Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Genre: Memoir, Biography, Sri Lankan Literature, Childhood Studies

Book Review:
Dr. Philip G. Veerasingam's ''Tales of an Enchanted Boyhood'' completes a remarkable trilogy of memoirs that together offer an unparalleled portrait of life in twentieth-century Sri Lanka through the eyes of one of its distinguished sons. Following ''Remembered Vignettes'' (medical student days) and ''Cry of the Devil Bird'' (surgical career), this volume returns to the beginning—the enchanted years of childhood from 1940 to 1960.

The book opens with a passage of extraordinary beauty, describing the Alupola waterfall that was ''the centre of my childhood existence.'' Veerasingam writes: ''Its subdued roar and 'white-water' gave one a sense of peace and tranquillity. Bright sunny days would light up the entire valley. The cry of the Brahminy kite wheeling in ecstasy high up in the blue sky would enchant us.'' This prose announces a writer who is not merely recording memories but crafting literature.

What makes this memoir special is its ability to capture both the external world of mid-century Ceylon and the internal world of a child's imagination. The local tea estate workers' legend of the seven mythical ''Karthigai virgins'' who bathe in the waterfall on misty moonlit nights becomes a recurring motif—a symbol of enchantment that the child seeks but never fully grasps. The author's reflection—''Maybe it was my luck not to see them''—suggests a mature understanding that some mysteries are meant to remain mysterious.

The geographical span indicated in the subtitle—''Alupola to Jaffna''—hints at journeys that take the young Veerasingam across the island, exposing him to the diversity of cultures, landscapes, and communities that would later inform his medical practice and his humanity. Each location becomes a chapter in formation of character.

For readers who have followed Veerasingam's earlier memoirs, this volume provides the foundation for the man who would become a distinguished surgeon and compassionate memoirist. For new readers, it stands alone as a beautifully rendered portrait of childhood in a particular time and place—a time when, despite the challenges of the era, a boy could experience the world as enchanted.

Dr. Veerasingam, now in his later years, has given us a gift: proof that the enchantment of childhood, once truly experienced, never entirely fades, and that the best memoirs are those that help us recover our own capacity for wonder.