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PIYASEELI WIJEMANNE

Piyaseeli Wijemanna (born 20th April 1943), A writer who IS well ve

'rsed in the art of short story writing, Prof. Mrs, Wijemanne writes

both in Sinhala and English, At present she is a lecturer at the University of Pcradeniya. Her collections of short stories called WrlllA.oglI'iya Labyrinth and won a State literary award in )987 and 1997 respectively, She has published six collections so far and first published a collection in 1984 titled Pibidel1a Jeevirha, (Lives Awaktning)

t was the month of March when trees and vines come into bloom again after a windy cold spell in January and February.

This is not a time when farmers, particularly those who grow vegetables, can afford to idle. There is only one spraying machine for the entire area of Ukutale. Only the previous evening harl Mudiyanse been able to borrow it and that after repeated visits to the cultivation officer's house. It had to be returned before dusk that very evening.

Mudiyanse ate a bowlful of rice in the morning, enough to make up for (he lunch he would have to miss, t ied a turban on his head and wore a tattered sarong and an old coat that reached his knees, Then with the machine hanging from his shoulder, he started spraying pc-sticides on the tender hean plants in his plot.

He felt restless that morning, unlike on other days, when he enjoyed tending his vegetable plot. From time to time he COli Id not help hut look at Yasawathie's garden. Of late, he could see it better beC(lllSe most of the stakes separating the two gardens had fallen clown. Yas;nvathie's vegetahle plots were bare and neglected. Mudiyanse visualized rich crops of beans, cowpea, gram, snake,

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gourd and bottle-gourd flourishing under his tender care in one . continuous stretch extending over both gardens during the next season.

MuJiyans 's mind was troubled since he saw a man, perhaps one of those who go around collecting vegetables, l e avi ng Yasawathie's house the prev ious evening. He had noticed him dropping in there two weeks earlier too. The moment the man saw Mudiyanse, he changed his route, ran down the hill and disappeared. Mudiyanse felt a I iute relieved because this fellow had panicked on seeing him.

When Sirisena, Yasawathie's older son, came to borrow a little kerosene oil in the evening, Mudiyanse pounced on him.

"Siriyo, who was that scoundrel who sneaked out of your house late last evenin g , slinking like a crafty fox?"

"1 don't know, Loku Appachchi (literally 'big father ')," the boy said innocently, unaware of the implications of Mudiyanse's question.

"I think it's someone who wanted to buy the avacado fruits on the tree." Sirimalie said in defense of her sister.

"To buy avacaoo fruits? My foot!" Mudiyanse shouted gnashing his teeth. "} have no doubt that he is a character hovering around for an opportunity to sneak in, aware that there is no male in the house."

Mudiyanse was a person who attended to his duties with a great sense of responsibility. His conscientiousness produced in him, both in body and mind, an unusual energy. He cultivated every inch of his land. No spot was left fallow. This land, as good as a goldmine to him, was inherited by Sirimalie, his wife, from her father.

Hinniappuhamy and Kirimenika of the farmhouse on Galpotta, the Rockface, had only two children, both daughters, Sirirnalie and Yasawathie. Mudiyanse, a distant kinsman of Hinniappuhamy, was a constant visitor at this house. He went there at first to lend a hand in t.he act.ivities of the farm. Both

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Hinniappuhamy and Kirimenika were as fond of him (is if he were their own son. [\ was quite obvious that the y wanted to have him as a son-in-law. It was Ihe younger sister, Yasawathie, who caught Mudiyanse's eye in those days. Yasawathie was active, diligent, prettier and bolder than her sister. However, it was decided that Mudiyanse should marry Sirimalie . There was nothing to complain about her appearance, complexion or manners. Mudiyanse accepted her gladly and look up permanent residence at the farmhouse, after contracting a hinna' marriage. Since then, Mudiyanse's attitude towards Yasawathie was that of an elder brother.

