The Cork General” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena They were the gentle sixties. TIME magazine and the Newsweek didn’t have that many horror stories. John and Paul were giving the musical world “Father Mackenzie” and “Eleanor Rigby”, and Kakoyannis brought Zorba to the silver screen where Anthony Quinn danced the Chasapiko. Back in Colombo, the Daphnies and the Melanies were doing their last jives at the Little Hut to the horn music of ‘Sam the Man’ before migrating in their micro-minis to be part of their Australian diaspora. That was the time Packy got sacked for writing rhythmic graffiti on the factory wall about his ‘pain in the rectum’ boss. “Somebody did a Judas on me,” he laughed and explained. “No thirty pieces of silver here,” Packy laughed again. “This was cheap and had something to do with ...
Capt Elmo Jayawardena
Rainbows in Braille ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena Rosalin was a domestic servant. In the years gone by, domestic servants were part of every urban home. I am talking of half a century ago, early fifties in Ceylon, this was a long time before my homeland was ‘born again’ as the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka. These domestic servants worked in houses sometimes in single form and at times in multiples. Obviously the number depended on the status and wealth the family enjoyed in the social strata in the townships; the food, the pay and the space to live, such were the governing factors that decided how many servants a family could afford. Richer the household, many were the minions, each having his or her allocated duties to perform and of course doubling up on other ...
Paddy Brendon ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena He represented Sri Lanka It wasn’t much of a farewell. Dingiri Manika would have preferred him to remain at home. “We could manage,” she attempted to say in a faint protest. “Manike,” Podi Banda reasoned. “It is a reasonable job. We need the money and we have none.” That was weeks ago. The matter came up a few more times, hurtful conversations when the children were not around, at times even pleading. Dingiri Manika was afraid. “I will be safe Manike; I will only be cooking.” He laughed too, but then, Podi Banda always laughed, even when they went hungry to feed the two boys. “Sanath Jayasuriya bats for Sri Lanka.” “Susanthika runs for Sri Lanka.” “Lasith Malinga bowls for Sri Lanka.” “Podi Banda will cook for Sri Lanka,” he ...
Horses – a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena They walked along the rough, broken pavement. A father and a son, ‘shabby’ is too light a word to describe what they wore, could be a little less in value. The little boy is bare-footed and the man wears wasted Bata rubber slippers, both ambling along under the noon day sun, scorched, drenched in sweat, oblivious to much of the world and its cacophony filled street. . “The buses are too crowded,” aren’t they Thaththe? The man nods and trudges in silence. “It is better to walk, we have time,” says the little one, repeating what the father had said before. For that too the older one nods. The father takes his steps in silence; his hand hanging low as the little boy’s outstretched fingers struggle to ...
Loser pays for the bananas ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena The month of Madin changed to Bak. Flame trees burst out in blood red flowers like carnival flares. These seasonal blossoms sprout in thousands vastly outnumbering the scanty green leaves. The trees look as if they are covered with a Bolshevik flag. The shedding petals, aged and burnt, make a maroon carpet of the ground below. Such happens when the Flame tree flowers bloom in the month of Bak, which is April in the common Gregorian calendar. April days are clear and crisp with cloudless skies. A pre-monsoonal dryness is everywhere. It is a time when nature remains undisturbed, painting the landscape in technicolour before the rains come crashing down. In the villages where nothing much happens, everyone anxiously awaits the Aluth Avurud-dha which falls in ...
Arithmetic ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena “Come, come, it is Sri Lanka on BBC” We troop into the den, the big Sony Plasma blares and a map of Sri Lanka is prominently on the screen with a few red dots for action sites. The newscaster is monotonic, rattling mere facts and figures of the dead and the soon to be dead. It is arithmetic. “Fifty six soldiers died in the recent clashes in the North-East. The battle was on a beach a few miles south of the town of Muttur, one hundred and thirty one wounded.” That is the Army Spokesman’s version that the newscaster is repeating. “The reported deaths among the LTTE cadres total an astounding two hundred and seventy eight.” Tamil websites say it different. BBC knows that too and tells the world. ...
Andy Roberts ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena As it happened I knew Andy from years gone by. No one bothered with his real name; he was simply Andy Roberts, of course connected in some way to cricket and the fiery West Indian fast bowler of yesteryear. Andy’s mother, Cicilin, worked for Aunty Dee, job description, Major Domo of the kitchen and in charge of all the chores that went with a middle class home in the sixties. “She is the boss,” Aunty Dee used to tell all her friends. “I am out at work and it is Cicilin who runs the home.” Big and charcoal-black, that was Cicilin, hefty as a hippo, with a smile that sprouted through toothless gums and an abundance of breasts that overflowed out of her homemade jackets worn above her cloth-wrapped bottom. ...
The Detergent Salesman ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena The place looked the same. Houses painted in Pentalite colours, light ones and lighter ones that CIC sells in all possible shades. Reminded me of their clarion call, “Not white, not quite, but Pentalite”, always displayed on roadside billboards, father, mother, son and daughter with broad smiles in front of their newly painted home. That’s Pentalite and CIC for you. The lane was a cul-de-sac, five homes to the left and six to the right, the one less on the left was the result of a double-sized house and a doubled-sized garden, perhaps the nicest, hands down winner of the best house in the lane competition, if it came to that. Green garbage bins lined the lane on either side, not the usual overflowing but recently emptied. The sidewalk too ...
” WHEN YOU ARE IN ROME ” a short story from “Rainbows in Braille” – A collection of short stories – By Elmo Jayawardena St. Sebastian’s College is a leading school in my hometown. It was formerly run by De la Salle brothers. Originally Irish, they came with the green white and gold colours from home to remind them of their little haven across the Irish Sea. That’s why they painted the school flag with Gaelic nationalism, the green white and gold. The local Christian brothers later took over from their Irish counterparts and that too had changed recently and the school is now run by the priests who represent the OMI fold. As for St. Sebastian’s, it was, is, and will always be a Catholic school, as Roman as the Vatican itself, compulsory confession on Thursday and mandatory holy communion on Friday at the College Chapel. Though your sins ...
Mar 19, 2023
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, Capt Elmo Jayawardena
Tagged St. Sebastian’s College
BEYOND THE CALL OF COACHES – By Capt Elmo Jayawardena Winds of College cricket are blowing right across the island, and Colombo is rocking with the fanfare of trumpets and unfurling flags heralding the ‘Big Match’ fever. Outstations too have their own carnival cricket with the likes of ‘Battle of the Golds’ in Moratuwa, the ‘Mangosteen Match’ of Kalutara plus another 100 such encounters, filling the weekend timetables. People arrive from all parts of the world to participate in this pulsating event. Conversations become rich with cricketing anecdotes. First to broach the subject with me a week ago was Dr Ranjith Amarasekara who batted ‘one down’ in the big match played under the mercurial Michael Tissera. That’s going pretty far back but, interestingly, still in vogue, when talking ‘Big Matches’. Who scored a century and who missed catches are common ‘Royal-Thomian’ chitchat. Who was the ‘Bok-ku man’ that frequently sent ...
Mar 16, 2023
Posted by eLanka admin In
Articles, Capt Elmo Jayawardena
Tagged "CRICKET, Big Match, Romesh Mendis, Royal-Thomian
