Some Fleeting Thoughts by Sunila Nanayakkara
Reviewed by Iranganie Perera
This book clearly depicts the fleeting thoughts in the writer’s mind. They are captured into poems and short stories. The writer says, “Dwelling on the thoughts and trying to pen them down as a poem or a short story is a perfect way to immerse yourself in another world. As you read through the book, you will realize that it is the bare truth.
Poems and short stories and short-short -stories have been mixed together as fiction in this book. As in her first book, “Swimming Against the Tide”, the short stories in this collection too carry one to the depths of life. The writer is widely travelled and has made use of her experiences in teaching in other countries like Nigeria and Seychelles. The story, “The Dry Season” brings to one’s mind the difficulties of people living in places like Sokoto, where water is scarce as it borders the southern regions of the Sahara Desert. Most of the poems dwell on nature, showing the extreme love and appreciation of nature and the solitude it offers. The poem Handapanagala, is a good example. The beauty of an evening on the rock with the rays of the setting sun falling on the rock has been painted in words without using brush or paint. How far her mind had merged with the tranquillity of the environment is shown by the lines:
“An echo of a voice reached me
‘Shall we go?’
“Awakened me from the reverie
“The moment of beauty was gone”.
This shows her deep love for silence, more than for human words. She regards silence as a beauty. The stories are all very realistic and shows her awareness of the conflicts that afflict men and women. The story, “The Other Side of the Expressway” shows how development and modernization has broken down the bonds of unity and relationship among the inhabitants of the villages through which it ran. The ideas of the young and the old and how they differ from each other are vividly shown by the dialogue between Jinadasa and his son Nihal.
The story, “Twist of Fate” depicts how the life of a young graduate, “Manel” ended up in an Elders’ Home in spite of being rich and aristrocratic, due to the dictatorial attitude of her father, who refused to accept Saman, a batchmate of hers at the university, as a prospective husband for his daughter. She obeyed, but kept to her promise, “I will not forget you”.
All the short stories and the poems, which are really true to life, show the writer’s interest and abiding ability in writing a short story or a poem based on a small incident. Her inert ability to delve into the depths of the human mind is well brought out.
Some short stories and poems are autobiographical and shows the love for her motherland which runs through her veins, drawing her back to Sri Lanka, in spite of her offspring being abroad seeking better pastures in a foreign land.
Sunila is a teacher by profession, and in her free time, she pens her thoughts in poetry and short stories.
Just three girls sit down to learn their ABC on March 27 1917 :
Ferguson High School turns 100
By Senani Rudolph
With an unwavering commitment to the motto inscribed on the alma mater’s seal, “Live Pure, Speak True, and Right Wrong”, Ferguson High School turns 100 years on March 27, 2017, celebrating her vibrant past hundred years and promising future.
One hundred years ago, by the pledge of the Baptist Missionary Society of British Ceylon, the “Baptist Missionary English School”was founded in a cozy little room in the Baptist Church, Ratnapura. There, three girls sat together to learn their ABCs from the pastor’s daughter, Miss Elizabeth Maldeniya. Two years later in 1919, the classroom was moved to the hilltop to accommodate the increasing number of student enrolment. The first building structure was a thatched-roofed spacious hall that stood next to the Etherington House, the Mission House on the hilltop, and housed 36 female students. In 1921, the school was registered as a “Grant-in-aid English school” under state legislature. In 1928, the Baptist Missionary English School was renamed “Ferguson High School” in honour of the first benefactor, John Ferguson, CLG, proprietor and editor of “The Ceylon Observer”.
Since its humble beginnings through the years, Ferguson High School has sailed a remarkable voyage, offering a hands-on educational environment over the generations producing dedicated women who have grown into creative, confident, and civic-minded adults. The school produced some of the world’s renowned feminine figures, such as, the world’s first lady Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike and the world’s first Mrs. World, Rosie Senanayake.
As the school brings hundred-year celebrations, the Ferguson High School Alumni Branch of Colombo will publish a book woven between the historical records from the school’s Log Bible and an invaluable archive of golden memories shared by the great minds who have taught here, and the great minds that blossomed here.
The former principals, teachers, and alumni take a stroll down memory lane, near and far, as they share first-person narrative stories at Ferguson, teemed with humour and insight, warmth and affection. A perfect archive of what you hold dear about Ferguson, edited and compiled by a committee of fifteen bright alumni, led by award-winning author, Sunethra Rajakarunanayake, former Director General of Irrigation, Bhadra Kamaladasa, and Former Commissioner for Educational Publications Department, K.V. Nandani Shriyalatha.
The book “Ferguson Subhavithaya/ Memoirs of a Century” – is an ambitious task, ‘a work of many hands’, illustrated with lively and entertaining stories, and perhaps, never-seen-before pictures exchanged at Ferguson over hundred years. The book also includes an English subsection - a compendium of historical data and articles contributed by its alumni working and living across the globe – each one with a story to tell.
Over the past hundred years, Ferguson has valued its tradition, celebrating the school birthday on March 27 in memory of Miss. Evelyn Allsop’s birthday -a former Principal who nurtured the golden era of Ferguson for over 27 years flourishing the legacy of Ferguson.
Cherishing the tradition, on March 27, the school will launch a series of programs and events at Ferguson Yard to mark the Centennial.
In parallel, the Ferguson High School Alumni Branch of Colombo will hand unto you – “Ferguson Subhavithaya/ Memoirs of a Century”, unfolding the school’s sparkling stories never told before! This book is a must read for anyone who loves Ferguson!
Traditional boxes, caskets and chests in Museums
Volume II - 19th to early 20th century
Godage Brothers recently published the second volume of this series under the above title authored by Dr. P.H.D.H. De Silva, former Director, Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka.
The first volumes dealing with boxes, caskets and chests from the 8th century to the 18th century were published by the same Publishing House sometime back, and the third volume in this series - “Killota (Lime Boxes) in Sri Lankan Museums” was published a few years ago by Vijitha Yapa Publishers.
Both volumes were authored by Dr. De Silva. Dr. P.H.D.H. De Silva, an eminent Zoologist has followed the tradition of his predecessors since the establishment of the Colombo Museum in 1877, namely, Drs. Amyrald Haly, Arthur Willey, Joseph Pearson and Dr. P.E.P. Deraniyagala, all eminent Zoologists, by also producing scholarly publications on Cultural collections in the National Museums, making them known to the Sri Lankan public and the world.
Volume II just issued, consists of 376 pages, 241 text figures and 125 plates, nearly all in colour.
A part of the General Introduction is devoted to our traditional locking devices, rear hinges and handles, well illustrated with sketches and colour images, and is followed by ten chapters. The arrangement of these chapters are not material-wise but on their utility, as recorded in the Museums’ inventories at the time of their acquisition.
This volume is priced at Rs. 15,000 a copy and are available at Godage Brothers Bookshop, Maradana.
The three Volumes and the two books by the same author published by the National Museums Department will serve as supplements to Ananda Coomaraswamy’s, ‘Sinhala Mediaeval Art’, published more then a hundred years ago.