In the course of time, Hinniappuhamy became sick and the farm was written in the names of the two daughters. The house was given to Yasawathie at the suggestion of Mudiyanse. Mudiyanse, the second in a family of eight, did not inherit even an inch of land from his parents. But he was a born farmer who had green fingers and a lot of skill. Apart from the land they lived on, a field down in the valley, yielding about five bushels of rice also belonged to Hinniappuhamy. The cultivation of paddy depended on rain falling at the right season. When the rains failed, vegetables were grown in the ricefield too. Though Sirimalie helped Mudiyanse in his work at the farm, Yasawathie now lived a carefree life. Fashionably dressed, she used to wander around the viJl age with other girls of her age. Not only Sirimalie and Mudiyanse but even her parents also lost control over Yasawathie.

Hinniappuhamy died about three years after Mudiyanse married Sirimalie. Before his death, he had arranged to give Yasawathie in marriage to one Gunaratna Banda. HoweveL Yasawathie could not bear the sight of Gunaratna Banda. Before long, the news that Yasawathie had a relationship with a person called Akmal\ spread like wild fire in the village. Akman used to come to buy vegetables in a lorry belonging to a deal er from the city.

1. There are two types ()f rnalTiages. binna and diga. In the former, the husband lives in the wife's home, while in the latter form, the wife goes 1.0 the husband's house.

Fellces [07

"[t does not matter if she finds someone she likes, as long as he is of the right caste and class to fit into our fam i ly," Mudiyanse s aid authoritativelY.

He tried to stop Yasawathie's relationship with Akmm advising her and even threatening her at times.

"Her fat.hermust be turning in his grave right now. He will never forgive us. if we don't prevent this," K irimenika l amented help lessly.

But Yasawathie paid no heed to the objections of her elders. As time went on Akman started coming to the farmhouse to see Yasawathie. When he came once, he had a very bad cold. He stayed overnight that day. 'lbus Yasawathie became Akman 's wife, without any form ality or ceremony.

Apart from the caste and class of his brother-ill-law, Mudiyanse could not tolerate his behaviour. Akman could not do without a strong drGtk every evening. A packet of his favourite brand of cigarettes , Three Roses was always in the pocket of his shirt. As for money in it, that was a different story.

Yasawathie became more sharp-tongued after she started living with Akn1an. She sold a harvest of pepper without consulting

, Mudiyanse and spent the money on a trip to Kandy for pleasure. Such incidents continued to take place. Meanwhile Mudiyanse put up a house of wattle and daub in the portion oft:he land that belonged to him. He used to spend the nights there even when it was being built. Kirimenika was upset about her loved son-in-law leav ing the ancestral home. Sirirnalie too moved out shortly afterwards, taking a few pots and pans, boxes and baskets with her.

There was no end to squabbling even after the two famj lies began living in separate houses. Yasawathie scolded Sirimalie for using water from their well. Then, with the help of a few others, Mud iyanse dug a well near the slope in his part of the land. One day Sirirnalie picked a few pods from the tamarind tree. That was enough reason for Yasawathie to abuse her for hours. A couple of

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days later, Yasawathie picked all the oranges on the tree close to Mud iyanse's house and took them away, not forgetting to hurt Sirimalie with the insinuating remark:

"What on earth will you do with the money you hoard selling all these? Do you plan to take it with you when you die?"

Muctiyanse and Sirimalie had no children though they had been married for six or seven years. They sought the help of doctors but the remedies they prescribed had no effect. Equally fruitless were the devil-dances, bali offerings, ceremonies and incantations chanted to exorcise evil spirits. Sirimalie did conceive a few times but unfortunately miscarried. Yasawathie of course became pregnant again, when the first child was barely one and half years old.

In addition to Yasawathie's jibes, taunts and quarrels, there was another problem in that house. Akman's friends used to meet there in the evenings, drink cheap kasippu J and create an intolerable din in their drunken state. They sang loud beating time with old tins knocked together. Unable to endure all this any longer, Mudiyanse pl anted a row of stakes along the border that separated the two lands. Sometime later, Kirimenika also took up residence in Mudiyanse's house, as she too could" not bear any longer the merry-making of Akman and his gang. Meanwhile Mudiyanse noticed that Akman 's visitors used a Sh0I1-cul across his land. This prompted him to place stumps of araliya and gansuriya trees in between the stakes that were already there and then to convert the hedge into a barbed-wire fence.

