Memories of the 20th Century

The author has dedicated this volume to freelance journalists. This made me think a little more of the English language Press over the last 75 years or so in Ceylon and Sri Lanka. When English was the medium of instruction, and the official language of Ceylon, English newspapers had an important role in politics, culture and the arts. The English Press also had more financial and staffing resources to run their newspapers. Even at that time freelance journalists were very much present.

With the shift to local languages, since about the 1960s, it is arguable that the role of the English press has diminished somewhat. In-house staffing resources have been reduced. Hence, it appears that freelance journalism is more important than it once was. Newspapers have also to compete with the medium of television. Should the newspapers aim at being more educational and instructive and less a tool for providing information? These are all debatable questions.

Nan, or by another name, Nanda Pethiyagoda Wanasundera is one of the outstanding literary figures in Sri Lanka in the 21st century. After an education at the Girl’s High School in Kandy, she was initially a teacher and a librarian. She obtained a degree in English from the Peradeniya University. She turned to journalism a bit later in life, and in the last 30 years she has been a prolific contributor to the Island and the Sunday Island newspapers. (For the Daily Island she is Cassandra).

She has written two novels, several books on arts and culture, and especially on aspects of Kandyan life and folk tales. Her writings are concerned with women and Buddhist culture. Nan belongs to a generation which is the last to remember at first hand the British and their role in Ceylon, not only in government but also in areas such as culture and education. As Manik de Silva, the editor of the Sunday Island, states, “Nan has the talent of picking subjects appropriate for the times and embellishing what she writes with snippets of her own experiences and insights”.

The volume is a collection of articles which she has written to the Sunday Island, numbering nearly 50. These articles include several on Buddhist monks and nuns, architects and artistes, several distinguished men and women and on places and events which have intrigued her, and certainly should intrigue the reader. Observing the collection, one obtains the impression that she is particularly concerned with persons and institutions of her own life and times. There are only a few politicians and no economists and most of the men and women she has focused on are not politically famous ones, although they are important ones who have contributed significantly for the betterment of the nation. To list a few, she has written on Narada Maha Thero, Ivor Jennings, Barbara Sansoni, Ena De Silva, Rukmani Devi, Stanley Kirinde, and many others of that ilk. Let me refer to a few in this selection.

Not many remember Ivor Jennings and there are very few left who knew him even remotely. Nan offers an enchanting and endearing portrait of Jennings as Vice-Chancellor. Jennings made an immense contribution to Ceylon in several ways. He was mainly responsible for the new independent Constitution we had in Sri Lanka from 1948 to 1972. We know now that it was the best Constitution this country had, although several politicians reviled it as a British imposition. Jennings saw to it that a great university was in place from the 1940s. Not many will remember that he was the Chairman of the Social Services Commission which made an important contribution towards making Ceylon a welfare state. During the war years he was Deputy Civil Defence Commissioner.

There are others whom Nan remembers. Let us take some of the other educationists and writers, particularly women. Vijitha Fernando, Soma Kumari Samarasinghe, Hema Jayasinghe, Brenda Jayasinghe, a great writer, Jean Solomons Arasanayagam and Ishwari Corea. The latter made a huge contribution to building the Colombo Public Library. Vijitha Fernando is an important literary figure. The others were principals of schools who inspired their pupils and were role models to them. In a chapter called “The Britisher in Long Ago India and Ceylon”, Nan refers to several missionary ladies (Miss Allan, Miss Rig and several others), who made an enormous contribution to educating children in places like Kandy and Badulla. When we think of the British empire in Ceylon, names of governors come to mind as roads and statues have been built in their honour. But there are large numbers of educationists who served as principals and teachers (and nurses in hospitals) who also made an enormous and more lasting contribution to the welfare of Ceylon.

Nan is good at describing places and institutions. Her chapter on the Colombo National Museum, makes the reader visit that place again and see it with a different eye. Nan has a fascination for many aspects of culture and arts and architecture and archaeology. She refers to the clock towers of Sri Lanka. There are descriptions of many clock towers built during British days. The Colombo clock tower on Chatham Street, was first a lighthouse built in 1829, and converted into a clock tower in 1860. There are 151 clock towers, and nearly 90 of them were built after 1977.

Let us take an institution which Nan refers to. There is a chapter on DROs (Divisional Revenue Officers). Her brother was in the first batch recruited in 1938 and she has a charming story to relate into the life of a DRO in a remote station. The creation of the DRO service is a significant event in the administrative history of Ceylon. During the British period, the administration below the provincial level continued to be feudal as they continued with the mudaliyars and the rate-mahattayas. In was only in 1938 that the feudal system of local administration was partly abolished, as the village headman system continued until 1970.

Let me complete this review with what a short story writer had to say about Nan. Rukmini Attygalle (Author of Saris and Grapefruit – a collection of short stories) writes:Unlike in fiction writing, the journalist has an obligation to truth and does not have the luxury of dipping into imagination to enhance stories; presentation of facts being paramount. The success of an article depends entirely on how good and well presented the story is. This is where the journalist’s creativity comes to the fore. Nan has an innate ability to choose the relevant facts and the correct detail to elucidate and grab the attention of the reader from start to finish.

Nan combines facts and opinions with a focus on human interest with empathy. She provides background information on a newsworthy topic as well as her personal slant or experience to pique the reader’s interest. Her presence in her stories makes them more interesting, realistic and immediate. This is a hall mark of her style.

“A good story is about something the audience decides is interesting and important. A great story often does both, by using story-telling to make important news interesting.” (American Press Institute). Nan goes one step further. She sometimes takes a subject which she finds interesting but the reader may not necessarily agree to start with; and turns it into a compelling read. She infuses her enthusiasm into her narrative, so that at the end of the story the reader feels glad that she/he has now a fresh insight into a subject which had not been previously given proper consideration. Thus a sense of satisfaction ensues.

Good stories have strong central characters. In developing character, Nan provides the kind of detail that avoids stereotype and provides interesting dimensions to people. In Jimmy Carter’s story for instance, she portrays him as a simple down-to-earth man with humane qualities. She does this by including pertinent details which brings out this dimension of his character. She writes about the ‘make-do’ shower used by the Carter family during their early life at the farm house. The fact that Jimmy Carter was proud to have this item on public display establishes his humility and simplicity, without a trace of doubt. The fact that Carter considered Rachel Clerk, the wife of a black sharecropper, as one of the strongest influence in his life, says it all about his attitude towards racial prejudice.

Nan’s command of the English language is exceptional. Her ability to pick the most appropriate meaningful words from her extensive vocabulary to express herself, is indeed a talent. Her writing style is simple and lucid and has a flow that makes easy read.

I will not be doing Nan full justice if I do not mention her interpersonal skills. She handles interviews with sensitivity. She allows the person interviewed to express his/her views by listening with empathy, never putting words into their mouths.Once the author of ‘the selected articles’ referred to herself in her usual demeanour as being, “just a journo”. Yes she is a journalist; but there is no “just” about it. She is a high caliber journalist! Not only that, she is a creative writer too.