2019 was a progressive year for the
Sinhala short story. Thematically, new areas were focused upon, by stalwarts, as well as by new talents, alike. Whereas one author, showed skill in employing tradition and folklore to
expound the straitjacketed thinking of our people, another, more inclined
to be a social critic, captured the traits of "our Sri Lankness", and
presented us with short stories rich with satire and irony. Other stalwarts drew inspiration from many literary
sources (e.g. village in the jungle, Chekov, Pablo Neruda, Khemadasa ) to
create colourful anecdotes, vignettes and short stories. Not to be outdone, newcomers
showed promise, with intriguing tales, using the psychological, and the pace
and life style of modern youth.
It is
in this background, I selected Eleven anthologies, published within the
year. It was a studied selection, based on award nominations and trusted
reviews by fellow readers through social media. Of the 11, there is at least 10
which I wouldn't be able to call weak, which portray that 2019 was a good year
for the Sinhala short story. The top five, easily were successful collections.
Ironically,
the best collection for me, was the only one which didn't win any accolades via
award nominations, although no reader who read this counted it short of
brilliant. Somaweera's(1) second anthology, shows his insight
on pertinent contemporary social matters, and at times disturbs us in invoking
a subtle thought that we would rather stifle. The wife caught in a loveless,
yet dutiful marriage secretly desiring the passing of her husband shows how the
cultural straitjacket of our society pushes the woman there, in her desire for
a latent independence (1a) . Another short story focuses on
the frustration and hostility faced by the gay, to win what should be
considered a natural right (1b). The descriptions of the agony and rejection that the middle-aged man, no longer attractive to the
young buck, to live through, paints a picture of lifelong suffering.
I couldn't decide which was the better of the two collections of the next best
"category", as it were. P.B. Jayasekara (2) describes the roots which caused a man to become a
misogynist, in his rather gory short story, in his book of that
title (2a). In another outstanding story, a wife finds out that
her child may not automatically side with the wronged party, in a troubled
marriage (2b). Eric
Illayapparachchi's (3) anthology, is a delightful collection rich with finer
colours. He had drawn from many literary sources to build his vivid tapestry - no wonder it won two of the three awards. While the post-2009 nationalistic frenzy is captured in two of
the short stories (See 3a / 3b ) , the nostalgia of a better time is proof of his masterful style.
I would
rate Kammallaweera's (4), Mallawaarachchi's(5) and Senevirathne's(6)
collections, as my third best category. Kammallaweera, a master of the
Sinhala short story writing no less than his twelfth collection, illustrates
the modernity of his thinking, in some his short stories. The respect towards a
person is somewhat based upon his livelihood, in Sri Lanka. Kammallaweera shows
that, even the person's family wouldn't take kindly to a person who engage
in trades, which they still consider as "for the lesser types" ( 4a). Kammallaweera also focuses on how relationships
take a totally new dimension to the modern generation, as marriage, divorce,
living together and separation become common. It could be argued that its
a genuine way of treating relationships, as opposed to a bond for the sake of
society's expectations. Kammallaweera uses this narration focusing on a
son and his parents, to show how difficult to adjust to, for the older
generation. ( 4b). Senevirathne’s manner of social criticism, for which she uses myths and folklore, is amply demonstrated in her stories, ( See 6a/6b ) Mallawaarachchi, creates some
deep, dark narrations. She has experimented with her form, using the viewpoints
of several characters in one short story to show different points of view. (See 5a/5b, )
In the
category of good collections, my fourth, newcomer Tennakoon (7)
has impressed with her debut, collection. One story shows the weight that is brought upon someone by
society, as one moves up in the ladder, and the need for acceptance, is an
inherent price to pay (7a). In another tale, she shows how the hope for Love is
never absent in youth, but yet class barrier is a stumbling block,
still (7b) . It excels in illustrating this hope, and this divide (7b).
This could be related to how one's livelihood still rates where one is in
society, in our community. One story by Sayakkara (8), is one of the best accounts that I have read of how
most Sri Lankans who have migrated to greener pastures cannot rid of the
"burden of Sri Lanka" from themselves- and this is not mentioned in a
complimentary note(8a) . Gamage's (9) short story
of the title of his book, (9a), narrates an account of those who made the ultimate sacrifice
hoping for a better future, but only for those who survived to regret. Hettige
(10), writing his fourth short story collection touches
upon many a tale of the injustices faced by the lesser fortunate classes of
society. While he does sound contrived at times, he puts it to good use, to
illustrate the strength of his arguments (See 10a). Finally,
Wickramaarachchi (11),
has used his favourite subject,
psychology as a base, to write seven stories which reminds one of his award
winning novel Appachchi Awith ( අප්පච්චි ඇවිත් ). I just wish that he had spent more time on them, to make them more complete literary creations.
