Life and Lives Outside Politics
May 10, 2014, 12:00 pm
Solias Mendis
Ruwanweli Seya
Reviewed by Leelananda De Silva
Selected Writings of an Octogenarian by Upali K. Salgado, 132 pages, published by the author, 2014, price Rs. 500. (To be obtained from Upali K. Salgado, 29, Deal Place A, Colombo 3.)
Not many can write books on history. Many more have the capacity to place on record their memories of people and places and events, of which they have had some experience in their lifetime. This can be done in the form of brief articles to newspapers and journals. That would be an enormous contribution to the later, more organized writing of history. Among the largely ephemeral news and feature articles that appear in newspapers, there are selected writings which are of more lasting value. It is one of the important functions of newspapers to provide the space for recording these more lasting memories of its readers and writers. Then it is also possible to regular contributors to these newspapers, especially now when printing technology is so advanced, to bring their writings together in book form. Unlike long narrative historical writings, these collected works are more likely to be read or dipped into by ordinary men and women, creating an intellectual curiosity in a subject which might arouse their interest. Reading Upali Salgado’s book can create a more abiding interest in the people and the places he has described, and lead to further inquiry.
Salgado’s book consists of 25 articles which had appeared sometime or the other in daily newspapers. It is broadly classified into three categories – A Periscopic view of Buddhism, Portrait Gallery and Of People, Places and Events. They are a rich and varied selection. In the first section are articles on the revival of Buddhism in India, and more particularly, the archaeological findings in that country. There are also articles such as the restoration of Swarnamali Maha Seya. In the portrait gallery, are to be found brief discussions on notable figures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries such as Anagarika Dharmapala, the well known philanthropist Sir Charles De Soysa and of artists like Solias Mendis and many others. In the section on places and events, there are, among others, two or three engaging articles on Colombo and of the Uva province. The book certainly has a pronounced slant on many issues relating to Buddhist activities.
A brief word on the author is appropriate at this point. Upali K. Salgado, after his education at St. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia, and the University of Ceylon during the last days of Ivor Jennings, had a long career with the Lake House newspaper group, and was close to the Wijewardene family. He had been engaged in various Buddhist activities, and was the editor of an annual journal "Wesak Lipi" for 25 years. He has also been active in the Scouts movement. A man of varied experience and of great intellectual curiosity, he is a mine of information on the social history of the twentieth century. His writings in this volume are loaded with fascinating anecdotes, which are not generally known, and the book is valuable for these alone. The author quotes from Reverend Walpola Rahula, "The spirit of tolerance and understanding has been from the beginning one of the most cherished ideals of Buddhist culture, and civilization. That is why there is not a single example of persecution or of shedding of blood in converting people to Buddhism during the long history of over 2500 years." There is no doubt that it is this kind of Buddhism that the author believes in.
The articles on "Pathfinders of Buddhist Glory and Resurgence in India" and "The Kapilavasthu Buddha Relics and Sir Alexander Cunningham" describe the contributions of various Western and more particularly British colonial public servants in the re-discovery of Buddhism in India in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Several individuals like Cunningham and Archibald Carlyle, by their archaeological excavations brought to light the forgotten history of Buddhist sites and relics. Without that effort, Buddhism might have languished in the land of its birth. It is an intriguing question whether Buddhism would have flourished to the extent that it does now, without the British empire, as there were other forces in India at work to erase the traces of the Buddhist religion in that country. Today, the Buddhist pilgrimage to India is a highly popular religious activity, undertaken by both rich and poor. I wonder how many of these pilgrims are aware of the way in which these Buddhist centres of pilgrimage were re-discovered for them to see a hundred years later. Not many of them can read books such as Charles Allen’s "The Buddha and the Sahibs". It is worthwhile for Buddhist pilgrims to India, to be better informed about the events that led to the restoration of these places of worship.
The chapter on "Swarnamali Maha Seya and the Forgotten Monk" is a delightful evocation of the restoration of Ruwanweli Seya. It is a now forgotten monk – Venerable Naranvita Sumanasara Thera who started the work of restoration of the then dilapidated chaithya in 1873, and initially, he did the work all by himself.
He lived in the dense jungle, clearing it to the extent possible and lived for long years in an abandoned bullock cart with a lantern and mongrel for company. Thirty years later, in 1902, he founded the Ruwanweli Seya Restoration Society to take the work further after his death. (The year and date of his death is not known.) Ultimately, on 17th June 1940, the pinnacle laying ceremony of the Seya took place. By that time, many rich and well known people especially from Colombo and further south had contributed substantial sums of money for the restoration to be completed. The author notes one such donor – Situge Don Hendrick Silva (Henegama Appuhamy) from Ruhuna, who had donated 250,000 rupees, which was a handsome donation at that time.
Another article which is of great interest is the one on Solias Mendis, a painter of genius, who unlike George Keyt, has been relatively neglected. Walimuni Solias Mendis was born in 1896, and was educated at a pirivena. He had adorned many temples with his paintings. Solias Mendis came to fame when Mrs. Helena Wijewardene of Sedawatta Walauwa selected him to paint the walls of a new wing which she built at Kelaniya temple. Before he undertook the task, he was sent to India to see the paintings at Ajantha and Bhag. "Mendis introduced to the Kelaniya Vihare the style of Ravi Varma, which was associated with the Bengali renaissance of art. Much attention was given to detail of facial expressions. These inspired creations when clothed in a mixture of soft shades, giving flashes of a little orange and a mixture of lemon and red where necessary, provided life and contrast". However, Solias Mendis did not complete the work at Kelaniya temple, as he had some disagreement with the management. His patroness, Helena Wijewardene had passed away by that time. Solias Mendis retired into village life and never painted again. Later in 1948, at the request of D.S. Senanayake, he was brought to decorate the hall at Independence Square, to mark the freedom day celebrations. Solias Mendis passed away in 1975. The author has made an important contribution in keeping the memory of Solias Mendis, a truly great and indigenous artist, alive.
Two articles on Colombo and the Uva province are worth noting for the many snippets of information and anecdotes they contain. The author refers to over one thousand roadways in Colombo called lanes, places, avenues, gardens and passages apart from the main streets. The names they have been given enlightens us to the history of these roads, if only they are known now. To illustrate, there is Tickell road in Borella. R.H. Tickell was the engineer who commenced work on the municipal sewage scheme in 1902, and the road is named after him. Apparently, the expenditure on this scheme crippled the finances of the Colombo Municipal Council for many years. The article on the Uva province is of topical interest now that this area is opening up for tourism. There are various names connected with the province and one such was D.C. Kotelawela, a great philanthropist. He was the founder of Dharmadutha College, a leading boys school in Badulla, and his son, Sir Henry Kotelawela was a member of the Legislative and the State Councils for 27 years. He founded the Sujatha Vidyalaya for girls. The role of the Kotelawela family in Uva offers insights into other such philanthropic activities in the provinces of Sri Lanka by other families, and which are not widely known.
This relatively slim volume deserves to be widely read. It is written in simple language. It is this kind of book with a popular appeal which deserves to be translated into local languages. This book should also be an inspiration for ordinary men and women to write down their own experiences, not necessarily for publication, as many events which are personally experienced, and which have a wider relevance would be lost sight of once the person who had that experience is no longer there. The article on Uva province in particular brings up the relevance of more extensive writings on provincial life and experience of the past before our generation passes away from the scene.
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