Cumaratunga’s Exalted Mission

Cumaratunga Munidasa’s 133rd Birth Anniversary falls today

To create a united, resolute and morally upright society

By K. A. I. Kalyanaratne
Consultant – Publications
Postgraduate Institute of Management
Vice President – Hela Havula

The 133rd birth anniversary of the national hero and erudite scholar Cumaratunga Munidasa falls on July 25, 2020 (July 25, 1887-March 02, 1944).

Much has been said about the immeasurable contribution Cumaratunga Munidasa, the impactful personality, made to the Sinhala language and literature. To be exact volumes of researches and debates have thus far been conducted by our literati to critically examine his works, and the impact they have had on the sustainability of the Sinhala language and its literary tradition.

In our society if there’s any activity in which Sinhala plays a role Cumaratunga’s indelibility is quite evident. pahina-patha (postcard), pura-hala (town hall), papediya (bicycle), pa puvaruwa (foot-board), hediya (nurse), sarasaviya (university), sip-hala/hik-hala (school), paharuva (press) are only a few out of the gamut of words that Cumaratunga contributed to enrich the Sinhala language. Osu-sala, Sethsiripaya, Isurupaya, udagama, vidu-manga are additions that entered our language, created on the bases of word-coinage exposed by the late scholar. Hence, so long as these words are in usage Cumaratunga’s stamp on the totality of the Sinhala language and culture would become obvious and discernible.

However, my attempt in this short essay is to highlight some aspects of this great man’s ideologies that have not had that much exposure, although they were equally important and relevant in understanding his true character and personality.

Cumaratunga – The Bridge Maker

One may describe him as a bridge-maker whose objective was to link the pristine Sinhala written tradition that continued for centuries, with minor adaptations, with that of the present day parlance. This endeavour made the origins and evolution of the Sinhala written tradition visible, transparent and logical. Further, it was indeed, an industry that demanded tremendous strength, effort, and commitment, as his ultimate objective was to elevate Sinhala to an articulate and fluent language that would suit any literary style and occasion. In fact, this endeavour basically included unearthing the correct structure of the Sinhala language, and enriching its diction, power of expression, and the correct idiom; namely the characteristic modes of expression in the Sinhala language.

Major mission of his illustrious career

However, these indefatigable efforts should not be allowed to overshadow the major mission of his illustrious career, namely, to create a united, resolute and morally upright society. Herein his role was akin to that of a social emancipator. Of course, he used his most powerful weapon he had in his armoury, his language prowess, towards achieving this major objective.

Character building in children

In this long-stretched process, he commenced realizing his objectives by making a rich contribution to children’s literature by way of a series of readers comprising of essays, stories and poems. All these were directed to place them on a high moral-footing, and kindle their heroic sentiments. Books like Kumara Gee, Kumara Padya Sangrahaya, Kiyavana Nuwana, Shiksha Margaya and Prabandha Sangrahaya stand tall in this initiative.

Being a teacher at the initial phase of his career Cumaratunga was able to read the behaviour-patterns and minds of our children. Having realized that the foundation for inculcating good habits and useful traits in a person’s character should be laid in the initial stages of one’s life, there are a series of poems written to children to germinate in them the seeds of honesty, integrity, good habits, and uprightness as well as love for the environment. The poem titled ‘Sirimath’ appearing in the Shiksha Margaya-1 is a case in point. Its penultimate verse extols the virtues of (i) thinking of pleasant things, (ii) telling precisely what you think, and (iii) doing exactly what you tell, and (iv) it concludes by saying that child Sirimath will not depart from these virtues.

සොඳ දෙ සිතුමත්
සිතු දේ කීමත්
කීදේ කැරුමත්
නො හරී සිරිමත්
(සිරිමත්)

Clamour for independence prior to freeing our thinking

On the eve of our receiving independence, that is prior to the year 1948, there was vigorous clamour and agitation among our‘nationalists’. Many leaders emerged with the goal of ridding foreign domination and colonial rule over our nation. However, contrary to these naïve thoughts and beliefs Cumaratunga saw the pitfalls of our gaining independence, prior to our minds and our thinking patterns getting rid of the shadows of vassalage. Unless otherwise, independence would be a mere nominal transfer of power from one hand to the other.

සිත නිදහස් බවට – නො පමුණුවා පළමු කොට
නිදහසට සිය රට – ලමු යි යෙති දදහු
ඇතියෙන් කට

(Virith Vekiya)

“Prior to ridding our minds from shadows of vassalage

Garrulous fools agitate to bring independence to our country.”

Cumaratunga’s Lak Mini Pahana–Richness of its editorials

Cumaratunga becoming the editor of the Lak Mini Pahana(on June 20, 1934) seems to be an intervention of destiny. He used this paper as the heavy mortar to bombard and annihilate all inimical ideologies. He spells out in the anniversary issue of the Lak Mini Pahana, the objectives for which the paper stands.

“For the advancement of the nation, the language and the religion, the national dignity, thoughts and ideas and also, for the eradication of falsehood, hypocrisy, pusillanimity, thralldom and ineptitude.”

