to life, she is won over by the completely different charm of the new, modern place. The writer doesn't spoil the story by adding any comment of her own – she just ends it with the once-reluctant child thinking to herself of how exciting it all was, and how she "looked forward eagerly to my next visit; to the one after that; and to all the others that were to come." A fine example of the ironies of life!

Every story in this collection has its own bit of wisdom and its own appeal, but two of them made a deep impression on me. One is titled "The Glass Car" and revolves round a pretty little bauble in the shape of a little glass car brought by the male parent of the house from a trip abroad. His two young sons had amicably divided the gifts, one taking possession of a glass soldier and the other the car. Both items had stood alongside each other on their shared chest of drawers. With time, the boys grew up and discarded the once-prized glass soldier and glass car. They got married and seemed to draw even closer to each other with time. Since their wives became friends, they made a happy foursome, much to the delight of the parents. As is customary, both the young families made a bee-line to the parental home at New Year. It was on one such occasion, when everything seemed set for a happy family reunion that unforeseen and totally unexpected disaster struck. The little glass car had been cleaned and kept by their mother as a much-admired, sparkling ornament on her coffee table. She didn't permit the grandchildren to touch it.
On this particular New Year's day, the boisterous play of the 'grands' resulted in the little car being smashed to smithereens, and Gehan, the eldest grandchild, was held responsible for the breakage. When Achchi involuntarily screamed, her younger son, Gehan's hitherto fond uncle, erupted in rage, manhandled the boy and shouted at him. The frightened child started sobbing, and his father came to his rescue, and the two brothers engaged in an almighty row, quite out of proportion to the loss of an ornament.

It ended with each of them marching his tearful wife and children to the parked cars, and taking off abruptly without even speaking to the stunned old couple. Just then a loud burst of crackers in the neighbourhood heralded the auspicious time for partaking of the first meal of the New Year.

"The oil lamp on its bed of betel leaves and Jasmine flowers lay unlit on the table. Around it was laid a sumptuous meal… but the chairs at the table were empty. The glass car lay where it had fallen. The sunlight had moved away from it, and the pieces did not sparkle any more."

The desolate scene brought to this reader's mind the opening paragraph of the story, written in the first person, "It is unbelievable that such strong emotional forces could have churned round a cheap little ornament that nobody really wanted." But how true to life – and how convincingly the story is built up to the dramatic anti-climax that portrays human stupidity so well.

The other story that lingers in my mind is the final one in the book and is simply called "The Snake". A happy union of two people from two different religious backgrounds has two hearts that beat as one in most respects.

There was, however, one hidden area of dissent about the taking of animal life. "Father abhorred killing even the tiniest of insects, but Mother could not comprehend his attitude. She did not consider it a sin to kill lower forms of life, which she considered dangerous or expendable."

Things came to a head one day when a snake was found in their daughter's bedroom. A family friend, who was present at the time, declared the serpent to be a viper, and Mother fearfully said, "Kill it!" Father, true to his beliefs, wanted the creature's life spared, and his friend, out of deference to his wishes, prepared to trap the snake in a bottle. "Are you mad?" Mother was hysterical with fear. "You take that creature out and dump it in another man's garden, so that it can kill and kill again?"

Father called out again to his friend, "Don't kill it." As the friend pinned down the snake's head with a stick, and was positioning the bottle in order to trap it, Mother suddenly and unexpectedly rushed forward with a heavy stick and crushed the serpent's head with one strong blow.

Father said nothing, just puffed away at his pipe, but that night he ignored Mother's calls to him to come in for dinner. He went to bed without eating. When the daughter (who is supposedly the narrator of the story), later went past her parents' bedroom, the light was still on, and she saw her Father sleeping on the double bed with his face turned to the wall, while Mother lay beside him, staring up at the ceiling.

