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A TRUE INTELLECTUAL OF OUR TIMES
BY D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Death has taken away from our midst a great soul with a great mind. Regi
Siriwardena who at the age of eighty -three passed away peacefully last week was a
true intellectual of our times. Regi was an intellectual giant possessed of versatile
talents but never flaunted it. He was a modest and simple man with an unassuming
personality embodying or personifying the saying "Speak less than thou knowest and
have more than thou showest".
It was my privilege to know and associate with Regi for some years. This article is
penned as tribute to that memory. Due to some unexpected developments I worked
during the years 1985 - 1988 at the Colombo based International Centre of Ethnic
Studies ,first as a consultant and later as a fellow.As is well known Regi was the
editor at ICES for about two decades.
My years at the ICES were a very happy and intellectually stimulating period of my
life. Reflecting on those years I realise fully well that the ICES period reshaped my
outlook on a number of thoughts, ideas and issues. The opportunity to interact with
some of the finest minds in Sri Lanka and abroad was of immense value to my
personal growth. In the process I "unlearnt" much of what I had imbibed over the
years and "learnt" to discard all that unnecessary baggage. Much of my current
worldview was formed at the ICES and Regi played a very important part in all this.
The ICES however was not where I came into contact with Regi for the first time. I saw
Regi for the first time as a schoolboy in the mid - sixties. His wife and my mother were
on the teaching staff at Wolvendhal Girls High School, Colombo. I always remember
with gratitude the tremendous help given by Aunty Sue in coaching me in English
Literature for the GCE (OL). If I remember correctly the Siriwardenas were then living
somewhere in Havelock town .
Among Regi's (he was Reggie then) many interests was astronomy. They had a
powerful telescope at home. One day some of the Wolvendhal staff members and
families were invited for a viewing and "lecture" on the stars and planets at their
home. Unfortunately the weather was not conducive on that night and the project was
abandoned. I remember Regi simply walking away somewhere instead of engaging in
small talk with the guests. The weather gods were willing on subsequent occasions
and both Regi and his very knowledgeable young son Amal were the first people to
"show me the stars".
We lost contact after our family moved first to Jaffna and then Kurunegala. Later on I
would come across something written by Regi or something about him in the print
media. I would also run into him at some meeting, seminar or cultural event in
Colombo but was always too shy or overawed to introduce myself. Then came the
ICES experience and close access to Regi.
The period of transition from journalism into academic research was very much a
difficult task for me. Neelan (Tiruchelvam) and Radhika (Coomaraswamy) got Regi
and Sunil (Bastian) to be my advisers and guides. Both of them soon put me at
ease. Regi would point out my errors ever so gently and enlighten me without any
condescending air. I still remember the first talk I delivered at the ICES. Regi chaired
it. I was excited and nervous. With Regi conducting the session everything became
all right. Regi was mentor to many at ICES.
Another occasion was when the ICES (Kandy) organized an international seminar in
Colombo. I had to read a paper on a very controversial subject. The question period
was hectic and I underwent hard grilling. Regi and Radhika were in the audience. At
the end of it all Regi complimented me. I was elated because those who knew Regi
well know that he was never insincere in praise.
I also remember the advice he sent me through a mutual acquaintance not to
descend into the "personal" aspect when I was involved in an acrimonious debate
conducted through newspaper columns with the late Kumar Ponnambalam. " Tell him
that he is getting the better of Kumar so far. Please ask him not to lower his
standards like his opponent" was the message sent.
Apart from the official lectures and seminars at the ICES there were the numerous
unofficial discussions held during lunch hour . We would have our lunch at the
Thatched Patio in the rear of what was then the ICES office at No 8 Kynsey terrace.
Almost every topic under the sun was discussed. Regi was never pedagogic and
listened to all points of view. Yet his comments were almost always the most
illuminating and provided fresh insights.
