- Author of ‘Chandrika’ Tharindu Thotawatte on getting to know CBK
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s (CBK’s) biography Chandrika was launched at the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo recently. Following the launch of the book, there has been a lot of talk about Kumaratunga and the book has been widely mentioned on social media platforms, particularly on Facebook. Tharindu Thotawatte, the author of Chandrika shared his ideas about the book with Brunch.
Why did you decide to write ‘Chandrika’?
I have loved her personality since I was a child. That is why I was studying her for a long time. Then I thought of writing her biography. When a book was written that insulted her some time ago, my desire to write her biography increased. About five years ago, I got to know her through late Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero. Then I asked her from time to time to allow me to write her biography. That is how I got that opportunity.
What qualifies you to write about a character like this?
Why do I disqualify? If we have the ability to write, if we can study with honest dedication, if we can adapt the facts and write those facts, what more is needed? This book is the result of four years of painstaking study. I have devoted a great deal of time to this. Discussed with many people. I had many discussions with Kumaratunga and the content of this book is the harvest of such.
What do you think about ‘Chandrika’, the subject of this book?
What challenges did you face in writing this book?
Writing Chandrika itself was a challenge for me. That is because I am writing about someone who is alive. She was also a former Head of State and is still a significant citizen. Since this is an important chapter in history, I had to be careful about everything in my writing style, facts, events, etc. Also, I had to write only the facts that have been proven to be accurate. It took a lot of time to do the research. Also, some of the points in this book may be controversial, so I did such with special care.
Following are some excerpts of a chat the author had with CBK on the book, which the author shared with us:
How do you feel about this book about your life story?
The Mahavamsa is the oldest book written about an era, especially about governance, in our country. So this book will be such a source about me as well as my 11-year long governance, in the future. As we, today, have many sources to learn our history, we must record the present history so that the people can know it in the future.
Some of the points mentioned in this book are not mentioned anywhere before. What is the reason for that?
There are several reasons. Some of the facts mentioned here may be the ones only I knew. Some other facts may be known only to a few. In addition, some of them may have been suppressed by various parties. However, I am glad that the readers of this book are now able to know facts which have not been exposed for such various reasons.
This book is mentioned on some social media sites as a sign of your political comeback. What do you think about that?
It’s a very narrow idea. Only when we have a break can we devote time to do something like this. I retired at a very young age compared to other Heads of State. So I had a lot more to do even after retirement. Also, a lot of people asked me if they could write my biography, but I didn’t want it to be written. Then, for about four years Tharindu repeatedly asked me if he could write my life story. I was very old at the time. So I finally gave him permission to write this because I want my life story to go down in history before I forget certain things with my age.