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Wednesday, May 13, 2015
The story of the red shirt

The story of the red shirt

Sunday, 12 April 2015

by Husna Inayathullah 

Astrology plays a significant role in the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Astrologers mark the auspicious time for every activity. There is a time to take the last bath of the old year, a time to stop work and a time to start work. There is a time to light the hearth, boil a pot of milk and to take the first meal of the New Year. There is a direction in which to face and an auspicious colour to wear.

This year's colour is said to be red.The dress colour code varies from year to year in keeping with the colour meant for the particular year. Following the rituals bringsabout peace and happiness to the people and country. It will also secure good fortune in the year ahead.

The new year began with joyous sounds of merriment. Kalana and Thilina were so excited and happy to celebrate the day. Their mother had made dishes of delicious kiribath with spicy onion and chillie sambol. The delicious aroma spread allover the house.

"Children get dressed with your new red shirts. We have to visit our neighbours and friends to greet and share the sweetmeats. Hurry up!, " said ammi.

"Alright Ammi, we will be ready in15 minutes time," said Kalana.

"Ammi, where is my red shirt? I kept it inside my cupboard. Where is it? I cannot find it,"cried Thilina.
"I don't know putha. I did not see or take it. You might have put it somewhere. Search for it. You will find it," said Ammi.

Thilina was so worried as he could not find his red shirt. He searched for it everywhere. He looked for it on his bed, under his bed, inside the cupboard, over the cupboard and all over the house but he could not find it anywhere.

"What shall I do now Ammi? I could not find my red shirt. I am so worried," Thilina told his mother.
"Now it is too late. I asked you to arrange your clothes yesterday but you did not do it. Now you wear the white shirt which thaththi bought for you," his mother said.

Thilina was not satisfied with what his mother told him. His face became pale and tear drops started to roll down his cheeks.

"Knock! Knock! The front door banged. Thilina went to open the door and it was none other than his his Sudu Maama from the village.

"Happy new year Thilina! How areyou? Why do you look so pale and worried? I have bought a small present for you. Hope you will like it," said Sudu maama.

"Happy new year to you Sudu Maame.I am fine," said Thilina.

Thilina unwrapped the gift and to his surprise it was a red coloured shirt from his Sudu Maama. "Thankyou so much Maame. I was so worried because I lost my red shirt. Now you have bought one for me. Thank you so much," said Thilina.

Thilina felt so happy and great. He quickly ran into his room and got dressed to visit his neighbours and friends with sweetmeats.

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Renaissance in art and culture

Renaissance in art and culture

Sunday, 13 April 2014

By Husna Inayathullah 
D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Kelaniya. He is a well-established and recognised critic of the 20th century and post-colonial literature, and a leading authority on Sri Lankan English literature. He is an authority on British literature of the Empire and the Commonwealth in general, and Sri Lankan writing in particular.

He was elected World Chairperson, Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) and organised its conference of 1995 which brought honour to the country.
He was Foundation Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, a Fellow Commoner of Churchill College, University of Cambridge and a Henry Charles Chapman Visiting Fellow, University of London and Guest Professor of English at the University of Tubingen, Germany. He holds a unique record in Sri Lanka as a distinguished scholar.

His major works in English literature include Developing Countries in British Fiction, acknowledged by international academia as a pioneering step in post-colonial studies, Images of the Raj, South Asia in the Literature of the Empire. Joseph Conrad:Beyond Culture and Background and Salman Rushdie.

He has served his own country by introducing the work of many Sri Lankan writers to readers and scholars worldwide through six anthologies. In “Sri Lankan English Literature and the Sri Lankan People 1917-2003” he has provided a comprehensive contemporary history of Lanka with an evaluation of Sri Lanka creative writing from its origins to the present day.

The impressive achievements were attained parallel to 44 years of imparting knowledge to students and serving on numerous national committees on cultural activities and the teaching of English.
In an interview with the Sunday Observer’s Montage, D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke speaks about literary criticism and related subjects.

Excerpts

Question: Literary criticism is your forte. What are your special interests in this field? 

Answer: Over the years I have lectured on literature from Chaucer to the present in the university. I have actually published a book on literature from Shakespeare to the present and I find that even my work on Chaucer has come in useful on and off. Yet my full length studies of British writers have been from 1880 to the present.

