Rendition
I speak for all humanity
Who will speak for me?
There’s a resounding silence
When there should be speech
Stones fill the mouth
Weigh down the tongue
Stones of oppression
Stones of fear and terror
A blow from an iron fist
Splits the sealed lips
Revealing a grimace of pain
You spit out words
Like broken teeth from your confessional
Words compelled by torture
Wrapped in a glittering foil of blood
J.A.
I write as a Sri Lankan writer to say that I have not only read the short stories of J. S. Tissainayagam in various Sri Lankan magazines and anthologies but also taught his work to students following the Diploma Course in Sri Lankan Literature (in English, together with translations in English) at the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE). I found his stories of great interest, as he dealt specifically with the Sri Lankan social milieu.
One story, about a group of Sinhalese people on a pilgrimage to Adam’s Peak, caught the nuances of Sinhala colloquial speech as rendered in English. Another story centres on the locale of the University of Peradeniya, and deals with the misunderstandings that could result in the divisiveness of English between the “kaduwa” group and the “non-kaduwa” group – a sensitive, highly perceptive story of attempts to bridge the chasm, exploring the language and attitudes of what is thought to be the elitist group of students belonging to the university’s Department of English.
One of my daughters, who lives abroad, recently reminded me of an incident that occurred when she was editing “Kaduwa”, the English language journal of the University of Peradeniya.
J. S. Tissainayagam, then a student himself, spent hours trying to persuade her to publish a short story written in English by one of the students, a Sinhala teacher from Anuradhapura. The story was published. I wonder whether either Mr. Tissainayagam or that teacher remembers the incident. It struck me as an important and sensitive issue.A family friend living in the US and presently holidaying in Sri Lanka answered my question about J. S. Tissainayagam recently. “What do you remember of Tissainayagam?” I asked her. “Many things,” she said. “He was always fearless about speaking the truth.”
I hope to read more of J. S. Tissainayagam’s fiction when he rejoins us in the world of writers. He has much potential and promise as a Sri Lankan creative writer. I would like to hear his voice again.
I also think, at this moment, of that eminent African writer who, several years ago, was imprisoned and hanged for his beliefs.
We should not create such parallels.
Jean Arasanayagam,
Kandy
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