Sri Lankan literature

Folktales from across the Indian subcontinent have various interpretations about the structure of “niti” (conduct) reflected in them. The Sanskrit term niti is also a part of the regular vocabulary of almost all the languages of the Indian subcontinent, including Hindi, Sinhala, Nepali, Bengali, Tamil, and Assamese (amidst others), and can be translated as morality, correct behavioral conduct, or the rules of conduct. The notion of niti is reflected across many genres of folklore, including fables, rhymes, poems or chhara, songs, ballads, myths, and legends. It is mostly expressed through the primary emotions of jest, wit or humor, anxiety, apprehension and fear, hatred and jealousy, and sadness. A popular storyline in the region and across almost all forms of folklore is that of the “foolish” teacher and his small group of followers. The original stories are centered around a teacher – Gooroo Noodle from the folktales of South India – which was written and published by Italian missionary in Chennai in the mid-eighteenth century. Within a few decades, the popularity of the Tamil book encouraged several translations. It was first translated into English by Benjamin Babington (1915), and, soon after, this led to translations into other regional languages of the region. Thus, it became Niret Gurur Kahini (The Story of Niret Guru) in Bengali and Mahadaenamutta Sinhala Katandara (The Stories of L. Maitra Bajpai (*) Symbiosis International University, Pune, India e-mail: lopamudramaitra@gmail.com © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 S. D. Brunn, R. Kehrein (eds.), Handbook of the Changing World Language Map, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73400-2_158-1 1 Mahadana Muththa) in Sinhala. Thus, this particular erudite teacher came to be known through his many names across the Indian subcontinent. He is known as Mahadana Muththa in Sri Lanka; Guru Paramartan, Gooroo Noodle, and Guru Simpleton across Southern and Southeastern India; and Niret Guru in and around and beyond Bengal in Eastern India. Having their origin in the folklore of Southern India, the set of stories travelled across the region and moved south and reached the shores of Sri Lanka. The stories also travelled north and moved through southeastern parts of the Indian subcontinent toward Eastern and Northeastern India. This is a story of a simpleton – a foolish teacher – who sets out to find a few students as he feels he has too much of knowledge to share. Thus, he manages to find five ardent and devoted students. The rest of the stories revolve around the many lessons that the Guru teaches these five followers; until 1 day, because of the foolishness of the students, the Guru dies. Thus, this ends the stories of the Guru and his disciples. These texts helped to create a platform of interaction between the literature of the dialects and many other mother tongues and the printed word of the English language. On the other hand, the initial text in Tamil and the subsequent prints in other regional languages also helped to initiate an important era of translations from the English language. At present, most of these versions are out of print, though the main stories live on through various forms of digital media, including animation shorts. The stories of Gooroo Noodle, Niret Guru, or Mahadana Muththa are still popular across time and media and methods of communication.

This research which investigates the impact of Buddhist moral philosophy on Sinhala poetry was conducted under the analytical method. The impact of Buddhism on Sri Lankan culture is a pivotal factor. It is perceived in ancient and modern literature as well. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of Buddhist moral philosophy upon the aesthetic quality of poetry. Religious influence often tends to restrict poetic freedom and thus decreases the quality of a poetic work. Yet, it is different in terms of Sinhala literature. Instead of setting limitations, Buddhist moral philosophy has contributed to developing an artistic value. Wimalarathna Kumaragama, who belongs to the second wave of Sri Lankan Romantic poetry, was immensely influenced by Buddhist philosophy. Generally the poetry of this era attempts to protect religious ideologies and morality at large. Likewise, most of Kumaragama's poems are based on a Buddhist social background. His poetic works; 'Walas Dadayama', 'Ayyanayaka' and 'Herathhami' are such instances. Kumaragama has incorporated moral philosophy into his poetry in an artistic manner instead of a mere direct expression. There is a mature and literary-critical reading on immoral activities including killing, robbing, and telling lies. Thus, it was unraveled through this research paper that Kumaragama's poetry is impregnated with a sense of Buddhist moral philosophy.

