C. W. W. Kannangara – the father of free education

28 December 2013 04:23 am Views - 11228

‘No Pearl of Greater Price’ by Dr. Ananda Guruge

Once again Dr. Ananda Guruge has gone back to the past and returned with a priceless pearl – the pearl of free education. His book titled, No Pearl of Greater Price, explores the dying days of the British colonial period in which leading political figures moved heaven and earth to make free education a reality. It stands out as, perhaps, the greatest gift that the state ever gave to Sri Lankans. It strengthened the backbone, the character and the future course of the generations in the post-independence era.

 Dr. Guruge paints the background scene vividly and meticulously. He dramatises each scene that evolved incrementally to a grand finale. The central figure is, of course, C. W. W. Kannangara, the Father of Free Education. He rises from the past as a giant benefactor whose passionate commitment to his cause saved the precious Pearl for posterity.

"Dr. Ananda Guruge belongs to that school of writers who revive history to make it look like an event that is happening now. He approaches the past not to make a dull record what happened in history but to make it come alive. He has mastered the art of turning each page of history into a human drama"

Dr. Ananda Guruge belongs to that school of writers who revive history to make it look like an event that is happening now. He approaches the past not to make a dull record of what happened in history but to make it come alive. He has mastered the art of turning each page of history into a human drama. His delineation of characters makes them more human than the abstract figures in remote history.

 Invariably history books reveal characters as if they only made history and had no private lives of their own. But Dr. Guruge dispels that myth and reveals them as normal human beings who went through grinding mills of days of their lives. The characters who triumphed in history were those who broke through the overwhelming tasks patiently and painstakingly – some of which were petty, frustrating and even wounding – until they achieved their goals.
 His ability to write history as fiction enables him to explore the highways and byways of the past with commendable felicity. It is difficult to draw the line where history ends and fiction begins. He weaves both strands deftly with ease. Unlike in history books the reader is given a ringside view of the mysteries of the movements contained in the inherited past.

 It is his ability to write history as a meaningful, contemporary drama that makes his latest book on C. W. W. Kannangara an absorbing document. It throws new light and perspectives not only on the ground-breaking movement that climaxed in introducing free education to the nation but also gives a clear insight into the intricacies and the machinations of colonial bureaucracy. He was known to his friends as “CWW” and when asked why he did not encourage his friends to call him by his first name William he said: “CWW stands for Conscientious Willing Worker”. It is these little graphic details that go to make the big picture.

"His ability to write history as fiction enables him to explore the highways and byways of the past with commendable felicity. It is difficult to draw the line where history ends and fiction begins. He weaves both strands deftly with ease. The reader is given a ringside view of the mysteries of the movements contained in the inherited past"

 Not everyone was willing to give “CWW” the credit that was due to him when he pioneered the free education movement. On the one hand, the westernised elite, ideologically affiliated to the Anglo-Saxon way of life, looked down upon the nationalist leaders like C. W. W. Kannangara. The Marxist Left too claimed credit for the introduction of free education to the nation. They claimed that it was their agitation that forced the bourgeois regime to grant free education. But Dr. Guruge restores him to his rightful place in history.  With an impeccable command of the socio-political ambience of the times he builds a portrait of “CWW”, brick-by-brick as it were, until the Father of Free Education emerges as a monumental figure that changed the nation forever.
 Dr. Guruge’s mastery of the history of the time enables him to weave through the mass of administrative, political and personal details to reveal that it was the nationalists of the day that rallied round “CWW” to make free education a reality.

He delves deeply into the minute details of the time to present a panoramic view of the colonial times. It was a time of transition where the new nationalist leaders were in training to take over power which was coming round the corner. The interaction of the colonial bureaucrats with that of the emerging national leaders had all the subtleties of a contest where both sides were testing each other’s nerves. The drama in these contests presents a fascinating picture of the personal and political tensions that were at play. Each side knew its boundaries and the national leaders maintained their dignity and honour as they pushed their national agenda within a colonial framework.

The pages of Dr. Guruge’s historical fiction are crowded with the leading figures who occupied the centre stage of the days leading to independence. The lesser characters in the book too are a delight. Though they lived in the margins their contributions to the main events are delineated with finesse.
The breadth and depth of Dr. Guruge’s book is admirable. It is his scholarship that shines in the pages. The light he throws on events with little details adds a thrill to the main narrative. For instance, he reminds the readers that George Turnour’s translation of the Mahavamsa (1836) appeared before any Sinhala translation. One would have thought that the English-educated Sinhala scholars of the day would have undertaken this task before any white man did it for them.

Dr. Guruge is also a gifted story teller. His narrative of “CWW” should be in every Sri Lankan bookshelf.