Features

A Godsend twice over and Louis Voumard, Victoria’s authority on property law

Published

3 years ago

2023/01/15

Excerpted from a Life in the Law by Nimal Wikramanayake

When I took up residence in Equity Chambers I would often visit my friends on the third floor. During my visits, I saw a little old man wearing a crumpled suit and he always had a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. For a couple of months I would stop and chat to this little old man. I thought he was the caretaker and I felt extremely sorry for him because he looked so lost and lonely. A delightful little friendship slowly built up and whenever I went up to the third floor I would see this little old man pottering around in one of my friends’ rooms.

One day, out of the blue, he looked at me and said, “My boy, I don’t think we’ve been introduced to each other.” I stuck my hand out and said, “I am Nimal Wikramanayake.” With a twinkle in his eye the old man said, “I am Louis Voumard.”

In 1973, property law work and conveyancing were the bread and butter of every solicitor in Victoria before successive governments in their wisdom decided to take conveyancing work away from solicitors and hand it to conveyancers. What an absolute travesty of justice!

Louis Voumard was the leader in the property field and his name was a household word in Australia. He was the son of Swiss migrants who had settled in Shepparton. They ran a milk bar. Their son was born in 1898 and they sent him down to Melbourne to study Law. He had an inauspicious beginning in the legal profession.

In the mid 1930s he had a bright idea. He would write a book on “The Sale of Land” and become an expert in property law. He devoured T Cyprian Williams’ classic work A Treatise On the Law of Vendor and Purchaser of Real Estate in more ways than one. He took large quantities of Cyprian Williams’ book and incorporated it into his work. He called his work Voumard: The Sale of Land in Victoria and it was published in 1939. This work was, I believe, one of the first of its kind in Australia and was soon called “The Bible”

I looked aghast at him and said, “You are Louis Voumard? The great Louis Voumard?”

The little old man smiled, his eyes twinkled and he said, “Yes’ I spluttered. “The great Louis Voumard?”

His eyes twinkled again and he said, “Yes, my boy.”

That was the beginning of a short but magnificent friendship. He was the only one in this great country of ours who gave me a helping hand. Over the next few months I would spend every single afternoon in his room, when I was not, on rare occasions, in court. He was always hard at work. When I walked into his room, he would look up at me with that gentle smile of his and say, “My boy, have you brought your fee with you?” and I would reply, “Can I put it on the slate?” and he would laughingly say, “Yes.”

We would then sit down and discuss art, music, politics and philosophy. This was not only refreshing but stimulating, because my conversation with my Australian barrister friends was limited to Aussie Rules football, which I knew nothing about, and cricket.

Louis was the most unusual man I have ever met. At that time he had a rival, Keith Aiken QC. Voumard never forgot his humble country roots and was known – even though he became a silk later in life and a giant in the legal profession – for the abominably low fees he charged. I have a clear recollection of something that occurred when I was his junior in a matter of advice shortly before he died. I sent a bill of $30 for my fees and the solicitor sent me a cheque for $20, saying that $30 was the fee that Lou had charged in the matter. Lou told me that he charged low fees, firstly because he did not need the money, and secondly, poor people should be ablA Godsend twice over and Louis Voumard, Victoria’s authority on property lawe to have access to his knowledge. At the time of Lou’s death in 1974, Keith Aiken was charging hundreds of dollars for an advice on law matters.

Then the first bombshell struck. Pat Gorman died and we were all in mourning for the great man. “Dashing” Des Whelan QC, who shared chambers with Pat Gorman, took over his magnificent room. Des Whelan was the leader of the Personal Injuries Bar, and later Chief Judge of the County Court. He was the father of a young barrister called Simon Whelan who came to the Bar some years later, took silk, was later appointed to the Supreme Court and later still to the Court of Appeal. Simon is a very gentle man and an exceptionally fine judge.

On August 15, 1973, I received an invitation from Des Whelan to come up to his chambers to celebrate the 75th birthday of Louis Voumard. We all went up to Des Whelan’s room that afternoon to felicitate dear, sweet Louis Voumard. I told Louis, “I know another great man whose birthday fell on August 15 and he replied, “Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte.’ Lou was born 119 years after Napoleon.

Some months later I when chatting with Lou in his room, he looked up and said, “My boy, I understand that you are helping Sonny with his book. Would you like to help me with my work? If you help me with my work you can take it over if anything happens to me. You will be made.” I was delighted and grabbed the opportunity with both hands. I then gave Sonny the sad news that I would not be working on his book but would be helping Lou with his work.

