Sinhala Novels Pdf Download Free

[Brayan Jacobsen]

PiyadasaSirisena was a Ceylonese pioneer novelist, patriot, journalist, temperance worker and independence activist.[1] He was the author of some of the bestselling Sinhalese novels in early 20th century. A follower of Anagarika Dharmapala, Siresena was the most popular novelist of the era and most of his novels were on nationalistic and patriotic themes. Piyadasa Sirisena used the novel as a medium through which to reform society and became one of the leaders in mass communication in the early part of the 20th century. Piyadasa Sirisena is widely considered as the father of Sinhalese novel.[1][2] Some of his novel were reprinted even in the 21st century.

Piyadasa Sirisena was born in 1875, in the countryside village called Athuruwella in Induruwa located three kilometers south of Bentota in Galle District. Sirisena was from a middle class influential family in the area.[3] The main source of living in that area was the agriculture. He moved to Colombo after getting employment in a furniture establishment at a younger age. Piyadasa Sirisena who was inspired by Anagarika Dharmapala, was interested in the movement of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism. The wide range of Piyadasa Sirisena's skills made him a prolific thinker and writer during the early years of the 20th century.[4] His impact on the revival of nationalism through his writings remains unrivaled in the modern history of Sri Lanka.[4]

Piyadasa Sirisena had to undergo two jail terms during his life time, both after Sinhalese Muslim riots that took place in 1915 and 1918. His work as a Buddhist and independence activist always attracted suspicion of British Ceylon government. His first jail term was in 1916 and lasted 60 days when then government imposed Marshal law during the Sinhala-Muslim riots of that year which led to the imprisonment of many fellow patriots like D. S. Senanayake, F. R. Senanayake, the Hewavitharana brothers, Sir D B Jayatilleke etc.[5] The trial-at-bar which he faced was for provocation. He had written an editorial in his newspaper in which it was alleged that Sirisena had encouraged the people to rise against the government. But the government prosecutors failed to prove the charges and Sirisena was released with a fine.

The colonial British governments' policy on liquor and the spread of liquor consumption as a result in Ceylon was a cause of growing displeasure among the Sinhalese Buddhists of the early 20th century.[2] An anti-liquor campaign gently took shape and within a short time it had the support of the many leading Buddhists of the country. This soon formed a Temperance movement that conducted several anti-liquor campaigns in different parts of the country. Buddhist leaders such as Anagarika Dharmapala, Dr. W. A. de Silva, Arthur V. Dias and Walisinghe Harischandra took part in theses campaigns. Piyadasa Sirisana also took part as an active protester against liquor and soon became a leading figure of the Ceylonese Temperance movement. He used his Sinhala Jathiya newspaper to urge people against the habit of liquor. He also used his oratorical skills to popularize and move forward their temperance movement, whenever anti-liquor meetings were held in various parts of the country.[3]

Sirisena was a tireless worker who slept only four hours a day.[4] He was married to Cecilia and had a family of nine children. He was the head of a printing establishment with 40 employees, who all depended on his success as a literary figure. After rendering a yeoman service to his motherland Piyadasa Sirisena died on May 22, 1946, at the age 71 years. Sri Lanka Post issued a postage stamp to commemorate his services to the country in 1979.[7]

This companion presents a critical collection of Sinhala resistance literature from Sri Lanka. It includes translated short stories and excerpts from Sinhala novels, written after the civil war in the country. Featuring national award-winning writers, the selected texts share a common theme of resistance as the writers write against an exclusivist nationalism that was propagated through mass media and platforms of party politics in Sri Lanka during the war.

The volume addresses crucial issues such as the fate of civilians in war, the role of religion in Sri Lankan polity, media censorship, the experience of women in war, as well as the current education system and youth problems in present day Sri Lanka. It highlights an alternate discourse that runs among the ethnic Sinhala group and contributes to the overall movement towards peace and reconciliation among the different ethnic communities in Sri Lanka.

A unique addition to the growing oeuvre of translated Sinhala literature, the companion will be indispensable to students, scholars, and researchers of ethnic studies, war and peace studies, peace and conflict studies, literature, cultural studies, political sociology, and South Asian studies, particularly those interested in Sri Lankan literature.

The novel is a literary genre which depicts social reality, its discomforts, and political underpinnings. By looking at three Sinhala novels published in 2019, this paper investigates how the woman is portrayed through a patriarchal lens in literature. The chosen novels are Nishkranthiya by Sunethra Rajakarunanayake, Kumara Kobei by Shamel Jayakody and Thee Haa Thaa by Surath de Mel. They have unique narrative styles and a noteworthy representation of femininity. The study is based mainly on the following themes of feminist theory: patriarchy, sex, and gender. The main characters of all three novels are women and patriarchy plays a major role in their lives. All three novels present patriarchy as the norm and it is reinforced through issues concerning domestic violence, gender, and reproduction.

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