Reconciliation through Poetry

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Ariyawansa Ranaweera, Belihuloya, Eastern University, Jaffna, K. Satchithanadan, Kamala Wijeratne, Mirrored Images: An Anthology of Sri Lankan Poetry, poems, Poetry, S Pathmanathan, University of Peradeniya, University of Sabaragamuwa

Kamala Wijeratne

Can poetry reconcile people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds to each other? Can poetry heal the wounds left behind by conflict and wipe away the tears? Can poetry build bridges and bond people together?

Professor K. Satchithanadan of Delhi University, one time secretary of the prestigious Sahitya Academy of India, had no direct answers but made it clear that poetry gave voice to the voiceless, power to challenge injustice and oppression and pricked the conscience of humanity. This massage of humanity was conveyed by him and a team of Sri Lankan poets, So Pathmanathan from Jaffna, Ariyawansa Ranaweera from Colombo, and myself from Kandy. Led by him, we visited three higher institutions of learning- namely the University of Peradeniya, the Eastern University and the University of Sabaragamuwa, Belihuloya.

The three poets represented the three languages used in Sri Lanka- Sinhala, Tamil and English. Significantly, they were bilingual and bonded with each other culturally and aesthetically. Above all they shared the enthusiasm to reach out to each other and facilitate others to reach out to them and to each other. The three contexts in which this sensitizing and humanizing activity took place were well selected in terms of background, audience and response. They also formed a cross section of the Sri Lankan population Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim. At the University of Peradeniya something akin to this session had been done by Professor Rajiva Wijesinha when his book ‘Mirrored Images’ was made familiar to the academic community and the alumni there. But this session had vertical proportions in that the participant audience comprised senior academics, academics and students. The audience was participatory and as was to be expected critical. Professor Satchithanandan took them on intellectually as well as poetically. He raised awareness through his very erudite lecture, taking the audience through the ages from Ramayana to Faustus, from Neruda to modern poets who write poetry of violence. He charmed with his recital of his own poetry. He showed without doubt the power of poetry.

Bridging Connections – Poetry relating to conflict

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Bridging Connections, Kamala Wijeratne, Karunakaran, Parakrama Kodituwakku, Poetry

After the oblique references to conflict in poems about the full moon, I thought I would deal direct with conflict this week. The first poem, by Parakrama Kodituwakku, was one of the most remarkable works of art associated with the first insurrection of 1971. I still recall reading it for the first time, in an Anthology of Sri Lankan writing produced by Ranjini Obeysekere and Chitra Fernando soon after I began teaching at Peradeniya. I believe it was the first book I was asked to review, and I think I made special mention of this poem.

The stereotyping by authorities of radical youth, if not subtle, makes clear the dichotomy between traditional expectations and modern aspirations. The translation by Ranjini Obeysekere captures in each stanza the different ways in which authority looks at the unorthodox. The last stanza, with its blend of diffidence and defiance, suggests the dilemma of the new generation; it illustrates too the long intellectual tradition of which the young rebels felt themselves the latest incarnation.

Bridging Connections – Poetry conveying sadness of parting

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Anne Ranasinghe, Aryawansa Ranaweera, Bridging Connections, Farewell, Kamala Wijeratne, Poetry, The Weaver-bird's nest, Thirumavalavan, Yasmine Gooneratne

Poetry can often convey a sense of place vividly. In the Sri Lankan context this has been used often recently to convey the sadness of parting from places to which one belonged. Earlier we looked at poems that talked about exile, in terms of the difficulties of creating a home in a different environment. Here we see descriptions of the familiar, accompanied by a sense of loss.

Kamala Wijeratne has been the butt of criticism on occasion by authorities in some English Departments for what is seen as chauvinism. Indeed I remember the sad occasion when the English Association tried to celebrate Sri Lankan writing in English by asking academics to bring out collections of criticism for poetry and fiction and drama. The last never happened, and the fiction collection was interminably delayed because the editor could not get enough contributions in time. Finally what he had got was put together as part of one number of ‘Navasilu’, the journal of the Association.