In the meantime Lou gave me a copy of his work. I did not dare tell Lou that I knew nothing about property law. At Cambridge, Property Law I was studied in the second year of the Law Tripos, and Property Law II was studied in the third year. In my second year, I studied International Law in preference to Property Law and in my third year I studied Roman-Dutch law in preference to Property Law as Roman-Dutch law was the law of Ceylon.

In Ceylon, although my master had a large property law practice, I did property law only during the six months that I was reading with him. After that I did not look at a property law brief. So when Lou asked me to help him with his work, I had not seen Contract for the Sale of Land in Victoria. I did not know what a defect of title was nor did I know what requisitions on title were. In fact, I knew nothing about property law.

I opened Lou’s work and could not understand a word of it. But over the next couple of months, I found some new authorities for him and my little friend was delighted. When my parents came out to Australia in December 1973 I invited Lou home to meet them. He drove up in his old Wolseley motor car with his paraplegic daughter, Susan. Susan was the cross Lou had had to bear for over 30 years.She had been a nurse and had been driving to Lou’s holiday home at Mt Martha many years earlier when a drunken driver swerved across the road, smashed her car, smashed her body and destroyed her life.

Noel Rice

It was the month of September 1973 and the barristers on the four big lists had a surfeit of work. Sometimes they had multiple briefs every day. I would spend most of my time twiddling my thumbs and listening to my neighbours ,Paul Bennett, who was on Foley’s list, and Paul McPhee, who was on Spur’s list, discussing the briefs they had and the income they had earned that year. Sad to say, both my dear friends are now dead. Paul Bennett proudly declared that he had earned $16,300 that year and McPhee triumphantly remarked that he had earned $17,000. I totaled up my fees and found that I had earned less than $5,000 for the 11 months of that year.

Then I had a stroke of luck in October 1973 in the shape of John McCartney and Noel Rice, the principal of the firm of Anderson, Rice and Nicol. Noel Rice was the solicitor who acted for the RACV Insurance Company in most of their motor car collision cases or what we commonly called “crash and bash” in the Magistrates’ Court. He was unable to find a barrister and Calnin telephoned me to ask whether I could go down and do a “crash and bash” at St Kilda.

Noel Rice as the RACV solicitor always acted for defendant motorists. In this particular instance he had paid in 80 per cent of the claim into court. This is what is called “a payment into court”. It is open to a defendant in a civil claim for money to pay what he or she thinks is what the complainant/plaintiff will receive by way of judgment. If the successful complainant/plaintiff receives judgment for less than the money paid into court by the defendant’s solicitor, the complainant/plaintiff is required to pay the defendant’s costs incurred in defending the proceeding.

The magistrate Kevin O’Connor took a liking to me and I managed to have my client found 60 per cent negligent and the other party 40 per cent negligent. I beat the payment into court by 20 per cent so the complainant had to pay the costs my client incurred in defending the proceedings. When I returned to chambers I gave Noel Rice the good news and he was delighted.

I heard nothing from him for about two weeks when he rang me up without going through Calnin and briefed me in another “crash and bash” He had paid in his usual 80 per cent and I got him an award of 60 per cent. This result led to a long and fruitful relationship over the next four years. He then started briefing me, first with one brief a week, and then two and soon I was receiving three briefs from him a week.

In December 1973, our happy chamber relationship came to a grinding halt. Patkin, Bennett and McPhee, having signed the Bar Roll in March 1971, were all offered rooms in Owen Dixon Chambers. However, the Victorian Bar had taken the fourth floor of Equity Chambers. I was given the choice of the rooms on the fourth floor so I took a large room looking out on to Bourke Street.

In March 1974 a new list was formed and a number of barristers on the new list – Muir’s – joined me on the fourth floor of Equity Chambers. A young barrister on our floor, Ian Sutherland, was double-booked and offered me a brief in the Magistrates’ Court. I grabbed it with both hands. It was from one of the leading solicitor’s firms in Melbourne – Corrs.

A young solicitor from that firm, Christopher Wren, came along with the client, a ruddy-faced little Jewish man. Yes, his Jewishness is relevant because he was discriminating against me because of my colour. His face was a feature when he saw me. He asked me what I knew about the law. I pointed to my certificate hanging on the wall and told him that I took a Second-Class Honours at Cambridge University and had qualified as a barrister in England in 1959, some 15 years before.

I studied his complaint, which disclosed that his neighbour had bulldozed his boundary wall with a tractor. The claim had been brought in negligence. I told Chris that it would have been preferable if it had been brought in trespass because it was strict liability. He would only have to prove that his neighbour bulldozed his fence, but in negligence he would have to prove a duty of care on the part of the neighbour.

The client started screaming and yelling at me at the top of his voice: “What the hell are you talking about? Trespass, negligence, what the hell does it matter? My fence has been demolished. You are just like my neighbour. You don’t know what you’re doing’

By this time I had had enough. Corrs may be the one of the biggest firms in Melbourne and I needed them. I was only two years at the Bar and no one in his right mind would insult a client of Corrs, but I was not going to put up with this nasty little racist man. I picked up the brief and threw it at him, saying, “Take your brief and bugger off.” I never got another brief from Corrs.

In January, we spent a happy day with Louis Voumard at his holiday home in Mt Martha. I am proud to say that I am one of the few members of the Victorian Bar who has been to Lou’s holiday home in Mt Martha and to his home in Kew. The months then flew by and I remember that fateful day – Thursday, May 2, 1974. We were chatting in his room that afternoon when the evening shadows slowly closed in, and we went on chatting until about seven at night. Lou drew me aside and told me, “My boy, this book is killing me.” He added, “I am very, very tired” We said our goodbyes and he left – and I was never to see him again.

On Friday morning something made me go down to see Lou. I found his room closed with a notice saying that he was ill and that he would not be coming in that day. I telephoned his home and Susan answered the phone. She told me, “Dad walked down to see his doctor in the High Street. He was having a pain in his chest and thought he had better see his doctor about it.” The silly old man had walked a mile to see his doctor when he was obviously having a heart attack.

I went into work on Monday morning and was reading The Age newspaper when the telephone rang. It was my friend Ronny de Kretser. He said, “Nimal, have you seen today’s papers?”

“Yes, but I’ve been reading the sports page”

He told me to turn to page two. I did so, and found there a huge appreciation of the life of the late Mr Louis Voumard who had died the previous Saturday, May 4. I sat there stunned. I was in a state of shock: my whole world had collapsed around me. The only dear friend I had known and would ever know in Australia had died. Who was going to help me? Whom could I turn to? I put the phone down, put my hands on my head and sat there sobbing softly. What was to become of me?

But then, as Benny Hill was wont to say, “The pickled pinger of pate intervened.” During the previous year in Equity Chambers and my close friendship with my dear friend Lou, I had also become very friendly with his secretary, Kathy Scheinman. Dear sweet Kathy was responsible for my second real break at the Victorian Bar, Noel Rice having been the first. She wrote off to the powers-that-be at Law Book Company and told them that a young man had been helping Louis Voumard with his book when he died.

The managing director, Tony Lees, wrote to me and asked whether I could take over writing the work. Tony then flew down to Melbourne, interviewed me and retained me to write “THE BOOK” I was terrified. I knew nothing about the sale of land, let alone land law.

I decided to take a chance and do the work. I telephoned my friend, John Rutherford, who was a solicitor at Cook and Cussen. He came down to see me with a contract for the sale of land and took me through the essential requirements of a contract. He also explained to me the purpose of requisitions on title and spent a couple of hours initiating me in the mysteries of land law.

This is the truth. Well, what was I to do with Voumard? I read Voumard from cover to cover 40 times during the next four years. I remember going to Italy for a holiday in 1977 and I read Voumard going over on the plane once, then read it again coming back on the plane.

The editing of the third edition of this work was in the hands of Sir Alistair Adam. I gave Sir Alistair what I thought were the relevant authorities. My knowledge of property law was non-existent, despite my having read this work so many times. As a result of my lack of knowledge, I omitted to give Sir Alistair the controversial decision of the House of Lords on part performance – The case of Steadman v. Steadman. Ross Sundberg QC reviewed this third edition and crucified my work. I was heartbroken.

(To be continued)

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Features

Blue Economy: What Sri Lanka can learn from Indian initiatives

Published

22 hours ago

2025/11/17

Thilina Walpola

The “blue economy” means sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, while preserving the health of marine ecosystems. It spans fisheries and aquaculture, port-led logistics, marine biotechnology, renewable offshore energy, coastal tourism and marine services, such as ocean observation and mapping.

