A life story that is a lesson in perseverance

By Suryamithra Vishwa 

We all realise at the very last moments of our lives, sometimes painfully, that life is what we have made of it. It is often said that most people die with regrets when all the unutilised potential of their lives dawn on them at the sunset of their allocated time.

We often think that prosperity comes on a platter. Some of us are proud to quote our lineage and say we are born of such and such a family. Yet, how many of us realise that it is totally up to the individual to make his or her own future and contribute to the wider society. What matters is that one has the free will to make one’s own destiny, using commitment and 

vision to the maximum.

This above was the contemplation arrived at by this writer after a long discourse with Deshabandu Dr. Publis Silva, Sri Lanka’s legendary chef and author of over 20 books on the health benefits of Sri Lankan cuisine and the country’s culinary history. Through the books he has authored and his other related projects, he was among the first to take Sri Lankan food to the world.

His achievements includes entering into the Guinness Book of Records for creating the longest and largest kiribath as well as the smallest recipe book, entitled Royal Meals of the Last Kings of Sri Lanka and his books consist of widescale research of Sri Lanka’s culinary history. 

In recognition of his achievements and contribution to this country, in 2004, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open International University of Sri Lanka. In 2017 he was awarded the Deshabandu title, the third highest Sri Lankan national honour, for his valuable services to the nation, by the then head of State, former President Maithripala Sirisena. The life of Deshabandu Dr. Publis Silva is a story that belongs in every motivational program of this country, especially for children. In today’s world where success is often measured by young humans trying to do the tasks of photocopy machines for passing exams through memorisation, narrations such as these will have many lessons for both students and teachers of the current modern day ‘rote learning’ system. 

As for Publis, he boasts of going to ‘the best university in the world’ and is certainly not guilty of becoming akin to a photocopy machine at exams. The last exam he wrote, he recalls was when he was in grade four. He does not seem to remember whether he passed it or not but assures me that he did pass the finals of that ‘best university in the world’ which exists to date on the pavement of Pettah in Colombo Fort. 

“I passed with flying colours in the ‘exams’ held at the 5th Cross Street of Fort. These ‘exams’ included the testing of patience and willpower in the long road to perfecting the art of selling Narang Bic Lozenges and then apples and oranges so that almost none were left at the end of the day. I learnt the skill of persuasion. I learnt the skill of not giving up when I could not sell any. I learnt the skill of not grovelling in self-pity. By the time I was 18 years old, I became a two-legged machine that powered a karathe of a mudalali in my hometown, Galle and had ‘driven’ myself, for over 20 kilometres a day carrying cartfuls of items to be sold in grocery stores. I think I certainly did as well or better than a four-legged animal which generally pulls such a cart.”

“The money was not sufficient and I simultaneously took on labourer jobs as well, often working on building sites. After about a year of this, in 1956, I took up a job at the Mount Lavinia hotel as a carrier of coal. This coal was for the charcoal fires that the hotel used at the time. I had to cross the Mt. Lavinia rail track and collect the imported charcoal brought from Grandpass,” recalls Deshabandu Dr. Publis Silva of his earliest ‘training’ and ‘internships’.

Although lugging coal was his main job, he was also expected to do odd jobs at the kitchen, such as scraping coconut, cutting vegetables and cleaning the floors. 

The life of Deshabandu Dr. Publis Silva is a story that belongs in every motivational program of this country, especially for children. In today’s world where success is often measured by young humans trying to do the tasks of photocopy machines for passing exams through memorisation, narrations such as these will have many lessons for both students and teachers of the current modern day ‘rote learning’ system

By this time young Publis had got married and was giving some serious thought to shaping for himself a proper career. His training at the Pettah ‘university’ had given him experience to know when to be witty or charming or act like a ‘thug’. Wit and charm he poured with the tea he made for the then cooks at the Mt. Lavinia hotel; there was no need to take on the avatar of a thug as he had done in his 5th Cross Street Pettah campus where he proudly recalls that he was a ‘mighty leg’ (Pitakotuwe hitapu hondama kakulak) and further describes himself as a ‘niyama IRC karayek’ which no one dared to confront. The charm had worked on the hapless chefs who had had no one to fuss over them until this coal carrier cum odd job man surfaced on the scene becoming a godsend.

“I was a keen observer of their tiredness; when they needed help; when they needed a special snack to be made afresh just for them and when they needed that cup of tea made just like at home. Slowly, through this I was learning the A, B, C of catering and soon I had an assortment of the best culinary experts of the time willing to share their top most secrets of the art of cooking with me. I was a relentless learner and I was not scared of any amount of hard work,” says Chef Publis. 

