• About

Rajiva Wijesinha – Creative Writing

~ Just another WordPress.com site

Rajiva Wijesinha – Creative Writing

Monthly Archives: February 2012

Lakmahal 9 – Opening Doors: Books and Bachelors

29 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by rajivawijesinha in Lakmahal

≈ Comments Off on Lakmahal 9 – Opening Doors: Books and Bachelors

Tags

Émile Zola, British Council, C Mylvaganam, Charles Dickens, Ediriweera Sarachchandra, Enid Blyton, Esmond Wickremesinghe, Gamini Fonseka, George Eliot, Hope Todd, Jaffna, Lakmahal, Lalitha Sarachchandra, Leo Tolstoy, Matale, Narnia, Philip Gunewardene, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Richard de Zoysa, Shirley Corea, Thomas Hardy, Vanity Fair, W J Fernando, Wijayananda Dahanayake, William Shakespeare

Through his work with the Tourist Board, in those heady days of the mid-sixties, when I was moving into my teens and Sri Lanka seemed full of promise, Hope Todd provided lots of opportunity for travel. Those regular trips down south, that one long drive up to Jaffna, perhaps laid the foundations for the peripatetic existence I have since led, whether for the British Council, or to various Affiliated University Colleges and General English Language Training Centres all over the country.

But Hope was also a companion, if a sleeping one, for the vast reading programme on which I embarked in those years. I had always read voraciously, but one day, when I was nearly twelve, my father commented on the fact that I did not seem to read anything very memorable. That was not entirely true, for I still remember vividly the Enid Blytons and the Narnia books of childhood. But he had a point, in that I knew nothing of the great classics, except through comics. Understandably enough, few young people of those days were interested in the classics even in comic form. One source of what might be termed worthy comics was my cousin Ranil, Esmond’s second son, in a community of interests that I don’t suppose many young people shared. Ironically, I remember thinking then that he was much more civilized than most of the older boys I came across, and I would devour the Iliad and the Black Tulip and lives of American Presidents in a series bound in thick blue board covers which he occasionally allowed me to borrow.

Continue reading →

Bridging Connections: Legends Steeped in Sexual Attraction

02 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by rajivawijesinha in Bridging Connections

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ahalikai, Alfreda de Silva, Bridging Connections, Mahakavi, Persephone, Poetry, Sarath Amunugama

The poems I am juxtaposing this week all deal with legends. They are therefore all of them quite long, so my own intrusions must necessarily be brief. This is fortunately not a problem, for the poems speak for themselves. All I need to note is the fact that the legends dealt with by writers in English and Sinhala and Tamil all deal with sexual attraction.

The Tamil poem, by one of the most influential of modern poets, Mahakavi, is about how the God Indran seduced the wife of a sage, and was punished for his crime with a thousand sores, while poor Ahalikai was turned to stone. Happily, she was later brought back to life by the touch of Rama. The translation is by Chelva Kanaganayakam, to whom I am indebted for my first visit to the University of Jaffna, way back in 1981.

Continue reading →

Pages

  • About

Categories

  • A Final Educational Fling
  • A Time of Gifts
  • Acts of Faith
  • Book Reviews
  • Bridging Connections
  • Colombo Changes
  • Interviews
  • Lakmahal
  • Mirrored Images
  • New Horizons
  • Poets and their visions
  • Post-Colonial Perspectives
  • The Moonemalle Inheritance
  • Uncategorized
February 2012
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829  
« Jan   Mar »

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 288 other followers

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy