Author: Manny Candappa
Reviewed By Gaston De Rosayro
Among all the women who ever lived, the mother of Jesus Christ is the most celebrated, the most venerated and the most honoured in the naming of girl babies and churches.

Obviously that same divine patronymic could not be thrust on the author of this delightful book, whose life has been irrevocably touched by the chastity and faith of the Madonna for one obvious reason. He was born a male. But as he so succinctly puts it himself in his dedication, his own earthly mother being Mary it can be scarcely surprising that he is passionately attached to Mary, his heavenly mother.

The life of Manny (E. C. T.) Candappa - full monicker Emmanuel Christopher Thomas - was virtually governed by the bells of St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena.

This second printing of the book, first published in Australia in 1997, more than a just semi-autobiographical memoir set in the backdrop of a subliminal age which boasted a robust type of Catholicism. It is more, a moving personal testament of the author’s devotion to the object most emblematic to Catholics - the rosary.

Wealth and beauty

As he reconstructs the chain of events chronologically and almost from memory, the writer unveils the wealth and beauty of this Marian devotion and recounts how it influenced his life and the life of his family and friends.

The recital strikes a nostalgic chord as the writer recreates familiar images which emerge with exceptional clarity. He deftly brings into focus a vivid montage of a past era of meditation at lamp-lighting time. The combination of elements here is powerfully expressive as he dips into idyllic reverie, deftly enhancing for reading buffs those special elements of atmosphere and mood.

He opens up an intimate period enchantment, conjuring up a cluster of portraits which almost spring to life. He adroitly depicts the moving lips of devotees fingering their beads, the echo of awesome voices responding to the litanies and the lingering scent of vaporized incense. He adds to this his own cheerful spirits, his gift for phrase and his often hilarious intervention.

In essence, the author weaves his experiences around the setting of an old-world charm when celestial veneration was the norm, virtually permeating the very fabric of Catholic society.

The reader becomes almost rapturously involved in the wonder of his mission, sharing the aching memories of an earlier time, that had become an indispensable part of so many lives.

One cannot fail to be transfixed by the eloquent intensity of faith and the comforting sense of security to be surrounded by these simple rituals.

Manny Candappa, although tutored in the disciplines of journalese, has the born novelist’s gift of breathing life into his characters, even into that of his venerated, ethereal heroine. He does not conceal his attempts to renew the faith of fellow believers as he extols the alluring vitality of the Madonna as the pre-eminent saint, not only of all housewives and mothers, but as the Mother of the Church.

He bestows on the Mother of Christ a new dignity, elevating her with an infinite gentleness as she passes through our lives like a sunbeam into sunlight. Yet, although a harbinger of a life renewed, there is nothing cerebral in the perceptible ripples of emotion the book evokes. It is a fascinating mosaic of memories that swivel from the heart-warming happy, and humorous scenes to the starkly melancholy. But throughout, the reader is practically kept riveted by its very integrity, lucidity and simplicity.

There is something fluid and lyrical about the narrative - a smoothly flowing rhythm which one finds unusual and more than compelling.

The mention of the Heavenly Mother never fails to elicit from his chronicle a cadence that is pure worship. The modernists might well repeat the accusation that Marian devotion tends towards idolatry.

But the author displays a subtle disregard for such improvident philosophies. And he does it with characteristic ‘elan, born of a resplendent, individualistic streak. He largely ignores the posturings of the humanist-modernists of our times, the presumably more advanced theologians. He dismisses them with an almost contemptuous disdain - brushing them off with a single sentence, as if they were unworthy opponents.

Having accomplished this, he breezes through his narrative with his customary ebullience as he unabashedly details his profession of faith both in good times and in times of crisis. With astonishing descriptive skill he recounts Sri Lanka’s shameful pogrom of 1983, when the lives of his family and neighbours were threatened by rampaging, blood-thirsty mobs.

He brilliantly captures the human responses in the face of these terrifying odds, the deathly dread, the vulnerability and sense of outrage. With the barbaric goon squads howling at his doorstep he transcribes poignantly how he and his family reached out for the most potently spiritual combat weapon - the rosary. He reinforces his rock-solid faith in the efficacy of this powerful sacramental, considered not only a strong ritualistic talisman, but an implement of war against all maleficent forces.

Working as a professional journalist on various assignments in this country, Manny Candappa is a man who has faced the spectre of death on more occasions than he would care to remember. But this reviewer will attest to the validity, that despite such occupational hazards, he has always remained a non-violent person.

His amiable disposition and Catholic upbringing have, doubtless, helped inculcate in him such a restraining spirit. Such a gracious temperament has always held him in good stead, never triggering the impetus to take the form of, physical aggression even when confronted by the most impudent provocations.

But in Manny Candappa, the Queen of Heaven does have an exceptionally dashing gallant, in the heroic Homeric mould. Yet, there is clearly an unrestrained element of romanticism manifested in both his writing and his psyche - something akin to a singular innocence, a sort of gentle ingenuousness as he journeys on his personal quest to a discovery of spiritual completeness.

But nothing, it appears, can slip past the last defender of the Virgin Mary, particularly when his Holy Mother’s honour is at stake. This is quite evident as the author hones his pen to a sharp edge as he dissects the anti-Marian movement in Australia, which begins to emerge like an ugly grub from a chrysalis with its provocative bigotry.

Touching testament

There is a touching testament to his incredible gallantry as he confronts an ill-mannered blasphemer distributing scurrilous handbills viciously vilifying the Mother of Christ.

There are a few paragraphs worth quoting in this context that would warm the cockles of any Marian crusader’s heart: "Instinctively I made a grab for the leaflets and missed. A policeman shook his head disapprovingly.

"I let it go and the next year I found the same man doing his ill-mannered, and from my point of view, highly provocative work. This time I made sure I would not miss. This time I got the lot. The outraged man gave chase. I was keen to keep the spoils of war. I fled out of his line of vision.

"There are many things I take in this life, but anyone who insults my Mother has a fight on his hands. I have taken this Queen’s shilling and it would be a poor soldier indeed who does not defend the honour of his Queen And Mother."

Stirring stuff. But there is much more as the story flawlessly oscillates between the author’s life and the divine. And both paths of the story need be travelled to reach the journey’s satisfying end. The writer endears himself to the reader as he exudes a kind of indefinable charm, class and cultured writing style, rarely found among the present literary fraternity. He further wins their affection as he skilfully communicates those eminent attributes of filial devotion, which have slid into incipient decline in the fitful fever of modern life.

The Enchanted Circle is exceptionally good reading. It is one of those comfortable books you can return to often. Although he does not say so in the same words, the message he conveys cannot be missed. For whatever aspect of Mary, we choose to emphasise and embrace, we who seek her out will surely find something only a Holy Mother can provide.

It is an inspiring story of a true hero of the faith, more real and adventuresome than any adventure could be.

Note: A limited number of copies of The Enchanted Circle is available at the Bookshop of St Mary’s Church, Dehiwela. The book is priced at Ros. 150.

All profits from the sales of the book will go towards the Thritva Bhavana (Trinity House) Development Fund at Attidiya.