Makara ( si, මකරා) is a short story 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 (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

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” ( si, කලා පුවත්) issued in line with 1975 Annual Literature Ceremony held in Galle and the winners were awarded by then President of Republic of Sri Lanka, Late Hon. William Gopallawa.

Background

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

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

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 gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

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 reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

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

Reference List

{{reflist Sri Lankan literature