As an example, India is actively preparing to harness its marine assets through place-based policy, infrastructure and science. It has a long coastline (officially about 7,516.6 km) and an Exclusive Economic Zone of roughly 2.02 million sq. km. To convert that potential into sustainable growth, India combines national programmes (e.g., the port-modernisation Sagarmala initiative) with sectoral investment such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a fisheries and aquaculture scheme with total investment of about Rs 20,050 crore to boost production, value-chains and livelihoods (Ports & Waterways Ministry of India).

Crucially, India couples finance with research, monitoring and human capital. Institutions such as the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the CSIR–National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) provide operational ocean forecasts, early warnings, mapping and long-term research that underpin policy and industry decisions. And also, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) plays a vital role in assessing marine fish stocks, developing mariculture technologies / innovations, and formulating ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches.

Meanwhile, the Central Agricultural Fisheries Research Institute (CAFRI) contributes to research on inland and coastal aquaculture systems, promoting sustainable and climate-resilient practices. The notable information sharing sessions to fishermen, such as training, exhibitions, are conducted via outreach arms of these institutes. Moreover, business incubation, industry to research links, academic and industry collaborations are promoted by the current workout plan. For instance, the recent meetings at MECOS-4, in Kochi, highlighted technology-driven ocean exploration, regional research networks and skills development for youth and women as central to scaling the blue economy, while highlighting the importance of achieving the sustainable blue economy benefits. We participated and extracted the essentials in the event as part of the BIMReN Research Grant on Sustaining Fisheries Ecosystem in the Palk Bay Region: Assessing Management Options, Livelihoods and Fishers’ Perspectives, offered by the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BoBP-IGO) and funded by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, aimed to strengthen cross-border collaboration in sustainable fisheries and blue economy research.

The Tamil Nadu Model: An Example of Living Laboratory of Collaboration

Tamil Nadu provides perhaps the most instructive example of how tripartite collaboration between the government, the academia, and industry collaboration can power the blue economy. The Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare work in close partnership with institutes like Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University and its network of para-professional training institutes. Together, they deliver structured skill-development programmes for fishers and entrepreneurs, covering boat handling, fishing gear repair, seaweed cultivation, mud crab and sea bass farming, and other sustainable aquaculture practices.

Moreover, the Educational–Sectoral Linkage Model and “field-to-lab-to-field” ensure a continuous flow of knowledge between researchers and practitioners such as field challenges faced by fishers and farmers, such as shrimp disease outbreaks or post-harvest losses, are systematically documented by fisheries officers and channelled to TNJFU or the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). These links have suggested strong Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), covering breeding, water quality management, stocking density, feeding regimes, feed formulations, disease-resistant strains, and environmentally friendly practices. This keeps profitability, sustainability, and ecological responsibility in balance.

Road Ahead: What Sri Lanka can learn

Sri Lanka can learn from these initiatives, and regional cooperation can help it reach its blue economy targets. Its coastline (about 1,340 km) and EEZ (about 532,619 sq km) make it a natural maritime state with urgent needs for ecosystem-based fisheries management, cold-chain investments, mariculture, and coastal zone resilience.

Sri Lanka’s blue economy future will depend on its ability to weave together research, governance, and grassroots action. A unified, evidence-based framework, grounded in education and regional partnerships, can turn its coastal frontiers into hubs of innovation and resilience. Therefore, practical lessons from India include: (1) align national investment (fisheries, ports, mariculture) with science-based spatial planning; (2) strengthen national ocean data services and forecasting; (3) invest in vocational and university programmes to create the next generation of marine professionals; and (4) build regional platforms — data sharing, joint research (e. g., BIMReN–BoBP-IGO collaborations) and coordinated fisheries governance, to manage shared stocks and transboundary risks such as climate change and marine pollution. Such a pragmatic, science-led blue economy is essential for Sri Lanka, rooted in research, skills, and regional cooperation. It will open pathways to resilient coastal livelihoods and higher-value maritime sectors.

Thus, the lessons from India’s blue economy initiatives remind us that sustainable ocean development is not achieved through isolated projects, but through systemic collaboration—anchored in science and sustained by people. This understanding will be especially important when working under new budget allocations and policies targeting the Blue Economy.

by Kapila Chinthaka Premarathne
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Agriculture, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, and Ragavan Nadarajah
Lecturer, Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Science, University of Jaffna

Features

Marigold Creation blossoms in Avissawella: A new sanctuary for learning, Art and community

Published

22 hours ago

2025/11/17

Thilina Walpola

Participants seated on the floor during the opening event of Marigold Creation – Gallery and Community Hub. Embracing a simple and welcoming atmosphere, the space encourages closeness, conversation, and community

Avissawella’s quiet lanes, brushed by the cool breath of the Wet Zone Botanic Garden, witnessed a new kind of flowering recently — one not of petals, but of people, stories and ideas. Marigold Creation, a multidisciplinary educational and creative centre, opened its doors with an intimate artist talk that set the tone for what promises to be one of the region’s most transformative community hubs.

