Yakada Yakā: The Continuing Saga of Sonnaby Von Bloss and the Burgher RailwaymenYakada Yaka is the second part of the Burgher trilogy that began with The Jam Fruit Tree When the conquering British roll out the first railway steam-driven locomotive in Sri Lanka, it causes quite a stir. The smoke-spewing, banshee-wailing, fearsome black thing hisses like a thousand cobras... and the villagers declare that this Thing is an Iron Demon-a yakada yaka. The Burghers who drive these Iron Demons have a penchant for challenging authority and courting trouble, sometimes just to liven things up in the railway outposts... and so it is that Sonnaboy and Meerwald chase a large group of villagers all across Anuradhapura, mother-naked but not much bothered by it, Ben Godlieb conjures up a corpse in his cowcatcher, Dickie Byrd single-handedly demolishes a Pentecostal Mission and is hailed as the messiah of the Railway fraternity, and Basil Van der Smaght filches a human heart and feeds it to the Nawalapitiya railway staff ...and to cap it all, Sonnaboy takes French Leave to act in The Bridge on the River Kwai! '(Muller) tells his tale with a gentle humour often bordering on tenderness, but couched in the vigorous rugged localese. Almost immediately we find ourselves empathizing with Muller's roistering band that sins and prays with equal zest.' -Business Standard '... The Burghers ...believed in living life to the hilt. Every situation occasioned wild revels, and there was nothing that could not be solved through a brawl.' -India Today. |
From inside the book
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Page 63
... train comes here , driver is going some- where . ' Vanderputt rolls up . ' How , how ? What's the trouble ? ' ' Trouble ? Where you have gone ? ' ' Why ? Got late ? ' ' You know it's late . Now ten minutes . ' ' That's all ? Don't worry ...
... train comes here , driver is going some- where . ' Vanderputt rolls up . ' How , how ? What's the trouble ? ' ' Trouble ? Where you have gone ? ' ' Why ? Got late ? ' ' You know it's late . Now ten minutes . ' ' That's all ? Don't worry ...
Page 64
... train was doing . ' Have to clear that platform for office train from Veyangoda , no ? ' Sonnaboy left the station through the passenger barrier , crossed Main Street and went to the Front Street café where he sat and rubbed his hands ...
... train was doing . ' Have to clear that platform for office train from Veyangoda , no ? ' Sonnaboy left the station through the passenger barrier , crossed Main Street and went to the Front Street café where he sat and rubbed his hands ...
Page 191
... trains are coming or going . The wagons , meanwhile , are filled with clay by the workers in the clay fields and await to be latched on to a train bound for Kankesanturai since the clay must be hauled there , where it is delivered to ...
... trains are coming or going . The wagons , meanwhile , are filled with clay by the workers in the clay fields and await to be latched on to a train bound for Kankesanturai since the clay must be hauled there , where it is delivered to ...
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Common terms and phrases
accepted Anuradhapura arrack asked baby began Beryl better bloody Bloss Board boys brake bridge bring British brother brought bugger bungalow Burgher called Carloboy Ceylon Colombo coming decided door drink driver elephant engine everything eyes face fellow fireman Gampola garden gave girls give guard hands happened head heart hell husband John keep Kinno Kirby knew later light lived look Meerwald mind morning mother moved needed never night Peebles Railway raised road scream seemed shouting side signal Sinhalese sleepers Sonnaboy Sonnaboy's sort station stationmaster stop sure talk Tamil tell thing thought told took track train tree turn wait waves whistle whole wife woman