Martin Wickramasinghe
Encyclopedia
Martin Wickramasinghe MBE
(May 29, 1890 - July 23, 1976) was a Sri Lanka
n novelist. His books have been translated into several langues.
The search for roots is a central theme in Wickramasinghe's writings on the culture and life of the people of Sri Lanka. His work explored and applied modern knowledge in natural and social sciences, literature
, linguistics, the arts, philosophy, education, and Buddhism
and comparative religion to reach beyond the superficial emotionalism of vulgar nationalism, and guide Sri Lankan readers to the enduring roots of their common national identity that exists in the folk life and folk culture of Sri Lanka.
of Koggala, in Sri Lanka, the only son of Lamahewage Don Bastian Wickramasinghe, and Magalle Balapitiya Liyanage Thochchohamy. Koggala was bounded on one side by a reef, and on the other by a large lake into which the numerous tributaries
of the Koggala Oya drained. The landscape
s of the sea
, lake
studded with little island
s, the flora and fauna, the forest
ed hinterland, and the changing patterns of life and culture
of the people of the village would later influence his work.
At the age of five Wickramasinghe was taught the Sinhala alphabet, at home and in the village temple, by a monk, Andiris Gunananse. He also learned the Devanagari script and could recite by memory long sections of the Hitopadesa. After two years he was taken to a vernacular school where he prospered until 1897 when he was sent to an English school in Galle
called Buena Vista. In the two years spent at the school Wickramasinghe became fluent in English as well as Latin. When his father died, he returned to a vernacular school in Ahangama and subsequently lost interest in schooling.
Through the 1940s Wickramasinghe dabbled with the double role of literary critic and creative writer. Gamperaliya
(1944) is widely held as the first Sinhalese novel with a serious intent that compares, in content and technique, with the great novels of modern world literature. The novel depicts the crumbling of traditional village life under the pressure of modernization. The story of a successful family in a Southern village is used to portray the gradual replacement of traditional economic and social structure of the village by commercial city influence.
Wickramasinghe followed Gamperaliya with Yuganthaya
(1948) and Kaliyugaya
(1957) forming a trilogy. After the decay of the traditional life, the story details the rise of the bourgeoisie, with its urban base and entrepreneurial drive, ending with the formation of the labor movement and socialist theology and rise of hopes for a new social order.
With the development of a literary criticism movement in the early-'50s, Wickramasinghe presented the works Sahitya Kalava ('The Art of Literature' 1950) and Kavya Vicaraya ('The Criticism of Poetry' 1954). He received an MBE
around this time.
Wickramasinghe's most heralded work came in 1956 with Viragaya. Due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique, the novel has come to be hailed as the greatest work of Sinhalese fiction. It follows the spiritual problems of a fragile Sinhalese youth raised in a traditional Buddhist home after being confronted with the spectre of adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it all made more complex with the modernization of society. First-person narrative is used to put forth the autobiographical story of the anti-hero in impressionistic vignettes rather than in chronological order. It is a seminal work and spawned a spew of imitators, some good on their own right.
, Pound
, Whitman
and other western poets and was part of a movement called Peradeniya School. Wickramasinghe's work was Teri Gi (1952).
The movement dissolved in the 1960s prompted by Wickramasinghe's contention that other writers of the Peradeniya School were not sensitive to cultural traditions and the Buddhist background of Sinhalese society. He accused Ediriweera Sarachchandra
, Gunadasa Amarasekara and others of imitating "decadent" western and post-war Japanese literature
and of supporting a nihilistic
look on life with cyncial disregard for national tradition.
July 23, 1976.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(May 29, 1890 - July 23, 1976) was a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n novelist. His books have been translated into several langues.
The search for roots is a central theme in Wickramasinghe's writings on the culture and life of the people of Sri Lanka. His work explored and applied modern knowledge in natural and social sciences, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, linguistics, the arts, philosophy, education, and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and comparative religion to reach beyond the superficial emotionalism of vulgar nationalism, and guide Sri Lankan readers to the enduring roots of their common national identity that exists in the folk life and folk culture of Sri Lanka.
Early life
Wickramasinghe was born on May 29, 1890, in the villageVillage
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Koggala, in Sri Lanka, the only son of Lamahewage Don Bastian Wickramasinghe, and Magalle Balapitiya Liyanage Thochchohamy. Koggala was bounded on one side by a reef, and on the other by a large lake into which the numerous tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Koggala Oya drained. The landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
s of the sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
, lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
studded with little island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s, the flora and fauna, the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
ed hinterland, and the changing patterns of life and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of the people of the village would later influence his work.
At the age of five Wickramasinghe was taught the Sinhala alphabet, at home and in the village temple, by a monk, Andiris Gunananse. He also learned the Devanagari script and could recite by memory long sections of the Hitopadesa. After two years he was taken to a vernacular school where he prospered until 1897 when he was sent to an English school in Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
called Buena Vista. In the two years spent at the school Wickramasinghe became fluent in English as well as Latin. When his father died, he returned to a vernacular school in Ahangama and subsequently lost interest in schooling.
Creative writer and pioneer critic
Wickramasinghe began his literary career with the novel Leela (1914) and an anthology of essays on literary criticism, Sasatriya Lekhana (1919). Shortly thereafter he began a campaign to raise literary standards for the Sinhalese reading public with work such as Sahityodaya Katha (1932), Vicara Lipi (1941), Guttila Gitaya (1943) and Sinhaa Sahitayaye Nagima (1946) in which he evaluated the traditional literally heritage according to set rules of critical criteria formed by synthesizing the best in Indian and western traditions of literary criticism.Through the 1940s Wickramasinghe dabbled with the double role of literary critic and creative writer. Gamperaliya
Gamperaliya
Gamperaliya is a novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1944....