The story is beautifully told, with an economy of words and no obvious taking of sides by the daughter. Its poignancy hits home. We are what we are, and are shaped by our own upbringing, inherited beliefs and attitudes; change very rarely comes even where there is love, and pain is sometimes inevitable…

This is a book I am glad to have on my bookshelf. Writing comes naturally to Ransiri, it seems, being the daughter of D. T. Devendra and sister of author Tissa Devendra. This is her first published book, but many of her stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines. In 1990, she won the first prize in the All Island Short Story Competition organised by the English Association of Sri Lanka. May she be spurred now to give us more of her memorable tales.

A bumper issue (over 165 pages) of 'The Buddhist,' the Journal of the Colombo YMBA has been released to mark the 2550th Buddha Jayanthi. It is considered the earliest Buddhist journal in the world, having been started in 1888, (it was originally published by the Buddhist Theosophical Society founded by Colonel Olcott, and the YMBA took it over in 1902). This year's Vesak issue brings into focus the progress made since the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi 50 years ago, in addition to a fine selection of articles on Buddhism.

Writing on how the Buddha Jayanthi was planned and celebrated in 1956, Dr. Ananda W. P. Guruge, who was General Secretary of the Lanka Bauddha Mandalaya (under the Ministry of Home Affairs, since there was no separate Ministry for Buddhist Affairs) set up by the government to plan a wide ranging programme of activities, confesses that it was "the most exciting and fruitful three years of my life." While much has been achieved, he warns that there is no reason to be complacent.

He raises several issues: Do we need to revamp the leadership of the Sangha? How can we check the dwindling interest in Pali studies, and restore the high standards of Buddhist scholarship, especially among the Sangha? Is there a need to balance devotional and ritualistic elements of popular Buddhism with the essential serious approaches to study and practice? Is any section of the younger generation drifting from Buddhist values in favour of popular entertainment, resulting from globalisation? Food for thought indeed!

Discussing rebirth, Bhikkhu Bodhi states that though contemplating the presently existing phenomena is the key to the practice of insight meditation, it would be a fundamental mistake to hold that the entire practice of Dhamma consists in simply being mindful of the present moment.

"The Buddhist path stresses the role of wisdom as the means of liberation, and wisdom includes not only a penetration of the present moment in its vertical depths, but a comprehension of the past and future horizons, within which our present existence unfolds. To recognise the principle of rebirth will give us a panoramic standpoint from which we can survey our lives in their broader context and total network of relationships. This will spur us on in our own pursuit of the path, and will reveal the profound significance of the goal towards which our practice points – liberation from the cycle of rebirths as the ultimate end of suffering."

In a thought-provoking article, Professor Dhammavihari Thera stresses on the need for a consensus of opinion as to what the concept Buddha Sasana stands for. "Not to get together to buy more and more land, as is clearly evident, to build palatial residences here and there for these Sasana saviours. In Sri Lanka today, irrespective of age and learning, many a Buddhist monk in diverse stations in society becomes pre-eminent overnight within their own circles, and interprets even the injunctions of Pansil in their own fanciful ways. Let not Sri Lankans, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, turn a deaf ear to what is being said about items like 'paanatipaana', 'kamesu micchacara' and 'surameraya-majja-pamadatthana' through our own over-glorified media today," he says.

Dr. Kirinde Sri Dhammnanada Nayaka Thera offers some practical advice to those who worry themselves unnecessarily. Describing worries and miseries as twin evils that go hand on hand, he insists that we must not let these evils overcome us.

Editor Rajah Kuruppu, in his editorial 'Let them live' makes a plea not to press for re-imposing the death penalty. He is all for the reforming of criminals, and suggests that opportunities should be provided for them for spiritual and material development within the prison itself. He points out that by execution the murderer is deprived of an opportunity to engage in wholesome activities and build a fund of good 'kamma' that would stand in good stead in his 'samsaric' journey, despite the grave offence committed.

Several academics, including Professor Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera, Professor Asanga Tilakaratne and Professor Sunanda Mahendra, have contributed to this trilingual journal. An impressive record of Colombo YMBA activities has been included, giving the members (who incidentally will receive a copy free) a glimpse of the service of the institution to society. Most readers are bound to preserve the full colour reproduction of Soliyas Mendis' mural at the Kelaniya temple, depicting the arrival of the Sri Maha Bodhi, included in the magazine. Printed on art paper, it's ideal for framing. Advertisers have generously contributed towards the production of this quality publication, which non-members can purchase from the YMBA headquarters at Borella.

Editor Rajah Kuruppu has obviously spent a lot of time and effort in producing this journal, which offers an ideal mix for the average reader irrespective of whether he is a Buddhist or a non-Buddhist.

The Road To Peradeniya: An Autobiography of Sir William Ivor Jennings
Lake House Investments Ltd, Colombo. Pages 276

Reviewed by Prof. Wiswa Warnapala

It was Ian Goonetilleke’s involvement in the preparation of this edition of the autobiography of Sir Ivor Jennings that prompted me to write this review. Ian Goonetilleke was undoubtedly the doyen of Sri Lankan bibliographical studies, and he, posthumously, needs to be congratulated for undertaking the task of editing this autobiography, the very title of which shows the nature of Jennings’s involvement in the establishment of the University of Ceylon, and the admiration with which the project was completed. Many interesting details pertaining to the planning and construction of the university, including its buildings, halls of residence, the faculty buildings, landscaping and even locations where trees are to be planted, are discussed in his autobiography.

Such meticulous care had been taken in planning the setting of the campus. This was perhaps one reason why Jennings called his autobiography, The Road To Peradeniya, which, for all graduates and teachers who spent their student and academic careers at Peradeniya, is compulsory reading, in order to refresh their memories as to the scenic beauty and the intellectual atmosphere of the Peradeniya campus. I myself spent nearly 35 years of my adult life at Peradeniya – very much inside the campus – and this work of Jennings gave me the opportunity to recollect and recount the experiences and reminiscences of the place, both as an undergraduate and as a member of the academic community for more than three decades. Peradeniya still remains the best place in the world, and Jennings, referring to this aspect, states in page 183 that “there is not the slightest doubt that if the university is worthy of its location, it will be one of the finest small universities in the world. I should feel sure of my own judgment in the matter, even if the whole world denied it.”

Jennings also produces a quotation from a Swiss professor, who having visited Peradeniya, wrote a letter to Jennings, where he says that “the site of this new highest school of your country as well as its architectural shape at large and in detail, aroused my enthusiasm and almost envy. There is nothing like it in Continental Europe.” No wonder that there was a massive battle to decide on the site of the university – the Battle of the Sites, about which present day Vice Chancellors know nothing.

Jennings wanted to develop a tradition in the university itself in order to make it a fraternity of masters and scholars engaged in the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, and the production of young men and women with personality and judgment. One can ask the question whether such lofty objectives have been realised; it was true that such achievements were possible in the initial phase, when the university was to cater to 1600 students, but the subsequent expansion, which became inevitable due to educational and social changes, interfered with the original plans in the areas of intellectual activity and academic standards. It maintained the vital features of a centre of excellence, and the institution, though it has begun to deteriorate due to a wide variety of factors, could still be salvaged with proper academic leadership and with a resurrection of the intellectual life of the community.

My learned friend, Prof. K. N. O. Dharmadasa, in a recent talk, saw monolingualism as the sole reason for the visible decline in the intellectual life of universities, and this in my view, explains only a part of the problem. Jennings, in his article ‘Universities in the Colonies,’ which was published in Political Quarterly (Vol. 17, 1946) argued for elitist universities. Though we have deviated from that position where university education was the sole monopoly of the privileged elite of the colonial period, the expansion of the system should not carry along with it the destruction of academic standards.

Dr. N. M. Perera, writing a review of Jennings’s Constitution Of Ceylon (1949) to the University of Ceylon Review (UCR), stated that Jennings was an expert in omniscience, and his autobiography amply demonstrates that he was an individual who wanted to dabble in different fields of activity. In his period in Sri Lanka, which ran to nearly 15 years, Jennings, in addition to being the Vice Chancellor, whose major assignment was the construction of an independent residential university, got involved in public policy making and constitution making at a crucial period of Sri Lanka’s political history. It was perhaps such involvements which prompted the description of Jennings as an expert in omniscience.

