Martin Wickramasinghe's contribution to the development of the modern Sinhala novel - By R.M.W.Devindi Rathnayake

Written By: R.M.W.Devindi Rathnayake

Category: Essay

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In an insightful essay by R.M.W.Devindi Rathnayake, we delve into "Martin Wickramasinghe's contribution to the development of the modern Sinhala novel." As part of Hashtag Kalakar's Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, this essay offers a profound exploration of Wickramasinghe's pivotal role in shaping Sinhala literature. Rathnayake eloquently discusses the thematic and stylistic elements that marked Wickramasinghe’s work, highlighting the enduring impact of his novels on the literary landscape of Sri Lanka.

About the Work

R.M.W.Devindi Rathnayake's essay provides a thorough examination of Martin Wickramasinghe's literary legacy. With a focus on the thematic depth and cultural resonance of his novels, the piece explores how Wickramasinghe's works, characterized by their simplicity and rootedness in real-life experiences, have contributed significantly to the evolution of the Sinhala novel. Rathnayake captures the essence of Wickramasinghe's storytelling, emphasizing the author's skillful blend of humor, satire, and social commentary.

Martin Wickramasinghe's contribution to the development of the modern Sinhala novel

Original Submission by R.M.W.Devindi Rathnayake

“අවක්තාපී ස්වයං ලෝකඃ

කාමං කාව්‍ය පරීක්ෂකඃ

රසපාකානභිඥොපි භොක්තා වෙත්ති න කිං රසම්.”

The scope and limits of criticism are well expressed in the verse given above. Works of prose and poetry that are capable of creating pleasant feelings in the mind are considered literary works. A critique should contain the feelings and meanings that arise or are evoked by enjoying those works.

Few people can cook food, but everyone eats it. They enjoy the taste of food, they know it. Food is cooked for the hungry.

Therefore, there are two categories of people who cook food and those who enjoy it.

If we take the last line from this section, there is a sentence that is similar. Then, “Literary creation and literary criticism are two interconnected elements”.

People who enjoy food say whether the food is delicious or not. But they are not good at cooking it. They do not know how to say that if you take such and such ingredients and prepare this food in such and such a way, it will be delicious.

A similar situation exists in the field of literature.

There too, there are two categories of people who create delicious poetry and those who enjoy it.

People who enjoy it know the difference between taste and dullness, even if they fail in that task in the field of creation.

That is, they can say that a good book is interesting and a bad book is boring.

Because literature is created for their enjoyment.

But they do not know how to advise the writer in this or that way.

From the above paragraph, which is quoted from Mr. Ediriweera Sarachchandra's "Literary Science" and G. B .Senanayake's "Art of the Novel", we can gain some understanding about literature and criticism.

There is not just one literature in the field of literature.

That is, this literature can be divided into many types and parts. Can't this literature that we see be generally classified under prose literature and poetry literature? Short stories and novels can be called under prose literature.

Poetry can also be called poems and short stories.

All the songs that we hear today belong to this poetry literature.

Every novel that we enjoy belongs to this prose literature. So, in addition to these literary elements present in this written literature, the great cinema is also a unique creation that is included among them.

That is, cinema is also an element of literature itself.

When it comes to Sinhala novels, the one who stands at the top of that field is none other than Martin Wickramasinghe, who is known as the "Great Sage of the Hell" or the "Great Sage of Koggala".

Among his works, works such as "Madol Duwa", "Sita", "Gamperaliya" and the three connected novels like “Kali Yuga", "Viragaya" and "Yuganthaya" can all be considered as works that laid the foundation for a major turning point in the field of Sinhala novels.

The contribution of Martin Wickramasinghe’s works to the development of the Sinhala novel can be seen from the translations of the above works into English, French, German, etc. as well as Chinese, Japanese, etc.

Because if a novel does not achieve any progress, it will not move towards complete world literature, that is, the Sinhala literature in Sri Lanka, towards world literature.

His work Madol Duwa is a children's novel. Based on it, we can highly appreciate his creative ability. The subject matter of the work Madol Duwa is, to be precise, information related to the village life of this author. The fearless actions of two Sinhala village children are the subject matter here.

By incorporating these events into his novel Madol Duwa, he must have hoped for nothing else but to bring the rural environment and people's life closer to the modern child through the novel.

He may also have the intention of creating interesting images in the child's mind. And any adult who reads it will be reminded of their own childhood.