The space — part gallery, part studio, part learning centre — was inaugurated with a deeply reflective conversation featuring celebrated poet Ajana Ranagala, whose lyrical work Ape Aha Koheda Lily Mal framed the afternoon in tenderness and introspection. The crowd, a mix of students, academics, artists and villagers, gathered not just to listen, but to take part in a dialogue that roamed freely across poetry, memory, language, identity and the quiet urgencies of life.

For Waruni Anuruddhika Chandrasena, the founder of Marigold Creation, the event was a dream come true at its first sunrise. A filmmaker, researcher and multimedia lecturer with years of work in peacebuilding, visual culture and community empowerment, she describes Marigold Creation as “a seed nurtured over many years — shaped by people, place and purpose.”

Opening remarks of Marigold Creation, led by Founder Waruni Anuruddhika and Artist Ajana Ranagala during the inaugural gathering

“This space is rooted in the idea of an ecology of education,” Waruni told The Island.

“Education is not a one-way transmission. It breathes. It grows through relationships — between the learner and the community, between art and environment, between personal histories and shared knowledge.”

At Marigold Creation, this philosophy is not theory but practice. The centre houses a creative studio, gallery, vocational training spaces and a community hub, each designed to encourage reciprocal learning. The approach is both holistic and humble: to draw knowledge from the community, feed it back into the community, and allow creativity to become an everyday tool for empowerment.

During Saturday’s opening, this ethos unfolded gracefully. Ranagala’s session, titled “Ape Aha Koheda Lili Mal,” became more than a poetry reading — it turned into a collective meditation. Participants shared their reflections, questioned the intersections of language and belonging, and explored how literature can reveal what Waruni describes as “the unseen heartbeat of humanity.”

Reflecting on the event, she said,

“Marigold Creation is a response to a need I’ve felt for years — a place where learning is context-driven, accessible and conscious of the world we live in. We want to create a space where art meets education, where nature shapes creativity, where local stories matter.”

The centre’s location itself is an extension of this philosophy. Tucked near the lush Wet Zone Botanic Garden, its environment offers a living classroom — a reminder that education extends beyond walls, into the rustle of leaves, the quiet curve of the river and the lived experiences of people who call the area home.

In the wilderness where we locate – Marigold creation – We are in the biodiversity hotspot

Waruni, whose work has spanned collaborations with institutions from Cornell University to the UNDP, says her vision is grounded as much in global insight as in local reality.

“I’ve worked across disciplines and countries, but I’ve always felt that meaningful transformation begins at home — in our villages, in our small towns, among people whose stories rarely enter mainstream narratives.”

Artist Ajana Ranagala speaking at the artist talk and conversation, ‘Ape Aha Koheda Lili Mal.’

Her ongoing research into photography, political journalism and identity feeds into Marigold Creation’s broader purpose: to foster critical dialogue, encourage creative expression and build a platform where emerging voices can find their footing.

The centre’s founding pillars — inclusive education, ecological awareness, creative empowerment and community collaboration — were visibly alive during the opening. Children lingered over artworks, university students debated literary metaphors, and elders from the area shared stories that bridged generations.

If the inaugural event is any indication, Marigold Creation is poised to become more than a learning centre. It is a gathering place for ideas; a meeting ground for art and social consciousness; a space where, as Waruni puts it, “learning is not an event but a continuous, evolving relationship.”

As the evening wound down, the marigold-coloured sky outside seemed to echo the sentiment inside — that something new had indeed begun to bloom in Avissawella. Not loudly, but gently. Not as a monument, but as a living, breathing ecosystem of creativity.

“We are only at the beginning,” Waruni said with a quiet smile.

“This is the first step in a collective journey — one that we hope will grow with every story shared, every class taught, every conversation sparked. Marigold Creation is for everyone. It belongs to the community.”

And if the warmth of its first gathering is any sign, the community is already embracing it — not just as a centre, but as a promise.

