Surangi Athukorala, educated at
Dharmashoka Maha Vidyalaya, is a Sri Lankan living in Dubai who has written 15
Sinhalese novels three of which are based on the experiences of Sri Lankan army
personnel during the war against LTTE. The theme of the novel Ranaviruwekuge
Adaraya is the then prevailing North- East conflict and the writer praises the
contribution made by the armed forces towards the victory over terrorism and
the development programmes in the area. The omniscient narrator presents the
last pace of the war from the point of view of Sithija, an officer in the
Special Task Force who has joins the Army though he could have gone to the
university. Sithija’s role in the war is presented as fulfilment of his duty
towards his motherland and a pressing necessity:
In
becoming a soldier, one should be aware of the responsibilities one is taking
upon his shoulders. A soldier should be mindful of the fact that in comparison
to his motherland his life is of little importance … and that he is the only
guardian of his motherland. (44)
Upon losing one of his friends, Thushara,
the protagonist develops hatred towards the LTTE; however, this hatred does not
extend towards Tamils as a race. Through Akshā, the government informant posing
as an IRC personnel, the plight of the Tamil people trapped between opposing
forces is presented:
Shrubs
that have not received rain for a long time. Little ones who are playing
running in and out of houses that are symbolic of decay … Poverty-stricken
people wearing dirty rags waiting for the food and a piece of cloth a volunteer
organization might bring … Who is responsible for reducing their lives to this?
Who is responsible for this war? She wondered how many times these people may
have sacrificed not only blood and tears but also their very lives to satisfy
the cravings of the cruel killer called Prabakaran. (130)
The novel presents role of the soldier in the last pace of the war
(316-18) and the post-war nation-building process positively.
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