Written and
published in January 2011, this is a story retold of simple folk who enrich our
lives. The recall is made for I learnt that there is a book written in
conversation with her. I read excerpts of it and they were of her adventures in
her youth. This story is about how she
touches lives of rural folk with her charm, simplicity and competence.
My ‘Ge’ (family lineage)
name is ‘Adambarage’. It literally means ‘from the house of the proud ones’.
That was the Ge name my father, his father and so on had, as the first prefix
to their name. Being adopted into this family of the proud ones, I too was
bestowed with that name. My father was A. Z. de Alwis. At work in the Railways, he was called ‘A to
Z’.
This last weekend, I
had occasion to revisit lineage and touch on Ge names when I was with a lady and
a young man I admire most. Iranganie (Chandi) Serasinghe and Malinda (was born
too late for me to call him by his nick name) Seneviratne.
Waning Phenomenon
On Sunday on our way
back, Chandi and I made a visit to an arms-giving, held in memory of late Thusith
Gunesekara of the Kiula village, where we met a member of that family. She told
us that although she was from the Deep-South, she now lives in Mt. Lavinia. She
went on to tell us that most of Mt. Lavinia is now owned by Southerners. I interrupted
her with a somewhat rude “that’s where I was born, at Watarappala road”. I felt
a heaviness of heart and my rationality was overshadowed, when I was told that
my area of birth was ‘invaded’ by ‘pitagmakarayas’ (persons from outside of the
area). A waning phenomenon, but still a concern indeed for many among us, in
the South, North, Centre and elsewhere of our land. I took solace in the fact
that I am today ‘a pitagamkaraya’ living in the village of Kiula; generating a dent
on that phenomenon.
Read Learn Practise
Talking about lineage,
you can not beat that of the one who played ‘Sudu Hamine’ in the tele-film
‘Yashoravaya’. In real life, she hails from Ruwanwella in the ancient kingdom
of Seethawaka. Iranganie Serasinghe nee Meedeniya is a true Lama Thani, more
like the role played by her in the film ‘Bak Maha Deege’ as the Mudali Thuma’s
young wife. Today, at the prime age of
84, she told the Kiula audience of readers young and old, that ‘one can not be
a good actor or an actress, or any thing for that matter, if one does not read
or continue to learn and practise one’s skill’. She said that she continues to
read, learn and practice even today and will do so, as long as she lives. She went on to say, ”mama me dan rangapanawa
newai, attha jeevithya ganai kiyaane” (this is for real and about my life for I
am not acting today).
Malinda on the other
hand hails from Kurunegala and also carries an elitist lineage. I knew his
father as the man of few spoken words and as the only bearded board member of
the Ceylon Tourist Board, representing the Government’s Treasury Department in
the early eighties. There were whispers outside the boardroom then, that he was
from a ‘good’ family but had ‘left’ leanings.
Different Strokes
At Salawa near
Avissawella I stopped at the ‘Seilama’, the glazed pottery-ware shop to pick up
a ‘family set’ of mugs that has cutely painted the words Amma, Thattha, Nangi,
Akka, Malli and Ayyiya on them. I wanted to surprise Malinda, Samadanie and
their two lovely daughters with a ‘thank you’ gift. I was faced with a
dichotomy though, for the shop did not carry a mug that said ‘Appachchi’. They
only had ‘Thatha’. I requested the manager that they consider making mugs with
‘Appachchi’ and also in Tamil with ‘Amma’, ‘Appa’, Thambi, Thangachchi etc.
Malinga told the Kiula
villagers that he must thank them for borrowing books from the library and for
reading with such interest. He said that without readers, writers like him will
be out of a job and will not be able to earn a living. Apart from all the good
that reading did for each of them, he urged them to continue to grow their
reading habit, also for the sake of writers like him. That drew light laughter
and the point was registered clear and strong. “Not only should you read. You
must also write and write and write”, he said.
Loving and Caring
The village folk that
met and saw ‘Sudu Hamine’ for the first time outside of cinemas or their
television screens, begged her indulgence to call her ‘Sudu Amma’. A young lady
came up to her, worshipped at her feet and said “Sudu Achchita Budhu Bawa
Athwei”. (May you our Fair Grand Mother have the blessings of the Buddha). Malinda
and she were at the Kiula Kiyawana Gunaya Mobile Library’s 2nd Award
Presentation of the quarterly quiz on reading, last weekend as special guests.
There was love and
caring all around. Substance without frills, it was. No posters, no polythene
or gokkola decorations, no drummers, no false promises, nothing was asked for;
surely not their votes, nobody got sold or sold anything to anybody. Two little
village children greeted the special guests with beetle leafs and a lovely
exchange of good vibes radiated. Good, clean food for though to complement the
talaguli, biscuit, banana and osu- pan (herbal tea) treat they had before the
event began. There were no losers, only winners. No one had to beat another to
win. No first places, second places or third places. All thirty one qualifying participants
got a glazed-pottery mug and the ten ‘winners’ in two age groups i.e. five to
fifteen and fifteen and above, had additional ‘rewards’ of a mango and pomegranate
plant each, pens, notepads and a Sinhala-Tamil Dictionary.
Sharing Merit
To me the highlight
was when a younger child from the village said “mamata pinsiddhawenawa ape aaccchiwai,
me mamawai meheta genawata”(may you be blessed with much merit for bringing our
grand-mother and this uncle to us). Most of that merit I share with Nalaka
Malli, who actually runs the mobile library each Saturday afternoon.
But I selfishly retain
for myself the spirit of that statement, for that makes me humble and brings me
joy.
Sharing thoughts with a group of village folk
Pix credit: Self
Pix credit: Self
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