by Ru Freeman
kachchan - hot, dry winds usually associated with drought (Tamil)
kalu - black or dark
kalu kella - dark-skinned girl
kamak neha - it does not matter
Karaniya matthakusalena
Yam tam santam padam abhisamecca
Sakko uju ca suju ca
Suvaco c’assa mudu anatimani
This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright, the epitome of humility
kassippu - crude, home-brewed form of alcohol
kitul - a palm tree that yields a sap, which produces a thick sugar or treacle
kohu - coir
kolla - boy
kottamalli - coriander, roasted and prepared with water to soothe a cold or cough
Koti enawa! - The Tigers are coming!
kovil - a Hindu temple
kurumba - the water from a young coconut
kusu-kusufying - hobnobbing, fraternizing (slang)
lansi - derogatory term for Burghers (mixed-race)
lansi ponnaya - Burgher homosexual; slang, referring to ineffectuality
Letchumi - Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth; often used to refer to a Tamil girl (slang)
lungi - a piece of fabric, usually cotton, that is used as a full- length, wraparound skirt; in Sri Lanka, it is worn by older women
machang - friend or dude (slang)
Mahapiritha - literally, “the great prayer”; refers to the Buddha’s Discourses, including the three main sutras, the Mangala Sutra (the auspicious factors), Ratana Sutra (the gems), and the Karaniya Metta Sutra (universal love)
Mahavamsa - chronicle of Sri Lankan history from the coming of Vijaya in 543 BCE to the reign of King Mahasena, 223–361
mallun - salad made of finely chopped green leaves
mehendi - henna
mirisgala - a heavy oval stone used for grinding chillies
muthu - pearl (a variety of samba rice that resembles pearls)
Naa sahodaraya, gini kooru vitharay thiyenne. - No, brother, I only have matches.
Nangi - little sister
nebiliya - a shallow steel bowl with grooves used for destoning rice
nona - lady
paan - bread
pakkali - servility; literally, “currying favor” (e.g., running and opening the door of the boss’s car, carrying his bag, etc.)
Palayang! - Get out!
palu - the section in the front end of a sari, usually heavily embroidered
pandal - a large colorful display decorated with lights; usually erected in public spaces during Vesak, they depict scenes from the life of the Buddha
Para Demalā/Demellu - Tamil pariah/s
parisaraya - environment (social and natural)
pchah - clicking sound made by the tongue against the teeth
pirith - the Sinhala translation of the Pali word paritta, which means “protection”; it is supposed to protect the listener, and is a recitation or changing of the word of the Buddha
pola - farmers’ market, usually on Sundays
ponnaya - slur for gay boy
pota - a short term for the fall of a sari
Poth pennanna. - Show us your books.
pottu - mark made on forehead by Tamil women using various forms of dyes or pastes to signify marital status
Poya - full moon day, which is always a Buddhist public holiday
PT - short for “physical training”; also known as the “games period” in schools
Putha - Son
Samavenna - Forgive me
sambaaru - a vegetable curry cooked with a mix of vegetables and lentils; a Tamil specialty
sambol - a side dish made from grinding fresh coconut together with onions, dried chillies, and lime juice
sambrani - natural resinoid benzoin that give off a scent of frankincense when burnt
sari pota - the fall of the sari
satyagraha - fast unto death for a political cause
seeni kooru - a type of candy; literally, “sugar sticks”
Seeya - Grandfather
Seth Pirith - chanting of Buddhist prayers to soothe the troubled
Sinhalada demalada? - Are you Sinhalese or Tamil?
siri-siri bag - plastic bag named for the tissuey sound it makes
sudhu - white
takarang - aluminum sheets
Tha - short version of Thaaththa, which means “father”
thali - gold necklace worn by Tamil women to signify marriage
Thambiya - Muslim (derogatory term, slang)
thuppai - half-baked
Unname udakam vattam yatha ninnam pavattati
evameva ito dinnam petanam upakappati.
Yatha varivaha pura paripurenti sagaram
evameva ito dinnam petanam upakappati.
Even as water flows from the high ground to a lower ground,
what merit is given here reaches the departed.
Even as the waters of a full river reaches and fills the ocean,
what merit is offered here reaches the dead.
vadai - savory finger food made of lentils and spices fried into cakes
Vayadamma Sankaara. - All things are impermanent.
Vedda - indigenous person
Vel - festival celebrating the Kataragrama deities
-vem - a common ending to Tamil names
veralen kiri kavadi soya kenek puthuta gena denava
thavath kenek paata paata pabalu kaden gena enava
e kavadiy e pabalui eka noolaka amunanava
evaayin havadi sadaa puthuge ine palandinava
One man brings seashells for him from the beach
Another one brings colorful beads from a shop
I string these together on the same string
and drape them around my baby’s waist.
verti - Indian sarong
Vesak - celebration of the birth, death, and attainment of nirvana of the Lord Buddha
vesi - whore
watalappan - sweet dessert made with kitul juggery and coconut milk (Muslim)
yalhulanga - hot, dry winds usually associated with drought (Sinhala)
Acknowledgments
For the gift of time, I thank the Corporation of Yaddo, where this book was written, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Pendle Hill, where it was edited.
