A rich literary hotchpotch Yana Maga by Elmo Jayawardene
This book is about a path (maga). As the book says ‘paths are meant to be walked upon’. The author describes the path that our beloved mother Lanka has traversed from the dim, distant past to the path that she is on at present and wonders with hope about the road that lies ahead. In the course of her long and eventful journey our attractive mother has been abused and raped by many forces, foreign and local. But strong and resilient, she still retains her charm and beauty.
Quo vadis? Our present rulers have promised us that the road ahead, strewn with flowers will lead to a rainbow of peace and prosperity. Numerous mega-projects will ensure accelerated progress and development. Our emerald isle will be the pride and wonder of Asia - the hub of aviation, shipping, tourism, information technology and what not. Beautiful dreams and alluring promises. Time alone will show whether the road embarked upon, will lead to the bright and rosy Promised Land. Hope springs eternally...
How would I describe this book succinctly in a word or two? The words that came to my mind were miscellany, medley, collage, pot pourri, hotch-potch. Influenced perhaps by my penchant for good food, I chose the last. To me, ‘Yana Maga’ is a literary hotchpotch, not in a derogatory or disparaging sense, but meaning a delicious dish of mixed ingredients, prepared by the master-chef, Elmo, in his unique, inimitable style, without following any recipe book. This delectable dish is flavoured with many condiments and spices - history and folklore, photographs past and present, paintings and line-drawings, plans and sketches, for ts and for tresses, temples and dagobas, stone inscriptions and sculptures, breathtaking scenes, birds, animals and fish, trees, plants and flowers - a rich assor tment of beauty in its varied forms that adorns Sri Lanka. It is an incomparable a-la-car te dish guaranteed to gratify the taste-buds of any reader and tickle the palate of any gourmet. Any person who tastes this dish is bound to exclaim Wow! Yummy!! Finger-licking good!!!
The book is as colour ful as the author. Elmo has been blessed with a remarkable flair for writing. His books and ar ticles, written in what he calls “Koralawella English” are eminently readable and interesting. In ‘Yana Maga’ we find a treasure-house of information on Sri Lanka, colour fully and attractively presented. It is a hardcover, coffee-table edition and its sales-proceeds will go to help the less for tunate in Sri Lanka. The cause is wor thy and the book praisewor thy.