It was only in the early days of their association that Yasawathie and Akman worked together in the vegetable plot. Later Akman used to attend to t.he sale of vegetables as he liked moving around. He became a middleman through whom the villagers were able to sell their vegetables to lorry-owners.

As time went on Akman began to keep away from home, at first for a few days and then for weeks and months. Perhaps he I. 10c(lJ illicit brf'w

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could not hear to hear the crying and the jabbering of the chil dren in addition to Yasawathie's curses and screams. On the days he happened to turn up suddenly he pestered Yasawathie demanding money. This invariably led to arguments. 1l10ugh Mudiyanse could not see what happened in Yasawathie's house, he could hear very well the sound of their quarrels. When Yasawathie scolded, she did so at the top of her voice. Her laments on being beaten by Akman were loud enough for the whole vil1age to hear. The three boys too howled in one voice whenever their mother cried.

Eventually Akman stopped his visits altogether. Mudiyanse heard that he was living with a woman in the Kegalle area. In the meantime, Yasawathie gave birth to her fourth child, a girl. After Akman left her, Yasawathie worked very hard uncomplaining, coping admirably, made ends meet and brought up her children. She hel ped other farmers in the village too, working for a wage that supplemented her meagre income.

Mudiyanse saw, heard and knew that there was not enough to feed the many mouths in Yasawathie's household, even though she worked all day long without a munnur of complaint. Mudiyanse was pleased with Yasawathie because she handled the challenges before her resolutely, bealing her sorrows silently. He felt sorry for her.

After he had finished spraying the bean plants, Mudiyanse placed the sprayer on the ground and removed his sarong and coat.

. His body was wet with sweat. C1ad in his loin-cloth, he went to the well and washed his face and hands with soap and water kept there for him in a bucket Then he walked home slowly and sat on the ledge of the verandah, waiting for his tea. Sirimalie gave him a cup of tea and began to prepare his chew of betel herself because a person who sprays pesticide should not handle food and drink for a number of hours.

Of late, the asthma that Sirimalie suffered from had taken a turn for the worse. The wheeze in her chest could he heard miles away. It was hy the skin of her teeth that a few months earlier, being unable to hreathe, she had escaped death. Once a fortnight

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Mudiyanse took her to the dispensary in the town of Poramadulla and bought rned icine for her.

"I left my soiled clothes near the well. Don;1 you try to wash them. The strong smell of pesticide will make you wheeze more. I'll wash them myself a little later."

"Ah, they will he washed sooner or later," Sirirnalie said turning her chin towards Yasawathie's house.

Chewing his quid of betel Mudiyanse spat twice) squatted near a stone and started sharpening his knife.

"Now what are you trying to do'?" Sirimalie asked, indicating that he should rest a while after his mon1ing's work. Mudiyanse did not respond immediately. He spat again, looked out into the far distance for a moment and said, "I want to remove those strands of barbed wi re. The little fellows move to and fro all the time. What's the use of a nuisance of a fence now? Whom are we try ing to keep out? If one of the boys were to bruise himself, I will have another problem on my hands."

"That's true. When Siriya rushed here two days ago and said "Loku amma, Loku amma," (Big Aunt) Nangi, (younger sister) is seriously ill. I think she has had a fit, I ran in a mighty hurry and in my excitement I could not locate the path to the house," Sirimalie said , looking at Yasawathie's house. The 'path' meant the opening made in the fence for everybody to go back and forth 0 "1 was about to go there just now to find out why the little girl was crying," Sirimalie added and walked towards the fence carrying a mammoty, while Mudiyanse tied a new cloth around his head.

