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British Governors, varied and eccentric
Many expatriates, even long-term ones like myself, and most Sri Lankans under 50 have only a dim idea of what this country was like under British colonial rule. This can now be sharpened by reading H..A.J. Hulugalle's British Governors of Ceylon reprinted by his son after 40 years.

His sketches of 29 British Governors over the period 1798 to 1948 make exceptionally good reading. The history of the British period that they present is as relevant and representative as any multi-volume history. They graphically reflect such major developments as the rise and fall of the coffee industry, its replacement by tea, and the country's state during two world wars. And they do it in a most interesting and entertaining way!

The earliest representatives of the Crown, North, Maitland, Brownrigg, and Paget, by character and experience belonged more to the Eighteenth than the Nineteenth Century. They were military men, younger sons of lords, often with their money coming from marriage to aspiring heiresses (whose surnames they sometimes added to their own), given to personal eccentricities, deficient in talent and experience, of the class that lost Britain's American colonies a few years earlier (although Brownrigg did manage to break the power of the King of Kandy).

Edward Barnes (1824-31) had much in common with his predecessors. Wounded at Waterloo, he bought with his wife's money his own coffee estate and continued to promote personal business interests in the island till the end of his life.

As Governor he set up luxurious residences for himself in Colombo, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya, strongly opposed participation by Ceylonese in government, and apparently fathered a bastard child. But he also required colonial administrators to master a local language, limited missionary Christianization of government schools, and established rest houses at several places (e.g. the familiar Ambepussa)

Robert Horton (1831-37) and his successors for the rest of the century reflected the new Victorian era. Horton, only son of a baronet, product of Eton and Christ Church Oxford, was a liberal with relatives already in Ceylon in the civil service.

He removed legal disabilities on the country's Moors, Chettiars, and Catholics, promoted an independent press, and brought in budgetary surpluses (largely due to the pearl fisheries).

He also stood by for a bloodless duel between his Chief Justice and Army Commander.

The authoritarian-minded Viscount Torrington (1847-50) had to contend with crises as disparate as the Colombo "Verandah Dispute", in which he infuriated those who had built extensions on their houses, and the 1848 native revolts centered on Purang Appu and Gongallagoda Banda. He and his successors were, however, spared the deadening hand of the East India Company and the trauma of an uprising of the massive kind that took place in India in 1857- which interestingly, seems to have had few, if any, repercussions in Ceylon.

Joseph West Ridgeway (1895-1903), roughly the contemporary of Nathaniel Curzon in India, bridged the centuries.

His earlier life was devoted to war in Afghanistan, to countering Russian advances in Central Asia, and to Ireland, that perennially troublesome part of the Empire. He left his mark in Ceylon in a unique way: not on a street or town but in the name of his godson, Solomon West Ridgeway Bandaranaike, a notable prime minister of independent Ceylon.

The first real stirrings for better representation in government of the Ceylonese people came under Henry McCallum (1907-13), designated by the author as "a Businesslike Blimp". They were enhanced in a contrasting scholarly atmosphere during the rule of Robert Chambers (1913-16), an Oxford classicist, whose term in office was blighted by the death of his two sons in World War I and large scale Buddhist- Muslim rioting, which provoked a declaration of martial law.

In 1928 the Donoughmore Commission in a report to the London Parliament recommended something close to universal adult franchise with full participation of Ceylonese in governing bodies. Herbert Stanley (1927-31) and Graeme Thomson (1931-33) were faced with the problem of making the system work in the face of a worldwide depression and growing agitation against the Crown in neighboring India.

World War II came to Ceylon with an immediacy that could not be denied when in 1942 Japanese aircraft, seeking to destroy the British Fleet, bombed Colombo and Trincomalee and in 1944 Admiral Louis Mount Batten, Allied Commander for Southeast Asia, moved his headquarters from New Delhi to Kandy. Andrew Caldecott (1937-44) and Henry Monck-Mason Moore (1944-48) were responsible for governance during this period.

Largely free of the huge and explosive problems of India during the same period, they did a creditable job of acquiring and distributing food and other short supplies and preparing the way for the Independence that everyone knew was coming.

British Governors of Ceylon is in every way a worthwhile book. Apart from H.A.J. Hulugalle's splendid style, it contains a thoughtful preface by Dr. G.C. Mendis, a comprehensive postscript by Monck Mason-Moore, the last British Governor, useful index and bibliography, and a handy calendar of notable events between 1796 and 1954. (Why the Japanese attacks on the island in 1942 are not included I don't know).
The second edition of British Governors of Ceylon is attractively and solidly produced. It is well worth its stated price of Rs. 950. It should go onto the bookshelves of everyone interested in history who does not have a copy of the first edition - and in many cases also of those who do.

Kala Korne by Dee Cee
Buddhi shows his talent as a writer
Top notch makeup man Buddhadasa (we call him Buddhi) Galappatti has proved himself an able writer. He had earlier made a name for himself as a poet. With his latest collection of short stories 'Ketuva Ennemi', he makes his mark as a talented fiction writer. The style is readable and the language simple. The stories are gripping and Buddhi has mastered the art of making the reader sit through the hundred odd pages virtually in one go. In 'Ketuva Ennemi', Buddhi tackles contemporary themes. The plots are real life situations. We hear of such stories almost daily but the way Buddhi develops them is intriguing and interesting.

