A brave attempt
‘Sellam-da Sellam’ – author Thameera Manju, essentially a sports journalist, has taken a bold step in attempting to have a dialogue on popular sports in Sri Lanka, from a typical Sinhala perspective.
In this collection he has included several essays on Cricket, Athletics, Wrestling, Volleyball, Rugby and Football to name a few. However, the difference is that, in every attempt, he has brought in a local angle, without diluting the real essence of the subject of sports.
Besides that, Manju has also included some essays on local sports and tried to describe them through his own perspective, in a very enjoyable manner.
For instance, his attempt at describing the traditional New Zealand Rugby ritual- the ‘Hakka’- is very interesting and witty, but authentic.
On the whole, it is a very brave attempt by a Sinhala journalist to get people, especially, the younger generation attracted to sports, at a time when sports is gradually being replaced by video games and other virtual reality concoctions.
S.R. Pathiravithana