Short Story "In the Blue Sky"

In the blue sky

Written by M.M. Nirmal Chathuranga, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Neela ahase dilena pura handa (the shining full moon in the blue sky)

ketharam nimalada mihire… (How pure  is it my love….)

Nonimi sithija ime gilena dinakara (the sinking sun in the horizon)

ketharam soduruda mihire… (How beauteous is it my love…)

E sandath nubai – irath nubai… (You are the moon- You are that sun…)

mage lowe aaloke obamai mihire… (You are the light of my world my love…)

The young woman finished the song with a salute towards the audience by waving her hands. The board of judges stood and clapped. They expressed that her singing ability was fabulous. The huge auditorium was crowded with the audience who cheered her by clapping, whistling and whooping. The young woman is standing with hopeful eyes on the colorful stage which has been decorated with the glittering and moving colorful lights and the digital screens created beautiful animations and motion pictures on the stage. The stage looked like a pageant hall. The young woman had a slim and well-shaped body and a pleasant appearance.  Her sleeveless blue frock was lengthy until two or three inches upper to the knees. The curled shorty hair was freely hanging around her head and she coyly set her curl aside from her fingers which was falling on the face. The makeup artist had taken a useless effort to cover the pimple marks of her face with a thick makeup layer. It made her face look little bit matured than her age. She expressed a mixed expression from her face with full of happiness, confusion, curiousness and hope. The compere appeared on the stage by screaming to the microphone amidst the huge whoop of the audience.

“This is the first contestant of the final round of Star Singers reality competition. Nimsara Hasarangi… I know your heart is beating fast. Your curiosity is burgeoning second by second. Let’s ask the comments from the honorable board of judges. First I would like get the comment from the popular singer Miss Sherina Baptists”.   

“Huh… popular? How she becomes popular? I have never heard her name before she came to judge this singing competition. What an odd name she has… hih… (Gibing). Bastis…  I cannot pronounce it actually”.

Yasawati quipped in a groused tone. She was leaning to the door frame from her right shoulder which was between the sitting room and the dining room and watching the program through the television. Jayantimala did not react for what Yasawati said. She was sitting on her armchair comfortably and did not take her sight aside from the reality television program telecasted in the old, color television which was on the timber table in the sitting room. She was sitting directly in front of the television. However Yasawati’s words sprouted a small sigh in Jayantimala’s heart.

“Amazing…Wonderful… Nimsara, you sang that song fabulously. As I know, this song is very popular in Sri Lanka. You sang as greater as the original singer. You are brilliant and I wish you all the best to have the victory of the competition today”.

Sherina Baptist, a member of the judges’ board glorified the singing ability of the competitor.

“New style? Damn… what a shameless style is it? This damsel screamed just like a cow. She made madam’s romantic song into a threnody. This flirt-girl moved around the stage by dancing and jumping here and there just like a rotating wheel. She hooted twice or thrice while she was singing. That silly woman is saying that the singing is greater as the original singing. What a nonsense it is. Can she ever sing just like my madam? Her voice is just like babel with compared to my madam’s voice”.

Yasawati screamed. She said what she felt and she needed to console Jayantimala’s mind. Again Jayantimala did not reply to Yasawati’s words. She leant on the armchair comfortably and did not take her eyes away from the television. But she felt that her eyes are getting wet. Jayantimala took an effort to stop her eyes being get wet. She closed the eyes and released a long sigh.

Jayantimala was a well-known singer in Sri Lanka in the sixtieth decade. She entered the music field as a young singer of the radio. Her voice, singing style and her songs were very popular among the people and were always appraised by the music experts. She was an essential singer for the background singing in most of the films that were produced in the sixtieth and seventieth decades. In the year of nineteen sixty five, Jayantimala sang this “in the blue sky song” for the first time in a concert in New Sarasavi Arts Gallary in Colombo. Jayantimala was sitting on the carpet strewed on the middle of the stage just like a devotee and sang this song in a concentrated manner. The light blue color Kandyan sari made her more and more pleasant. Her hair had combed back and tied up on the back neck. While she was singing her eyes were half closed and beat time from her hand. The listeners were fallen in captivation by Jayantimala’s charming appearance and fascinating voice. Master Narayan’s Tabla (an Eastern music drum) beat and Master Gomez’s violin music enriched Jayantimala’s song from classical music and made it more delicate. When Jayantimala finished the song the whole auditorium was spilled over from sound of applause. She sang this “in the blue sky” song again at the “Republic Awarding Ceremony” in the year of nineteen sixty five. Then she was awarded the Republic Award for the best female voice of the year from the hands of the Prime Minister. Jayantimala’s photos decorated the cover pages of lots of local newspapers and magazines in that year and her featured articles and interviews were not rare among those. Even after fifty years of time Jayantimala could still remember that history just like as it was yesterday. She stopped recollecting her old memories and leaned towards the glass cupboard kept at a corner of the sitting room. The Republic Award was looking at Jayantimala with a proud glance along with other awards which Jayantimala won in her music career.