One of the wisest decisions by Neelan and Radhika in promoting the ICES was
appointing Regi as Editor. It was not only as editor of "Thatched Patio" the in house
journal or "Nethra" or as editor of anthologies that Regi excelled but also contributed
greatly in raising the intellectual levels of the available discourse. He was a valuable
asset. The ICES role came to Regi at a critical period of his life and was indeed a
boon. It was as if his place at the ICES was tailormade for him. He suited the ICES
well. As the bard of avon said it was "twice - blessed". Regi's longest stint with any
institution has been at the ICES. This by itself speaks volumes.
Behind the soft exterior and beneath the genteel manner was a man of firm,
uncompromising convictions and steely nerves. Regi an old boy of Ananda College
and St. Thomas's College Mt. Lavinia was during his undergraduate days an ardent
Trotskyite. He was involved in resistance activities against both British imperialism
and world war two. If I remember right Regi was initiated into "Samasamajism" by
Bernard Soysa and Hector Abeywardene. Those were the years of heady anti -
imperialism spearheaded by the LSSP.
Regi had a revolutionary nom de guerre then. He was known as "comrade Hameed".
Regi's revolutionary role was non - violent. Conveying secret messages, distributing
seditious literature, helping to put up posters, holding clandestine discussions,
helping "wanted" people hide etc were some of the tasks he performed. One of those
tasks included arranging a safe house for Colvin R de Silva after the famous
jailbreak by NM, Ohilip, Colvin and Edmund. Regi was for short time an LSSP
politbureau Member. Whenever he chose to recall those days we would listen
enthralled. Later he wrote a book about those times. "Working Underground: The
LSSP in Wartime: A Memoir of Happenings and Personalities" was the title.
The rise of ethnic politics in the sixties and seventies made me turn to Tamil
nationalism in my youth. If not for that phenomenon I would most certainly have been
in the LSSP I think. My grandfather has interpreted in Tamil some of the speeches
made by NM and Colvin in English. My father was a LSSP supporter and would take
me along as a child to LSSP meetings and rallies. I remember the sense of betrayal
he felt when the LSSP quit the United Leftist Front and joined the SLFP government
in 1964. He drifted away and later on in Kurunegala became a "green elephant" due
to the personal friendships he had with some of the UNP"s leading lights.
Thus the decline and fall of the LSSP has always been a fascinating topic for me. I
have been fortunate indeed to talk about this subject with left leaders like NM
Perera, Bernard Soysa, Jack Kotelawela, Edmund Samarakkody, Hector
Abeywardene, Vasideva Nanayakkara etc in later times. I was intrigued about the
LSSP,decline and fall. But the most enlightening and candid explanation for the
LSSP"s failure in achieving that "anthima satana" came from Regi himself. Perhaps it
was my imagination but I then seemed to detect an aura of wistful nostalgia in him
when trying to explain that.
Regi in his time played many different parts in the drama of life. His role as a
mainstream journalist at Lake House had ended by the time I grew up. His journalistic
career began as a feature writer on the "Ceylon Daily News". Edmond
Wickremasinghe had personally recruited him. Regi wrote a weekly arts column.
Regi was also leader writer, political affairs columnist and also wrote an avidly read
parliamentary sketch or lobby column. It is extremely rare indeed for journalists to
excel in writing political analysis, editorials , and also on arts, literature etc . Apart
from Regi the only others I can think of in that capacity are Mervyn De Silva,
S. Sivanayagam, Ajith Samaranayake and Richard de Zoysa.
Regi left Lake House on a matter of Principle. He protested against a cartoon in poor
taste by Aubrey Collette showing Mrs. Bandaranaike and Dr. NM Perera together in a
vulgar embrace. Journalism's loss was the gain of academia.
Year's later Regi's fans among ICES colleagues would ask me whether the journalist
fraternity remembered his writings? "Of course" I would answer. But the truth is that
few of my generation had read let alone remembered those. The old timers however
recollect Regi with unconcealed admiration.
