Hello, This is a good news to all book lovers.  Recently, I have translated a Tamil Book ( KO. NADESAYAR) a leading Trade Unionist  who fought for the rights of the plantation community in 18 hundreds  in to Sinhala and it is now ready for circulation..  The value of the book is Rs.200/-.  If anyone interested, please forward your mail address so that I can send the book by VP Post.
Duraisamy 

Apart from the information I have given in my blog, I would like to add that I do Sinhala/Tamil interpretations. I worked with International Center for Ethnic Studies and World Vision specially in North East area in Sri Lanka. Who ever needs my assistance in connection with the above, please feel free to contact. My address is 42A, Tekkewatta, Kundasale. My mobile number is 0094 72 529 3884.

SHORT STORY

THE KING AND THE CLERK

It was a king’s birthday. The celebrations throughout the town were held on a large scale. The king’s palace was illuminated with thousands of lights and flags on buildings decorated the streets, placards wishing long life to the king were displayed on every public place. The whole town bore a gay festive appearance. At the end of the day, while hundreds of people went round the town to see the decorations of the public buildings and praised the arrangements made at the Palace, there was one man who felt unhappy.

On the auspicious occasion of the birthday, the king had invited all his officers and other men of public life at a grand dinner. Even the smallest member of the staff was included. The king himself took special care to see that his personal staff was seated in a row just opposite his.

Of course the dinner was in Lankan style and men had squatted on the ground with silver plates and bowl for their meal. The dishes prepared were about sixty in number , consisting of various kinds of sweets, puddings, vegetables, rice snacks and a variety of other things. The food was rich, cooked with many spices.

Everyone seems to be enjoying the meal, but a small clerk in the personal staff of the king did not relish the food apparently. Every time he took a morsel, he drew a long face as he gulped it down the throat, showing that he was not relishing the food. The king was marking this and when the party broke up, he asked the man who was seated next to the clerk if he made any remarks while eating. The man at first was not communicative, but when pressed to tell what is neighbor clerk had remarked, he told the king that he heard him saying that he had missed his good meal at home.

The king’s fury knew no bounds at this. He wondered what the poor clerk, drawing a paltry some of money per month as his wages, would be eating at home. He had ordered sumptuous dishes to be prepared with all kinds of rich and tasty material and care was taken to see that the food was pure and wholesome. He had employed the best cooks available in the village. The cooking was specially supervised by the Queen and yet this clerk was not satisfied with the food. He must, therefore find out what kind of food this wretched clerk would be having at home.

The shrewd king, however, did not make his feelings known to anybody. He kept quite for a few days as if nothing had happened. After a fortnight, when everybody had forgotten the birthday celebrations and the grand feast, one fine morning the king drove straight to the clerk’s house.

It was a tiny tenement with one room with a small kitchen and a small verandah in front. There was only one entrance to the house; any body entering the house or going out of it had to pass through the verandah. The verandah has no furniture. But it was still a neat and clean house.

There were three pictures hanging on the wall, one was of the king and the other two were of his parents. In one corner of the verandah there was a small stand on which was the brass idol of Lord Buddha and in front of the idol a lamp was burning and on two sides of the lamp were incense sticks burning, giving out beautiful scented odour .

The clerk was seated in front of the idol reciting prayers with great devotion. As soon as the king entered the house the poor clerk was taken a back at the sudden arrival of the ruler in the country. It was unimaginable for the poor clerk to expect the king at his humble house. He stood up and respectfully welcomed him and requested him to take seat on a mattress. No sooner the king saw this neat, tidy and well arranged house, he could guess in his mind the reason why the clerk was dissatisfied that day with the food. Even then he wanted to find out what kind of food the clerk was taking at his house.

The clerk thanked the king for having condescended to come to this small house and enquired of him, whether he would be pleased to have a cup of milk or some other drink. The king however, replied that he would not like to have any drinks, but would like to share his meal with him on condition that no special preparations would be made

The clerk was shocked at this sudden wish of the king which he never expected. But the king wanted to share the meal with him and he dared not to say no to him. He was very much perturbed as to what meal he could offer to the king, when he made a condition that no special dishes were to be prepared for him.

The clerk could not go to the nearby shops leaving the king alone in the house. His wife too could not leave the house, as she would have to pass through the verandah and the king would notice her bring cooking items from outside. The poor clerk slowly approached the wife and told in a voice with emotion, the desire of the king.

The clerk’s wife was very intelligent housewife, who managed the household efficiently and economically. She replied to her husband that there was no need to worry. She would prepare nice and tasty dishes for the king from the material she had with her in the house. She prepared many items using the available material. The number of these preparations came to round about twenty.

The clerk was very happy to and the resourcefulness of his wife and went back to the king and requested him to wait for an hour before the meals were ready. The king raised no objection and waited patiently. Exactly after an hour, the wife of the clerk gave a small knock at the door to indicate that the food was ready.

Two clean wooden boards placed, one for keeping the plate and the other for the king to sit upon. The clerk squatted on the floor which was well decorated by beautiful colourful designs. The meal was served in bright shining brass plates and bowls. The water jug and cups were shining copper. Everything was neat and tidy and the atmosphere was pure and gay. The king was simply struck with this beautiful, pleasant and quiet atmosphere of the house. He was throughout looking at the dishes and plates in front of him with about twenty different varieties prepared. He wondered how the lady could prepare so many items in a short time.

But the king began to eat the food which was so tasty, he could not imagine how such a tasty food could be prepared in a short time. To his great surprise he found a bowl filled with warm water was kept along with the water kept on the board. He scratched his head to find out why warm water kept along with the meal. Having tried to find out the reason, he asked the clerk the reason for keeping a bowl of warm water. The clerk replied that it was kept to clean the fingers every time after a morsel of one preparation was taken and before the other preparation was to be eaten. He explained that if, with the same unwashed fingers, one takes all varieties of food, it does not give the natural taste of each of the varieties. The clerk took his food every time putting his fingers in the bowl and cleaning them with a napkin, the king followed what the clerk did.

The food was so tasty and delicious that the king fully relished it. After the meal was over the king asked the clerk from what materials the se preparations were made. The clerk with folded hands, asked the king if he was dissatisfied with the food. He apologized for giving such poor meal. But the king replied to say that that it was just the contrary. He had relished the food so much that he would like to have it once again, but he wanted to now of what these preparations were made.

The clerk politely replied that all of them were made either from corn flour or pumpkin or a mixture of the two. There was neither saffron, almond, cardamom or other rich materials with him. The king did not believe that such good preparations could be made from corn flour and pumpkin. But to his surprise it was actually so. He was so pleased that he told the clerk the reason why he had come to his house without notice. He also told him on the day of the grand feast on his birthday, he had learnt that the clerk was not happy with the meal served to him at the palace . He therefore wanted to find out what kind of food he was taking at home. He admitted that the food at the grand feast, though rich was not as tasty as he took at the clerk’s house. As a mark of his pleasure and satisfaction, he gave a present of a pearl necklace to the clerk’s wife. The couple was mightly pleased and blessed the king.

M. DURAISAMY

Language Coordinator

All Island JP

No.42A, Tekkewatta,

Kundasale

06^th February 2012