Makara (short story)

In 1975, this short story won the first prize of island-wide Novice Short Story Writing Competition conducted by Sri Lanka Board of Cultural Affairs under the Department of Cultural Affairs in the Government of Sri Lanka.

[1] It was published in 1975 special edition of “Art News” (Sinhala: කලා පුවත්)[2] issued in line with 1975 Annual Literature Ceremony held in Galle[3] and the winners were awarded by then President of Republic of Sri Lanka, Late Hon.

[4] The story has been written few years after Sri Lankan young revolutionaries’ 1971 Uprising, a failed attempt to topple then regime.

The farmer depends on a wealthy land owner's paddy fields he cultivates.

In common, it is believed that the dragon can swallow anyone or anything so the “Makara” symbolically portrays the rich in this story.