Abstract:
On the orders of Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the last king of Kandy
Madduma Bandara, the nine year old Son of Ähalepola, the first Adigar or
Prime Minister to the King of Kandy, was beheaded on 17th March 1814 along
with his siblings. Ten months later, the Kandyan Kingdom came under the
British rule. It is reported that the boy most bravely encountered his
executor, making him a role model for Sinhala children and the youngest
national hero. Narrations of the cruel punishment and the loss of sovereignty
of the island became one of the most popular topics on the Sri Lankan stage.
In 1870 Don Philippu Sinhgo published his “Ahalepola Nadagama” which
was performed in the same year in Colombo. Based in independent historical
sources, John de Silva performed his drama “Sri Wickrama Rajasinha” in
1906 at the tower Hall. Inspired by the most popular play of John de Silva
Charles Dias reworked the plot for a further play a few years later. The
objective of this research is to show how the historical characters were re fashioned to meet the needs of the play write and the audience living under
colonial rule. The research will first view the characterization of the main
figures: Sri Wickrama Rajasingha, the “Vadiga” King of South Indian origin,
Ahalepola Kumarihami as the virtuous Kandyan women, embodying the
chaste qualities of the Sinhala Women, Madduma Bandara, the child hero,
Pilimatalawa Adigar, who betrays the King, and the other Radala Men in the
Kandyan court. The adjectives used to describe the characters change over
the three decades. The research will then work out the motivation for the
author to portray the characters in the particular way. For this the closing
passages of each play is worth comparing asking the question, who is to be
blamed for the loss of sovereignty of the island.
