Features
Books that capture richness of Sri Lanka
An Interview with renowned Author Asiff Hussein, whose latest work, The Zeylonese Treasure Book of Myth, Mystery and Mystique has just hit the shelves.
by Ifham Nizam
Q: You are a prolific writer and the author of several books on Sri Lanka. So, let’s go back to the very beginning. What inspired you to be a writer?
A: It’s a long story really. I started life as a freelance journalist contributing to Explore Sri Lankatravel magazine. That was back in the mid-1990s.These articles covered all manner of things to do with Sri Lankan culture and one very early article I wrote dealt with the origins and evolution of the Sinhala language. I was fascinated how Sinhala was related to many other languages including a good many European languages. This was something never taught to us in school.
So, I guess that’s where it all started. This fascination with the Indo-European family of languages of which Sinhala was very much a member, separated from the rest of the family on the mainland by a large swath of Dravidian speakers in South India. What was equally fascinating was that the parent form of this great family of languages had also been reconstructed by German scholars such as August Schleicher way back in the 1800s. That the Sinhala language had many words in common with other Indian, Iranian and European languages in its basic vocabulary such as kinship terms, body parts, numerals etc. was something so intriguing that I decided to expand on it.
The resulting work after several years of study incorporated not only the origins and evolution of the Sinhala language in much more detail, but also traced the origin of its early speakers to the Southern Russian and Ukraine regions through Central Asia and eventually to West Bengal before they finally settled in Sri Lanka. This formed by far the major portion of the work, but I also thought it necessary to cover the origins of the rest of the communities that have made this beautiful island their home. It was a multi-disciplinary study that incorporated historical data, linguistics, anthropology and geography among other things. The resulting book is titled The Lion and the Sword. An Ethnological Study of Sri Lankawas launched at the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka in 2001.
In 2009, I further expanded on this work to include ten comprehensive chapters and retitled it Zeylanica. A Study of the Peoples and Languages of Sri Lanka, which is presently in its third edition. The earlier work however continues to be cited on occasion including in the latest genetic study of the people of the country in the form of a scientific paper Xchromosomal STR based genetic polymorphisms and demographic history of Sri Lankan ethnicities and their relationship with global populations by Nandika Perera, Gayani Galhena and Gaya Ranawaka contributed to Nature Journal’s Scientific Reports of 2021.
Q: What are your other major works and what do they deal with?
A: Once I published my maiden book, there was no looking back and the rest followed as a matter of course. I made it my calling to bring subjects of academic interests to a popular readership. One such work was about our Muslim community and titled Sarandib. An Ethnological Study of the Muslims of Sri Lanka. It is now in its third expanded edition. It covers the major Muslim groups of the country including the Moors, Malays and Memons and has separate chapters and sections dealing with their origins, affinities, languages, settlements, cultural traditions and religious beliefs.
Another covered our little spoken of caste system which of course remains a social reality to this day as you can see in the candidates fielded by political parties in different areas and our matrimonial columns. This work is titled Caste in Sri Lanka. From Ancient Times to the Present Daystill remains one of my best sellers and contains little known facts about our castes gathered from field inquiries, old Dutch-era tombos and other historical records as well as little known books on individual castes authored by members of those particular castes and meant for circulation only among members of such castes as they contain sensitive information including caste-specific patronymic ge-names. Being a Muslim was an advantage here as many would not have trusted these works in the hands of a fellow Sinhalese who happened to belong to another caste.
Yet another is Ivilly Pevilly. The astronome’s Guide to the Culinary History & Heritage of Sri Lanka which is more in the form of a coffee table book with hundreds of photographs illustrating the work. It is more like an ethnography of food and covers the traditional foods and dietary habits of all the major communities of the island from the Stone Age Balangoda Man to the Portuguese and Dutch Burghers.
My other works include Thirty Shades of Taprobane on thirty strange beliefs and customs of the country and more recently the Zeylonese Treasure Book of Myth, Mystery and Mystique which contains a hundred mysteries, oddities and curiosities of our hauntingly mystique island whose existence demands answers which I have done my best to explain on a scientific basis, though there are still those that defy scientific explanation.
And then there is Accha House and Umma House on my mixed childhood growing up in the Sri Lanka of the late 1970s and early 1980s, a fairly popular book.
Q: What are your best-selling books and why so?
A: My best-selling books have actually been my two latest coffee table books. The Great Days of Colombo published a couple of years ago was by far the best selling, with an average of 100 copies a month being sold. This huge volume of over 800 pages is about the city of Colombo and its evolution over the ages, with Colombo Port, Galle Face, Beira Lake and each zone from Fort to Mutwal being covered separately and illustrated with old maps, sketches and photographs. This work which was sponsored by Expolanka had its humble origins in a series of articles on Colpetty, Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte I contributed to Roar.lk. I hear it being said that it is the modern equivalent of Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon Published in the early 1900s.
Sadly, it’s out of print now due to the steep rise in paper costs and those 500 lucky ones who possess a copy today are truly fortunate. There is still a huge demand for it and I’m working with the publisher to get a second edition out soon. I have also contracted with a Chinese Publisher, the Foreign Language Press, to release an abridged version of the book to the Chinese market aimed at Chinese tourists visiting Sri Lanka.
My next best-selling book is also a coffee table book Iconic Masjids of Ceylonpublished by Ceylon Baithulmal Fund. This copiously illustrated book covers thirty mosques in the country from the centuries old Bakinigahawela Mosque in Uva Province to the ultra-modern flying saucer-like Jamiah Naleemiah mosque in Beruwala and comes with a recommendation by a Professor of World History of the University of Cambridge and a Beit Scholar of History of the University of Oxford.
Q: Any advice for aspiring writers?
A: Yes, a lot really. For one thing, before embarking on a book, you need to be prepared to sacrifice. Writing a good book takes a lot of time and mental effort, and the opportunity cost is severe. But then you must also think of the payoff because you can enjoy the royalties from your work amounting to as much as10 percent of the cover price which will last your lifetime and pass on that estate, so to say, to your offspring who could also benefit from it possibly for their lifetime as well. Copyright law ensures this.
Also, you need to make up your mind to be obsessive about writing a book. It’s not just about love or passion, it has to be an obsession. Truly it is said that a book is an extension of the writer’s personality, so that’s what you need to cultivate. You must put your heart and soul into it.
You also need to look around for a good publisher who would take the risk of publishing your book. Of course, it goes without saying that your book must be good and will have a ready market. Else no publisher would bother. But once you make your name, it’s easy to get published. It’s important that your publisher places trust in your work which will encourage you to work on more books. I for one enjoy a very good working relationship with my publisher, Neptune Publications, and this gives me the confidence to write more books.
So how should one set about writing a book? First conceptualise what the book should look like. Think of this as the soul of the book; then set about gathering material for the book, which can be achieved in many ways such as inquiries, field studies, library visits, going through the archives etc. Think of this as the emerging skeleton of the book; then comes the analysis of the data collected and the conclusions to be drawn from them. Think of this as the flesh of the book that is gradually taking form, and finally you do the fine-tuning by self-editing and rephrasing passages if need be. Think of this as putting on the skin, so to say, making it both tasteful and easy to read.
And always keep the reader in mind. Be sure to incorporate details that you are confident will interest the reader and not anything that will interest you in particular. True, a book is an extension of the writer’s personality, but that does not mean you impose it on the reader lock, stock and barrel. Rather it means that you refine it and put it in a form to suit the reader’s taste. A book is only as good as the reader’s captivation with it. So, you need to appeal to the reader. All good books do this.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
