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| A spark of support and Siva hits it big! by Namini Wijedasa & Pix by
Gamini Mendis
Siva was lagging behind in his studies. He had not been 'educated' and lacked practical training in maths, science and the other subjects they required him to learn at school. SOS ensured that he received a comprehensive vocational training at the SOS farm project at Malpotha and he specialised in growing of vegetables . Six years later, with Rs. 90,000 in his bank account, Siva decided to spread his wings. SOS once again came to his aid, helping his acquire a spot of land. He built a house. Now, in the third year after he left the Children's Village, he is well on his way. SOS had given him another chance at life. Hermann Gmeiner would have been proud.
The village was formed on a unique concept, one that gave every child a home and a 'family'. It was a result of Gmeiner's unswerving conviction that help can never be effective where children have no home. The village comprised of a group of houses. Each house had a 'mother'. The mothers were unmarried, educated women who were capable of looking after their children. Destitute boys and girls of various ages were placed in each of the houses under the care of the mother. The house is an integral part of the village community and this gave the children cultural roots and a feeling of belonging. The children would grow up in this secure environment, be trained in appropriate fields, found jobs and settled down. Nobody was left in the lurch. Children who were orphaned or abandoned needed to fear no longer. SOS Children's Villages began in Sri Lanka in 1980 with the establishment of SOS Kinderdorf International as a registered NGO. It was Gmeiner's chosen successor, Helmut Kutin (himself an SOS child) who initiated the establishment of the organisation in this country. The first Children's Village was constructed in Piliyandala in 1981. It has been a success story ever since. Rows of marriage photographs line the walls and the cupboards of the village's library. They are all SOS children. Beautiful houses, kept spruce through the efforts of the children and their mothers, dot the vast green land where trees, flowers and children live in harmony. A school and a kindergarten are within the complex but children travel to schools and classes outside the boundaries freely. Everything these orphans need are provided - at least the basics. Education, love and security. But they could have more, with a little help. A mother is given a monthly budget with which she has to cater to at least 10 children (each house has about 10 to 15 children, according to co-worker, Kusum Fernando). Food, clothing, books, and other little knick-knacks have to be bought. And sometimes, children have to go without little luxuries. "For instance, if a family has a child who is particularly clever at sports may need a new pair of shoes. The mother may not be able to afford it within her budget," remarked Mrs. Fernando. That is why SOS Children's Villages Sri Lanka launched a sponsorship programme about three-and-a-half years ago. The programme allows generous Sri Lankans sponsor a child at no great cost. They can either sponsor a child's education with a regular contribution of Rs. 50 a month, or become an SOS Child Sponsor with a monthly contribution of Rs.400. There are now four children's villages - Piliyandala, Nuwara Eliya, Galle and Anuradhapura. There are also several ancillary projects such as kindergartens, medical centers, youth facilities and a school. Altogether, there are 24 projects in the country. Hundreds of Sri Lankan children and youth have been the beneficiaries of these projects. There are hundreds more each day. They could do with some help. National Director, SOS, Cedric de Silva, assures that it is for a worthy cause. While they receive funds from SOS Kinderdorf International, additional contributions would only go to improve the lifestyle of destitute children. "No SOS children ever grow up to be a burden to society," noted de Silva, " all are employed, independent and responsible citizens". Most children are also gifted. Take the case of Suranganie. She came to SOS Piliyandala as a three-week-old child, malnourished and weak. Her natural mother had abandoned her due to social and financial problems. At Piliyandala, she was accepted, loved and nourished by her SOS family. Today, she has passed her year five scholarship examination and is a student of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya. She also clinched the title of champion athlete in her age group twice in the past three years. Suranganie was lucky. She had a sponsor who helped her through it. The sound of children's laughter echo through the village at Piliyandala. Children were running home after school. In one house, a mother with a plate of rice and curry was feeding at least six children at a time. Six very naughty children. At another, a little boy was shouting 'Amma' at the top of his voice from his bedroom. Another two boys skipped home with their arms around each other's shoulders. Everywhere, it was calm and peaceful. There was an ambience that touched a person's heart. This was nothing new - it was just a characteristic of an SOS Children's Village. The lissome lasses of Bataleeya by Zanita Careem
& pix by Lasantha Sudesh On the Kandy road, 21 miles from Colombo, is Bataleeya. Here on the either side of the arterial road lies heaped caju with pretty girls behind the tables. This is one of the first impressions which gets embedded in the minds of tourists visiting Sri Lanka. Suddenly the rural setting takes on colour with willowy damsels some with the grace of gazelles, others buxom and vivacious, attired in tight fitting jackets colourful and stylishly worn beckoning the visitor to buy the felicious nuts. Bataleeya or Cadjugama is famous for cadjunuts and king coconuts and has been a selling centre for a very considerable period of time. The cadju sold here are entirely brought from outside the village to Cadjugama from places like Kurunegala and Wariyapola. I met the cadju girls on my way to Matale. They were sitting indolently in the shade by the roadside wooing the passers-by, motorists, foreigners etc. They have a shy demeanour that belies their age. There were about 120 girls employed in this business. All of them wore multi-coloured cloth and jacket which they said were specially tailored for them by seamstresses in the village. Stitching cost about Rs. 18 to Rs. 20 they said. They said that each of them have about ten to twelve outfits with matching accessories. Did this mean that the cadju girls were well off financially? Selling cadju is not easy as one thinks, they said. "Sometimes we chat for quite while to sell 100 grams. We have to flirt a little to do business. Some men tarry awhile and engage in small talk", said one of them with a mischievous smile.