The plethora of the literary and academic cosmos undoubtedly offers
us heteroglossic ideological perspectives about the gist and zeitgeist of
the world through words. With the new waves surging into the already
settled academia, islands have paved their way not leaving many
critics, writers, poets and novelists indifferent. Enclosed in Literature,
the islands metamorphose into prominent figures with their own
histories, identities, cultures, languages, politics, societies and such
other dynamics. They also share the common phenomena of
Colonialism, Resistance, Identity politics and Power politics on
various levels. This paper is focalised on the representation of the
islands, notably the Caribbean and Sri Lanka to attempt in
reconstructing the island figure through a critical and literary camera
eye.

Keywords: plethora, heteroglossic, resistance, Caribbean Island, Sri Lanka, zeitgeist.

The Sri Lanka (LANKAN?) culture and traditions have always been heavily influenced by India, the most prominent being our religion, Buddha Dhamma, and our Languages, Sinhala and Tamil. Our music, dance forms, food habits and dress has (HAVE??) been borrowed from India before the Europeans arrived, and continued after they left. One aspect that has not shown any Indian influence is our literature in English. Sri Lankan writing in English was directly influenced by the British and American writers and the English translations of European and Russian literature. It has grown independently, developing own styles, themes, and ideology unique to our country. Yet very little of such writing has been able to cross the shores, even the narrow Palk Strait of just about 50 km. at the narrowest point, and only 45 minutes by air from Colombo to Chennai. Sri Lankan literature is not known in India, except for the writing of a few diaspora writers, published in the west or in India. This paper is an attempt to provide a brief introduction to the rich Sri lanka (SRI LANKAN ENGLISH?) literature and AWAKEN the curiosity of the Indian readers and encourage students to take up the studies of our writings. The situation is created by the booksellers in India who are not very interested in making our books available IN INDIA. Since books are not available there are no reviews, discussions or any means of creating an awareness. It is the same for us in Sri Lanka, we never get an opportunity to read most of the Indian writings in English. The best solution is for writers to make their books available in cyberspace for access from anywhere at any time.

This comparative study, the first of its kind, discusses paradise discourse in a wide range of writing from Mexico, Zanzibar, and Sri Lanka, including novels by authors such as Malcolm Lowry, Leonard Woolf, Juan Rulfo, Wilson Harris, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Romesh Gunesekera. Tracing dialectical tropes of paradise across the "long modernity" of the capitalist world-system, Deckard reads literature from postcolonial nations in context with colonial discourse in order to demonstrate how paradise begins as a topos motivating European exploration and colonization, shifts into an ideological myth justifying imperial exploitation, and finally becomes a literary motif used by contemporary writers to critique neocolonial representations and conditions in the age of globalization. Combining a range of critical perspectives-cultural materialist, ecocritical, and postcolonial-the volume opens up a deeper understanding of the relation between paradise discourse and the destructive dynamics of plantation, tourism, and global capital. Deckard uncovers literature from East Africa and South Asia which has been previously overlooked in mainstream postcolonial criticism, and gestures to how the utopian dimensions of the paradise myth might be reclaimed to promote cultural resistance.

Based on an analysis of the Culladhanuggaha Jātaka and its Sri Lankan theatrical adaptations (the Manamé Kōlama and Ediriweera Sarachchandra’s play Manamé Nātakaya), the paper explores the relationship between myth and art.  It uses Aleksei Fyodorovich Losev’s theory of myth as the framework for the analysis of the Culladhanuggaha Jātaka as myth and the changes that the story undergoes when it enters the realm of art.  The paper argues that while the transference of the story from myth to art strips the story of much of its mythical character, the story even in its new context remains tied to the notion of myth in an important manner.  The paper concludes with the argument that the theatrical pieces in question embody a broader consciousness defined by both the mythical consciousness and the poetic consciousness in the Losevian sense of the terms.

Shyam Selvadurai's novels have contributed significantly to Sri Lankan English literature. The author highlights sensitive areas such as gender, economic classes and racial issues as well as subjects considered as taboo in Sri Lanka, such as sexuality. The author's portrayal of characters and issues in Funny Boy (1994) and Cinnamon Gardens (1998) are therefore essential in the analysis of his subject matter. Set against the ethnic riots of 1983 and the pre-independent Ceylon respectively, the texts highlight gender, sexual, racial and class issues of the times. Existing research presents gender and sexuality of Funny Boy and Cinnamon Gardens in the light of power structures and networks of power. Moreover, critics argue that these power structures are constructed as binary oppositions. However, these binaries highlight the power structures in antagonistic perspectives. Nevertheless, reading closely, the two texts exemplify the interdependencies of these binaries in their exercise of power. Therefore, this study focuses on the interdependence of the binary power structures according to the portrayal of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and class of the two texts and the two eras in concern. A variety of literary theories have been used to expose the binaries and to show how certain aspects of these theories will be challenged as the binaries are viewed in the light of diversity and interdependence.

We have claimed that indeed the Buddha may possibly be credited with introducing a new literary genre, the ‘Embedded Story’ technique, the Panchatantra (PT) being its high point in Indian literature. “[N]either  a  Buddhist  nor  a  Jain”,  the  author    of  PT    is  clearly  of  a  Brahminic persuasion  (Keith 105). However, equally evident is the
strong  influence of Buddha’s Teachings on his work. We  begin by noting a few specific ideas, taken just from Book I (Ryder, 1956,  translation), reflecting possible Buddhist influence.

"Coming of Age in Ceylon" Review of Romesh Gunesekera's novel "The Suncatcher" (2020) published in "Dawn Eos: Books and Authors" supplement March 29 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1544593 

"Profile: 'The Idea of a disrupted friendship has been there all my life'-Romesh Gunesekera"  Interview with Romesh Gunesekera published in "Dawn Eos: Books and Authors Supplement" 29 March 2020.
https://www.dawn.com/news/amp/1544592

Acknowledgments Introduction: Paradise and Modernity Part One Chapter 1: Gold-land of "Wild Surmise": Mexico, Colonialism, and Informal Imperialism Chapter 2: "Perverse Paradiso": Malcolm Lowry and the Writing of Modern Mexico Part Two Chapter 3: Dark Paradise, Lost Ophir: Colonial Imaginaries of East Africa Chapter 4: Paradise Rejected: Abdulrazak Gurnah and the Swahili World Part Three Chapter 5: Taprobane, Serendib, Adam's Peak: Ceylon as "Paradise of Dharma" Chapter 6: "Make Your Own Eden": Violence, Myth and Ecology in Romesh Gunesekera Conclusion: Revenants Notes Bibliography Index

We have claimed that indeed the Buddha may possibly be credited with introducing a new literary genre, the ‘Embedded Story’ technique, the Panchatantra (PT) being its high point in Indian literature. “[N]either a Buddhist nor a Jain”, the author of PT is clearly of a Brahminic persuasion (Keith 105). However, equally evident is the strong influence of Buddha’s Teachings on his work. We begin by noting a few specific ideas, taken just from Book I (Ryder, 1956, translation), reflecting possible Buddhist influence.

The plethora of the literary and academic cosmos un doubtedly offers us heteroglossic ideological perspectives about the gist and zeitgeist of the world through words. With the new waves surging into the already settled academia, islands have paved their way not leaving many critics, writers, poets and novelists indifferent. Enclosed in Literature, the islands metamorphose into prominent figures wit h their own histories, identities, cultures, languages, politics, societies and such other dynamics. They also share the common phenomen a of Colonialism, Resistance, Identity politics and Powe r politics on various levels. This paper is focalised on the repr esentation of the islands, notably the Caribbean and Sri Lanka to att empt in reconstructing the island figure through a critical and literary camera eye.

Based on an analysis of the Culladhanuggaha Jātaka and its Sri Lankan theatrical adaptations (the Manamé Kōlama and Ediriweera Sarachchandra’s play Manamé Nātakaya), the paper explores the relationship between myth and art. It uses Aleksei Fyodorovich Losev’s theory of myth as the framework for the analysis of the Culladhanuggaha Jātaka as myth and the changes that the story undergoes when it enters the realm of art. The paper argues that while the transference of the story from myth to art strips the story of much of its mythical character, the story even in its new context remains tied to the notion of myth in an important manner. The paper concludes with the argument that the theatrical pieces in question embody a broader consciousness defined by both the mythical consciousness and the poetic consciousness in the Losevian sense of the terms.