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| Sunday, 21 April 2002 |
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The great lyric writer of the era I am reminded of the poem, "Call of Lanka" written by Father Senior. In it he says "Give me a bard", said Lanka. "Rise Child of Lanka and answer", "Thy mother hath called to thee". "A child of Lanka has risen, as he foretold. 'The Bard' has come to write the lyrics not about the future brightness expected, but about the tears and blood of the oppressed, flowing. This Bard in none but Sunil Ariyaratne, our great lyric writer. He writes with a heart overflowing with loving kindness towards humanity, eternally suffering under the iron hands. As Rudyard Kiplin said, he walks with kings but never loses the common touch. In an era when poor folk born in mud huts go to live in ivory towers, forget their kith and kin and fellow beings who suffer, he becomes praiseworthy. Though born in a fairly affluent home, as I am aware, he deeply feels for the oppressed and the suffering lot. He has seen the infants dying without milk to feed on. His lyrics cry out to melt even the hearts made of sterner stuff. His creations open the eyes of the younger generation, to build up a better society a better country and, a better world. His is a call for all, devoid of class, ethnic, national and religious differences. So his lyrics become unique in the literary world. His enumerable lyrics cry out for a just society, where all human beings can exist without being downtrodden and oppressed by a super class. They make a sharp impact on the radical younger generation, because they are realistic and cater to the needs of the era. They are blended with satire, irony and wit. His creations begin in delight and end in wisdom. Lyrics written by Ananda Samarakoon, Chandraratne Manawasinghe and Mahagama Sekara have been further enriched with meaningful experiences by this great artist. Sunil Ariyaratne is a deserving pillar for the highest honourable post. His unassuming modest qualities have won the hearts of many. He is easily accessible to any innocent soul. He is a versatile lyric writer whose creations deal with all facets of life. Through them he pours out the wails of the outcasts as well. In them he calls all to come under one banner, march to a single drum, sweeping away all inhumanity, brutality and to build up a just and peaceful society. He opens the eyes of those who are gullible to imperialistic western trends and make them conscious of breaking the bonds of imperialistic influences. Some of his lyrics are enriched with Buddhist philosophy too. "Kusinara Nam Nagare" is based on Lord Buddha's passing away and how His doctrine pervades the world eternally. He gives a vision to identify the enemies of humanity. Through his pen flows the great message of compassion of Lord Buddha and the message of renunciation to a world full of avarice and hatred. eg. "Esle Masle Obata Pudannam" and "Buddhathvaya". In one of his lyrics, he wants compassion to flow down from Mount Mihintale, cooling down the minds of people, and if Reverend Mahinda didn't come to Sri Lanka we would have been left in eternal darkness with a sword in hand "Naraseeha Gatha" too is a fine lyric "Rattaran Rate Upanna Rattaran Puthe" is blended with the image of the Bo Tree and calls the sons of Lanka to beautify and build up Sri Lanka "Sarungale" is written against brain drain. He becomes the scale of justice to a country ridden with injustice and fighting for gain, through his creations. He writes with impressive sincerity, in his contemplative and philosophical lyrics despite social and political pressure. His creations made up of a new poetic diction, are enriched with the language of folk literature and old conventional literature. He has given a vision to the simple Sinhala song. Some of them are voiced by Nanda Malini's melodious music. The songs of "Sanka Padma" in 1989 shows his command of language in association with Sinhala, Sanskrit and Magadha, his well versed mastery. Sunil Ariyaratne has undoubtedly played the greatest role in marking the turning point in our lyric literature. He is not conditioned by others' styles. He has his own way of writing and the fine feelings he rouses are unprecedented. Through his language it is shown that he is a literary architect full of fine feelings. Such creativity has done a great service to the society. He has fathomed all aspects of the human society, in his lyrics. He is a beacon of light to the pompous writers who grope in the darkness. He not only writes lyrics, he is pillar in the field of other literary work too. His artistry has brought out films like "Sarungale" and "Siribo Aiya". His interest in Tamil Language and Literature gives evidence that he doesn't discriminate against other languages, cultures and religions. I started admiring this great artist because of my late son Kutila, who was himself a philanthropist. Even during his last few days he spoke about the quality of his creative capacity. His words of admiration kept haunting my memory, which made me pour out the invaluable service, this great literary figure is doing, to the ailing society to overcome its unjust suffering. (The writer is Former Instructor in English,University of Colombo.) |
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