CLOUDS ARE NOT SPHERES, NOR MOUNTAIN CONES
Reviewed by Prof. Manique Gunasekara
R.O.B. Wijesekera’s book, ‘Clouds are Not Spheres, Nor Mountains Cones’ was not a book on science, but a work of ar t. From the approach of literary criticism, which most readers are familiar with, let us focus on the structure of the work. Here is a book, which star ts with an intriguing title; ‘Clouds are Not Spheres, Nor Mountains Cones, which the author explains to us, is from Benoit Mandelbrot, a man of science who inspired him greatly, and in line with two strands of Dr. R.O.B.’S own interests: chaos research in mathematics and the wondrous sight of the Himalayan range. To quote from the prologue:
One day, while in Katmandu I was gazing at the inspiring sight of the Himalayan range. The snow-capped peaks - Ganesh, Himal, Annapurna, Langtang and others were a wondrous spectacle of nature, against the bright blue sky. Large white roly-poly clouds meandered around the peaks displacing in turn the bright blue of the sky, and causing approximations of colour and shape. I thought of Benoit Mandelbrot of whom I had read, and of the scenario of Nature, and life as a series of approximations of near exact things. My title then appeared before me, from the original words of Mandelbrot.
The structure of the book is based on similar interweaving of different landscapes, textures, and colors, representing the spacious diversity of the author’s international years, in his words, “a kaleidoscope of life and threads woven from chaos research to the old Chinese proverb, “The journey is the re- ward.” While taking us from his “Guyana Adventure” to “Switzerland and WHO,” to “Ostereich & UNIDO,” to “A decade in Vienna,” interspersed with visits to Nepal, China, Mali, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Barbados amongst others, the author delights us with his style of writing: there is wonder in what he sees and transmits to us.
He takes us on his journey of discovery, and invites us to be par t of his cozy family circle of Marina, Dharshi, Janaka, Rahal, Deepika and Sanjay, setting up house in different par ts of the world, while being very, very Sri Lankan throughout. An example of this is how Dr. R.O.B. had his spare sarong in his hand luggage in an international emergency!
One of the most striking techniques used by Dr. R.O.B. is Romanticism. He appears to be influenced by the Romantic Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, not just in his use of travelogue as a genre, but his flashes of Romanticism. In this sense, the book is multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary – the author shows his ‘openness to experience’ which is the essence of Romanticism, and in Keats’s words “his grasp of the actual.”
The audience appeal of the book is tre- mendous. This is because it is a well-balanced, homespun tale, with very little of the clutter of melodrama and exotica. The author takes us to some of the most beautiful locations of the world, but not simply because of their beauty, it is because they represent his interest in medicinal and aromatic plants and essential oils. In that sense, the book retains its Romanticism, and gives us a wealth of knowledge of the flora of the world. Dr. R.O.B. takes us to wondrous places of our planet, such as the fern passage of Jamaica, the pimento plantations of the West Indies, Guyana as the “land of many waters,” the clove plantations of the Zanzibar islands, the mangoes of Mali, the yams of Guyana, the
A scientist’s personal kaleidoscopic story of professional and family life, in an international milieu. The structure of the book is based on the interweaving of different landscapes, textures, and colours, representing the spacious diversity of the author’s international years, in his words, “a kaleidoscope of life and threads woven from chaos research to the old Chinese proverb, “The journey is the reward.” One of the most striking techniques used by Dr. R.O.B. is Romanticism. He appears to be influenced by the Romantic Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
large plantations of coriander in Rumania, the clove gardens of Ruwanwella, and the cultivation of camomile in Tanzania.
In the midst of the heady mix of aromas, spices, colours and textures, the historian in Dr. R.O.B. also comes out, notable in one of the most moving sections of the book: Chapter IV, which deals with his visit to the Zanzibar islands where in the presence of the church, the mosque and other symbols of respectability, the hideous slave and opium trade thrived. In his words,
The Zanzibar islands were the seat of clove production since ancient times. Zanzibar was a historic por t and trading centre in the colonial period handling the ignominious trade in opium and slaves. It appeared to me as an ironic oppor tunity to take a walk through colonial history as I meandered through this now active trading post of an abominable bygone era. Yet again with a twist of irony Stone Town had a charm to the present day traveler, with its narrow single lane back streets, just sufficient for one to walk through. The doorways and stone slabs offered a stark reminder of the nefarious deeds of the past to which they would have been silent witnesses. (Chapter IV, pp. 334335)
As an outsider, getting to know Dr. R.O.B. Wijesekera through the pages of his book, he comes across as a thoroughly nice man. There is nothing of him of murkiness, shadiness or the dark. He is one associated with the bright blue skies, the Himalayas, the blossoming flowers, the fragrances of plants and the magic of good living. He enjoys good food, hard work, comfor table living, a rich glass of wine, the delightful cooking of his wife, and is, to use a good old fashioned term, a solid government servant.
Dr. R.O.B. may have left Sri Lanka in search of greener pastures, but he remains a Sri Lankan to the core, and may I add, epitomises the best of Sri Lankanness.
My only quarrel with the persona of the author, is that he is a trifle too old fashioned in his obvious gender bias. This book, Clouds are Not Spheres, Nor Mountains Cones, with its 422 pages is a wonderful book to read because it is a mix of many nuances, fragrances, rhythms and topics. It is at times a sardonic commentary of life in the UN, at times a charming tale of the warmth of family life in wintry surroundings, at times a discussion of the merits of upward mobility, and throughout it all, comes out the absolute love of the author for his greatest passion – medicinal plants. The clove tree in all its majesty and magic is a reminder that the bleakness of winter will pass on. To end with Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind, another Romantic poet who may have influenced Dr. R.O.B., his book shows us that “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” Thank you, sir, it was a pleasure to review this book.