That is, Rudyard Kipling, E.M. Foster, Leonard Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, Joyce Cary, Joseph Conrad and Salman Rushdie. However, at the moment I am best known for my work on Conrad and Rushdie. My recent book Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (Rouledge London and New York) has been highly acclaimed.

My edition of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (Canada:Broad View Literary Texts) has been reprinted several times. My study of Salman Rushdie originally published in 1998 went into a second edition in 2010 where I take into account Rushdie’s novels published after the first edition of my book.

It has been a pleasure to me that both non-Muslim and Muslim critics have found my Rushdie book acceptable. My longest chapter is of course on the Satanic Verses, which earned Rushdie the fatwa. I have published 21 books in all. My book “Images of the Raj” was published by Macmillan, London, in 1988 and because experts had praised it, the publishers have kept the book in print till today.

Of special interest to Sri Lankan readers is that this book contains the most thorough account of Leonard Woolf’s Sri Lankan works especially Village in the jungle. I have also published short contributions on American, British, Norwegian, Indian and New Zealand literature in Reference books and Encyclopaedias. In sum, I am interested, and have published literary criticism, in a variety of fields.

Complete history

Q: Your Sri Lankan literature and the Sri Lankan people 1917-2013 is a complete history of Sri Lanka’s English literature from its beginnings to 2003. Do you wish to update it? 

A: As a Sri Lankan, I naturally respond to the literature around me. I have anthologised Sri Lankan literature in English several times for publishers in India, notably Penguin Books, and for Vijithah Yapa in Sri Lanka. The latest books are Kaleidoscope Volumes I and II published by Vijitha Yapa.

My most valuable contribution in this field is my book Sri Lankan literature and the Sri Lankan people 1917-2013 published by Vijitha Yapa.

This is a complete one-volume history on Sri Lankan English literature seen in the context on the history of the Sri Lankan people. It provides not only a literary history but also a cultural and social history of the modern age.

At the time I wrote the book, Sri Lanka was grappling with terrorism. I found after writing the book that my longest chapter was on this subject, running into 54 pages. The book went into a second edition in two years and I then added my revised view of Leonard Woolf’s Village in the jungle as an appendix.

I hope to update the book once the second edition is sold out. Actually, I have written on Sri Lankan literature in English after 2003 for Encyclopaedias published abroad.

Q: You are the co-author of Learning English-Books I and II. These are very useful books for students. How did you include these in your repertoire? 

A: It is a little known fact of my career that I followed a Diploma course in English Language Teaching in a prestigious foreign institution. Even though we were taught a course on the English Language at the University of Peradeniya as a part of B.A Honours program, I felt I needed this extra knowledge when I was put in charge of the Intensive Course in English in all Sri Lankan universities in the 1980s.

 I studied Language Planning abroad and wrote an essay on the subject for a Sri Lankan journal in 1983. In that essay I have put down in writing an idea that I had expressed verbally earlier at meetings--that English language should be taught to all students at the Advanced Level and a paper on English language should be included in the Advanced Level examination; a pass in it would not be compulsory for university admission but would serve as a useful qualification.

This was meant to empower both urban and rural students. I was unable to get this idea implemented because of opposition. The country lost approximately two decades. Two colleagues and I published Learning English I and later book II.

Language teaching

Q: When it comes to language teaching, should we teach Sri Lankan English or British English? 

A: In our books we have taught English as spoken and written by educated Sri Lankans. We have not divorced speech from writing. We think that students should write in the same way they speak but we have not taught Sri Lankan English as is presently conceived and we have not created this kind of artificial issue.

There is no definitive book on Sri Lankan English and though my books have been published abroad, it has never occurred to me that I am writing International Standard English. I think these labels would impede rather than assist English education in Sri Lanka.

Q: What do you think of the cultural scene in Sri Lanka? 

A: After terrorism ended, I see a remarkable liberation of creative impulses in Sri Lanka. I find that there are now more plays being written and staged in Sri Lanka in English and Sinhala, and this is partly because audiences are now not afraid to go to the theatre. Drama especially requires a live audience.

I also find that there is a great deal of music being produced in Sinhala and the most striking feature of it is that there is an enormous number of happy and lively songs being sung, for more than I have heard in the past. I have also been struck by Tamil pop music and dancing which do not accord with traditional Tamil culture.

It also gives me pleasure to see on television the open air pop concerts which include Sinhala, Tamil and Hindi music, and people dancing in a way we did not see for 30 years. Altogether there is a great renaissance in the arts and a great sense of freedom.

