Simon Navagattegama
Simon Navagattegama was a Sinhala novelist, Sinhala Radio Play writer, playwright and actor.
He is well known for his novel "Sansararanye Dhadayakkaraya" for its magical realism which is influenced by Buddhist mythologies, Mahayana Buddhist concepts and Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis.
Literary style
K. K. Saman Kumara, a literary critic and writer in Sri Lanka, calls Simon as the predecessor of magical realism in Sri Lanka and calls his literary style as a Buddhist Borgesian one. Saman Kumara terms the Simon’s Literature as the ‘Buddhist Wisdom Literature’, taking it as a separate genre, which is unique to Sri Lanka. He compares Simon’s Literary endeavor to the philosophical attempts of Erick Fromm, who tried to merge Buddhism, Marxism, and Freudian psychoanalysis. Malinda Seneviratne, who translated the Simon’s novel Sansararanyaye Dadayakkaraya into English, says that it "was an important literary landmark and Simon is one of the best writers in Sinhala in the second half of the last century." Deepthi Kumara Gunarathna, has identified ‘Hunter in the wilderness of the Sansara’ as a novel which shows a postmodernism unique to Sri Lanka.K. K. Saman Kumara recognizes Simon Navagaththegama as one of authors, which he calls as the ‘Modernist Trinity’ in Sinhala Literature, Tennyson Perera and Ajith Thilakasena among others.
Works
Books
- Ohuge Kathawa
- Saagara Jalaya Madi Handuwa Obasanda
- Saahithyaya, Samajawadaya saha kala vicharaya
- Suddhilage Kathawa
- Sansaranyaye Dadayakkaraya
- Sansaranyaye Urumakkaraya
- Sansaranyaya Asabada
- Dadayakkarayage Kathawa
- Saankawa
- Sapeshani
- Ksheera Sagaraya Kalabina
- Himalaya tharanaya kala Arjuna kumarayage Kathava
- Wanaraya
- Acharya Bryan De Cretser, Ohy saha ohuge adahas
- Kalawa, Samajawadaya saha Kala Vicharaya
- Bawanawa
Film scripts
- Suddilage Kathaawa
- Siri Medura
- Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Obasanda
- Seilama
- Shieera Sagaraya Kelabina
Radio play
- Wanaraya
Stage drama
- ගංඟාවක්,සපත්තුකබලක් සහ මරණයක්1970
- Puslodan 1973
- Suba saha Yasa 1974
- Sthrii
- Sudu saha Kalu
- Pandukhabaya
- gagana sarana kurullane 1971