Makara () is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

written in Sinhala by Sri Lankan writer Anandasiri Kalapugama. In 1975, this short story won the first prize of island-wide Novice Short Story Writing Competition conducted by

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Board of Cultural Affairs under the Department of Cultural Affairs in the Government of Sri Lanka. It was published in 1975 special edition of “Art News” () issued in line with 1975 Annual Literature Ceremony held in

Galle Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gi ...

and the winners were awarded by then President of Republic of Sri Lanka, Late Hon.

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to ...

Background

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

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

has been the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

of the story.

Plot

There are three characters – a farmer, his wife, and son. The farmer depends on a wealthy land owner's paddy fields he cultivates. At the end of each season, he gets a share of the

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

but not enough to continue living due to his dues to the landowner. In common, it is believed that the

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

can swallow anyone or anything so the “Makara” symbolically portrays the rich in this story.

Reference List

{{reflist Sri Lankan literature