Features
Neruda returns to Ceylon after nine decades with the film “Alborada”
by Eda Cleary Panguipulli, Chile, January 2022
Pablo Neruda, considered by Gabriel García Márquez as “the greatest poet of the 20th century in all languages”, has returned to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in an extraordinary film entitled “Alborada”. It was written and directed by Asoka Handagama, one of Sri Lanka’s foremost filmmakers today. Asoka Handagama has a long and successful career as a filmmaker, painter and playwright.
“Alborada” was invited to participate in the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2021. The film has not yet been released in cinemas, but it is already giving a lot to talk about. The trailer can be seen on Youtube. The theme of the festival was “Crossing Borders”, which sought to showcase cross-cultural stories, and the story of Pablo Neruda in ancient Ceylon is certainly one of them.
The film is set in former colonial Ceylon during the years 1929-1930, a period in which 25-year-old Pablo Neruda, already the author of the famous book “20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair”, took over as Chile’s honorary consul on the island, after having carried out similar duties in Burma.
The script is a fiction that is structured from Neruda’s own memories in “I confess that I have lived” (1974) in the chapter “The Luminous Solitude”, where he describes in seven lines about how one day he sexually forces himself on a Tamil girl, who came from the lowest caste of the Sakkili, who were considered “untouchables”:
“One morning, I decided to go all the way, I got a strong grip on her wrist and stared into her eyes. There was no language I could talk with her. Unsmiling she let herself be led away and was soon naked in my bed. Her waist, so very slim, her full hips, brimming cups of her breasts, made like one of thousand-year-old sculptures from the South India. It was the coming together of a man and a statue. She kept her eyes wide open all the while, completely unresponsive . She was right to despise me. The experience was never repeated”.
Asoka Handagama, an admirer of Neruda’s work, was stunned to read this paragraph of the memoir and for more than ten years entertained the idea of making a film about the incident. But it was not until 2021, in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, that this dream would be realized with the filming of “Alborada”. The title was inspired by the name Neruda had given to his Ceylonese friend Lionel Wendt’s house built in the elegant Cinnamon Gardens neighborhood of Colombo. Wendt was a musician, photographer, filmmaker and promoter of the arts in his country.
The plot of the film is based on the following sequence: Neruda arrives without luggage in Ceylon because he had just come out of a supposedly “terrorist” love affair with his Burmese lover Josie Bliss, to whom he had not said goodbye. When he made his social debut in Ceylon, he met Patsy, a French girl, with whom he had free sex with no commitments. Just when he thought he was safe from Josie, she suddenly appears at his door. Neruda prevents her from entering, forcing her to spend the nights in the street, causing a public scandal. He hides and orders his servant Rathnaigh, not to let her in. Meanwhile Neruda continues intimate encounters with Patsy in secret from his Burmese ex-lover. Josie understands her disadvantageous situation and decides to leave him and go home for ever. Neruda is left devastated and now turns his attention to the Sakkili girl, whose job it was to empty and clean his buckets of excrement from the toilet every morning.
Neruda fantasizes poetically about this young woman, attributing to her goddess-like qualities because of her immense resemblance to a sculpture of the goddess Parvathi that he kept in his living room. His Tamil servant Rhatnaigh, a firm believer in the caste system, fears for Neruda and himself because he feels that any contact with this “untouchable” caste would necessarily “dirty” them. Neruda is alien to that cultural tradition. For him, the relationship between a man and a woman does not pass through caste. That is why he sees no obstacle to behave like a conquering “macho” when he feels like possessing a woman. The Sakkili girl, accustomed to her inferior position, does not accept Neruda’s attempts to approach her. But he insists and forces her in such a way that she is left with no alternative but to endure a sexual assault for Neruda’s carnal satisfaction alone.
This picture could have given rise to a number of different scenarios, starting with a mere voyeuristic version of what happened, a trivialization of the event, or perhaps simply its denial and/or justification. But that is obviously not Asoka Handagama’s style. Judging by the surprising interweaving of the subsequent scenes, and their unexpected ending, where a real explosion of pain, rage, despair and desire for salvation of each of the characters emerges, Handagama triggers a process of reflection that leads to a frontal humanizing approach. At no point does “Alborada” force the spectator to take sides with the good guys against the bad guys as if it were a battle, where passion could not give way to reason and understanding of what is happening.
