Karunasena Jayalath (10 January 1928 – 25 August 1994) was a Sri Lankan newspaper editor and novelist who is known for his works in Sinhala literature. He joined a school in his village Kumbuke in 1933 and in 1944 he joined Taxila Central College, Horana where he completed both his primary and secondary education. He joined the Lankadeepa newspaper agency as an editor and he was promoted as a deputy editor of the newspaper in 1961.
He also started writing novels after dropping out of newspaper industry and became popular with his first novel Golu Hadawatha which is about a romantic love story between two school going students in a mixed school. The novel received critical reception and also won the State Literary Award for the best novel category. His novel Golu Hadawatha was also adopted as a film by veteran filmmaker Lester James Peiris in 1968 with the same title and the film was opened to positive reviews from critics and became a landmark film in Sri Lankan cinema. His other notable works include Muwa Dadayama, Bamba Ketu Heti, Gehenu Lamai, Lassana Ess and Ridee Nimnaya.
Ok so I finally read this. I've seen the movie by Sumithra Peiris had mix feelings about it. I didn't even bother myself with the soap-like TV series. Book however is different, actually better than I expected, still there are pluses and minuses.
Pluses:
The book truly portrays our traditional rural society once upon a time. Kusum, the protagonist is a smart, strong, caring (may be she's a little too good) girl, an inspiring character to most of the school girls who doesn't know what hardship is. "ගැහැනු ළමයි" means "girls" and the characters who moves the plot are all women with all sorts of personalities and in all ages. Men do not have a central role so the focus is well-captured.
Minuses:
Wasn't so crazy about the language. Kusum is a good girl but she is sometimes too passive, too self-sacrificial, I sometimes wondered the purpose of her suffering. She gives up the love affair with Nimal at the request of the mother of the boy, rather than breaking the traditional bonds. Karunasea Jayalath doesn't have a single clue about how friendship among girls work. Feminists will not like Kusum although she's a good girl.
Gehanu Lamai is one of those books that stays with you. It looks simple on the surface, but it hits deep because everything feels real. The emotions don’t feel dramatic for the sake of drama. It’s the quiet kind of pain and pressure that builds up, the kind that comes from family expectations, society watching, and how limited a girl’s choices can become.
What I love about it is how honest it is. It doesn’t romanticize anything. It shows how love, innocence, and hope can exist in a world that still feels unfair, especially to women. I remember feeling so many things at once while reading it, sadness, anger, and this heavy feeling like “this is exactly how it is.”