| Plus |
|
|||
|
Ondaatje's
cathartic vision Anil's Ghost
is a small, sudden glimpse into the soul of award-winning poet and
novelist Michael Ondaatje. In the much anticipated follow-up to
his Booker Prize and Governor General's Award-winning novel, The
English Patient, Ondaatje explores both the extravagant beauty and
the horrific civil war of his homeland, Sri Lanka. With swift prose,
we are immediately immersed in his cathartic vision of an island's
haunting history. Anil Tissera
is a forensic anthropologist returning to her native Sri Lanka to
explore the current campaign of terror and murder brought about
by a vast ethnic war near the end of the 20th century. She has been
educated abroad and has not returned to Sri Lanka in a number of
years. She returns to find the countryside torn apart by mass graves,
night patrols and government interrogations. With the help of Sarath
Diyasenaa, an archaeologist, Anil discovers bodies, skeletons and
the beginnings of complex political mystery. Anil and Sarath
probe deeper into the mystery of the skeleton they have named Sailor,
and find allies in forgotten members of Sri Lankan culture, such
as Sarath's brother Gamini, the blind epigraphist Palipana and his
young caretaker, and Ananda, a drunken widower with the abilities
to paint death and restructure man. Ondaatje allows the reader to
witness Sri Lanka through the dream-like perceptions of these characters. These were
discoveries made during the worst political times, alongside a thousand
little dirty acts of race and politics, gang madness and financial
gain. War having come this far like a poison into the bloodstream
could not get out. Those images
in caves through the smoke and firelight. The night interrogations,
the vans in daylight picking up citizens at random. That man he
had seen taken away on a bicycle. Mass disappearances at Suriyakanda,
reports of mass graves at Ankumbura, mass graves at Akmeemana. Half
the world, it felt, was being buried, the truth hidden by fear,
while the past revealed itself in the light of a burning rhododendron
bush. However, don't
expect a novel like Ondaatje's previous work, The English Patient,
In the Skin of a Lion and Coming Through Slaughter. With Anil's
Ghost, Ondaatje has abandoned some of the dense, lush prose. While
his trademark poetic language remains, more dialogue and straight
away narrative are included through this latest novel. As Anil's
Ghost is less concerned with the intricate, intimate lives of its
characters and more inspired by the heavy political climate of his
homeland, it is perhaps out of necessity that Ondaatje has chosen
to use crisp, clean prose when dealing with a subject as complex
as the civil uprisings in Sri Lanka. There is a
constant ebb and flow of characters directly involved with the civil
war; these characters range from murder victims to doctors to anthropologists
to forgotten artists. While they remain somewhat distanced from
the reader, they do serve Ondaatje's purpose of examining the inhabitants
of this tiny island. However, this tactic is not without fault.
Some major plot lines and characters are dealt with too swiftly,
in almost a summary manner as we race towards more political commentary.
At times, the characters and their tenuous lives seem forgotten
in the mass of plot and politics compiled within Anil's Ghost. In Anil's Ghost, Ondaatje dissects the secret enemies, identity, memory, family and turbulent past of a lush country caught in the throes of murder, betrayal and warfare. He examines and unfolds the intricate layers that make up Sri Lanka and its tumultuous inhabitants. From the intensity and urgency of this novel it becomes apparent that the dark history of Sri Lanka touches Ondaatje close as bone, resulting in a book he was compelled to write. And while this personal purge seems as though it may have been essential for the author, it doesn't create quite the same journey for the reader. The
JVP: Elusive dreams and schemes One obvious
reason would be the frustrations created by a stagnant economy.
The resultant poverty breeds movements like the JVP, which offer
simplistic solutions. The JVP with its anti-system focus is irrestible
to the desperate. Socialism and
the theory of a planned economy is the biggest false dawn of the
20th century. Marx concluded that from the time that man was able
to produce a surplus, a class system evolved with the controlling
class usurping the surplus created by the controlled. History, he
declared is the record of the continuous struggle between the classes
on the opposite sides of the means of production. The slave owner
versus the slave, the feudal lord versus the serf, the capitalist
versus the worker, etc. Marx saw that Industrialisation which was
then developing rapidly in Europe was making it possible for there
to be relative prosperity for all. This has been the dream of social
thinkers through the ages. We now had the economic system that provided
us the means to achieve it. The only impediment to achieving it
was the class conflict which denied the working class the fruits
of its labour. The Marxist answer was the Communist party which
would organise and lead the workers in their triumphant march and
then play the role of the conscious moulder of history by working
towards creating a classless society. One can imagine
the deep impact Marxism made on the disadvantaged classes, the intellectuals
and students. Here in one doctrine was an acceptable explanation
of history, a call to arms and a promised land. Some of the most
idealistic, intelligent and capable men of that time rallied to
the call of Marxism and set in motion the communist movement. A home grown
insular youth movement came to be known as the JVP. Unlike the old
left it cannot boast of leaders of any eminence or stature. Only
a few among them have ever held a job. The JVP's main recruiting
method is a so-called series of lectures which purports to teach
everything you need to know about politics. A more perceptive and
intelligent audience would have laughed these pretentious lecturers
off the stage. To be naive and easily led are not qualities to be
admired. The future belongs to those who can think independently
and be ahead of developments. One very discernible feature of our
national psyche is its narrow outlook. Historically, island nations
generally were isolated from international trends. After we became
a British colony we were more exposed to the world and benefited
from it. Visions of atavistic revisitations from the misty past
hold sway in the minds of most national thinkers of our country.
This pre-occupation with the past is the clearest evidence of the
bankruptcy of the present generations. It is also a direct anti-thesis
of the Marxist proposition of the progression of class conflict.
Our ancestors
were functioning in very different circumstances facing vastly different
problems. It is ignorant and silly to offer solutions from an imagined
history to modern problems. That is what the JVP often resorts to. There is no
doubt that a party like the JVP could only thrive in a country like
Sri Lanka. It needs that sad combination of ignorance, narrowness
and fatalism that we provide. It is a creation of our infantilism. Laugh
Zone The 60 year old responded, "Who said he was dead?" The doctor was surprised and asked, "How old is he and is he very active?" The 60 year old responded, "Well, he is 82 years old and he still goes skiing three times a season and surfing three times a week during the summer." The doctor couldn't believe it. "Well, how old was your grandfather when he died?" The 60 year old responded again, "Who said he was dead?" The doctor was astonished. He said, "You mean to tell me you are 60 years old and both your father and your grandfather are alive? Is your grandfather very active?" The 60 year old said, "He goes skiing at least once a season and surfing once a week during the summer. Not only that," said the patient, "my grandfather is 106 years old, and next week he is getting married again." The doctor said, "At 106 years old, why on earth would your grandfather want to get married?" His patient looked up at the doctor and said, "Who said he wanted to?" Word count Lost at
sea Secretly hoping
that a Genie would appear, he rubbed the lamp vigorously. To the
amazement of the castaways, one did come forth. This particular
Genie, however, stated that he could only deliver one wish, not
the standard three. Without giving
much thought to the matter the man blurted out, "Make the entire
ocean into beer!" Immediately the Genie clapped his hands with
a deafening crash, and the entire sea turned into the finest brew
ever sampled by mortals. Simultaneously,
the Genie vanished to his freedom. Only the gentle lapping of beer
on the hull broke the stillness as the two men considered their
circumstances. The other man looked disgustedly at the one whose
wish had been granted. After a long, tension-filled moment, he spoke:
"Nice going! Now we're going to have to pee in the boat." |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