(1944) is widely held as the first Sinhalese novel with a serious intent that compares, in content and technique, with the great novels of modern world literature. The novel depicts the crumbling of traditional village life under the pressure of modernization. The story of a successful family in a Southern village is used to portray the gradual replacement of traditional economic and social structure of the village by commercial city influence.
Wickramasinghe followed Gamperaliya with Yuganthaya
Yuganthaya
Yuganthaya is a novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1949. It is the third and last part of Wickremasinghe's trilogy that began with Gamperaliya followed by Kaliyugaya....
(1948) and Kaliyugaya
Kaliyugaya
Kaliyugaya is a novel written by Sinhala writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1957. It is the conclusion of Wickremasinghe's trilogy that started with Gamperaliya....
(1957) forming a trilogy. After the decay of the traditional life, the story details the rise of the bourgeoisie, with its urban base and entrepreneurial drive, ending with the formation of the labor movement and socialist theology and rise of hopes for a new social order.
With the development of a literary criticism movement in the early-'50s, Wickramasinghe presented the works Sahitya Kalava ('The Art of Literature' 1950) and Kavya Vicaraya ('The Criticism of Poetry' 1954). He received an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
around this time.
Wickramasinghe's most heralded work came in 1956 with Viragaya. Due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique, the novel has come to be hailed as the greatest work of Sinhalese fiction. It follows the spiritual problems of a fragile Sinhalese youth raised in a traditional Buddhist home after being confronted with the spectre of adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it all made more complex with the modernization of society. First-person narrative is used to put forth the autobiographical story of the anti-hero in impressionistic vignettes rather than in chronological order. It is a seminal work and spawned a spew of imitators, some good on their own right.
Peradeniya school and poet
Wickramasinghe was an early practitioner of the genre of poetry called nisandas, which ignored the restrictions placed on poetry by the traditional prosodic patterns. It drew inspiration from the work of EliotT. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
, Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
, Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and other western poets and was part of a movement called Peradeniya School. Wickramasinghe's work was Teri Gi (1952).
The movement dissolved in the 1960s prompted by Wickramasinghe's contention that other writers of the Peradeniya School were not sensitive to cultural traditions and the Buddhist background of Sinhalese society. He accused Ediriweera Sarachchandra
Ediriweera Sarachchandra
Ediriweera Sarachchandra was an Sri Lankan playwright, novelist, poet, literary critic, essayist and social commentator. Considered Sri Lanka's premier playwright, he was a senior lecturer at the University of Peradeniya for many years and served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to France .- Early...
, Gunadasa Amarasekara and others of imitating "decadent" western and post-war Japanese literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
and of supporting a nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
look on life with cyncial disregard for national tradition.
Later years
In 1973, Wickramasinghe wrote a new biography of Lord Buddha titled Bava Taranaya. In it the great teacher's change from royal heir in-waiting to philosopher-mendicant is portrayed as been a result of his sympathy to the poor and the downtrodden of society. Wickramasinghe died onJuly 23, 1976.
Honors and Awards
- Appointed Member of the Radio Broadcasting Commission - 1953
- Appointed Member of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in person - 1954 - Award for the best news paper article for the year "The fall of the Brahmin Class" - 1956
- The novel "Viragaya" wins the Don Pedric Award for the best novel of the year - 1957
- Awarded a Honorary PhDPHDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
by the Vidyodaya University - 1960 - Awarded a DLitt by the University of CeylonUniversity of CeylonThe University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
- 1963 - UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Award for his book "The Rise of the Soviet Land" - 1964 - Awarded a DLitt by Vidyalankara University -1964
- Awarded a DLitt by the University of CeylonUniversity of CeylonThe University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
, ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
- 1970 - Receives the first Presidential Award for Literature - 1974
Books
- Leela - 1914
- Soma - 1920
- Iranganie - 1923
- Seetha - 1923
- Miringu Diya (Mirage) - 1925
- Unmada Chithra (Novel set in the time of Pandukhabaya) - 1929
- Rohini (Novel set in the time of Dutugemunu) - 1929
- GamperaliyaGamperaliyaGamperaliya is a novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1944....
The Uprooted) - 1944 - Madol DoovaMadol DoovaMadol Doova is a children's novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickramasinghe and first published in 1947. The book recounts the misadventures of Upali Giniwella and his friends on the Southern coast of Sri Lanka during the 1890s. It later describes the efforts of Upali and his friend Jinna...
(Mangrove Island) - 1947 - YuganthayaYuganthayaYuganthaya is a novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1949. It is the third and last part of Wickremasinghe's trilogy that began with Gamperaliya followed by Kaliyugaya....
(End of the Era) - 1949 - Viragaya (Devoid of Passions) - 1956
- KaliyugayaKaliyugayaKaliyugaya is a novel written by Sinhala writer Martin Wickremasinghe and first published in 1957. It is the conclusion of Wickremasinghe's trilogy that started with Gamperaliya....
(Age of Destruction) - 1957 - Karuvala Gedara (House of Shadows) - 1963
- Bavatharanaya (Siddhartha’s Quest, a novel set in the time of Gautama Buddha) - 1973