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Striding a different world

Rasheed Bhagat

You can't get a political lineage more impressive. Both her parents -- father S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and mother Srimavo Bandaranaike were former Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka. Her sister Chandrika Kumaratunga is the present President of the island nation a nd her brother Anura Bandaranaike, the Speaker in Parliament. And yet Sunethra Bandaranaike, the elder sister of Chandrika, was never tempted to take a plunge into the troubled waters of politics.

One who had always ``felt a pull towards the world of arts'', she has devoted her life to the performing arts and disabled people. That she is referred to as the `Pupul Jaykar of Sri Lanka' adequately sums up her commitment to the world of arts.

The one thing which strikes you about Sunethra is that she speaks her mind and you sense her anguish when she lashes out at the materialism and apathy which has gripped the present generation in this strife-torn nation.

``In the last 15 years of ethnic war, we have stopped being conscious of our society or the environment. We have become a law unto ourselves and resort to violence as the first and not last resort. Violence has led to a hardening of people's minds and we are developing a generation of callous people who care only about themselves. It's frightening, but as a society we have broken down in a very short period. In our population of 18.5 million people about 1.2 million are disabled. They are marginalised n ot only by society, but even their own families,'' she says.

Sunethra grew up in Colombo, beginning schooling at the convent school her mother had attended. In 1964 she left for Oxford to do a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. ``In 1967 I returned. I was not terribly academically inclined and my siste r was going to France for her studies, so my mother wanted me back.''

She worked for a while in Sri Lanka before returning to England in 1969 where she worked for three years -- first with the Overseas Development Institute and then for the Minority Rights Group. It was at this time that she fell in love with a Sri Lankan, married him and returned home to work as a co-ordinating secretary for her mother, who was then the Prime Minister.

``She said you can't get a salary; it would be shameful to pay my own daughter.'' But with somebody intervening on her behalf to say that an Oxford graduate can't be hired for nothing, her mother agreed to a ``three-digit salary.''

Meanwhile she and her husband also started a Sinhala newspaper -- Janavegaya. ``Then came the setback of 1977, when from a two-third majority, the ruling party was reduced to 73 seats. So I gave up working within the party, dissolved the newspaper, my ma rriage broke up, my mother lost her civic rights and generally all of us went through a very bad time.''

One more love marriage and yet another divorce followed. On why both her marriages broke up, Sunethra says, ``It was difficult being married to one of the Bandaranaike daughters. People would come and bow and cringe before you and men find it very diffi cult to take it. So they start pinching you and hurting you to teach you a lesson. Fortunately, there were no children so we were able to separate and today I am a great friend of both my ex-husbands.''

Over the years her mother's health deteriorated and when the party returned to power in 1994, Chandrika became the President.

On why she did not feel drawn to politics, considering her background, Sunethra says candidly, ``Because I began to see the corruption ... the decline of good politicians and statesmen who were committed to doing something for their country and were prep ared to sacrifice their lives. That era was disappearing and under J. Jayawardane and Premadasa it became a free of all ... corruption was rampant and nobody cared for the country. This

was not the scene I wanted.

``Politicians are so crooked. They get up on the stage and say such lies. And then they get off the stage and say: What to do machan we have to say such things.'' This not being her scene, she was drawn towards theatre and set up her first trust in 1995 -- the Sunethra Bandaranaike Trust for the performing arts.

Next came the Sunera Foundation for the disabled. ``No, the word has nothing to do with my name. Sunera comes from Indian mythology and is the name of a huge mountain which is solid, durable, lasting, reliable and supportive ... a kind of friend that th e disabled people need today.''

The most interesting thing about her organisation is that even as it seeks to care for the marginalised people in society, ``we are not only interested in their physical well being. If you look beyond their bodies and into their minds and ask what is the quality of life they lead, the answer is: ZERO. So we are also concerned about developing them into human beings with a degree of self-esteem and self confidence which will allow them to integrate into the society peopled by the so called normal people, and play whatever role they are capable of playing.''

But for that somebody has to discover and develop the capabilities of the disabled. ``And then get them to stand on their own feet by giving them a helping hand and not by showing them pity or sympathy. Sympathy is nowhere on our agenda. The moment you s tart sympathising you yourself accept that the other

person has a disability. What we say is that you have one type of ability and I have another. So why not pool our resources and work together.''

Creativity is the engine which fires her foundation's work with the disabled. ``We try to engage people in creative activity ... performing arts, dance, drama, music, singing and painting. Our endeavour is to make whatever they do pleasurable and enjoyab le. We say: Enjoy yourself. You don't have to

sit here and stitch a button. That's so boring. But do come and sing with us, dance with us, start creating things with paper, coloured cloth, and such stuff,'' says an animated Sunethra.

Then there are stage productions, cultural events and related happenings. ``In short, we try all the time to give them a whale of a time.'' Funded partly by the Government and partly the business community, the organisation has recently received a fundin g of (Sri Lankan) Rs 6 million from the British Government to do a two-year training programme for trainers.

Next on her agenda is to get the Foundation its permanent home on a piece of land in the suburbs of Colombo. ``I want to build a small and simple structure ... none of your bricks and mortar mega structure. But something which is friendly to the disabled with ramps and open spaces, with water and trees.''

The obvious question to ask her is if sister Chandrika ever seeks her advice. ``Not in the least. Not at all. Don't forget I am older to her by two years and she is the middle child, caught between the much coveted son and heir and the elder sister. If I were to advise her she might turn round and say: Oh God, you've been bossing me all my life and now you want to boss me again. Now had I been involved with her in politics then it would have been different. Now she might feel I am not really qualified t o advise her.''

But she does have her own solution to offer on the long-raging conflict. ``We have to sit down and talk to the LTTE; and more so now than ever because the world has recognised it as a violent group and with more and more countries slamming a ban on it, i t has become that much weaker. It is time to be

magnanimous, reach out and bring them to the negotiating table.''

Sunethra enjoys Indian classical music and loves reading some of the new Indian writers. But surprisingly, in a country which loves to party, she doesn't ``like parties because it's a frenzied set of activities that I see around me.''

As for her dream for the future, she would ``like to see a society that has the right values. Sri Lanka was known to be a paradise. It has always been called so. Why? Because Nature has bestowed its bounty on us in a very big way. We are blessed. But we have to learn to care and share ... to care for the old, the disabled and those who are poorer than us. We should learn not to

show off our wealth. That is the Sri Lanka I would like to see in the future.''

Picture: Sunethra Bandaranaike.