Young writer turns simple subjects into creative poetry
Chathushkie presenting the book to her grandfather Thalangama Jayasinghe
The art of composing poetry requires a sense of creativity, imagination and language skills. Chathushkie Jayasinghe is a young poet who possesses the ability to combine words and phrases in a way that transforms simple subjects into creative poetry. A past student of Vidura College and Devi Balika Vidyalaya, currently a first year undergraduate at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, she recently launched her debut collection of English poetry under the name of “Illumination”.
“I wanted to convey a positive message through my poems, leaving out the sense of melancholy and I hope that people would feel enlightened after going through the poems because after all illumination stands for light,” Chathushkie says. The granddaughter of veteran journalist and cartoonist, Kalakeerthi Thalangama Jayasinghe, Chathushkie received poetic inspiration from her grandparents.
“I wanted my poems to reach out to as many people as possible. They are written in a way that can be easily comprehended while capturing the surface meaning as well as the underlying meaning of the poems.”
The opening poem of the anthology is “Dear Gran,” in which Chathushkie explicitly shows her affection and emotional attachment towards her grandmother as “A shoulder of comfort, Whenever mother scolded me, One who loaded us with sweets, On each and every ‘pension’ day”, reminding readers of their own grandmothers.
In “An Ode to a Crow” she presents this commonplace subject in a different light. Chathushkie brings back the memories of grandmothers who managed to feed the grandchildren pointing at the crows on trees. Breaking away from the traditional style of odes, she pens the significance of the crow by stating, “Remember the foolish crow who dropped that piece of cheese, And taught us not to get fooled, by words of Willoughbys?” and “Remember the wise crow who used stones, to reach that last bit of water? Showing how anything can be achieved, if we try a little harder?”
Poems like “Chicks don’t fly” and “The true plight of the little mermaid” address the issues of women’s subjugation in society. “Girls, why not try to be the eagle than become that silly chick feeble” she writes in“Chicks don’t fly”.
“The Basket”, “Baby Thoughts”, “Friends” and “The Cripple” project significant aspects of childhood innocence untouched by social corruption. Chathushkie writes, “People say that he’s a Hero, ‘cause he saved a Nation, But this cripple is my Hero, for he is on vacation” in “The Cripple” using the voice of a little girl who is overjoyed that her father who used to be a soldier, now stays home and plays with her after being crippled in the battlefield. The sensitivity of the subject matter and the realistic mindset of a child are effectively perceived by Chathushkie.
The poems “How to be intelligent” and “Weeping Earth” address the issues of human nature and the pitiful plight of the environment due to human activities.
“My intention was to write on social problems, to transform small, so called insignificant day to day subject matters into magnified, broad issues which people would have more to think about,” she adds.
‘Illumination’ is available at the Colombo International Book Fair from Sept 15-24 at stall numbers 89, 90 & 91 of (Hall no. B), Sooriya Publications.