Sri Lanka was a land of war, bloodshed and
violence until recently. Millions of innocent lives were taken away. There was
no one to be called the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ here. Both the sides were bad. All they
did was destroy the peace in the country and turn it into a feared place. Even
till date many tourists who go to Sri Lanka face lots of problem. No one was
spared. She won her independence in the year 1949. After independence, most of
the economic policies were controlled by the newly formed government. Sri Lanka
had a large population of Tamils, who had migrated from India long ago. These
Tamils played an important role in the building of the nation and were very
active in the freedom struggle. They had the sense of belonging towards Sri
Lanka. It is obvious for someone to have such a feeling when they are born and
brought up in that country. Things were good until the question of ethnicity
sprang up. The natives of Sri Lanka, according to them, the Sinhalese were
supposed to be given more priorities than the foreign Tamils. In 1956, the
Government passed a law that made knowledge of Sinhala compulsory for any
Government jobs. This was called the Sinhala Only Act. The very purpose of this
sudden outburst was clear to everyone. It was the first ever step to exclude
the Tamils from all the activities of the Government. Until then, many Tamils
had influential posts in the Government. But after this, they lost their
recognition. There was a massive protest against this step taken by the
Government. To make the situation worse, there arose a war of religious
identity. In Lanka, most of the Sinhalese followed Buddhism where as, the
Tamils believed in Hinduism. The people made use of this as a weapon and
continued their struggle. A war which was supposed to be Sinhalese versus Tamil
turned out to be a war between the Buddhists and the Hindus. As the 1970s
approached, the State economy began to crumble. It began to show its weakness
and shortages. In the next election in 1977, UNP (a Sinhalese majority Party)
easily managed to win. They introduced Sri Lanka to the global market. Lanka
was one of the first of the third world countries to embark upon globalization.
This gave space for many of the Tamils to invest in the market. The Sinhalese
started having major issues with this rising of Tamils. In 1983, there was
massive violence against all the Tamils. This in turn gave rise to many people
who yielded arms, like Prabhakaran. Thus, a civil war was born. The war of the
people against the State policies became the war between the two groups. This
is a clear example of how a political war turned out to be a civil war during
the times of an economic crisis.
We all know that literature is
the reflection of the society and our own lives. All these happenings in the
island country had a major impact on all contemporary writing. It did affect
the lives of every single person in the country in some way or the other. So
did it affect the writings. Elmo Jayawardena’s Sam’s Story is an amazing novel
that describes the Lanka through the eyes of our protagonist and through his
life and their events. Sam is portrayed as a slow-learning, poor, innocent boy.
The story takes us through Sam’s life, explains minor things like why he
dislikes the Tamil cook, his colleague and room-mate at the River House he
worked, to major issues like as to why he hates the war. Sam is born into a
large family of six members. He had two younger brothers, Jaya and Madiya, who
join the army and end up dying for the war fought for no reason. His sisters
Loku and Podi stay along with their destitute mother who works hard jus to cook
the evening meal. They live a life of utter poverty.
Sam was a very innocent and simple
boy. He didn’t think very much about anything, thus he was not very worried
about many things others usually were. He took life in a very easy manner
though many things affected him. He believed that people were many a time just
interested in asking questions to everyone about everything. They had nothing
else to do, so they asked questions.
“I never
could figure out why people asked me so many questions. Maybe they thought I
knew all the answers to life. Even while standing at a bus stop, someone would
ask me a stupid question.
‘What
time will the next bus come?’
People
always asked me things like that. How would I know when the next bus would
come?
‘When
did the last bus go?’
Now
that is a really stupid question. I wouldn’t be here if I was at the bus stop
when the last bus went would I?...”[1]
Sam
was always irritated with such questions. He never understood for what reason
people asked so many questions. He also had a simple way of thinking. That is
very clear from the answers he gives to the people who ask him questions. He
was very innocent and never understood the fuss people created over many small
things; small things according to him. For instance, once he forgets to switch
off the lights at the River House[2].
And his Master gets very angry about this incident and calls him a fool. Sam
hates it when someone calls him a fool, and he was even angrier because his
Master called him that though he knows Sam was not one. He also mentioned that
it was he who paid the electricity bill and was not to be wasted like this. At
that instance, Sam thought to himself,
“…In any case he never the bills; it was
Harrison[3]
who paid all the bills in the River House.” [4]
It
is through this simple thinking of his that we get to know what the war has
done to the nation and how much the people are affected, both physically and
mentally. Towards the end of the story, there is a deep change in the thoughts
of everyone, and that concludes what the war had done to anyone with a beating
heart.