Jennings started his academic career at the University of Leeds, and his first publication was on Local Government. It was during this period that he began collecting material for his seminal work, Cabinet Government, which still remains the authoritative and definitive work on the subject. Cabinet Government was published in 1936, and within two years, he was able to produce Parliament, which again is a seminal work on the subject. In my view, both these publications – Cabinet Government and Parliament – are monumental works, which gave Jennings a reputation as a scholar.

Jennings made a pioneering contribution to political studies and not much attention has been paid to this aspect in his autobiography. One cannot expect a person of the calibre of Jennings to write on his own productions, because he was pre-occupied with events such as the building of the university and the making of the Constitution. Some reference has to be made to such studies as the Constitution Of Ceylon (1949) and the Economy Of Ceylon (1951). Numerous articles were published on various aspects of the politics of the island, and he initiated the study of elections by writing a pioneering piece on the General Election of 1947.

In addition to his active role in the area of constitution-making, Jennings was involved in civil defence work during the war, and it was during this period that he came to know Sir Oliver Goonetilleke.

The chapter on War Service gives a brief description of his work in the Civil Defence Department. It was during this period that Jennings began discussing political and constitutional issues of the day with Sir Oliver, who was then advising D. S. Senanayake on constitutional issues. Jennings writes (page 128) that “I was asked for advices about many of them, and especially about the most important of all, the attainment by Ceylon of independence.” According to Jennings, it was this triumvirate – D. S. Senanayake, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke and Jennings – which planned the strategies to obtain Independence in 1948.

I expected more details in Chapter XI on constitution-making, but most of it appeared in the book titled Constitution Of Ceylon. Jennings, in fact, says that his purpose is not to conduct a post-mortem. Jennings, as he explains in this chapter, was the person behind the defence agreements, and this is what he writes, “It was apparent to us in 1942 that Ceylon could never provide herself with ships, aircraft, tanks and equipment generally required for her own defence. Britain needed to defend Ceylon in her own interest. Ceylon needed British assistance. It seemed obvious that a deal was possible.” This was an indirect support for a defence agreement. He says that the ‘Declaration of 1943’ was given to him by D. S. Senanayake, who wanted him to study and comment on it.

This autobiography of Jennings, The Road To Peradeniya covers the period of 1903 to 1965, and it came to be published after nearly forty years, during which period most of his assertions and judgments have undergone a massive transformation. He spent nearly 15 years in Sri Lanka, and it was a creative period of his excellent academic career, and he as his autobiography graphically mentions, made his mark in many a field in Sri Lanka.

Jennings was opposed to certain trends in Sri Lanka at that time. For instance, he opposed the introduction of the Free Education Scheme by C. W. W. Kannangara, the use of Swabasha as the medium of instruction, and he despised the use of the national dress. At one stage, he described Sri Lanka as a cultural desert. Such statements invited both criticism and controversy, but Jennings loved to thrive on controversy. Such statements of his were born out of his intellectual arrogance, and it showed that Jennings was getting ready to oppose the emerging forces of nationalism, the forces associated with cultural awakening and the forces of the impact of de-colonisation, which took the postcolonial state of Sri Lanka in a different direction.

Though Jennings could not stop those forces of the newly emergent state, he, through his autobiography and several of his publications on Sri Lanka, needs to be remembered for his outstanding contribution to the development of the University of Peradeniya, as the main seat of higher learning in the country.

There is yet another vital reason for which Jennings needs to be remembered; he made an indelible mark on the constitutional process of the country. He played a key role in the transfer of political power and in the construction of a new constitutional order. He failed to recognise the progressive content of the 1956 political change and over-exaggerated the populist character of the change, and described it as communal. His contribution to Sri Lanka, though still subject to controversy, could be resurrected by reading The Road To Peradeniya. The very title shows that Jennings always considered the University of Peradeniya as his monumental contribution to the development of Sri Lanka as a modern nation.