Once I came across a bunch of old lake house editorial cuttings in an album. I took
them to Regi who with his customary modesty identified those written by him. The
depth and language of those articles could certainly find a place among the finest
specimens of English prose. There was a lyrical quality about them. The sagacity and
wit made some literary masterpieces. I do not think anyone has done so but
compiling an anthology of Regi's "Best" in mainstream journalism certainly warrants
publication.
His other writings in various journals including those of the ICES as well as the
"Lanka Guardian" are worthy of being published as volumes of his collected works
too. I recall AJ Canagaretna having translated some of Regi's writings into Tamil.
There are also several books by Regi himself. Lost Lenore. Among my souvenirs,
Pure water of poetry and some collected plays etc are a few that come to mind. His
novella "lost Lenore" had a multiculturalist theme demonstrating the "mixed: heritage
of all cultures including those who think of themselves as being racially "pure". The
"redemption and restoration" in the Gorbachev era of Nikolai Bukharin unjustly
condemned by Stalin was the subject of a powerful play.
Regi was a quaint human being who wanted to read Russian classical writings in
their original form. Initially he read English translation. Wanting to read them in the
original language he learnt Russian in his forties. He translated into English some
writings directly from Russian. Akhamatova and Pushkin were some of these
authors. I believe he won several prizes including the Graetians award for these
writings. Regi was also to some extent familiar with French, Spanish and Italian.
He possessed an inquiring mind. Like many journalists he "wanted to find out when in
doubt". One incident I remember vividly was about the word "caucus". Once while
reading some correspondence of that colourful personality C. Sundaralingam I came
across a comment by him that the word caucus was derived from the Tamil "kusikusu
koottam" (hush-hush meeting). I showed this to Regi. Immediately Regi began poring
over dictionaries and encyclopedias to delve into this. Finally he came out with the
origins. To my disappointment the etymological root of caucus was not Tamil.
Regi has taught English and literature at Royal College, Pembroke Academy and
Vidyalankara campus which went on to become Kelaniya University. He also helped
set up instruction courses in English curriculum at both secondary and tertiary levels
of education. He helped pioneer the English Dept at Keleniya. He succeeded to some
extent in taking English literature teaching out of its archaic, stale state and
introduced a liberating whiff of contemporary fresh air. Introducing Bob Dylan's
"Blowing in the Wind" into the AL syllabus was one such innovation.
Regi has also given lectures in several institutions of higher learning and the British
Council. His diction and fluency while speaking was excellently captivating. One thing
that comes through in reading or listening to Regi is his impressive mastery of the
subject and command of the language. Clarity of thought, lucidity of ideas, felicity of
phrase within pronounced economy of words was his hall mark. His erudite comments
were expressed in elegant yet simple language. I have often envied that ability and
skill. If communication was the name of the game then Regi certainly was a champion.
Regi was a maestro of the English language in both prose and verse. It was in his
later years that Regi turned seriously to writing original poetry instead of translating
them. His poetry was often written in conventional mode according to rhyme and
meter. The language was lucidly simple.. Yet they were repositories of deep
meanings.
One of Regi's hobbies at the ICES was to play solitary chess on the computer in a
man versus machine mode. Hearing of this Nirmala (Salgado) wrote to him from the
US worried about this self - imposed loneliness and solitary recreation. She urged
him not to turn away from humanity. Regi wrote a reply in verse. In that he wrote
some stanzas about waiting for the unknown "Roman soldier" who struck down
Archimedes.
I consider this as one of the best poems I have ever read. Over the years it has come
alive with deadly impact again and again as some of the finest people with "feeling
hearts" and "thinking" minds were cut down in the prime of life by unknown
assassins. Regi himself was affected by this phenomenon. In the poetry written on his
80th birthday Regi himself refers to Rajini Thiranagama, Richard de Soyza and
Neelan Tiruchelvam in this respect. This poem is one that I relate to more and more
nowadays because of the continuing violence and intimidation at the hands of fascist
felines.