The reason for this is the simplicity of language, which is a characteristic of literary creation.

Although simplicity is generally found in poetry, when it comes to the art of novels, simplicity of language is generally very rare. In a way, he has used the rare use of language, an important characteristic of Sinhala literary creation.

In general, one of the strongest reasons for his contribution to the development of the Sinhala novel is that he did not imagine a world he had not seen.

It is very special that the basis of each of his works is the ordinary everyday life environment and ordinary life characteristics.

Among his novels are Madolduwa, Ape Gama, “Rohini” , “Thun Aduna Nawakatha”, “Upan Da Sita” “ Kalunika Sewima”, “Kaluwara Gedara” and “Wahallu”.

You will undoubtedly be able to understand that all these characteristics appear in any of his novels.

He has presented all those novels in a way that evokes the flavors of humor, satire, kindness, heroism, etc.

He bases his novels on subjects that are appropriate for each story, and by adapting the language of the previous villagers to it, he himself creates a rule that is unique to each work.

The novel “Miriguwa” can be described as a novel that exemplifies Martin Wickramasinghe’s use of society in his novels. The novel was based on a woman.

"The End of the Age" can be described as another work that describes the class disparity between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat and the oppression of the proletariat in the face of the bourgeoisie.

The portrayal style of various characters such as Malin and Saviman Kabalana in this book Yuganthaya makes it clear that Martin Wickramasinghe created and wrote a novel based on the experiences of people from different walks of life in his field of novels.

It is undeniable that Martin Wickramasinghe, through these examples, made a strong contribution to the development of the Sinhala novel, or to the authors' ability to choose a variety of topics and subjects for novel writing in the Sinhala novel.

Gamperaliya is a story about a rural environment. This novel was written in 1944 and is the first of three connected novels.

The first of three connected novels is “Gamperaliya”. It depicts the collapse of the traditional village in the face of the pressures of modernity.

“Mohondiran Kaisaruwaththe”a series of events that take place in the village of Kaisaruwatte. He wonderfully portrays the efforts of some cunning rural women to deceive people with stories for their own good fortune through the character of “Kaththirina”.

It is evident from his works that he has created all those characters in his works after a thorough study of social environments based on his extensive experience.

This trilogy of novels presents the growth of an urban class with an urban base and business motivation following the collapse of traditional folk life, the concomitant labor movement, and the beginning and end of socialist philosophy.

He initiated a movement to raise the standard of Sinhala literature. With that aim, he created works such as "Sahityodaya Katha" in 1932, "Vichara Lipiya" in 1941, "Guththila Geethaya" in 1943 and "Sinhala Sahityaye Negeema" in 1945.

Through them, he tried to evaluate the traditional literary heritage using literary standards created by combining it with Indian and Western literary criticism traditions.

Martin Wickramasinghe’s novels have been translated into various languages and are enjoying a very high position in the world of art, both in the past and the present.

No matter how many novels are produced, current authors have made great efforts to further develop their modern novels by taking his existing novel subjects as the basis and following his unique novel rules.

There is no doubt that the novels with catchy titles written by Martin Wickramasinghe over the years have been of great help to the development of the modern Sinhala novel.

The modern Sinhala novel "Sula Kala Kuru Miyuru Thepalen Randana" written by Udeni Tennakoon can also be considered as a pioneering novel that successfully bore fruit as a result of Martin Wickramasinghe Soorin's efforts.

It is no secret that all the authors who emerged after him in the field of modern Sinhala youth novels have followed the path shown by him for the development of that novel.

Also, it is correct to call this novel, which was published in 2018, a very important novel among the novels. Furthermore, the work done by Mr. Martin Wickramasinghe in the field of novels is continuously used by authors who write books in the field of novels, which also makes it clear that his work for the development of Sinhala novels is important.

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, hosted by Hashtag Kalakar, is a prestigious event celebrating diverse voices in the literary world. This competition invites participants to share their unique perspectives through poetry, essays, short stories, and creative writing. It is a platform that fosters creativity and encourages writers to push the boundaries of their craft while connecting with a global audience.

We extend our sincere gratitude to R.M.W.Devindi Rathnayake for their thoughtful exploration of Martin Wickramasinghe's influence on the modern Sinhala novel. This essay, part of the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, serves as a testament to the enduring legacy of Wickramasinghe's work. Thank you, Devindi, for your insightful contribution to the appreciation of Sinhala literature.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.