What is their average income, we queried? "Some of us earn more than Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 per day. Some days the income is very much less, specially on rainy days. We get an occasional bonanza when some rich mudalalis or Suddhas (Westerners) stopped by and doled out a few hundreds extra to be distributed among us", they said. "However every day is not Christmas." There are days we hardly earn anything. Sometimes our polythene packeted nuts are snatched by pranksters who stop by in passing vehicles, and flee." This is a big loss as the packets contain 500 grams to one kilo. Most of these young O/L qualified girls worked hard to support their families, educate their brothers and sisters with their earnings. They are frequently photographed and not camera shy.
"We are a contented lot and take life as it comes. The word 'worry' is alien to us as our strength lies in community living." "Come back again" said one of the sister gifting me a packet of cadju nuts. Veddas - now only a household name Script & Photos:
Gamini G. Punchihewa Later our famed 'Surgeon and author about the Wilderness', Dr. R. L. Spittel at the turn of the century studied the Veddas in their original settlements and wrote many books on these aborigines, among them 'Wild Ceylon' (1925), ‘Far Off Things' (1930), 'Vanished Trails’, ‘Savage Sanctuary’(1939/45) the last being the epic life story of Wannaku Tissahamy, the jungle outlaw. Prior to the coming of Prince Vijaya and his 700 followers, Lanka as it was then called was inhabited by two fierce tribes, the Nagas (cobra worshippers), Yakkas (demon worshippers). The former confined to the coastal belt while the latter to interior of the jungles.
Another tradition states that the Veddas' ancestors were the Yakkas. The Mahavamsa records that King Pandukabhaya (5th century BC) built shrines dedicated to ‘vyaadha deva', the god of the hunters. The word Vedda is derived from sanskrit Vyaddha — meaning one who lives by chase, thus meaning a hunter. The Vedda language itself is a mixture of Pali, Sanskrit and Elu, a form of archaic Sinhala. In the 6th century BC King Panduvasdeva and his retinue arrived in Lanka, and were welcomed by Yakka tribes who showed them the way to Vijithapura. Sabaragamuwa means the land of jungle tribes (Sabara means primitive people), hence it is said in some traditions that the Vedda habitat once upon a time existed in Sabaragamuwa. With places like Veddagala, Veddacombe, Veddawala (lying close to Kalawana) and Pothupitiya. Coming to the reign of Pandukabhaya (5th century BC) he fought his seven embittered uncles with the support of the Yakka chieftain and his tribe. In the reign of King Datusena (6th century A.D.) the Mahaweli ganga was diverted at Minipe in the Minipe canal nearly 47 miles long said to be constructed with help from the Yakkas. The Mahawamsa refers to the canal as Yaka-bendi-ela. When the Ruwanweli Seya was built in King Dutugemunu's time (2nd century B.C.) the Veddas procured the necessary minerals from the jungles. King Parakrama Bahu the great of (12 century) in his war against the rebels employed these Veddas as scouts. In the reign of King Rajasinghe II (17 century A.D.) in his battle with the Dutch he had a Vedda regiment. In the abortive Uva-Welessa revolt of 1817-1818 of the British times, led by Keppetipola Dissawe, the Veddas too fought with the rebels against the British forces. Dr. Seligmann classifies the Veddas into three groups.— the Gal Veddas (Rock Veddas) who dwelt in caves-hunting animals with bow and arrow and lived a food gathering existence, Gam Veddas (Village Veddas) those who intermarried with the neighbouring Sinhalese and cultivated chena and other food crops with the Coastal Veddas (Mudu Veddas) were confined mostly to the eastern coastal belt, like Kalkuda. Today no Rock Veddas exist, instead a few Gam Veddas are still confined to the aboriginal settlements like Pollebedda (Maha Oya), Rahtugala (off Bibile and Gal Oya Valley), Dambana (off Mahiyangane). Inroads of