By Ifham Nizam

Features

Story-telling gone with the wind

Published

22 hours ago

2025/11/17

Thilina Walpola

Story-telling ... now no more

As a child I always wanted to listen to a story. However, most of the elderly people I knew were not so good at telling stories. One day I found a tramp at the doorstep asking for a morsel of food. When my mother offered him something to eat, I asked him whether he could tell me a story. Then he settled down under a tree. Some of my friends, too, flocked around him. He looked at us lovingly and told the following story.

“A long time ago, I was spending my New Year holidays with my eldest daughter and her kids. While we were chatting at night a sudden storm started blowing and the kuppi lampuva (bottle lamp) was nowhere to be seen. We couldn’t see anything or anyone in the house. The kids started crying. As there was nothing else to do, I narrated a story. One day when I was living alone in my house, I heard a crash in the attic. Everybody was shocked. I told the kids that I would go in and investigate. To my horror I found a baby elephant in the attic. It was trying to read some of my old books kept there.”

“The storm was still raging and the kids were eager to know what happened to the elephant in the attic. We stayed huddled together for some time. After a while, the stormy weather subsided and the kids heaved a sigh of relief. “What happened to the little jumbo?” a kid asked. The little jumbo had disappeared when the bottle lamp was lit.”

Imagination

This type of story-telling is better than reading a story in a book. You do not need to tell a complete story to children. Leave something to their imagination. This is definitely better than reading a story from a book. When you narrate a story there is always an immediate feedback. “Then what happened?” We forget the fact that we tell stories to our friends all the time. “You know, this guy is a strange fellow. He doesn’t talk to anyone but manages to live alone in his small house. However, he is always at the doorstep looking at the passers-by like a lord.”

Getting started is the first hurdle in story-telling. Sometimes shyness will hold you back or you might have the fear that you will not be able to finish the story. Therefore weave a story from your childhood experiences or something you have heard. Such stories have a magic because they will take you back to your childhood.

When once you are relaxed you can really let your imagination to make interesting episodes. Keeping the children’s attention is easy if your story is very imaginative. When you sense that children’s interest is flagging drop in a dramatic element: “Then we saw a huge foot print at the base of the cave. I thought it was the foot print of a giant coming out of the cave. Then do you know what happened?”

Audience participation

In order to tell a tale successfully you need audience participation. Sometimes you start the tale but someone else will move it forward. Still, you have to abide by some basic rules. Do not allow anyone to kill off the protagonist or the main character. If you find it difficult to finish off a tale, bring in the ‘act of God’ for which you do not have to offer any explanation.

At home or parties you can adopt the improvisation technique to tell the story. Everyone loves to listen to a well-crafted story that would mesmerize them. Always try to use the creative right side of your brain. The imagination of good story tellers is unlimited. If you feel that you are getting stuck in the middle of a story, simply look around and you will find something interesting. Then you can tell the story in a different way. If everything fails, tell that you will continue the story tomorrow.

Stories have more influence than any amount of preaching or lecturing. Aesop became famous because of his fables narrated lucidly. As a child I always carried a copy of Aesop’s Fables for constant reading. Stories work their magic on bored children. One day a child asked his grandfather to narrate a story about a tap. The grandfather knew that the child was testing him. He thought for a moment and said, “Have you ever heard the story of an old brass tap in an abandoned house? You know the brass tap was once a shiny little thing. The housewife always polished it, but the children always blackened it with dirt.”

Brass tap

“One day the old house had to be demolished. The brass tap ended up in a junkyard. However, a kid picked it up and polished it. His father fitted the shining brass tap in the bathroom. The kid who brought it home was thrilled.”

One day our English teacher brought some line drawings to the class and distributed them to the students. We were wondering what to do with the line drawings. “Children, now you have to make up a story to fit into the line drawing you have got.” Some children kept on staring at the line drawings while a few students kept on writing stories. It was a novel experience in story-telling. Those who wrote stories became good story tellers in later life.

Children are the most ephemeral of creatures who will be thrilled to hear a well-knit story. They may forget the news on television but will remember the stories they have heard. There were many folk tales about Andare, the court jester and Mahadenamutta. Today there is hardly anyone to tell those stories to children because television and computers have robbed the children’s curiosity to listen to stories. On the other hand, even their parents and grandparents have become victims of modern way of living. The younger generation is more interested in looking at moving figures on the television screen than listening to stories.

In the so-called Digital Age it looks like adults have no time or inclination to tell stories and children have been weaned from the habit of listening to age-old tales.

By R.S. Karunaratne
karunaratners@gmail.com