Denzil's Stories

My Father’s Youthful days — Photo Essay Don Thomas Jayasinghe, when he worked as an office assistant at J M Robertsons in Colombo in 1947. Another photo of Thomas with a friend was taken on the same set; My father wore shorts. At that time, one would only wear long pants if one could speak fluent English. He attended night classes to improve his English and secure a clerical job simultaneously. His unnamed friend wore a sarong, a traditional Sri Lankan male garment. Thomas’s best mate Joseph Perera and K W Perera with Thomas. The three boys attended junior school together, studied for English exams after school and went to work together. — Joseph Perera was a life long friend of Thomas. Joseph was to become Denzil’s godfather, Thomas firstborn. Thomas in the middle of the tree; Taken during a road trip Thomas with his friends during a road trip Also taken during a road trip, K W Perera, Joseph Perera and Thomas (wearing sunnies) seated in front row from left Thomas in shorts on right. ...

Love of Books B ooks transform lives. They enlighten us. I am a lover of books, stories and pictorials. Even newspaper articles, weekend magazines and podcasts. This story is how my love of reading began and continues to thrive. They were a centrepiece in my early childhood, teenage years and beyond. It fuelled my imaginative mind. I am a better person because I read. My  grandmother  was a tantalising storyteller. She lived with us from time immemorial. She latched onto a set of unique stories about animals. About crows, foxes, cows and rabbits. While she fed me, she’d make rice balls and tempt me with her stories. She’d slowly push a rice ball in when she had my attention. Mesmerised by her stories and immersed in my grandmother’s unique linguistic skills, I did not notice that I was being fed. I was treated again to her stories when I slept on her bed. They stoked my childhood imagination till I fell asleep. I dreamt about her stories. My grandfather was a retired school pr...