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| Sunday, 27 June 2004 |
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Life with William : He prepares for a 'Festival of Songs' by Carol Aloysius William, as I have said before , is a man of many surprises. Over the past few weeks he has managed to amaze me with his variety of `hidden' talents - first in the aesthetic field, and then in the theatrical world, when he staged his play about Andare.
Once more my garage has been converted into a rehearsal room with his friends, Dias, Simon, Piyasena, Pancha and Gamage meeting there every evening to practice their songs. Sarath the owner of the Vipulasena Kopi Kade is a new entrant whose request to take part in William's new production was readily granted by William as he promised to be the main sponsor of his sangeetha sandarshanaya, and to loan him the use of his boutique for the two nights it is to be performed. William's motley collection of choristers share one common trait. None of them have ever sung before . At least not in public. That is with the exception of Piyasena who only sings when he is drunk. Piyasena's 'songs' which are inspired by his sense of frustration and anger are not only abusive but full of vulgar epithets directed against whatever political party leader he has a personal grudge against. He usually sings standing under my jak tree starting around 11 in the night (the time he returns home after a heavy drinking session) continuing till the wee hours of the morning. When my angry neighbours threaten to call the police, I plead with him to stop singing and get back into the house.. But my pleadings fall on deaf ears.It is only when William orders him in his loud stentorian voice that he stops , meekly allowing himself to be shoved into his room unceremoniously by his Maha Appa. Since the choristers are all novices, William requested me to 'sit in' at one of their rehearsals and give him my comments. Soon the garage began filling with a variety of harsh discordant notes. Listening to this raucous medley of sounds it was clear that most of the choir were tone deaf- as their flat tones were totally off key. The only exception was the duet performed by William and Dias who gave a fairly pleasant rendering of the popular Sinhala song, Siripade Samanala kanda penei, alokaya Saman pure. When I told this to William he was unperturbed. "Mage sangeetha sandarshanaya balanda ena minissunta thalaya gena vadi salakillak dakvanne naha. Minissunta sindu vitharai ona" (those who come for my musical festival are not bothered whether the singer gets the right pitch or not. They only want to hear the song), he told me confidently. What could I do but "agree to disagree"? With barely a week to go for the grand performance William's help karayas have been very busy. Tickets have already been hand printed on a blank exercise book and sold out at the handsome price of five rupees upto Rs 7/50 depending on the kind of seats (five for the benches and 7/50 for the chairs up front. Posters drawn by William's efficient PRO, Simon, have been pasted on trees, walls, dustbins and various public areas including the front door of the kopi kade, where it is being staged. What with so many extra curricular activities, it is not surprising that William has no time for his household chores. "Nona, me sangeethaya nisa mata hungak veda thiyanava. Karunakarala. mata kisima vadakata anda gahanna epa daval vena kan" '(Lady, I have a lot of work because of this music festival. So, please don't call me to do any work till noon,") he tells me. I now walk around the house like a zombie, waking up extra early to cook lunch and attend to William's other chores. I pray for just one thing. That my Man Friday will return to the kitchen and resume his erstwhile role before my feet give way!. |
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Now he tells me he is planning to hold a sangeetha sandarshanayak
(Festival of Songs) having once again drawn his inspiration from my son
Jehan who is currently conducting rehearsals in my house for a 'Festival
of Songs'.
