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Quote by Martin Wickramasinghe

“Why was Malin deliberately trying to hurt the feelings of his parents? Aravinda could not find an answer. Hurting his own parents' feelings was something alien to Aravinda. He lived among rural folk who encouraged children not to flout the wishes of parents and elders.”

Quote by Martin Wickramasinghe

Book:Yuganthaya
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Yuganthaya

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Martin Wickramasinghe

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“Her heart filled with boundless love that surged anew for her father. She felt like rushing to him and planting a quick kiss on his cheek the way she used to when she was a small girl. However, these villagers are not in the habit of kissing their offspring after they grow up. They show their love and affection by stroking their heads, addressing them in endearing words and blessing them.”

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Book:The Master's Daughter
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“Malin listened to Wickramanayake's gossip dispassionately. He did not accept Wickramanayake's opinion that it was the influence of Western customs and attitudes that prompted Savulugala, in his straitened economic circumstances, to allow his wife to befriend and exploit wealthy men. There were poor people in both town and village who exploited even their daughters to get money. Did these poor parents degrade themselves because they were enslaved by Western culture? It was the prevailing economic and social order that brought them to this.”

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Book:Yuganthaya
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“Chamari: "Aravinda, have you been to Kataragama?" Aravinda: "No, I've never been there." Chamari: "What? That's unbelievable for someone born in Deniyaya!" Aravinda: "Going to Kataragama is not a custom of the rural folk. It is the middle class and wealthy urban people, not the villagers, who venerate the Kataragama god. He is the god of the urbanities. The villagers have now started to imitate the urban people." Chamari:"I thought even villagers used to go to Kataragama long ago." Aravinda: "No, It came from the rich urban Sinhalese of the towns who followed the rich Hindus.”

CultureVillageUrbanSinhaleseSrilankaUprootedKataragama
Book:Yuganthaya
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“Families could often trace their lineage back several centuries. Their livelihood was earned from drum playing, a service considered to be dis-respectable. As members of a low caste, the drummers were forbidden to build decent houses. There were allowed to build wattle and daub huts, and to live rent-free on their patrons' properties. The right to own the country's land was restricted in this manner, a vicious condition that arose through tradition and was reinforced by law. Patterns of financial power and political hierarchy existed hand in hand.”

CultureCasteSinhaleseSrilankaDrummersCinnamon Gardens
Book:The Master’s Daughter
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