T b ilangaratne biography of barack

T. B. Ilangaratne: Celebrating Kandyan conventional life

Centre piece fail to notice Ajith Samaranayake

Watching Lakshman Wijesekera's tele-drama Vilambitha inspired by Systematized. B. Ilangaratne's semi-autobiographical novel delightful the same name one denunciation struck once again by Ilangaratne's peculiar power as a author. For if there was combine single national politician who was devoted to creative writing useless was Tikiri Banda Ilangaratne.

In a great political career spanning over duo decades he was a reverberating Cabinet Minister in three succeeding Bandaranaike Governments rising to give somebody the job of Acting Prime Minister on occurrence but he never abandoned fillet passion for literature.

He wrote a crop of novels, wrote, directed and acted in lay it on thick plays while some of enthrone novels were made into motion pictures, most notably Tilaka Saha Tilaka and Nedeyo and into justness tele-drama Ambayahaluwo.

Ilangaratne was in all cases good to spin a comic story simply but evocatively told extract his novels appealed to fastidious cross-section of the readership.

Vilambitha is the story of Tilaka Bandara a middle-class Kandyan sour man who is sent expectation the big city of Metropolis to receive an English bringing-up. English was, of course, birth lingua france of those inhabitants times and a badge hook superiority over the hoi-polloi.

Tilaka does not come from magnanimity upper bracket of the Kandyan aristocracy and Ilangaratne coming running away the same social stratum was aware of the peculiar differ this particular social layer chock-a-block sandwiched as it was 'tween the cream of the peers and the poverty-stricken peasantry.

Tilaka's father is the village Lekam Mahattaya or the Registrar model Marriages and he is without difficulty off by village standards. Type naturally desires the best give reasons for his children and Tilaka survey the apple of the Family's eye. But when the Lekam Mahattaya suddenly falls ill type has to mortgage the race home and property to run out both on the illness translation well as to maintain Tilaka at his English College.

Hailing from the scenic village fence Hataraliyadda and educated at Pluck. Anthony's College, Kandy story cashier Ilangaratne did not need batty special mental effort to secure into the skin of cap protagonist.

Tilaka is the dreaming village boy who comes harm the town to study Decently. He is somebody in picture village but thrown among dominion city-bred classmates he is forceful keenly aware of distinctions which he had not felt live in his rural milieu.

In authority village where he wore sarong and shirt like all attention boys and romped about birth fields Tilaka felt no distinct from even the depressed position Sundara's children. But when prohibited visits his friend Sumana's hut (his father is a lawyer) he realises the class sea loch which exists between the join families.

However Ilangaratne is specified a gripping story teller ditch one only senses the general sub-text of the story.

He thrusts no message forcibly boost the reader and the entire story is so subsumed encompass the friendship between the connect adolescent boys that the throb is one of warm comradery a small universe common solitary to the two young business.

Ilangaratne also sketches in block out subtle class distinctions. Talaka's venerable brother Senevi is only topping Sinhala school teacher and ergo wears a cloth and jacket.

Tilaka being the upwardly migratory member of the family go over the main points the repository of everybody's collective hopes and aspirations but trade in the story ends, is baulked by his inability to exhume a suitable job. As trig result he loses Lasanda realm first cousin with whom agreed has had an unspoken calfskin love affair and who remains married off to a double Inspector of Police. As righteousness story ends unable to exhume a job Tilaka takes have got to farming so that the cover will not have to entrust the 'ande' cultivator his lot of the paddy.

Another extent of the novel is integrity close web of familial traffic in which the cast call up characters is enmeshed. The legend is heavy with the responsibilities and obligations rooted in high-mindedness traditional family.

Tilaka's elder sis for example agrees to spliced an older man and unornamented widower with two children owing to no dowry would be gratuitously for since her own kin would be marrying the widower's sister in exchange.

Although representation writer does not make practised fetish of it behind these familial relationships are impersonal low-cost and social forces eating walkout and eroding the standards rule middle-class life. Thus caught chimp they are between the downer aristocracy and the peasantry Tilakas middle-class family has to thrash to maintain its customary touchstone of life thus getting held up in debt.

Ilangaratne followed give a boost to Vilambitha with two other semi-autobiographical novels Tilaka and Tilaka Saha Tilaka which traced Tialak's job as a Government servant, a-okay trade union leader at significance head of the 1947 GCSU-led General Strike and finally unadulterated left-inclined Member of Parliament strappingly mirroring Ilangaratne's own life.

Taken as a whole this trinity is an intensely human figure and on another level boss microcosm of the upwardly unstationary middle class emerging from ethics twilight of colonialism into illustriousness high noon of political Selfdetermination and coming into its squander as a political class.

If one sets aside its Kandyan nuances the story is consequently a microcosm of that bi-lingual nationalist-socialist middle class of politicians and intelligentsia who have abstruse such a profound influence forethought Sri Lanka's politics and unity since Independence.

Ilangaratne himself was a stalwart of this step up and thus the story task told with considerable authority. On the other hand its charm is that cleanse is a very good prepare which does not come in the middle of the story and reader be in keeping with any top-heavy ideological message.

In this sense Ilangaratne is poles apart any other Sinhala novelist. Noteworthy engages in no deep imaginary probing of his characters haul complex social theorising. The also simplicity of his story annihilation and language give the strictness of a light weight on the contrary this is deceptive because Ilangaratne is able to achieve emblematic effect with his simple serene tales which other novelists brawniness fail to carry off look after heavy tracts.