Civilization The Mahaweli Accelerated Development Programme in the 1980's extended into the Bintenna called in ancient times, as Maha Vedirata and Mahiyangana, Maduru Oya, Yakhura, Dimbulagala regions. Consequently the few remaining shoots were either wiped out, or integrated into the Mahaweli settlement in Systems B and C. Among the other traditional Vedda settlements is the Dambana which lies between the Mahaweli Ganga and Maduru Oya. Dr. Seligmann who had studied almost all the aboriginal settlements in 1910, like Danigala, Hennebedda, Yakhura, Nilgala, Sorabora had also visited Dambana. A few Vedda settlements around Mahaweli systems, like Keragoda, Kotabakina, Koteya and Kende Ganwila were displaced. Most of those age old aboriginal settlements got engulfed in the newly created Maduru Oya National Park (in 1983) and eventually were displaced. Those Vedda evacuees about 113 were re-settled in an exclusively carved out settlement at Hennanigala lying off Mahaweli System C, in Giriandurukotte, about 15 miles away from Mahiyangane. Most of them accepted the new life style but chieftain of Dambana-Uruwarige Tissahamy and a few others refused to discard their Vedda trappings and sought refuge in the sanctuary of the Maduru Oya National Park. The Veddas believed in the cult of their dead whom they propitiated rituals and dances to invoke their blessings. When death stalked their cave homes, they abandoned them and went in quest of other caves. They believed in Nae Yakka (after death-the spirit of the dead relative haunted them). To appease the Nae Yakka they did a ritual accompanied with dance and song called Kirikoraha which these Gam Veddas still indulge in. Their other spirits were Kande Yakka, Bilinda Yakka, Rahu Yakka, Kiri Amma, etc.,
by Kirthie Abeysekera Sometime thereafter, Ondaatje returned to his native Ceylon in search of his roots, resulting in ‘running in the family. I visited him in his Toronto home to talk about the book in which he traces his Dutch-Burgher ancestry. Years later, at an autograph-session of ‘The English Patient’ at a Toronto bookstore, he signed my copy of the book that had won him Britain's prestigious ‘Booker Prize.’ He gave me his unlisted phone number. That was the last I saw of him. When the book was made into a multi-award winning movie, it brought him international fame. Since then he has been elusive, virtually, gone underground. The Canadian media can't get hold of him. Messages on his answering machine are not responded to.
Under ‘Primal Urges — A Walk on the Wild Sided,’ the ‘Elm Street’ story is mainly about Spalding's odyssey to Borneo to research the behaviour of orangutans for a book. Also in her interview with ‘Elm Street’ writer, Marni Jackson, at the Metro Toronto Zoo where she was observing the mating habits of the species, she spoke of her life with Ondaatje since he left Kim, his first wife by whom he had two children, a son, Griffin, and a daughter, Quintin. Spalding lived in Hawaii as a single mother for ten years after her 1972 marriage break up. In 1982, the year Ondaatje's ‘Running in the Family’ was published, Spalding arrived in Toronto with her daughters, Esta and Kristin, then 14 and 12. She took a summer job at the York University as a driver. She was asked to pick up Ondaatje at the Toronto airport. He was arriving to read at the University, and Spalding was assigned to him. They were once driving around by car when they passed some horses in a field. He mumbled something which she heard as ‘Do you like to write?" In fact, she was writing at the time, and she said yes. It turned out that what he had asked was, "Do you like to ride?" They fell instantly in love. "He was handsome, but shy," Spalding recalls. "He was years from becoming a member of that rare species, the internationally successful literary novelist — a more endangered species than the orangutans." Spalding and Ondaatje carried on "a long-distance relationship" for three years, flying here and there to meet each other whenever they could. His first marriage had ended years earlier, but living in Toronto enabled him to stay close to his two