Denzil's Stories

Teeners — Gratitude Tell us a bit about yourself back in the day when you took these photos. I am Denzil Bernard Jayasinghe. I have four children. At the time I took these photos, I was approaching fifty. Back then, three of my children were teenagers, and the eldest had left home already for University in Bathurst. I had two teenagers at home; the youngest was about eleven. I am a creative artist by nature and was keen to develop my storytelling skills through photographs. Why not start with your own family? How did you find yourself taking these photographs? My father was a loving man, the best role model one could ever have. I followed him everywhere when I was young. It brought a lot of self-confidence unknown to me growing up. As a late teenager striving for adulthood, I became unnecessarily conscious of my father’s shadow. I wanted to show my independence. If my father put his hand around my shoulder in a loving gesture, I quickly got out of his grip. I now know he was showing hi...

Arya Sinhala This story is about the significance of this costume in my family and its cultural relevance. My father wore shirts and pants as any English-educated Sri Lankan male did back in the day. Everybody gave their children English names. I am named Denzil Bernard. A few years after I was born, in the 1950s, Sri Lanka was trying to assert its ethnic identity, a decade after it gained independence from Great Britain. A new prime minister, espousing an ethnocentric identity, came into power. Emulating Indian leaders’ post-independence direction, he gave up his Western attire, despite his Oxford education and wore the national dress, Arya Sinhala.  Arya  is an ethnic and cultural designation to which the Sinhala race makes claims. The cultural transformation started in my family. My sister, born four years after me, was named Rekha Flora. She had an ethnic name and a Western name. Occasionally my father donned the national dress. My father’s elder brother ultimately gave up...

Mirrors of Buddhism S ome ten years ago, I took a short sabbatical to Sri Lanka. I was born to a Catholic family, raised in Colombo and studied in private Christian institutions. After I turned fifty, I realised that I am not exactly a typical ex-pat Lankan living in Australia, having lived my entire adult life outside Sri Lanka. I have become a mixed bag, a product of diverse cultures with many influences. Many elements of indigenous Lankan culture were foreign to me , which drove a bit of curiosity. I wanted to figure out my ethnic origins. Second, I wanted to explore and immerse myself in Sri Lanka’s ancient culture, which is primarily Buddhist. Many of my work colleagues have commented that I have an inherent serenity and am not easily fazed. I felt that many Lankan people exhibited a great dose of calmness. I wanted to explore that part of my make-up. Third, I tried to figure out my spiritual and land connections. Hence the desire for a trip to explore my origins and cultures infl...