Colombo East-West Group Corr.

A youth forum and seminar to prevent sexual abuse of teenagers after leaving school, was held at St. Sebastian’s Parish Hall, Kandana on November 19. Here the Director of Kandana Sahana Medura legal-aid Godfrey Cooray handing over pamphlets relating to the seminar. Also in the picture are Mrs. Indranie Abeygunasekera (Chief Police Officer) and Mrs. Kanthy Perera (Coordinator-Child Protection Authority). (Picture by Wimal Keerthi, Divaina Negombo Corr.)

The Director of Dharmapala - Olcott International Research Foundation, Dr. Risiman Amarasinghe in his lecture on Munidasa Cumaratunga’s ‘Piya Samara’ or Remembering Father sponsored by the Colombo South Research Circle at Suvisuddharama hall, Wellawatte last Friday expressed the view that the main reason why Cumaratunga’s literary works have been found alien and foreign to some scholars in Lanka is the refineness of his language and the exactness of his diction. Hence his works have been misjudged and misconstrued by some readers by taking for granted the interpretations and judgements of others. But the best approach for any reader is to read his works by himself and come to his own independent conclusion.

Some scholars and critics have made interesting comments on the Piya Samara. Among them are Dr. P. B. Meegaskumbura, Prof. of Sinhala, Peradeniya University, former professor of Peradeniya University, Dr. Ananda Kulasuriya, a former lecturer of Law College, Mr. R. Pallewela, former Head of Kalyanappradeepa Pirivena, Ven. Gonahene Jotipala and Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera. However, to his mind the best analysis of Piya Samara is by none other than professor Meegaskumbura of Peradeniya University.

Piya Samara or Remembering Father gives expression to the deep loss the author, Munidasa Cumaratunga suffered by the death of his father, when he was only a child of nine. Throughout the poem he rarely deviates from the theme, strictly keeping to it from beginning the end with discipline.

Every incident, anecdote, description or reference is contrived to bring the character of his father to life. Right along, it is presented in the form of an apparent dialogue, where the author keeps on speaking to his dead father and the spiritual and moral father-son relationship is maintained.

Therefore one notices an altogether novel technique of handling a theme of this nature, at least in Sinhala literature. Only real incidents that took place are brought to light. It is plain unfurnished tale, without verbose claptrap. The poem says much more than it appears to say. But nothing is overstated.

There are two main characters portrayed through the poem - that of the father and of the son. Through the portrayal of the father’s character the son’s too is reflected. Actually the father’s character is openly unfolded while the son’s is suggested thereby. In his ‘Kukavi Vada’ or Poetaster Controversy in 1925, Cumaratunga said that there can be three kinds of characters in a poem. They are the explicit character, the implict character and the hidden character. Here Munidasa is the implicit one.

The poem portrays the life of a semi-urban South country Lankan family with its ups and downs of life and the links it established with its environment. In it resides a didactic sentiment, a model of a progressive father and the lessons absorbed by a son attempting to live upto the standard set by him.