The Magic Silver Tree – where dreams are made possible

SYBIL Wettasinghe’s identity in the Lankan cultural firmament is a cosmos of its own; a space that could never warrant substitutes.

- RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

Sybil herself was a chronicle of history, her life intersecting with almost a century of changing sociopolitical and cultural milieu of the nation. Challenging the West-aping, servile mentality, the writer who defined the shape and form of Sri Lankan children’s literature for nearly 70 years, was bold enough to question, “why glorify apple trees and snow-capped mountains when we are part of a rich heritage.”

In all her scores of much loved books including; Hoity the Fox, Weniyan kalu weniyan, Sooththara Puncha, Runaway Beard, PoddaiPoddi and Meti gedara lamai, the authentic Sri Lankan flavour had been her credo. In a digital era where aththamma’s kitchen is only an image from the past, ‘googled’ and found, her documentation of an era gone by is priceless. Moreover her work impels a generation living in a cultural vacuum, to revisit a value system fast eroding.

The iconic children’s story teller and illustrator whose work girdled the globe even before the internet age, was a prophetess in her own right as her name would translate in Greek mythology. At 92 when she breathed her last five years ago, with her silvery locks and the twinkle in the eye, she would put Goldilocks to shame. A child at heart, ‘Sybil nenda’ as she was lovingly called by several generations, was indeed a ‘Wonder Crystal.’

INSPIRED BY FOLKLORE

Sybil nenda would have turned 97 yesterday (31 October). Her presence can be felt by all those who loved her through the first colour edition of ‘The Magic Silver Tree’ posthumously published locally by Adith Publishers, owned and managed by her youngest son Vinod Wettasinghe and his family.