After the Roman army took Syracuse,
a soldier, in the midst of looting and raping,
stopped when he saw a Greek bent over
figures inscribed in the sand. Gaping,
the Roman watched his strange absorption
in that magic of lines and circles. He
(not looking up at the soldier) said," Move
With your shadow there it's hard to see"
The soldier hit him on the head, and so
Archimedes died. If, then, today
I turn more and more to this ordered world
of sixty four squares, to the mimic play
of forces in a field where nobody bleeds;
where in the intervals of the game my silent friend
won't annoy me by spouting racist drivel
or Marxist simplicities; if the chief end
of life at present seems to find
an infallible answer to the French Defence
(my opponent's favourite opening ), don't say
I am escaping. In a world without sense
one must look for meaning wherever one
can find it-if only, perhaps, for a day
or two. I know the Roman soldier-
in one shape or another-is on the way.
This poem was written in the mid - eighties but I suppose Regi had understood by
then that the barbarians were knocking at the gates. Regi along with Radhika wrote a
polemic then in which they described the LTTE and JVP as "ethno - populists". I think
Regi recognized the inherent "Pol Potist" tendencies. But many of us including myself
had not done so then. I had many passionate discussions with him on this. Now after
the flowing of much blood on either side of the ethnic divide I appreciate Regi's
prophetic wisdom. The barbarians have now entered through the gates and are
entrenching themselves in the city's heart! Though at loggerheads with each other
both forces are in many ways mirror images of each other. Cry the beloved Country!
Regi startled me one day while discussing an issue by saying that a cause need not
be justified or just simply because some people were willing to die and kill for it.
Likewise even a just cause could not justify the adoption of unjust methods in
pursuance. I suppose what Regi said then was another version of the "ends and
means" debate. It was a shock to me then as I was one of the many Tamils who
romanticised the "sacrificial" nature of the Tamil armed struggle. What Regi said then
has sunk in belatedly.
This does not mean that Regi was indifferent to the loss of life even if for a cause he
did not believe in. When thousands of youth were massacred during the 1971 JVP
revolt Regi along with people like Bishop Lakshman, Nadesan, Suriya
Wickremasinghe etc were responsible in forming the civil rights movement. Among
the many achievements of the CRM was bringing into contemporary political
discourse the sanctity of human rights.
One of the many constructive contributions of the CRM was the recommendations
made by it to the Parliament select committee drafting the 1978 Constitution. I believe
Regi himself made the presentation on behalf of the CRM while Junius Richard
Jayewardene chaired the session. The CRM made many useful suggestions almost
all of which - except justiciability of fundamental rights - were discarded.
What strikes one most when reading the select committee report is the unconcealed
hostility and disdain evinced by JR & Co for the CRM. No attempt was made to
discuss the proposals and the attitude seemed to be say your piece and get out. JR
was politely rude and tried to snub the CRM. What a pity that Constitution making
was on those lines. No wonder we are all constrained by this Constitutional albatross
to this day!
Despite his tranquil demeanour Regi was no coward. He did not filch from
articulating his thoughts boldly against the powers that be whenever necessary. He
had a deep understanding and very progressive outlook about the national
question. He felt sincerely that the Tamils had genuine grievances and problems that
needed redress.I believe he donated most of his books to the Jaffna Library
restoration project without any fanfare or fuss.
He never hesitated to express his views on the ethnic crisis frankly and forthrightly. I
remember being seated next to Regi while he was explaining the ethnic problem to a
visiting delegation of the UNHCR. Regi argued brilliantly for the need to grant asylum
abroad for Tamil refugees. The UNHCR fact - finders were doubly impressed upon
learning that Regi was "Sinhala".
The truth however is that Regi was a universal soul with a cosmopolitan outlook.