children. In 1985, Spalding took over the editing of ‘Brick,’ a respected international literary journal. Editorial input came from her elder daughter, Esta, also a published poet, Ondaatje and other eminent writers, such as Salman Rushdie, John Ralston Saul, Toni Morrison and Carole Corbeil. ‘Brick’ was printed at ‘Coach House Books’, a small press that had published Ondaatje's first book of poetry. ‘They Dainty Monsters’ in 1967 when he was 24. Ondaatje and Spalding still live upstairs at Coach House, instead of ‘Villa-hunting in Umbria." "Authors can still feel part of the bookmaking process here," Spalding says. At intervals, Spalding accompanied Ondaatje to Tuscany and Tunisia, where ‘the English Patient’ movie characters were based, and "joined in the odd dinner with (movie-actor) Ralph Fiennes." She attended the Oscar ceremonies where ‘The English Patient’ won nine awards. "I was in step," she told Jackson. "I wore chiffon in black and white. But it was weird, getting all dressed up in the afternoon. Michael told me to take a book to read in the limo, but I didn't. I thought I might get car sick. Wasn't it fun to go to Hollywood?" The movie star is lost on her, "I'm afraid," she said. "Although I did get a kick out of seeing Debbie Reynolds up there on stage." Sales of ‘The English Patient’ shot up into the millions, Spalding told Jackson. How does such success affect the lives of Ondaatje and Spalding? "Well," says Spalding, "this kind of windfall gives us both the freedom to go on writing — which is the main thing." But, really, money and fame, she says, are another. One thing has changed. Now students come up to Michael at the University and ask what sort of book they can write that will make them successful. "But writing doesn't work like that." "One of the main results of Michael's success for me," says Spalding, "was that I could finally quit my job. I mean, five years ago, I was working in a store, selling dishes." But, she adds, "the danger of course, is having my identity absorbed into his, which would have been a problem a few years ago when I wasn't sure I was a real writer. But that's not as much a problem now." On writing her present book, ‘The Follow,’ on orangutans, Spalding laughs. "That's because of the support from Michael. I feel it was that somebody gave me a contract and a cheque Ondaatje, now 55, and Spalding, 53, enjoy a good family life with his children and hers. Esta, now 30, laughs off the suggestion that her writing is influenced by Ondaatje. "It's not so much influence," she says, "as simply sharing certain things as family. It's the kind of stories that catch our interests, or the jokes we laugh at.’ Married to a zoologist, Esta's own life is interwoven with her writer-mother's and Ondaatje's. Mother and daughter have embarked on writing a novel together. What's Ondaatje's next novel going to be? That's a closely guarded secret. What is known is that he's going places. The media are on his trail, sniffing at every scent. High Fashion Text and Pics by Kirthi
Sri Karunaratne The decor in yellow and white, came on white pillars and on the tables besides the backdrop to the bridal seat, when Lankangani Nayanthara, the daughter of one time film star and glamour girls Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya and Dr. Lanka Wijesena was married to Nalaka Premalal, the son of the late E. A. P. Edirisinghe and Soma Edirisinghe, the high powered business magnate, a pioneer millionaire in Sri Lanka.
The mother of the groom Soma had her traditional Indian saree in a shade of Prussian blue with border and pallu in subdued light gold. The blouse besides the border at the edge of the sleeve had an all over floral design on it. Her jewellery too was in gold and diamonds. It is with regret I failed to see the mother of the bride, and many more of the elegantly dressed women who crowded the ballroom. Cocktails for
friendship
Crushed velvet in gun metal and deep blue made the sleeveless style of the dress Ranmali Mirchandani wore with a necklace of gold beads, and deep blue accessories.