In summary,
the modern short story manages to touch many a pertinent issue of the social
fabric. The authors are willing to try out new forms and styles, and ready to
play the role of infusing change in our society. That, they have managed to do
this while ensuring they are enjoyable reads, speaks well for the Sinhala Short
Story.
Collections and stories Referred:
1- Somaweera, Isuru Chamara: ගැහැණු පිරිමි මල් පලතුරු ( Gahanu Pirimi Mal Palathuru ) - ( Grantha Publication
)
1a - පෙරේරා මහත්මිය; Mrs. Perera
1b - කිඳුරු වෙරළ; Beach of mermen
2- Jayasekara, P.B.: ස්ත්රී ද්වේෂියාගේ බිරිඳ (Sthri Dveshiyage Birindha ) ( Surasa Publication ) -
nominated for Godage Award
2a - ස්ත්රී ද්වේෂියාගේ බිරිඳ; The Misogynist's Wife
2b- අනියම් දුක නොහොත් අනියම් සතුට; illicit
grief or illicit pleasure
3- Illayapaarachchi, Eric: විශ්රාමික පෙම්වතිය (Vishramika
Pemwathiya ) - ( Godage Publication ) - won Vidhyodhaya and Godage Awards
; nominated for Rajatha Award
3a -භික්ෂු වාට්ටුව ; The Bhikku Ward
3b- ඇමේසන් ගින්න ; Fire of Amazon
4- Kammallaweera, Jayathilaka : කැඩපත්
දහයක් ( Kadapath Dahayak )- - (Wijesuriya
Publication ) - Nominated for Godage award
4a - අපේ චිත්ර
පාඩම ; our Art class
4b -නෑ, ඉතින් පුතේ; loosely translated as, "What I mean is, son...."
5- Mallawaarachchi, Amali Anupama: දං පඳුරට ආ රැහැයියා (Dan
Pandhurata aa Rahaiya )- - ( Godage Publication) - Best Manuscript, Short
stories – Godage
5a -භින්න ; Split
5b- ඤාව්වාගේ කතා වස්තුව ; A Cat's Tale
6- Senevirathne, Sumudu Niragi : සිතුවමෙන් නෙරපූ කිඳුරෙක් ( Sithuwamen Nerapu Kindhurek ) - ( vidharshana Publication
) - Nominated for Rajatha, Godage, Vidyodhaya awards
6a - පිළිමයක්
සහ දෙවියෙක් - A God and a Statue
6b- සොඳුරු -අඳුරු සර්ගයක් - A Pretty-Dark Chapter
7- Tennakoon, Sandhini Prarthana: ගඩ්නේවාලා ( Gadnewala )-
( Godage Publication ) - Nominated for Godage Award
7a - චීන වෙසක් පහන -The Chinese Wesak Lantern
7b- පිළිස්සුම් රෝගියා - The Scorched Patient
8- Sayakkara, Asanka: වසරේ හොඳම කෙටිකතාව (Wasare
Hondhama Ketikathawa )- ( Ahasa Publication ) - Nominated for Godage and Vidyodhaya
Awards
8a- හදවතින් ම ශ්රී ලාංකිකයි - Truly Sri Lankan
9-. Gamage, Kapila M: අපරාදෙ, ඒ නොවැම්බර් (Aparade e,
Novamber ) - ( Surasa Publication ) -
Nominated for Rajatha, Godage, Vidyodhaya Awards
9a- අපරාදේ, ඒ නොවැම්බර් - Alas, that November
10- Hettige, Anurasiri : මැරීන් ඩ්රයිව් ( Marine Drive) - Anurasiri Hettige ( Godage
Publication ) - Won Rajatha Award; Nominated for Vidyodhaya Award
10a- බැස
පලයන් ස්වර්ණමාලි - clear-out,
Swarnamali
11- Wickramaarachchi, Saman: දෙන්නෙක්
නොවෙයි එක්කෙනෙක් ( Dennek Nevei Ekkenek )- (Sarasavi
Publication ) - Nominated for Godage Award