“Madam…!”

“Hm…”

“I forgot to say. A brick of the roof has been broken by monkeys and rain water pours in to kitchen just like a Tsunami”.

“Ask Soyza bass to come early in the morning and to do something to fix the roof”.

“Yesterday Soyza bass had blamed us. He had told with Saranapala that he will do nothing for Madam Jayantimala again”.

“Why?”

 “We had not paid him for rebuilding the ruined wall of the store room until last month”.

“Is that so? Then what to do? Let’s bring all the goods and equipment of the kitchen to the dining room. Prepare the store room for cooking”. 

Jayantimala said to Yasawati in a feeble tone.

“That’s all right madam!”

Yasawati is in her middle ages now and had been serving for thirty years as Jayantimala’s helping woman. Even though she has a distant kinship with Jayantimala, she had a very close bond and a great respect towards Jayantimala. Yasawati was a widow and she had no childldren. Jayantimala is still single and Yasawati is the one and only relative of old Jayantimala who is spending the last few years of her life. She looks after Jayantimala just like her own mother.

“Madam… I know you feel so bad.  Aren’t you?”

“Nope… we never take these houses or lands with us after our death Yasa”.

“I told about this singing competition”.

“Why should I feel bad about that Yasa? The money for the reality program is not given from my pocket”. Jayantimala said in a satiric tone.

“I can understand you madam. You can’t hide your thoughts from me. I can say what you are thinking by observing your behavior because I was with you for thirty forty years. I also feel so sorry madam. At least these people could have mentioned your name as the original singer of the song. These people are very shameless and impolite”.

“I don’t feel sad Yasa, other than disgust”.

Now the reality singing program has reached to its last moment. Yasawati came close to Jayantimala and sat on the plastic chair which was near to Jayantimala’s armchair. Jayantimala increased the volume of the television. While the compere growing the curiosity of the final result of the competition among the audience the final two contestants were kept quiet on the stage.

“Will Nimsara Hasarangi win the singing crown of Star Singers reality competition today by receiving the highest amount of short message votes?”

The compere screamed to the audience. The camera gave a close-up of Nimsara’s face. She was bending her eyes down and looking at the compere. Her supporters whooped and waved colorful boards on which her name was printed.

“If not, will Lankesh Bandara win this crown?”

Again the compere screamed. The camera then focused the other contestant. He was standing straight and looking at the audience with curious eyes. His supporters also shouted by saying his name and waved colorful boards. The three members of the judge board were looking at the stage by expecting the final result of the competition as same as other spectators. Both Jayantimala and Yasawati also were impatient to know the result.

“The winner of the Star Singer competition with a five million rupees money award and twenty million valued luxurious house… Nimsara Hasrangi... it’s you…”

The compere finished his serious duty. Winner started crying by covering her face from her hands and sat on the floor. Other contestant was fully disappointed. But he hugged the winner and gave wished the winner with a fake smile. The whooping noise overspread the audience. The board of judges and the relatives of the winner came to the stage and wished her.

Two young women came to the stage by holding up the golden victory cup the height of which was about four feet. While the winner was awarded, a rain of golden color papers was fell on to the stage. Jayantimala was watching the moment of the winner being awarded from a five millions cheque and the key of the luxurious house worth twenty millions. She got a fidgety feeling.

“Madam… Sitting up in mid night is not good for your health. Let’s switch off this and go to the bed”.

Yasawati said. She saw Jayantimala’s faded face with full of regret. Yasawati switched off the television and walked towards the bed room to make the bed ready for Jayantimala.

“Yasa…”

Jayantimala called Yasawati in a feeble voice. Yasawati stopped.

“Yes… madam”.

“I asked Marcus mudalali (the merchant) to give his telephone number to you during his last visit here. Did he?”

“Yes madam, he did”.

“Call him early in the morning and inform that I am okay with that deal”.

Jayantimala said by hiding her sorrow. But her tone perfectly reflected the deep sorrow that she was trying to hide.

“You said that you will never sell it”. Yasawati asked in a confused tone.

“What is the use of keeping that stuff Yasa? Let’s offer it to Marcus Mudalali’s antique goods auction and get some money”.

The Republic Award which was proudly standing in the glass cupboard along with other awards for fifty years had to be get prepared for a transfer to Marcus Mudalali’s auction early in the morning tomorrow.

The End

M. M. Nirmal Chathuranga

Department of Business Administration