Rooted though he was in Sri Lanka Regi was in actuality a world citizen. In this cruel
world of increasing ethnic polarisation there are very few of people like Regi left. Regi
was also willing to sign any public memorandum in support of a worthy cause
notwithstanding adverse repercussions. Like the Sangham poet Kaniyan
Poonkundranaar "All humanity was his fraternity".
One of the studies he was involved in was a survey of our school text books. In this
the content of these text books was analysed and the racist bias in English and
Sinhala text books towards the minority communities noted and documented. It was
spotlighted very clearly that these prejudiced texts promoted hatred towards the
minorities in general and Tamils in particular. These texts published by the state were
harming ethnic relations it was pointed out.
Later when talking about this Regi related an anecdote about the Turkish reformer -
ruler Kemal Mustapha Ataturk. Apparently in his zeal to modernise Turkey Kemal saw
the conservative Mullahs as an obstructive force. He also saw that all them were
wearing the Fez. So with all good intentions the Fez was banned. One aged Mullah
had then told Kemal that if you wanted to change a person you have to change what
is inside his head and not what was on it. He applied the same analogy to the content
of text books as opposed to arguments about the medium of instruction being in a
common language.
He was also involved for a while with an organization monitoring the Sri Lankan media
with particular emphasis on the ethnic problem. The reports released spotlighted
very clearly the different ways in which politically sensitive issues were depicted in the
English, Tamil and Sinhala print media. These distorted versions were contributing to
rising ethnic tensions it was pointed out. These were cries in the wilderness. Soon
came 1983. Nowadays the ethnic polarisation and gross distortions in the respective
languages have reached gigantic proportions.
Regi was also appreciative of good cinema. He was one of the pioneers in getting a
State Film Coroporation established. All the good work that was done in the pre -
1977 period was undone in the commercial avalanche unleashed after liberalization.
Regi has been involved in script writing too with Lester James Peiris. "Gamperaliya"
and "Golu Hadawatha" had Regi's screenplay. The last time I spoke to Regi was
when writing an article on Lester. He gave me an excellent summary of Lester's
attributes and compared him with Satyajit Ray. All this was on the telephone.
Regi had excellent appreciation of the finer things art, music, literature and cinema. .
He would recommend the best of books, films and music. Sometimes he would lend
friends some recorded classical music. This did not mean that he was a snob. He
retained an interest in common things too and kept himself abreast of current events.
He was a connoisseur in every sense of the word. This included - despite the
diabetes - a fondness for particular biscuits from a certain bakery.
And how did Regi who wrote in 1986 that the soldier of death was coming for him
face up to it in later in his golden twilight? When Regi celebrated his 80th birthday
on May 15th 2002 the ICES had a function in his honour. Regi wrote a special poem
titled "Birthday apology and apologia-eighty iambic pentameters for my eighty years ".
The following excerpt says it all
" I dont believe there is judgment after death,
Or penal court of Yama: If there were,
And I were called to account, what could I say
In mitigation of sentence, but stammer,
"P-please sir, I tried not to be p-pompous ever,
P-pretentious, Sir, incomprehensible,
or b-boring". Would the judge pronounce severely;
"A frivolous trifler! He deserves no mercy,
I sentence him to fifty years of torture
Translating into Serbo-Croat the texts
Of Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha!"
The mortal remains of Regi were cremated at Kanatte on Thursday Dec 16th. His
memory will linger on in the hearts and minds of those fortunate to interact with Regi.
His writings will ensure Regi of a permanent place in the world of letters. As for me I
will always have one piece of Regi's writing with me in remembrance;
One of the greatest documents that I treasure is a testimonial given by Regi when I
was applying for a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. He succinctly summed
up my English journalism in that recommendatory letter and made several positive
references. I told him then that he was being too kind to me. Regi answered in a
matter of fact tone " I have not exaggerated. I mean every word of it". This to me was
the greatest praise then . It is so now and will be so for ever! [Sunday Leader]
