Alfreda: The poet and person
By Ruwanthi Herat
She will be remembered for her verse. She will be remembered for her prose. She will be remembered for her elegance.
Rachel Lillian Alfreda (Perera) de Silva was born in 1920 and passed away peacefully on August 5, this year. Living life to the fullest right until the end, she was one of Sri Lanka's premier poets, well-known writers and much loved radio personalities of yesteryear.
As the eldest of a family of six, Alfreda spent most of her childhood in the company of her maternal grandmother living in "a large, rambling old house in which I knew a great deal of loneliness”.
"That's where her love for writing all began," says Shyami Dodanwela, her only daughter. Alfreda's first piece of writing was published in the Sunday Observer's "Wendy Hut" when she was just five. There was indeed no looking back. Regular contributions to the Daily News' "Blue Page" were followed by contributions to the Times of Ceylon "Young Timers Page".
"Writing was her gift, it was her love, that's why she excelled at it," recalls her daughter. Having studied at St. John's College, Nugegoda and Girton School -- both close to her grandmother's home -- Alfreda went on to qualify as a teacher at the Government Training College, Colombo and the Yale Experimental Theatre and Drama School. But her talents extended further.
"She was a media personality, a regular on Radio Ceylon in the 1940s and a Fellow of the Trinity College of London. She produced many educational radio plays and skits. Among those whose voices featured in the plays were Irene Wanigaratne and Mil Sansoni.
"She was of an era where women hardly indulged in this type of work, but what I remember most is her energy. She would have a broadcasting assignment in the morning, follow it up with a newspaper deadline that she'd have to meet by five, go ahead for another interview by six and still have the energy to prepare for a dinner gathering. She never ceased to amaze me. I'll never forget the way Mummy used to dress, she was so particular. Not a hair was ever out of place," daughter Shyami says.
"She possessed a mellifluous voice," remembers writer Jean Arasanayagam. "It was beautifully modulated and it was musical. I was introduced to her work through my teaching, but I read her work for my pleasure."
Teaching was another one of her passions. And soon she was even composing school songs. Out of her seven books, six were collections of poems.
"I came to know Alfreda primarily through her work," says Punyakante Wijenaike, a fellow writer. "It was during the early 1960s as she used to write a column to the papers on the social scene." Their friendship grew. They'd meet at various gatherings. "One thing was for certain, the moment we got back home I'd call her or she'd call me and we'd chat about everything that had happened during the gathering. But during the latter part of our lives, the topics changed. We used to discuss old age and life. We'd philosophise about everything in general. We had a lot in common."
Ms. Wijenaike goes on to say that the marriage between Alfreda and Ernest Kingsley de Silva spurred Alfreda's creative talents.
"He encouraged her a great deal. Her poetry, which she was best known for, was an adventure. She used her experiences as their grounding and wrote with great insight into the readers' mind, encouraging one to look both inward and outward," wrote one reviewer.
Pagoda House, which was her only work of prose, was considered an excellent contribution to Sri Lankan literature. "It gave insight to the colonial context of those times. It was harmoniously combined," adds Ms. Arasanayagam.
"She was so charming," says Anne Abayasekera, who had the pleasure of interviewing Alfreda just a year ago. "She was gentle and so sweet natured. That's what comes to mind when I think of her." Everyone who knew her echoes this sentiment. "She was always with a smile," adds Ms. Wijenaike.Alfreda wrote at her "special place" in her home in Etul Kotte, adjoining a window with a breathtaking view.
She was inspired heavily by everything around her.
Her work was recognised not only in Sri Lanka but also internationally. Her poetry was included in the school curriculum and it was only last year that the British Council held a ceremony to felicitate both Alfreda and Sybil Wettasinghe. Numerous were the occasions on which she was presented with an award for her work by the Triton College School of Arts and Sciences, USA which sponsors an annual Salute to the Arts Poetry Contest for international as well as local entries. Here poets from various parts of the world are given an opportunity to express themselves and to share their personal triumphs and tragedies that are all part of our common human experience.
"I don't know how to even begin to talk about Alfreda," says Anne Ranasinghe, a fellow poet.
She was also the winner of the 1993 Zonta Award for her contribution to fine arts in Sri Lanka. "There was so much to learn from her. She used to say that one must do all that one has to do to the best of one's ability and that no one should find fault with anyone. The only aspect that she found difficult to impart to me was the teaching of speech and drama," says Shyami. "She drove herself, but never ever complained."
Alfreda de Silva is no longer amongst us. But her zest for love and life will live on through her work.
“... Oblivion, being forgotten,
Your voice unheard?
No, never, that voice still plays its delicate
Chords in my mind,
Perhaps they’ll form themselves into a Sonatina,
I'll play it on the harpsichord of memory
I will remember until...
Until...”
-Jean Arasanayagam
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Webmaster Editorial