Avanti was excited. Her friend Hazel was going out of town for a couple of months. And while she was away, Avanti was going to play with Hazel's doll's house. It was the prettiest doll's house Avanti had ever seen. It was cream in colour with a red tiled roof which could be removed. There was a bedroom, a kitchen, with a sink and a gas stove, and a living room with sofas and a carpet and matching curtains. There was also a balcony where Hazel's three dolls, Meg, Gretel and Gina, could sit. Hazel's doll's house had come from America where her grandparents lived. She was generous and always willing to let Avanti play with it. Avanti liked to take her rag doll Ashika along. She knew that her grubby faced blackhaired doll was no match for rosy cheeked Meg, blonde Gretel or blue eyed Gina but she took her just the same. Her parents did not spend much on toys. Avanti knew that she could never get such a wonderful house for Ashika and did not want Ashika to miss the chance of sitting in the balcony with Meg, Gretel and Gina. Avanti ran home, her long pony tail bouncing. "I'm going to have the doll house", she shouted. "Oh! Won't I have fun: I shall clean the house, wash the little curtains and sofa covers and cook delicious dishes for Meg, Gretel, Gina and Ashika". She bumped into her parents. "Ah! There you are Avanti", Daddy said. "I was looking for you. I've got a letter from your grandmother. She wants you to spend your summer holidays with her". Avanti's lips drooped. "I hate going to grandmother's house", she declared. "She makes me get up early and she nags and nags". "That is enough Avanti", Daddy said quietly in his "I'm-not-too-pleased-with-you", kind of a voice. "You know that Grandma lives alone and she needs to spend time with young people". Avanti turned to her mother. "Mom, Hazel is lending me her doll's house. If I go to grandmother's house I cannot play with it. It is too big to take by train and I am sure Hazel will not like me taking it there". Tears stung Avanti's eyes. Mummy looked worried. She knew that Avanti loved the doll's house. Daddy looked cross. "I would have thought that your grandmother would have meant more to you than a doll's house," he said. Mummy comforted Avanti. "I know how you feel, dear, but Daddy is right. You need to spend time with your grandmother". Instead of playing with the dolls and cleaning up the doll's house, Avanti spent her holidays running errands for her grandmother or reading out to her. Her cousin Rashmi also came to stay with grandmother, but the two girls did not have much fun. Grandmother did not like noise and would get cross if the girls laughed or ran around the house. "I am fed up here", Rashmi pouted one day. "there is no fun or laughter. It is always dismal and glum. What a way to spend the holidays! I am going to ring up Mom and ask her to take me home". The two girls were engrossed in their talk and did not see grandmother in the doorway. "I didn't want to come here", Avanti said. "My friend was lending me her doll's house and I was looking forward to playing with it". Avanti's eyes shone as she described the doll's house and the dolls. Grandmother walked away slowly. She sat in her rocking chair and was immersed in thought. The next day Rashmi's father came to pick her up. "I'm sorry, mother, but there is no fun here for a little girl. I want Rashmi to enjoy her holidays". He then looked at Avanti. "Do you want me to take you back?" he asked. Avanti's heart leapt. Hazel would not yet have left for her holiday. She could get the doll's house if she went back now. Then she looked at grandmother — poor grandmother who lived all alone in this huge house, always sick and bored. She took a deep breath "I think I shall stay on with grandmother", she said. Grandmother's eyes lit up. After Rashmi left grandmother said. "Come here my child, I have been harsh and strict with you. I forget what it meant to be a child but when I heard you speak about that doll's house, I couldn't help remembering my own childhood. Come with me". Grandmother led Avanti upstairs to the junk room. Lots of old furniture lay stacked there. Grandmother went to a cupboard. Avanti wondered what could be inside. Grandmother opened the cupboard and took out two dolls. They were old, but in good condition. "The golden haired one is Rosy and the one in that pink dress is of course Pinky", Grandmother said. "They were my childhood friends". Avanti was so busy dusting the dolls that she did not see what grandmother was taking out of the cupboard. Then she looked up and stared and stared. Grandmother was taking out a doll's house. It was bigger than Hazel's doll's house. Of course it was old but grandmother had been careful and the house was strong and firm. The roof had a chimney and there was even a little bathroom with a pink washbasin and a water closet. "Oooh! how wonderful!" Avanti clasped her hands in joy. Then she did something she would never have dared do if she had not been feeling so excited. She threw her hands around grandmother and gave her a nice big hug. A smile crept into grandmother's eyes. The smile widened and then grandmother did what she had not done for years. She actually laughed out loud. "Oh, I do feel good now", she said as she and Avanti took the doll's house down. "My uncle bought me this when I was a girl. It was the greatest joy of my life. I always kept it safe but I had no daughters to give it to. Only two sons who liked to play with trucks and guns. I locked it up and forgot all about it till today. Of course we will need to stitch a few dresses for the dolls...." "...and paint the house.." put in Avanti. Grandmother nodded. "And get new curtains and a carpet", she said looking as excited as a child. Avanti's heart soared as she lovingly ran her hands over her doll's house. "Now Ashika will have her own house and two friends", she said "She won't be lonely anymore". "Nor will I", grandmother said softly as she kissed Avanti's cheeks. |
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