Sam hated the war right from the beginning.
He had his reasons for it. This question of, ‘whose war is this?’ kept
revolving in his mind. He totally disapproved of the fighting and never even
understood for what reason the people were killing each other. But he was aware
that it was the Tamils against whom the war was being fought. He knew that the
Tamils were his enemies too, as they killed his people in the North. That was
one major reason for him to hate Leandro, the cook. He had many other reasons
like Leandro drying his ‘multi-coloured’ lankets[5],
his closeness to Janet, the voting system to watch television and so on. But the
very fact that he was a Tamil stood above everything else. He simply disliked
the Tamils, whether good or bad. They were their enemies and that’s all he
knew. He even hates his Master’s son’s friend who had come home from abroad.
Even though she is nice to him and likes him, he dislikes and hates her just
for the fact that she was a Tamil. Sam’s brothers, Jaya and Madiya had both
joined the army to fight against the separatists in the North. For them, it was
like a dream come true but only for a few days. Back at home, they had to
struggle hard to even fill their stomachs. They didn’t even have proper place
to sleep at home. They lived a life of utter poverty. But in the army, they
were given clothes to wear, a place to stay and food to eat. Moreover, they also
got some money which they could send home to their mother. For them, this was a
comfortable life when they heard of it and joined. So was it for all the poor.
Hence, it was only the poor who joined the war and ended up dying, for no war
of theirs. It was a poor man’s war. The poor were being used as the pawns on
both the sides by political leaders. It was a war for an unknown reason, at
least for the soldiers who fought. The rich always sent their children away
from all these by putting them abroad. The Master’s son and daughter were
examples for this.
“…We
are fighting and dying and the people in power who want us to fight are sending
their children to other countries to keep them away from the war.” [6]
Sam
had lost both his younger brother in the war. He also got the chance to witness
how cruel and false the army men were. He was working at Madam Martell’s[7]
place when Jaya’s death had happened. When he got back home, he noticed that
there were many people and a lot of arrangements done. There were drinks and
biscuits for everyone; some men had given some money to his mother, the army
had arranged everything for his brother’s funeral. They seemed very nice and
the army seemed a great place to be in, with lots of care, affection and
respect. Even Kada Mudalali[8]
had spoken great of Jaya and mother when he had to speak.
But
it was only when Madiya came back that he realized the reality. Madiya had run
away from the army understanding that the war was not fought for them but for
the rich and the political leaders for their own gain. He was also afraid that
he will be killed soon by his own men as they never left anyone who had run
away from the war front. Madiya at that point of time was regretting his
decision of joining the army. Madiya was so fed up that he says,
“’The
war is over for me,’ he said. ‘I will never go back. They will have to kill me
before they can take me back to fight for them’”[9]
Madiya
seemed to be very frustrated with the war and the people who were behind it. When
Sam mentions about how nice they were when they came to cremate Jaya, Madiya
jumped at him with anger. He spoke to them a lot about the war. Sam understood
much, though not everything. But it was clear from Madiya’s words that this war
was not a good thing. All it did was take the lives of many poor. Madiya gave a
first hand experience of the war. He explained to them how the newspapers had
been covering up many facts just to put up a good image for the ruling party.
Since he had run away, he was sure that the army would soon hunt him down. He
was very frustrated and fed up of all these. He spoke about many others who
were in the same situation as him and had run away during the ten days off that
they got after four months of hell. They were all hunted down by the army. They
fought for nothing and finally went they got fed up and ran away, they were
hunted down.
He
was also frustrated about the fact that it was only the poor who was fighting
the war and for no issues of theirs. They were the ones who always spoke about
the war and cherished upon it, but they never fought. They were never worried
about the war and its consequences. He comments on the rich in frustration,
“’Where
are they? They are not in the camps or on the lonely roads where the killing is
going on. They are playing cricket or watching cricket or going to big hotels
to eat their meals. They never go to fight. So they don’t have to die, or run
like I did. They don’t have to be called cowards. That is the war for you.’”[10]
He
also talks about the worst living conditions they face while in the war zone.