There is the story of the office boss plotting to 'grab' his female assistant. Another is on the plight of the young wife of an executive wedded to his work looking for companionship elsewhere.

In 'Eda Sikurada Davasak', Buddhi describes life in the underworld vividly. What love and care for a couple of birds can mean to a busy working man is presented with lot of feeling in 'Kurulu Adare'. The plight of a hardworking house maid, when the lady of the house turns her guns on her is sympathetically portrayed in 'Kusumalatha'.

This is Buddhi's third anthology of short stories. His first- 'Piyasena Ha Kumarikava' came out in 1975. In 1994 he wrote 'Reya Pahanve'. In between he put out seven collections of poems. Two of those were joint efforts - one with Sunil Ariyaratne and Jayalath Manoratne, and the other with Jayalath Manoratne. The latest effort shows how much Buddhi has matured over the years.

Another collection of short stories
Madhubhashini Ratnayake's second collection of short stories 'Tales of Shades and Shadows' was shortlisted for the Gratiaen Award 2001 and has just been published by Vijitha Yapa Publications.

The book will be launched at a ceremony to be held at the British Council hall on February 17 at 5 p.m. The main speakers will be Dr. Neloufer de Mel, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of English, University of Colombo and Director of Studies, Faculty of Arts of the University and Tissa Jayatilleka, Executive Director of the Bi-National U.S-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission. Neil Fernandopulle, a former Gratiaen Award winner will read one of the short stories. The ceremony will be conducted by Kamini de Soya, Hony. Secretary of the Gratiaen Trust.
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AIDS and the children
By Esther Williams
Dressed in school uniforms the young artists gathered at the Police Park, bright and early. They had been briefed by their teachers and were eager to portray on paper their views of the so-called dreaded disease - AIDS. Each of the pictures done on bristle board were colourful, their message clear to all.

'HIV/AIDS is merely another illness and victims of AIDS should not be rejected or looked down upon by society,' was the message that was conveyed by children who participated at the Red Cross street art competition. Similar competitions were held islandwide for students in the age group 12-18.

More than 800 children took part in this competition -held for the first time-to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1.

Referring to the objective of the competition SLRCs Director Development Rangapali Ranaweera said, "There is a lot of stigma and discrimination attached to AIDS and children need to be made aware of the rights of the victims. By educating children we will go a long way." The awards ceremony of the art competition, sponsored by Hotel Galadari, was held on February 8 and over 100 posters including the winning entries were displayed at the Galadari Hotel's Salon Orchid and foyer area. The winners included: Roshan Gunasinghe of Ispithana College (I Prize), Nilusha Weerasekara of Mayurapadha National College, Mawanella (II Prize) and Indraiwari Weerasinghe of Prime Minister's College, Panadura (III Prize.)

Ross returns to conduct Symphony Concert
Concert goers can look forward with eager anticipation to the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka's next concert on February 15, since the guest conductor will again be Dr. James Ross. Two years ago Dr. Ross drew such energy, clarity and emotional expressiveness from SOSL that he created a sensation with some among the audience even saying it sounded like a new orchestra. As The Sunday Times critic reported "The standing ovation given to both the conductor and the orchestra has had no precedent."

The concert programme selected by Dr. Ross should give ample scope to demonstrate his skills and flair again, and to confirm the developing standards of the Orchestra's playing.

Beethoven's 7th Symphony, perhaps his most beautiful, has been a great popular success from its first performance. Wagner called it 'the apotheosis of the dance' so full is it of extrovert rhythms and so compelling is its feeling of pace and movement.

Tchaikovsky's Andante Cantabile for Strings is a work of serene intimacy whose famous main melody has such a powerful effect that it moved Leo Tolstoy to tears when he first heard it.

The four sections of Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No.1 have lovely, well known melodies yet strongly contrasted subjects and moods. The first is ' Morning' one of the most famous tone-paintings of the dawn ever written.

The concert will open with the overture to Glinka's opera 'Rusland and Lyudmila', one of classical music's most brilliant orchestral showpieces. The music is full of energy from the first bar.

James Ross, only 30 years old, is a musician on the rise with a growing conducting repertoire of over 350 works, especially orchestral and operatic, ranging from the baroque to contemporary music. He is Music Director of the Christ Church Festival Orchestra, Oxford and of three other orchestras in Britain. He is building a busy international career having now conducted in 12 countries, including Austria, France and Italy.

He teaches music at Oxford University and is a prolific writer contributing, amongst other journals, to 'Opera' and the 'Musical Times'. He has written the programme notes for the concert.

Dr. Ross is a frequent guest speaker and has spoken at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris. He will be giving the SOSL pre-concert talk at Ladies' College at 6.00 p.m. The concert begins at 7.00 p.m. and tickets are available at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza. The radio sponsor for SOSL is Classic Radio.

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