Finding Lakdasa Wikkramasinha

In an article titled “Shakespeare in a takarang shed” in this newspaper, I made reference to Lakdasa Wikkramasinha, the poet. I described Lakdasa as “a man of few words, with a disdainful stare that made lesser mortals uncomfortable, [wearing] his shirt halfway buttoned that displayed his hairy chest, the sleeves rolled up just below the elbow.”

To accompany that article, I needed a photo of Lakdasa. I Googled, only to be shocked by the images that popped up: his gravestone, streaked with a black stain that obscured some markings, and a photo of the Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, mislabeled Lakdasa.

I then wrote another article titled “Searching for Lakdasa”, in which I detailed my attempts to trace his family members, classmates, and others in my
search for Lakdasa’s photo. I am pleased to say that I am now able to present a photo of Lakdasa, not in the “bad ass” appearance I described, but more formally dressed, perhaps for a wedding.

The photo was sent by his then wife Shanthini, who now lives in Zurich. She was “thrilled reading [my article] and also quite amused by [my] descriptions of Lakdasa; in fact quite an authentic description of his personality.”

More good news. I am told that a collection of his poetry, both in English and Sinhala, with translations of the Sinhala poems into English, is in preparation for publication. The collection will also include previously unpublished poems.

Finally, we’ll be able to read Lakdasa’s poems in a single publication. A long awaited recognition of one of our foremost poets writing in English.

GEORGE BRAINE