Nudutu than (Unseen places) / නුදුටු තැන් - R. Pallewela : Exposing a hidden thought collection from the 1950's

 

"Sithuwili Wanshaya" ( සිතුවිලි වංශය ) or "thought collection", is a word to which I was exposed through Jackson Anthony's novel titled 'Kanda Uda Gindara / කන්ද උඩ ගින්දර / Fire in the mountain top.

Nudutu than (Unseen places) / නුදුටු තැන් can be considered as a book that has gathered a thought collection of a writer in a post-independent nationalistic Sri Lanka.

This book is out of print in the present and can be considered as a revelation of a thought collection of the 1950s in front of me.

When I searched about the book in "Google" and the author, an article from the 'Sarasaviya / සරසවිය / University of Cinema' was revealed with a description of the popularity of the book in those days. (1950's)

The introduction of this book was written by R.Pallewela and the preface was written by Sri Chandrarathna Manawasinghe.

The book has mainly four parts.

(01) සමාජය / Society

(02) වැඩ කිරීම / Work

(03) විවාහය / Marriage

(04) විවේකය / Leisure

Though the book is not very successful vivid aspects of society are exposed by the author about Sri Lanka during the period the book was written. (1950's) The book reveals the thought process of the 1950s and also the psyche of a rationalist rather than the common people.

This book is written by combining the thoughts of the author on the above four topics.

The book cost only LKR 2.50/= back then which is surprisingly low and reflects the rate of inflation in Sri Lanka.