Vintage Goolbai
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With agile strokes of the pen and a liberal dose of humour, Goolbai Gunasekara, renowned educationist and principal emeritus of Asian International School, offers readers a self-inscribed, fragmented bildungsroman, if you will, with the latest addition to her literary opus, “Life can be a Frolic”.
In the continued spirit of her beloved literary works, “It’s the Escalator I Can’t Manage” and “Up Sigiriya with Kitkat”, “Life can be a Frolic” is a collection of satirical sketches that graced the pages of The Daily News and other publications over the years, garnering a devoted readership in the process.
Playfully self-teasing and remarkably perceptive, her writing ventures past her formidable public persona as a pioneer in education into the more intimate facets of her life. With a masterful lightness of narrative, she recounts tales that journey across a panorama of experiences, spanning from whimsical childhood escapades (both her own and those of her granddaughter, Kitkat), to reflective moments in retirement. Guiding the reader through her Parker-pen-yearning, tea-party-adoring childhood to her present knee surgeries (dubbed a “frolic” at the hospital) and her witty verbal spars with her husband over Mexican food, she effortlessly keeps her readers hooked from the get-go.
Many of her anecdotes, though firmly rooted in a bygone era where the mere idea of midriff-flashing sarees left tailors sputtering in dismay and “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was confiscated by teachers in absolute horror, are never lost on a modern readership in a vastly transformed world. Her unwaning zest for life and her exceptional ability to connect with the fundamental threads of the human experience imbue her work with a timelessness that is rarely achieved. With the same exuberance in spirit that led to her purchase of a scandalizing choli at university, she navigates her present-day travails, including her husband’s unrelenting love of rice and curry and the ever-looming threat of taxes.
On one occasion, she recounts her visit to the dentist—a day of utmost solemnity and woeful undertakings. She is soon informed, much to her horror, that a filling simply wouldn’t do; her tooth requires tooth canal work. Biding for time, she desperately calls her husband. The dentist remains unperturbed, confident that his planned course of action will proceed without hindrance. One phone call and later (in the midst of the Royal-Thomian match, no less), the dentist emerges triumphant. “You’ve bitten your tongue”, he says cheerfully as he prods away at her teeth.
In yet another instance, Kitkat informs her grandmother that her wallet is in dire need of replacement. She is outraged. It was six thousand rupees when she bought it, she says. Everyone asks her where it’s from. Despite her grandmother’s protests, Kitkat remains unmoved and soon gifts her a Charles and Keith, that she subsequently brandishes proudly before her friends at lunch. She sees not a flicker of recognition in their eyes but is only questioned on its cost. Curious to know its price tag, she soon corners Kitkat, only to learn a figure that leaves her aghast. Her brand-new wallet, once proudly displayed, soon returns to its sanctuary of tissue paper within a box.
In its entirety, “Life can be a Frolic” stands as a literary delight particularly for those who appreciate the finesse of incisive wit and biting humour. Taking readers on a literary odyssey, it navigates through the complexities of growing pains, childhood whimsies, marital squabbles, and life in retirement. The book serves as a proud testament to the sharp cleverness and stylistic verve that is so effortlessly discerned and admired in the writings of Goolbai Gunasekara.
-Shakya Marasinghe
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