As ever, I owe Michael Collier a debt of gratitude for welcoming me to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference; his grace remains my strongest affirmation.
I have the highest regard for my agent, Julie Barer, who never loses sight of the human being—and life—behind the writer; I have taken more time and worked harder because of her. I thank my editor, Fiona McCrae, who is practiced at the art of asking for more by seeming to ask for less; the darlings died happy thanks to her. I am grateful to the gray wolves who have given this book their hearts, particularly Katie Dublinski, Erin Kottke, Michael Taeckens, and Steve Woodward.
Chiro Nanayakkara and Shirani Seneviratne helped with the research for this book. I owe a special thank you to Ranjan Madugalle for sharing his stories of cricket with me. I am especially grateful to architect and friend Susanna Billson, for her clear renditions of Sal Mal Lane and Sri Lanka.
I thank my fellowship of mushroom-loving souls: Leslie Brack, Daniel Brewbaker, Elisabeth Condon, Paul Festa, Edward M. Gomez, Lisa Hamilton, Curtis Harnack, Jane Hirshfield, Jill Lear, Alan McMonagle, David Rakowski, Jonathan Santlofer, James Scott, and Joan Wickersham. I completed this novel, observed the first anniversary of the death of my mother, and danced back to life in their company at Yaddo. The music here is a gift from David, Sonna grew into his story thanks to Alan, and the poetry and compassion are Jane’s. This book belongs to them, too.
I am indebted to a host of writers. I mention a few I have counted on both to steady the boat and to sail away from the safe harbor: Mary Akers, Xhenet Aliu, Richard Bausch, Charlie Baxter,
Noreen Cargill, Hache Carillo, Ted Conover, Eugene Cross, Lynn Freed, Ursula Hegi, Jenn de Leon, Matthew Nienow, Chang-rae Lee, Charles Rice-Gonzalez, Natalie Serber, Cheryl Strayed, Sara Taddeo, Cindy and Luis Urrea, Brandy Wilson, Elliott Woods, and Clarence Young.
I am infinitely grateful to Christy Beck, Susie Billson, Claire Conway, Pam Laughman, and Eve Weiss for filling in for me in the most important job of all. Likewise, my mother-and father-in-law, Barbara and Jerry Freeman, and aunts, Laurel and Sara Hartman, made it possible for me to leave home, knowing that my four blessings were in loving hands.
Without my brother Arjuna, the thoughtful, musical one, there would be no Suren, and this book would be missing both its rhythms and its quiet. My brother Malinda is my first reader, my fact-checker, my one-line critic, my hero, and, for this book, my muse. My nieces Mithsandi and Dayadi Seneviratne, and Indivara Miltaso, along with my daughters, will recognize some of their words and deeds in those of the children of Sal Mal Lane. There are some aspects of my parents, Indrani and Gamini Seneviratne, in these pages; it would take many books to do justice to the depths of their complexity and the generosity of their hearts, though I can assure them that, despite the many who adore them, the love of their children is greater still.
I am thankful each day for my beloved, Mark. If there is truth to Donne’s conceit of the compass, then it is true of you and me: your firmness makes my circle just, and makes me end where I began. I am full of gratitude for the ones I must learn to let go, each to a world of her own making: my daughters, Duránya, Hasadrī, and Kisārā. My words are my history, written for you. Your skies are your canvases—use all your colors!
I am grateful to the people who live down the many small roads of my beloved country; any one of those tributaries might have contained this story. May peace be yours.
RU FREEMAN is a Sri Lankan-American writer and activist. Her debut novel, A Disobedient Girl, was long-listed for the DSC South Asian Literary Prize and translated into seven languages. She has been a fellow of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Yaddo, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She blogs for The Huffington Post on literature and politics and is a contributing editorial board member of the Asian American Literary Review. She calls both Sri Lanka and America home and writes about the people and countries underneath her skin.
This book is made possible through a partnership with the College of Saint Benedict, and honors the legacy of S. Mariella Gable, a distinguished teacher at the College.
Previous titles in this series include:
Loverboy by Victoria Redel
The House on Eccles Road by Judith Kitchen
One Vacant Chair by Joe Coomer
The Weatherman by Clint McCown
Collected Poems by Jane Kenyon
Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship by Nuruddin Farah:
Sweet and Sour Milk
Sardines
Close Sesame
Duende by Tracy K. Smith
All of It Singing: New and Selected Poems by Linda Gregg
The Art of Syntax: Rhythm of Thought, Rhythm of Song by Ellen Bryant Voigt
How to Escape from a Leper Colony by Tiphanie Yanique
One Day I Will Write About This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina
The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism by Deborah Baker
Support for this series has been provided by the Manitou Fund as part of the Warner Reading Program.
About the Publisher
House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi’s commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada’s pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestselling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as “Publisher of the Year.”