Gradual rise in stature

Nine years went by with his gradual rise in stature within the kitchen of the hotel and by the 10th year in 1966 he was paid Rs. 67.50, an increase of Rs. 27.50 from the sum he had started off with. Three years later, by 1970 he was made the Chief Chef of the Mount Lavinia hotel. With this exalted position; a dream he had worked hard to achieve, came the wondrous salary of Rs. 370 a month, vanquishing his money problems.

Talking with Publis for one hour, his tenaciousness of will is apparent as well as his discipline and principles of life, which he continues to date. 

“I get up at 3 a.m. One of the first things I do is offer tea to the god of the house or rather the goddess who grumbles at being woken up at that time but nevertheless does drink the tea and goes back to sleep,” he quips, in reference to his daily ritual concerning the offering of the pre-dawn ‘tea puja’ to his wife! 

It is this habit of rising early morning that has enabled him to read widely and to write the meticulously researched books of his that includes Authentic Sri Lankan Cuisine, Sri Lanka Jatheenge Iwum Pihum and the culinary chronicle; the Mahasupawansaya, to name a few. 

Having visited over 33 countries as part of his official tours he has throughout his career been a keen researcher of the history of food. How we came to eat what we are eating today, has always piqued his curiosity. 

“I started researching widely in all the countries I went to and made maximum use of global libraries. I came to the conclusion as others elsewhere in the world who had pursued similar research as me, that meat eating was probably begun in ancient times when animals died in volcano eruptions and were naturally ‘roasted’ and with all other vegetation being destroyed temporarily, humans forced out of necessity to taste this ‘cooked/burnt’ meat and subsequently found it quite tasty.” 

He then proceeds to analyse how salt was discovered as an addition to food. He points out that it is probably when early man dropped to the ground what he hunted or gathered, getting sand/mud in them and went to the landlocked saline lakes or the seafront to wash it before consumption. He notes that the saltiness of the water having got into the food and made it more palatable would have had a habitual effect on the taste buds of early man. 

Speaking with him what strikes one is his curiosity and enthusiasm (two ingredients sorely missing in the minds of most of today’s students/teachers and others) who often approach their study and work as a part of daily drudgery. 

Survival based scholarship

Asked about the perseverance with which he has approached his chosen vocation, he always refers to the ‘survival based scholarship’ he got on the pavement, where to lag or get distracted meant an ‘immediate disqualification’. 

He laughs when asked if he is vegetarian and declares that it is a question that one should never ask a chef, although being a vegan, I point out that there are many chefs in this world who are vegan or vegetarian and he good naturedly laughs. 

“Purpose in life is one of the most important things. What is one’s purpose of this life? How is one going to live it?” queries Publis as a general question he would like to ask the present day younger generation. 

At age 84 the secrets for his quite amazing youthfulness and total freedom from illness seems to be based on a sensible diet which includes one kilo of fresh fruits a day and many varieties of fresh vegetables, a positive attitude and the maintaining of a meticulously organised schedule where each day is carefully mapped out, with clear goals.

“I am sometimes accused of not having a ‘golaya’ to follow up after me. An ideal golaya is someone who perfects the craft of his master beyond him and takes it further. For this one has to do away with a ‘job’ mentality or a mere ‘money making’ inclination that is rampant among today’s youth. The education system must make young people progress from beyond these surface goals to pursuing excellence with dedication and inculcate the yearning to widen the horizons of the subject he or she is focusing on,” says chef Publis. 

He currently is on the board of directors of the Mt. Lavinia hotel and is seen in his office by 8 a.m. every day, working on several new books.

(Note: The Harmony page will carry in our next editions a detailed interview with Deshabandu Dr. Publis Silva on his recommendations for Sri Lankans on what to eat for strengthening immunity during these times of pandemics and how the saving of health of the people of the country means saving the economy of the country.) 

(Suryamithra Vishwa is a Sri Lankan who strives to transcend beyond inherited birth identity. She has a keen interest in comparative spirituality and indigenous knowledge. Her academic training has been in sociology and she is a curriculum writer and visiting lecturer in Mass Communication at a national university in Sri Lanka under her inherited family name. She has for over 20 years worked as a writer for local and international publications and has been associated with the peace building/training sector. Her library of 15,000 books, of which a large number is on global literature, science, comparative religions and secular spirituality has been opened up for the public free of charge. Those interested in borrowing any book could contact 0812494285. She cultivates trees using ancient biodiversity centred methods of cultivation and promotes the concept of ‘Integrated Knowledge’ linking diverse aspects of knowledge to create stimulating thinking and innovative practical initiatives that benefit the individual as well as the country.)