He spoke about how they had to work all time and had no sleep. Along with all
the work, they were fighting too. He speaks about the other side too. This
gives us some knowledge about the fighting Tamils also. He also feels bad for
them as most of the warriors on the other side are children, even younger than
him. To make it even worse, there were girls too. And the most affecting part
of the war was that none of them knew what they were fighting for. They killed
the other jus to save themselves, with nothing against them in mind. Madiya
gives a very interesting and realistic statement about the war here,
“…I
don’t think they know anything more about this war than we do. We kill them
because they come to kill us, neither of us knowing why we are doing this to
each other.”[11]
This
reminds me of one of Thomas Hardy’s poems, ‘The
Man He Killed’, in which the narrator describes the scene of a war and a
man whom he killed. He killed a man whom he never knew. He says that he would
have shared a drink with that man in the bar where he was sitting if only he
was not his foe. He killed the unknown man for the only reason he wore a
different uniform than his. He never knew who that person was even. If he had
not pulled the trigger then, the man would have. That’s all about a war.
“Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet
Right many a nipper kin! ...
…I shot him dead because-
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That’s clear enough; although.”[12]
Sam had therefore lost both his brothers. This was one major reason
he hated the war. It was also because of this that he hated all the Tamils.
They were the ones who had killed his brothers. It was because of them that his
small family had lots of sorrows and tears. Whoever the person was, be it
Leandro, Janet, Velu[13]
or the boy’s special friend who had come from abroad for her vacations. They
were all the same. They were all bad and he could never accept them as his
friend or even get close to them to that fact.
The
author also gives us an opportunity to understand the views of the rich and the
upper-middle class. Sam works in an upper-middle class household. Whenever his
Master has guests, he is the one who serves them with drinks. When he did so,
he was required to be present there all the time. So, he happens to hear the
conversations of these people. They often discussed about the war. But the fact
was that none of them were directly involved in the war. All they did was discussed
and complain about everything. Sam never understood why people complained so
much. He assumed that if people do not have a solution to any problem, they
prefer to complain about it. And all these, if there was no cricket matches in
play. If cricket was on, that would be the only major thing to discuss on.
In
the beginning of the year 2000, it was only war everywhere. Everyone seemed to
have there own contributions to the words about the war. From Lucky’s
barbershop to Menda’s bakery, war was the only burning issue. They spoke about
bombs going off at some place, some unheard road being captured by either the
army or the liberals. It was the same at the river house also. Whenever
visitors came, all they spoke was about the war.
“None
of them had been in the war. Or, for that matter, none of them had anyone from
their families who were involved in the fighting. The real conflict was far
from them. But they talked; they always spoke as if they had all the answers.” [14]
All
the guests at home had their own solution to the crises. Some said that the
Government must draw a border and give some land to the Tamils as they too have
been living here for many years. Some said that all these must be settled by
the political organizations by forgetting all their personal differences. Some
preferred to sit and complain about the increase in taxes. They found some kind
of relief in complaining about the leaders. Many were already thinking of
leaving the country. They were also fed up of this war, but for many other
reasons. Raji sir, Master’s friend and neighbour gave a very sensible
statement,
“…’Only
then will you see the real fun. When the deaths reach the rich and the
powerful.’ He laughed strangely and went on. ‘Only then will there be serious
considerations about how to end the war. Till that happens, this sick business
will go on. For us, there is no battle. We all wash our hands off it. It is the
poor who are affected…’” [15]
They
went on and on. There was also an economic crisis during the war. The people
also complained about that and poverty. Sam at such times thought these people
here don’t even know what poverty is and they are all commenting on them
becoming poor. Sam had experienced poverty. This reality of war and poverty had
made the people think the worse. Once Velu had taken off and gone to his
village for some ceremony. He never returned after that. That incident gave a
discussion point at Master’s place. Some even said he would have been a spy
planted there to follow some motions. That was absolutely crazy! If only the
war was not there people would have only thought he got some other better job
or he would have had some emergency. But the war had totally made the people go
mad. On the other side, poverty even made people lose their belief in their Gods.
Once there was a discussion between Leandro and Sam about their Gods. Leandro’s God’s picture was very ferocious.
They had many arms and had weapons too.[16]Whereas,
Sam’s God was very peaceful with his eyes closed and meditating.[17]He
thought this night by the reason they always lost and he was afraid of the
Tamils for this reason too. He considered their God more powerful and ferocious
than his.