Q: A few decades ago literary criticism was a serious subject at universities. Do you think that the present generation takes literary criticism seriously? 

A: A part of my pleasure in being published by reputed publishers abroad stemmed from the belief that I was blazing a trail for younger academics to follow, and I do hope they will. When I was halfway through my career, the late Ian Goonetilleke (incidentally, he is not a relative of mine), Sri Lanka’s greatest bibliographer, said that “I was on a lonely eminence.” This should not be the case.
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'Join us and feel how well we live’

'Join us and feel how well we live’

Sunday, 10 May 2015

by Husna Inayathullah

Five leopards with their rusty yellow coats, dark spots and close-set rosettes on their bodies could be seen walking about in the Pinnawela zoo. These were the only animals that caught our fancy. They are also known as Panthera pardus kotiya. Their enigmatic expressions were a draw.

The theme ‘Join us and feel how well we live’ is a reality when one sees the huge leopards moving freely and hiding behind trees. Their skin with rosettes were similar to those of the jaguar.

 It was really amazing to watch them running within their boundary. Their eyes were enormous but they never got fully round like a big cat's pupils do.They were looking at the visitors in a shrewd manner making funny sounds.

We were rather surprised at the growls made by a female leopard as she was trying to climb a tree.
The zoo follows International trend in specialised zoos that rare animals in environments stimulating their natural ecological habitats.

The zoo is adjoining the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Anyone who makes a visit to the zoo, could visit the Elephant Orphanage as well.
we think it is little too early anyway to visit the zoo because most of the animals are still to come. Once the animals are transferred here , then it will be a worthwhile visit.

 The Pinnawala zoo is still under construction. They are planning to bring in more and more animals in the near future. The crocodile and sloth bear ranges are also still under construction.
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Mom's the world!

Mom's the world!

 Sunday, 10 May 2015
 
Sri Lankan mothers ranked the healthiest in South Asia:
by Husna Inayathullah

Sri Lankan mothers are among the region's healthiest, ahead of other South Asian neighbours and on par with the Maldives, according to a recent global assessment.

The State of the World's Mothers Report 2015, ranked Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Jamaica 92nd - an assessment which measures how much a country's mothers have their needs as moms met and produce the healthiest babies.

As opposed to this, Nepal and Bangladesh have remained the same as last year being placed 114 and 130, respectively.

India has dropped three points since last year and is ranked at 140. Pakistan and Afghanistan - both countries previously known to have the worst conditions for mothers and children - have dropped even further.
Afghanistan was ranked at 152, falling from last year's 146, and Pakistan was ranked at 149, falling from last year's 147.

Urbanization

To celebrate Mother's Day this year, 'Save the Children' published its 16th annual State of the World's Mothers Report focusing on the urbanizing world and the pathetic situation mothers and children face to survive as towns grow and villages shrink.

According to research, among 179 countries, Sri Lanka ranks 92 in maternal health.

According to the country report in 2014, Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) which is the fifth goal of the Millennium Developing Goals (MDG) launched recently, Sri Lanka has achieved considerable success in reducing MMR since the 1940s.
Based on an overall study, the Ministry of Health has estimated the MMR as 39.3 per 100,000 live births in 2006.

This is considered to be the lowest in South Asia with near universal access to health care and 98 percent institutional deliveries.

Sri Lanka is on track to meet MDG standards in improving maternal health but the MMR rates in certain districts in the war- affected areas and in the Nuwara Eliya districts were still low.

A political commitment to reducing maternal mortality has led to the expansion of hospitals and clinics in the country, which women were encouraged to visit for pregnancy care and delivery.

Midwives

Sri Lankan mothers with their babies.

Each district in Sri Lanka also has a group of midwives responsible for providing basic home care for pregnant women and new mothers.

The maternal mortality rate in Sri Lanka fell from 340 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1960 to just 43 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2005. 98 percent of all births take place in hospital in Sri Lanka, and 99 percent of women have at least one antenatal care visit and skilled attendance at delivery.

Norway, Finland and Iceland top the rankings this year. The top 10 countries are Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Australia. In general, these countries attain very high scores for mothers' and children's health, educational, economic and political status.

The US ranks 33rd. Niger, Congo, Central African Republic and Mali are some of the countries in the bottom 10 countries. Somalia scores last among the countries surveyed.

The worst ranked countries are conflict-affected and considered to be fragile states, which mean they are failing fundamentally to perform functions necessary to meet their citizens' basic needs.

