Face To Face With Vineethe Thambugala
By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando
There are
perhaps only a handful of persons right throughout the world, who have a
multidisciplinary background and international exposure, who also could express
views from which the entire mankind could benefit. Vineeethe Thambugala is such
a global citizen, yet maintains a very low profile. Being an intellectual,
scholar, travel consultant and an authority on a wide range of foreign
languages, he portrays as a global citizen, fluent in multitude of languages, yet
well established in Sri Lanka. He is also an author of several books on
language studies including 'Multilingual phrase book' with pronunciation in
Sinhala and explanations in basic useful phrases in German, French, Japanese,
Italian and Spanish.
Q. I understand that your reputation mainly as an excellent Tour-Leader in the field of academic study tours, around
the world, is legendary, and your capabilities as a foreign language instructor
making the grade spans far beyond the shores of this island. How on earth did
you manage all this? Can you give me a few tips for the benefit of those who
read this interview?
A. Most
certainly. The ' Modus Operandi' is to transcend oneself. In simple
terms the individual known as Vineethe Thambugala, has already ceased to
exist. What do exist are only the processes and phenomena, which operate
virtually through him. This approach to life is not strange to Buddhist
psychology or German philosophy. " It is not the individual that
matters, but what he has done or what he has got to say. "
Hermann Hesse extrapolated this
phenomenon in his book Siddhartha. After many years of arduous travel,
through the length and breadth of India, 'Siddhartha' had the final
opportunity to confront the Buddha. In a hypothetical statement Sidhartha
is quoted as saying, " I did not come all the way here to pay homage or
worship you! Please let me know, how you attained Buddha-hood , as I also wish
to become Buddha". This struck a chord in my mind as never before. I
realized that the, " be all and end all" of it is not the
person but the Method, which is the basis of one of the finest
disciplines created by man, namely Science.
Q. This
sounds highly philosophical. Can you break this into a simpler form?
A. What I
mean is - to be successful in life, one has to be multi-disciplinary, and perhaps
that was what was envisaged in the formulation of Taxila and Nalanda.
But unfortunately the Universities of Northern Italy, Czechoslovakia, France,
Germany and England, which arose perhaps due to the 'chain reaction thus
initiated,' became institutions specializing in ' tunnel thinking' or even
better illustrated by the German word " Fachidiotie," which has
been taken up by English as a loan from German.
Q. You
seem to harbour quite a different view from the general consensus about
education and so forth. How would you define an educated person in your
assessment?
A. According
to the concept I mentioned above, every so called ' educated man' in the
present world, is a Superman in his own field of specialty, while just being a
child or for that matter an idiot, practically in all other fields. Education
in the present world is confused by multitudes of such morons, who in fact can
be dangerous to the progress of knowledge and its advancement.
Q. Being
a man of many talents and languages, what are your views about the English
language, which has been recognised universally.
A. All
over the world people keep-on repeating, that one should learn English. I do
agree without any reservation. But in order to have a sound knowledge of
English, which is a West-Germanic language, one should have a basic knowledge of
the Romanic languages Latin and French, which have played a maternal role in
its development, and a basic knowledge of German, which has played a paternal
role in the creation of the wonderful, practical and universal language known
as English. Please do not forget, that if you are a globe- trotter and you have
a basic knowledge of English, German and French, the whole world will be at
your doorstep.
Q. How
would you reflect that on our Sinhala society in particular on Sinhala
orientated children for that matter?
A. Due to
the heterogeneous origin of Sinhala, our children are highly talented in
picking up the above-mentioned three languages, with a high degree of accuracy
in pronunciation. We should go all out to teach these three languages to our
children at a very young age, and thereby exploit the latent potential, in order
to 'export' them as language teachers, professors, interpreters and tour-guides
etc. But we do have to take care, to inculcate in them correct and positive
attitudes towards these languages in order to avoid "allergies"
created in the minds of some !
Q. As an
experienced highly qualified foreign language lecturer, how do you assess the
present general trend and comment on the existing system(s)?
A. Generally
speaking, most highly recognised foreign language institutes the world over make a drastic mistake in enrolling the majority of their students for
initiation into the foreign language at an age just best or few years after attaining
puberty, when their minds are most unstable and the ground under their feet has
become shaky. My advice would be to enroll our students in our foreign language
institutes very early in their lives, when they are still enjoying the love and
warmth of their parents and are physiologically stable, so that the temporary
instability created by strange linguistic and cultural patterns could be
surmounted easily. For sceptics I would cite Belgium as a natural example !
Q. If you
were to comment on a wider angle, say for example looking at developing the
country as a whole, how would you be look at the issue?
A. If we
are seriously interested in developing the country, mathematics should be
taught in a palatable form to every child in the country. It should be
introduced in the form of a story telling fashion thus diminishing its
acrobatic and shocking effects. The teacher should always commence with the
" History of Mathematics". We should make our students aware of the
very significant role played by our immediate neighbor India in inventing the
zero and place value system etc. One should not forget that Mathematics is the
language of science. In Germany a knowledge of higher mathematics is a 'sine
qua non' for admission to any faculty of a University, whether arts or science.
Q. With
your background on organic-chemistry and as a scientist, how do you look at the
present day environment protection methods and techniques?
A. First
and foremost let us cultivate a basic elementary knowledge about the Flora and
Fauna. Everyone is speaking of environment now adays, which is a very good
thing. The gene pool of the tropical vegetation of this country is so vast,
that one cannot learn all the names of all the plants - even in a lifetime. But
how many of us know the names of the botanical families, to which the herbs,
shrubs or trees of our home or school gardens do belong? It is very necessary
to have a basic scientific approach in this matter. In this part of the world,
the exact definition of science has unfortunately not percolated into our
genes. This false terminology like " Western - medicine" for "
Scientific medicine" are rampant.
Q. How
would you reminisce your achievements in guided German study tours to Sri
Lanka?
A. Among
many achievements I had the record of planning and conducting the longest
guided study tour in Sri Lanka. A 30-day non-stop tour covering the entire
island before the outbreak of violence in the North and the East. Out of my
research I identified that a hotel could be built in the village of Kandalama
(not in the catchment area) for the first time; I found that there were no
spice-gardens along the Colombo-Kandy highway, and it was my idea that prompted
one of my students to open the first spice-garden. I have thirty-five years experience
in the Travel Trade as a Tour Leader, since 1970 and 60 % of my students now
occupy top-level positions in the Travel Trade.
Q. What
is so special about German?
A. Languages
are the most sophisticated mental tools invented by man, and German is unquestionably
the pinnacle of this series of achievements. A fairly good grasp of the German
language, facilitates the development of the mind; apart from being the most
effective medium for imbibing knowledge contrived by man. Giants like Leibnita,
Goethe, Kant, Humboldt, Einstein, Mhos, Roentgen, Hesse, Heine, Heidigger,
Hegel, Nietsche, Schopenhauer, Brecht, Mueller, Marx, Geiger, Benz, Weber and
Lilienthal have not ' fallen from the sky' !
Colombo @ The German Cultural Institute.
Oct 2011 - Sri Express.