These editorials provide distinct evidence of Cumaratunga’s intention to enrich the society from all fronts. He believed that a newspaper editorial influences public opinion, and therefore, has a significant impact on the society. The issues he deliberated in his editorials were, carefully selected, and as he never followed a path of hypocrisy his writings were truthful, bold, upright and straightforward. The way he endeavoured to uplift the society by being selective in the topics he chose for his writings was based on the dictum that newspaper editorials should function ‘as schoolmasters of the common man’.

Topics of Lak Mini Pahana editorials

Some of the editorials Cumaratunga chose for the Lak Mini Pahana were: Discipline of our children; Our Servitude; Our Independence; The respect of teachers; The future of the House of Representatives; Improper conduct of teachers; Publication of books; Regional administration; Selection of school text books; Fear of diseases; The country’s crimes; Education of Ceylon; The budget of the coming year; Cabinet of ministers; The teaching profession; Elections; Temperance movement; Corruption of the Buddhist Order; Fear of ignorance; and Mutual co-operation. He was a firm believer in the concept that newspaper editorials, if written fearlessly, impartially and purposefully, they would, for sure, have a significant impact on our thinking and behaviour. According to Prof. Bandusena Gunasekara, who compiled the Lak Mini Pahana Editorials under ‘Pahan Kathu Veki (Published by Subanda Havula), these “Topics were nationally significant and important. They were fearlessly critical, fair and unique in style.”

The ethnic problem – a canker in our body politic

Cumaratunga in an article titled “Misfortune of Sihalaya”, (Vidyodaya Magazine, 1936), provides his solution to the country’s ethnic problem. It propounds a more positive solution whilst guaranteeing and safeguarding both the national heritage and the inherent characteristics of our cultures of our various communities. History shows that during times long past our country had been called ‘Sinhala’. Its Sanskritised version ‘Sinhalan’ had later been phonetically transformed to Ceilan and later to Ceylon. The inhabitants of Ceylon thus became Ceylonese. However, it is unfortunate that Sinhala and Ceylon had differed so widely that they now give two different and unrelated meanings.

Cumaratunga grieves over this breach of our feeling of oneness and the disappearance of the much desired unity and accord that would give us immense strength to emerge as a closely knit nation.

To strengthen his proposition Cumaratunga refers in his article to a speech made by sagacious prince Agha Khan III (1877–1957), who had visited our country and addressed our Muslim community as “Sinhala Muslims’. Cumaratunga states that the stance taken by the prince was extremely justifiable on the logic that although they were Muslims by religion , they were born in the land of Sinhala (Sinhalan / Ceilan / Ceylon). He laments that the ‘Sinhala’ identity has now been lost to the nation. Now the word ‘Sinhala’ remains only to identify a mere language. Furthering the argument he asks whether it would be harmful to call our Tamil community “Sinhala Tamils” if they could be addressed as “Ceylon Tamils” in English.

Cumaratunga’s social philosophy in a nutshell

Let me append below a poem composed by Cumaratunga, which speaks of his true character, and what he wished to have in our body politic, that is , to be a nation that has courage, strength of character, ability to decipher between the right and wrong, uprightness in all the dealings, intellectual honesty, as well as courage and impartiality

Where I’ll Go

I do aspire to follow that same path trodden by the Great

That recognizes and gets (others) to recognize the

good and bad of all things;

And inquires critically the right and wrong and gets

(others too) to do the same;

And forgets and gets (others) to forget all bonds friendly

and hostile when on proper path.

If hell is the destiny of the one whose view’s critical

It’s my joy to be there deserting all elsewhere;

If Heaven is the prize for tolerating falsehood,

It’s my comfort to be here while he that does so goes there.

If Hell is the heritage in the next world,

Of those who boldly utter the truth as truth undiluted;

Though Heaven is praised as an ever flowing stream of happiness,

In truth I want it not, nay never shall I want it.

මා යන තැන

සලකන සලකවන ගුණ දොස් දෙයෙහි   හැම
විමසන විමසවන ලොවැ යුතු අයුතු        දම
දුරැුලන ලවන සත් ම`ගැනෑ මිතුරු       කම
මහ දන යන අතැ මැ යන්නට පතමි       මම

විමැසුවයි යමෙක් යෙයි නම්               නරකාදී
මට සුව යි එහි මැ යනු වෙනතෙකැ       නෑදී
ඉවසුවයි බොරුව සග යා නම්               පෑදී
සුදුසුවය ි රඳන ුමෙහි ඔහු එහි           යාදී

නොපා බිය ඇත්ත ඇති ලෙස කියන      දන
අපාය නම් මරණින් මතු වඩින             තැන
සැපාරෙකැයි කියුවත් සුර පුර              ගලන
එපා මට එපා යැ යි එ තැන               සැබැවින

Everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment

It is my wish to conclude this short essay by referring to a man of the soil who had said:

“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” —

Viktor E. Frankl, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’

(Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor)