Sunday Times 2
Guide to a challenging, changing world
View(s):The second edition of Same Sky, Different Nights is being released. This work contains a biography of Nandasiri (Nandi) Jasentuliyana interspersed with the fascinating and relevant history of Sri Lanka. Dr. Jasentuliyana spent the greater part of his professional life in the United Nations system in positions of increasing authority until his retirement.
The first edition of the book was launched in Colombo on May 28, 2013. The need to bring out a second printing of the memoir within one year is a reflection of the interest generated by his life story, which the author calls “Bawa Thanha” . The work has been well received by the reading public in Sri Lanka and abroad. Many eminent Sri Lankans have held high positions in the UN, but Nandi may be the first to put down his reminiscences in a book form, which should certainly inspire younger generations to understand the role played by Sri Lanka in the United Nations.
I have had the opportunity of reading this absorbing autobiography within days after it was launched. It was so interesting I did not put it down until I had read the entire book. This second printing contains some editorial adjustments and modest corrections, but it is in substance, a repeat of the first edition.
The first part of the story makes a Sri Lankan quite nostalgic running through the vivid accounts of the rural milieu in which the author grew up. He artfully recounts his daily interactions with close family members, and tells of places he visited in their company.
The memoir opens with the following picture: “I remember vividly the water splashing onto my head from the clay pot in my grandfather’s hands, as I stood knee deep in the gracefully flowing waters of the Madu Ganga. ………eyes closed, hands clenched, I stood at attention till about the fourth dose of the Kale. “Brrrrr, brrrr”, I rasped through the cascade of water. “Ekai, dekai, … (one, two …) counted grandfather.” This portrayal of typical Sri Lankan rural life and the carefree life enjoyed by children and their encounters with others takes one back to Martin Wickramasinghe’s Madolduwa. Many of us who have come from rural backgrounds and now live in retirement in an urban environments yearn to go back to that life, but many of the modern amenities we enjoy in our present 
surroundings make it difficult to regress. We can only dream of the good life we had in the past, without any of the stresses of modern society. In addition, we are not convinced that the same atmosphere which prevailed in our childhood exists any longer, with all the changes that have taken place in rural life in the last few decades.
A talented writer is judged by his ability to make the reader become part of his story and to allow the reader to immerse in some of his experiences. This is exactly what Nandi has been able to achieve. He skillfully involves the people who mattered in his life, those who showered love and affection on him in his tender years. Nandi was raised without a mother, who died early in his life. He lived with close relatives and joined his father on his off days. The absence of love and care of a mother did not prevent Nandi from enjoying in full measure the rich and enchanting world around him.
The account on how he plunged himself into the Madu Ganga as the passing breeze caressed his tender cheeks, is creativity of a writer with inborn talent. This amazing talent runs right through his story and is able to keep the reader absorbed to the very end. Not many biographers are able to demonstrate this innate gift for literary description.
The author’s ability to overcome obstacles in life through determination, commitment, systematic planning, correct focusing and hard work is a strong and re-echoing message conveyed in this life story. His achievements, which are certainly of high order, are presented in a humble manner typical of Nandi. The reader is not unduly stressed or bored with any grandiose self- portrayal. This inborn quality makes Nandi an admirable person and his life story is full of many notable achievements pleasantly described.
During his schooldays Nandi excelled in sports and other extra- curricular activities at Richmond College, Galle. His father was not enamored by these achievements. He wanted his son to do medicine and encouraged Nandi to spend more time with his school books. Nandi did not pay much attention to studies until his tertiary level education. The second phase of his life, which equipped him to play a role in the international arena, began with his university education. His memoir relates the story of how he simultaneously read law at three leading higher educational institutions – Law College in Colombo, the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya and the University of London. Through sustained effort he was able to record high academic achievements, which speak for his unwavering application to any task he chooses to undertake.
Opportunities to be present at the right place and at the right time, interacting closely with people of high rank and stature, as described in the book, moulded and fashioned Nandi’s life and destiny to a great extent. As seen from his many accounts, Nandi’s ability to maintain personal relationships over the years with abiding loyalty undoubtedly assisted his reaching the heights which he achieved in his professional life.
The third phase, the most notable and memorable part of Nandi’s life, began with his employment by the United Nations. This was the time I came to know him as an official holding a high rank of the UN, specialising in the esoteric field of Outer Space Affairs. Nandi is widely recognised as an authority on the subject. From being a little boy of three years in the rural ambience of Ambalangoda, who was gazing at the gleaming stars on a clear night excitedly wondering what they were, Nandi was able to ascend to the high position of grasping the nitty-gritty of outer space activities, and directing related matters at the UN in a highly professional manner.
As he progressed through life, Nandi addressed particularly the law governing the use of outer space for the benefit of mankind. What a journey! From the little known town of Ambalangoda, to the corridors of the United Nations and beyond. It is somewhat disappointing that his contributions in pioneering and developing affairs relating to the frontiers of space have not been described in detail. One could easily feel that he was unduly humble, not giving much space in his memoir to his unique contributions. However, in the book’s Epilogue, containing glimpses of his untold story, Nandi announces his intention to elaborate in detail the UN years of his life in a second volume of memoires.
The potential value of this work to young people, especially those in Sri Lanka, is self-evident considering the inspiration, the encouragement, and the satisfaction a young person finds when reading this book. This is clearly the reason that the philanthropic Chandramohan Family Foundation in California is voluntarily sponsoring the distribution of copies of the second printing to school libraries throughout Sri Lanka.
One should not just read this memoir and put it aside. The achievements described encourage us to have a closer look at our own lives, and re-examine what we have done, and what contributions we have made. Many who reviewed and commented on Nandi’s life story have identified the author as a role model to be emulated particularly by the younger generation who are preparing to venture out into a challenging, changing world. With determination, dedication to work and correct focus, the sky is the limit. This is the resounding message conveyed by this amazing story.
Irrespective of one’s achievements one must have feet firmly on the ground. This is another valuable message from Nandi’s life story. I am personally aware that irrespective of high achievements Nandi remains continually a friendly, gentle, unassuming and lovable human being. He loves his motherland, keeps abreast with its developments, and has not lost his roots. His story is a rare combination of a character who, while having achieved praiseworthy international stature remains strongly bound to his roots. This makes Nandi a rare individual who deserves to be admired and emulated. This is probably why Nandi was able to cherish the memories of his childhood and was able to re-visit them in such vivid detail in the latter part of his “Bawa Thanha”
Nandi’s facility to deploy the written word in a masterly manner with a flowing and readable style brings to the surface another of his innate talents. His memoir is a notable contribution to Sri Lankan literature, and we can only hope that this is not the end of a literary life which started only a few years ago.
( The reviewer is former Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Secretary, Ministry of Information).
Book Facts
Same Sky, Different Nights (Second Edition) by Dr. Nandi Jasentuliyana. Reviewed by Edmond Jayasinghe