Similarly,
during Christmas, the River House was in full flow. There were lights, colours,
sweets, guests and it was always cheerful. While setting up the Christmas tree,
Sam had many questions. It was the first time ever he was celebrating some day
called Christmas. He gradually came to know from the Master’s daughter that
this was the most important festival for them. He also learnt about Santa
Claus, who would be giving them gifts soon. On the day of Christmas, he
received his gifts. He was very excited. He was very grateful to this Santa Claus
for leaving few gifts for him too. After a while he asked the master’s daughter
if he could change Gods. The girl was pretty shocked by this question. Sam then
spoke out,
“…I
said I was sure Loku and Podi wouldn’t mind changing Gods and making a tree for
the Santa Claus man. Especially if they also got belts, dresses and bags like
Janet did.”[18]
He
also thought that the Gods were always against the poor. He never understood
the reason behind this. He had already created them poor; moreover he gave them
problems after problems. Like the death of two sons, the flood which took away
the leftovers of their lives, etc. the flood had not only taken away the
leftovers, but also Sam’s one and only best friend, Piya.
Coming
back to the war, the war had created a very big impact in the minds of the
people. In the story, towards the end, Sam’s Master dies in a bomb blast in a
bank on his visit to the capital. After this incident, there is a drastic
transformation in the River House changes. The old life and joy dies off. Madam
leaves the place and goes to her children. Bhurus and Lena are given off to
Mrs. Raji. The biggest transformation was in the attitudes of Leandro and Sam.
They didn’t hate each other any more. They were really upset about what had
happened. They never understood why their master had to die. He had never done
any harm to anyone. At this situation, Sam tells to himself,
“There
was no reason for him to die, but now he was dead.”[19]
Even
Leandro breaks down on this news. All this days he was proud about what his
people were doing. He often threatened Sam that he would join the army some day
and kill him. He hated Sam very much and Sam hated him back too. But at this
moment, Leandro just had one thing to say,
“They
should not have killed him, Sam…”[20]
After
this everyone returned to their own homes. The house was empty. Once back home,
Sam started thinking about many things. His days of happiness at the River
House, his small fights with Leandro, etc. they were all over. He was even
ready to go back and adjust with Leandro. He hated him no more.
“It
is strange how I don’t hate him anymore. I wish we could both go back in time
and be at the River House again, sharing our small room. Leandro could do his
cooking and fart as much as he liked and he could hang his lankets wherever he
wanted. We could live there, not hating each other; I mean, we could just get
on with our stupid lives without having to worry about things that were beyond
us. No more talk about who is dividing the country and who is winning and who
is losing…I guess there is lot more to people than how they fart and where they
hang their multicoloured wet lankets. Or, for that matter, to which side they
belong.”[21]
This
novel is just one more mouth to talk about what war does to us. All what war
does is destroy mankind. Take examples of any such wars, it is only the
innocent who end up dying; people who wouldn’t have even known the reason for
the fighting, people who wouldn’t even know that there is a war happening. Such
wars and crises only destroy human civilizations. It has been like this since
the times mankind has seen fighting and wars. In Louis MacNiece’s Prayer Before Birth, the child fears
about the present world even before its born. It asks God to kill it in its
mother’s womb than being born into such a world full of desolation and
darkness. I would like to end my presentation with a few lines from a song
which I think pertains to this context.
“And how many times must a canon ball fly,
Before they are forever banned?...
…And how many deaths will it take till we know,
That too many people have died?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind.”[22]
[1] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.1
[2] The River House is where Sam goes to work after he stopped going
work at the White Lady’s place.
[3] Harrison is the driver at the River House.
[4] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.60
[5] Inner-garment worn by men
[6] Said by Madiya after he runs away from the army, fed up of
everything; Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.118
[7] Sam’s first employee, a White lady
[8] Kada Mudalali is the local shop owner who later wins the election
and becomes their leader
[9] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.115
[10] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.117
[11] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.118
[12] Thomas Hardy; The Man He Killed
[13] Velu is the servant who works at Sam’s Master’s friend’s place. He
often discusses about the war with Leandro and talk about the death toll of the
Lankans.
[14] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.135; Sam’s comment on the rich
who sit and talk about the war
[15] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.138
[16]The Hindu Gods usually have images like that. Eg. Narasimha, Kali,
etc
[17] Gautama Buddha
[18] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.89
[19] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.168
[20] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.169
[21] Elmo Jayawardena; Sam’s Story; Pg.170
[22] Bob Dylan; Blowing In the Wind; 1963
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