Mud iyanse removed the hook-shaped nails one by one from the stumps with the fork of his hammer. Almost all the nails were rusty and corroded. The topmost strand of wire came off easily. The lower strands were buried in the soil at places. Yasawathie and Sirimalie stood under the shade of the avacado tree and watched Mudiyanse work. Sirimalie had the little girl in her anns. "'I1le little one seems to have recovered. There she is looking fine."

Fencl's I 1 I

Mudiyanse thought lo oking at her, as she tried to say something in baby language, stretching her delicate hands towards him. All the stakes of the fence had heen broken at the spot used by the two families to enter each other's gardens. There were footpaths on either side leading to the two houses.

At first Yasawathie's children had started going to Mudiyanse's house when he was not there. Mudiyanse had often noticed Siriya or the second little fel10w taking to their heels the moment they saw him returning from the vegetable plot.

One day on his return home after selling a sack of com, Mudiyanse saw Sirimalie choosing second-hand clothes brought by a salesman who used to go from house to house.

"Here, can you spare me twenty rupees? Two of the little fellows have a terrible cough. 1 thought of buying a couple of these tiny sweaters for thern," Sirirnalie said without even turning to look at Mudi yanse.

Mudiyanse gave not twenty but fifty rupees thinking, "Sirimalie is right these days even we find it cold at night. I don't know how the little ones manage."

Mudiyanse was further engrossed in thought. "I can't understand how that rascal whom they call father can bear to keep away abandoning these adorable kids. He is a heartless wretch. How lovable these children are! Three boys and a girl.

Latterly, Yasawathie too started dropping in at Mudiyanse's house. Now the boys of course spent most of their time there. Mudiyanse had made a swing for them with ropes tied to a branch of the mango tree. It was Yasawathie who took Sirimalie and Kirimenika to the dispensary these days. That was a great relief for Mudiyanse. It was a busy tirne for him because he planned to culti vate the rice field down below as well.

Returning horne one evening, Mudjyanse found Kirirnenika, Sirirnalie and Yasawathie seated on the ledge of the verandah, chewing betel. As he passed them\1\1udiyanse said \vltllol1t even looking at Yasawathie, 'fshouldn't you send those two boys to

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schoul? Wh?l.1 harm is there in learning to read rmd write'? When fhe new session begin this January, see that the older two are admitted to school." Thatvvas an order from Mudiyanse. No one dared to comment on the matter. Though Kirimenika hardly heard what Mudiyanse said , heing almost deaf, a trace of happ ine s s was reflected in her face. Eventua lly it was Mudiyanse who took the boys to schoo l when the new term started. And he was only too happy to have desks and chairs made for therrt

Mudiyanse rem ov ed the barbed wire, rolled it up, and u prooted the stumps of the hedge. He clipped the sprigs of f lowers on the ginisiriyu branches and made a heap of th em . "These should be placed near rat-holes. Rats can't stand the smell of these flowers," M udiyanse said loud enough for both S ir imalie and Yasawathie to hear. Only the large logs of the fence were now left. They could be used as firewood . Mudiyanse thought, "Unlike Sirimalie, Yasawathie will chop each of these in one breath." Another thought crossed Mudiyanse's mind in quick succession. "If only my woman had Yasawathie ' s iron hands, I could have won a kindom."

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After school, the two boys ran stra ight to MUdiyanse. "Loku Appachchi, Loku Appachchi, the teacher madam asked

Inc to take a drawing book on Monday," Siriya said pant ing. .

''Loku Apparhchi, Loku Appachchi, I recited the poem you taught me, loud and beautifully too. 'TIle teacher said it was very good," the second boy shouted, his eyes shining bright. Sirirnalie and Yasawathie could not help laughing.

"/'oku Appachchi/ Loku Appachchi.l What is that 'Loku' bit

Whether big or small, I am the only father you have now" Mudiyanse said, looking at Yasawathie from the comer of his eye. Y;;lsrlwathie did not frown or look away in anger or disapprovaL She \valked towards the ki tchen with a gentle smile lighting up her fact', perhaps to give the boys their mid-,day rneaJ.

Trans/o{(>d bv Rat/ma Handuluklll1de