Neruda never managed to forget the contempt the Sakkili girl felt for him. His ego was so wounded that shortly before his death in his memoirs he decided to make a crude public confession about the incident and thereby unveil a fact that is generally hidden.
Handagama’s great contribution is to have brought this story told in just seven lines to the screen with overwhelming complexity without falling into the temptation to light judgment.
The formidable outcome of the plot leaves many questions open, not only about the story that took place in 1929, but also about the relevance of these same conflicts in the present. Neruda is therefore only part of the chess game of the story, because Asoka Handagama, a connoisseur of his culture, has no qualms about revealing the world of brutal prejudices and superstitions that hung like a sword of Damocles over the “untouchable” Tamils. Especially on women, within their own caste they were the most discriminated against, and then doubly so by the society around them.
The occasion for the film could not have been more controversial. Almost five decades had passed since the publication of Neruda’s memoirs, which had been a resounding success. But time changes, social movements change, and so do readers’ perceptions. A few years ago, global feminism branded the story told by Neruda about the Sakkili girl as a big patriarchal lie. Overnight, social media was filled with angry statements against Neruda and the tone was to “cancel” Neruda. Now the most widely read poet of the 20th century was nothing more than a sexual predator. On the other front, Neruda’s unconditional followers went on the offensive and their strategy essentially focused on downplaying the fact. Both positions have contributed to the trivialization and caricaturing of the intricate origins of macho violence and toxicity, where the world is seen in black and white, divided between the good and the bad, the superior and the inferior. But life itself is more than that, and it is necessary to delve deeper into this history. In this sense, “Alborada” succeeds.
Confronted with the radical fundamentalist positions on this incident, Asoka Handagama approaches with creative audacity the dramatic subject of sexual violence, the caste dilemma and the racism underlying “machismo”.
Neruda’s confused life situation in Wellawatte is masterfully illustrated. The poet appears as a labyrinthine, multifaceted and contradictory personality. He is both victim and victimizer. He hides from Josie, is simultaneously cowardly, playful and adventurous, loses patience, smokes opium, takes his chances with Patsy, but does not hesitate to protect a woman beaten by her fisherman husband in Wellawatte. Crucial to the story, however, is that this confusion is not enough to understand the violent incident with the Sakkili girl. Asoka Handagama rudely but wisely lays bare the crushing destructive force of the patriarchal view of existence. From this incident, everyone is hurt, and the most damaged, of course, is the Sakkili girl.
The director of “Alborada” manages to bring the mature Neruda down from his poet-god pedestal without denying his immense talent and poetic genius. He humanizes him by pointing out his impotence to free himself from the macho ballast of male domination and shows him in his own masculine labyrinth.
This film is irreplaceable when it comes to an unbiased discussion of the real poisoning that patriarchal ideology creates in human beings in every age, in every occasion and in every culture. From a specific story, it universalizes the discussion on the difficult approach to the gender question, which is currently essentially caught in the grip of fundamentalist feminist positions that oscillate between the “culture of cancellation” and the traditional positions of the culture of denial and silencing of patriarchal violence.
Finally, “Alborada” is also a moving film with an excellent cast. The period setting gracefully opens the door to the past and makes us empathize with its protagonists. The handling of the camera to capture the characters’ states of mind with precision is outstanding. The colors, the scenes, the lighting and the music will be a real aesthetic delight for the viewers.
Eda Cleary is a sociologist with a PhD in political science from Germany. She lived for six years in Myanmar (the former Burma) between 2015-2021. She is the author of two essays on Neruda published online in the literary platform Letralia, Le Monde Diplomatique in Spanish and in the Chilean online newspaper El Mostrador. The first appeared in 2015: “Josie Bliss, Pablo Neruda’s Burmese lover 88 years later” and the second in 2018: “Ceylon in Neruda’s heart. Deconstructing Neruda’s life and work in Ceylon”. For this work, the magazine “Chile somos todos” of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared her a “world-class Chilean” in 2016.
Editor’s note:
The author sent us this review after the publication of a feature on Handagama’s new film in this paper attracted her interest. She felt it deserved attention by the Spanish speaking world, did a review for Le Monde Diplomatique and sent us this translation of it in English.
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 . )
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