Every day, all around the world 17,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday. Most of these deaths occur in city slums where overcrowding and poor sanitation exist.

The poorest mothers and children cannot get the care they need. Urbanization has a positive and negative impact on health. Better access to health services, education, sanitation and safe water supply which accompanies urbanization can improve health conditions.

When urbanization is rapid it results in poor sanitary conditions and overcrowding.
All of which can accelerate the spread of disease and lead to poor health conditions.
In most developing countries, the poorest urban children are at least twice as likely to die as the richest urban children. In some countries, they are three to five or even more times as likely to die.

Reason to be elated


Chandrani Bandara, Minister 
 of Women’s Affairs.
"The maternal death rate has reduced, thus giving us reason to be elated," said Minister of Women's Affairs, Chandrani Bandara attributes it to the successful health programs being carried out by the Government.

"Sri Lanka has shown remarkable improvement in reducing the maternal death rate since 1940 due to the national health programs conducted by the Ministry of Health", she said.

Maternal care has been the focus of the Ministry of Health. Offering a free health service for sometime now has minimized unequal access to health care services, specially for women, she said"

"We are happy according to the report, Sri Lanka has achieved a top slot among 179 countries and is the best place for mothers to be in the South Asian region', she said.

 

A healthy Sri Lankan mother with her baby

 

Health care

In sharp contrast, Sri Lanka and the Maldives were ranked 92nd in the World's Mothers' Index.

She further said that the midwife was the frontline health worker, providing health care to mothers and children within the community. Maternal and child health is an important component of the national health policy in Sri Lanka, she said. Sri Lanka has a well-developed health system with a qualified health workforce.

The under five mortality rate per 1000 live births is 9.6 The government provides pre and post natal care for mothers through family health workers attached to all Grama Niladari Divisions. Awareness has been created because of the programs conducted by the government and mothers were now aware of a child's nutrition.
Breastfeeding in Sri Lanka has increased to 76% in 2007.Sri Lanka'spoverty has come down and the earning capacity has increased which has enabled parents to provide a better life for children.

 Photo: State of the World’s mother’s report (2015)
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When the Vedda young fall in love... ...and get married:

When the Vedda young fall in love... ...and get married:

 Sunday, 10 May 2015

by Husna Inayathullah 


Dating, courting, falling in love... getting married... Heady stuff that turns romance novels into bestsellers and movies into box office hits, is an intriguing ritual in the jungles of Dambana, when the Vedda young fall in love.

Courting is a dance of subterfuge with the Kekula and Kekuli (Vedda boy and girl) creating opportunities for their rendezvous in the jungle. Kekula while on his way to hunting or gathering wild honey, Kekuli while going for a bath in the river, collect firewood or while plucking fruits from trees.

Love is a beautiful feeling, an action, an experience, no matter who you are or where you are. And it is no different for this young Vedda couple in Kotabakkiniya, deep in the jungles in Dambana.

The Kekula and Kekuli who fell in love on a jungle footpath, had been meeting each other deep in the forest for about a year, before the Kekuli decided to share their secret with her Thathilai Aththo (father).

The affair

Thathilai Aththo, advises the Kekula to apprise to his parents about the affair and get their permission to be away from home for three months. This is part of the Vedda courtship ritual where the Kekula has to stay with the Kekuli's father for three months, proving himself man enough to take on the responsibilities of being husband and father. He is given a range of activities to perform, testing his skills, talents and intelligence.

The three-month period, while literally a probation period to check the Kekula's suitability as a husband, with many trials and tests to overcome, is also a testing tightrope walk on future father-in-law - son-in-law relationship.
Thathilai Aththo tests the Kekula with many skills, including hunting, gathering honey, knowledge about the way of the jungle, skills with the bow and arrow and how he handles the varied dangers of forest life.
In this three months if the Thathilai Aththo finds the Kekula suitable to marry his daughter and if he is happy with his skills and talents, he approves for the marriage to go ahead takes the necessary steps to make discuss it with the Kekula's family.

Livelihood skills

The Vedda community has a caste system, but it is usually brushed aside when it comes to marriages, with priority being given to livelihood skills.

According to the traditions of the Vedda community, all young Vedda couples need the permission of the Vedda's leader, Vishvakeerthi Wanaspathi Uru Walige Wannila Aththo to get married. In this instance the Kekula and the Kekuli when to meet the tribal leader in the company of their parents and elders, taking a huge gift basket for the leader in order to get a warm welcome.

The basket contained bee honey, kurakkan rotty, kurakkan flour, sweetmeats such as kokis, kevum, maize and dried hunted meat, all wrapped beautifully in traditional style. Such goods are considered very valuable gifts to receive the leader's blessing and permission.

The parents tell the leader about the couple. In Vedda's language they say, ''Me ettho mangachchawa me eththange kekula me etthige kakulita mana pojja thibenawa. Nayka etthoge manapa pojje thibeynawanam me eththo dekama wiwana pojjata manapa pajja thibbenawa,'' meaning they like to give their daughter and son in marriage. Thereafter the leader asks the couple whether they like each other.

A family life

After the leader's permission for the marriage is obtained, the bride's parents present a winnowing fan, an axe, bow and arrows, a puppy and a mat to the couple. They consider those to be the major necessities to start a family life.

The wedding present from the Kekula's family is essential items that would enable the new couple to live comfortably for about three weeks. Thereafter it becomes the duty of the Kekula to make his own living. He is told by the father-in-law to find a suitable place inside the forest and build a hut of their liking.

The Kekula has to make a home from leaves and barks for him and his love to live together after marriage.

After Wannila Aththo grants permission for the marriage but the marriage takes place and the couple start living under one roof, they are taken to the Danu Muttak who is considered the wise and intelligent person in the forest. The Danu Muttak advices the couple on how to start a fresh and beautiful life and how to plan for a happy future. He is given a tray of sweetmeats, a gesture of happiness by the couple's parents.

They go back to Wannila Aththo for the second time with a Kadak Kachchuwa, which is gift pack with sweetmeats. The whole village is given sweetmeats as part of the celebrations. There are no ceremonies, grand functions and pretty dresses. The wedding, as in the life of the Veddas is a very simple affair.

The marriage and family life of the Veddas is simple and uncomplicated. There is no lavish spending, and the suitability of a boy to be a husband is not determined by the wealth he owns, but his strength as a hunter gatherer. Soon after a marriage if the village is able to hunt well, they believe it is due to the luck of the newly wedded couple.

The blessings and the happiness of the kale ponja which means the forest, suwande ponj, a which means the sweet fragrance from the flowers and the chappi, which is the beautiful songs of the birds surround the new couple. They bless them to live a healthy and a long life.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Contrary assurance

Contrary assurance

Sunday, 3 May 2015

Contrary assurance 

by Husna Inayathullah

As the death, injured and displaced toll of the massive earthquake in Nepal continues to climb, the Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Nepal, W.M. Seneviratne has assured no Sri Lankans have been affected in the devasted areas.

At present 120 Sri Lankan students are studying at the Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, six at Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel and eight at Tribhuvan University, Kiritipur.

Assistant Director of Foreign Affairs who co-ordinates operation rooms at the Disaster Management for the earthquake, U. Ahamed Razee said, “The road journey is six hours from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Students at the Manipal University had not been affected by the earthquake, those in the Kathmandu and Tribhuvan Universities have been affected but bore no physical injuries.

The Dean of the University of Manipal, Brig. Dr. B.M. Nagpal has cautioned the students not to panic but accustom themselves to face disasters. The university is functioning and the lectures are conducted as usual.”

He said the Dean of the University of Manipal had a meeting with the students to discuss the issue and has pursuaded the students to stay back to complete the syllabus and sit for the final examination.

President of the Manipal University Parents Association, Dr. Pradeep de Silva said, “The students at the Manipal University are not affected by the catastrophe. The Dean of the University does not want the media to speak to their students on this issue. They are attending lectures as usual” he said.

“Most of the newspapers and television channels give false information that our students are affected and that they are returning to Sri Lanka.
It is a pity that they spread false news. Some students come back to Sri Lanka due to personal reasons and not due to the quake. Those who returned to Sri Lanka before the quake are unable to go back to Nepal”, he said.

The story that the students were inconvenienced due to the tremors and spent two nights at the sports ground opposite the university is a myth.

He said the group of 25 students of the under 14 women’s football team returned to Sri Lanka on April 28, by the Sri Lanka Air Force C130 aircraft. None of the Sri Lankan students of the Manipal Medical College, returned.

According to the Ministry of Higher Education no scholarships are awarded to Sri Lankan students to Universities in Nepal at present. Most of the Sri Lankan students studying in Nepal are private students.

 
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Monday, April 20, 2015
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