Paint with brush and pen

Glimpse into Shireen's world of creativity:

Shireen Senadhira is a prolific writer as well as a versatile painter. At times, she captures landscape, human figures with a stroke of brush on the canvas and at another, she codifies the diverse landscapes of humanity and different mindscapes through her elegantly written and perception studded short stories and poems.

In her collection of poems and short stories 'Ehela Ablaze', she paints diverse mentalities and celebrates splendours of nature in its pristine glory. Her stories are peopled with characters from life with full of flesh and blood and woven with elements such as mystery, pathos and compassion towards fellow beings.

"There were other times

the Ehela was ablaze

with hidden lighting,

swaying to wafting melodies,

enticing twinkling stars

I remember a well-kept garden

Filled with happy bustle

Of elegant young,

Eyes shining, bursting with exuberance,

Treading the threshold"

Here in her titled poem "Ehela Ablaze" she craftily transforms a common place experience of splendour of nature into a collective experience against the change of time. Every thing but 'Ehela Ablaze' has changed ' to brave the menacing weeds'.

Q:The title poem 'Ehela Ablaze' is more or less a celebration of nature in its pristine beauty. You have compared the 'Ehela Ablaze' to 'smiles of my friends' thus juxtaposing splendour of nature with your friend's smile.

What inspired you to pen this poem?

A: This is how it happened. When I was living abroad I did come home frequently. On our visits here, I felt the country had changed considerably. I looked with dismay at the road barriers, having to show identity at road check points where soldiers were armed with guns. This is not beautiful Sri Lanka said my heart, this is some war torn country. Even some of the places I used to visit were time ravaged and deteriorated.

Certainly not like the places I remembered. In this frame of mind, even the country's people seemed aggressive. Though the change was painful to me, it was there, it was reality.

During this time I visited a long ago favourite place of mine and found that the garden, and the house were thoroughly neglected. I remembered the good times I had there and felt sad. Then, all of a sudden I saw the Ehela tree blazing, full of sunshine flowers amidst weeds. There was hope. It was as if the tree had a message for me. It had withstood the neglect. Do look around Colombo roads from end February to May and you will see the pendulum flowers swaying blithely. I am sure you will be filled with gladness too.

In the same manner, when I looked at my friends and their smiles, I saw that inspite of the trying times, they had not changed either. I remembered the Ehela tree.

Q: 'Into the Mist' is also a poem which is really like a picture in words.It seems that you have a penchant for celebrating nature and to enjoy it in a most artistic manner. However, the last stanza of the poem contrasts the sublime environment of Haputale with turmoil in Colombo.

A: I am so glad that you say this poem is like a picture in words. That is exactly what I aimed to do. To paint to the reader a picture in words. I can also do vice versa. I can look at a picture and tell you a story of it.

Even now, some of my friends ask me to quit when I go into some lengthy explanation about some scene or a picture.

Haputale mentioned in this poem is such a favourite place. It has a 'forever view' of the Haputale pass which changes colour during the day. It also has its woods that lie above the Haputale area. But even this splendour could not make me forget the surmounted problems in Colombo as our country is not peaceful at all and it is to Colombo we come back after the holidays.

Q: 'Coffee Mate' is a story which reminds us of impermanency of life. Once a colleague or a friend departs the world, memories of him or her vanishes as dew drops on a blade of grass. Is this story born out of experience?

A: Yes, it is partly experience. I did some Lions work earlier with a number of street children. We saw to their nourishment and clothing. This was a project among many others. It took time but we arranged for some instructions to be given to them. We also helped some older children to get training for jobs. Some of them were bright kids and they would have thrived in different circumstances. It was satisfying that they were placed in the care of a temple nearby

Impermanence of life in this story is with the character, Nimi. One day he's there in Pettah and the next day, gone. When people depart the world, their memories fade away with time. It is only the near and dear ones who surface in our memories from time to time. Giving alms and prayer services help in keeping their memories alive. I remember when young, and life was not so rushed, events like giving of alms and services for the dead were plentiful and arranged with care.

Q: "After the Massacre" reminds us of grim reality with which we lead our lives. Here is a rare occasion you have the same symbol of Araliya to express contradicting emotions, on one occasion the happy moments of children weaving garlands of Araliya and on another painful parting of children from the world. Can you comment on the Kabithigollawa massacre that prompted you to pen the poem?

A:Any massacre is a grim reality. If you do see such a horrific scene, you'll see the dead bodies in their gruesome positions. The little bodies of children are so pitiful. The little ones simply had no chance for their innocence, childhood and playfulness to flower. It does not matter what colour or race they are. Actually, under the sod or over it, we are the same.

It is very upsetting to view such scenes. I remember, bodies lying on the side of roads beyond Galle at the turn to Kananke during 1989 and thereabouts. Do you remember the bomb blast of Central Bank? There were part of bodies and whole limbs lying strewn near the clock tower of Colombo Fort. These were the happy streets that we walked in the past and it was a treat to come to this area. Whenever the Fort is mentioned it is the horrible scenes that come up and those will be never be erased. So, when the Kebithigollawa massacre happened, all these memories surfaced and the scenes of bountiful historical environs of Anuradhapura went haywire for me.

I just had to get it out in some kind of writing.

Q: The short story 'Day's Work' is about the kind of detachment that journalists maintain in reporting events specially those relating to victims of war. Can you recall the incident behind the story?

A: In the Wadiya Group of writers we meet with journalists on and off at our meetings. It was when talking to a couple of young journalists who were covering the war in the north that I felt how they worked. One needs a kind of detachment when reporting news and incidents of war. Otherwise, how could they go on with their job? Some time in the past, before I wrote the story, a group of terrorists were chased northwards from the Batticaloa area by our armed forces. I just combined the two aspects for this story.

Q: "The Old House" is another story where sentimental value is emphasized against the commercial value of a piece of land. As per the saying, there is a spirit and character to a house. An Old house may contain load of memories for those who have spent their happy days. How did you conceive the idea for the short story and are you of the view that younger generation are losing an important aspect of emotional life?

A:As you can see Expressway and The Old House are protests in story by me.

However, the path of progress needs much sacrifice. It becomes a tussle when the heart rules over the head or vice versa.

The younger generation hardly know such places. They grow up in a modern age with new technology at their finger tips. If you talk of a place, they would bring it up in the computer screen in a matter of seconds and view it with disenchantment and give their ideas on it. There is no emotion involved for them. I like it my way and they like their way. Most times, the youth look at us with a kind of hasty kindness and condescend to give some of their time to listen to fond elders.

Q:"Ruby Red Pomegranate" is a poem which assigns different nuances to 'ruby red'. I would say it is like a tapestry skilfully woven around the myriads of emotions. Your comments

A:The story of Madduma Bandara's beheading in history of Sri Lanka has never left me. I couldn't believe it at first. He was my hero when I was the same age as he was. I even acted the beheading. I remember getting together some people in the back verandah of our house and lecturing them on the story in my own way. In those days, people had time for a child. This injustice and other instances of injustice just seep into me and it has to come out in some form. Thus, this poem was written. However, I hope I haven't put you off pomegranates, they really are lovely fruits.

Q:Stories of 'Hush' and 'Kuveni's Palace' are studded with mystic elements.

Are they too born out of your personal experiences?

A:I grew up with mystic elements surrounding us. Superstition wrapped us in almost every step we took. Even if the parents were not like this, the people who looked after us were always murmuring some superstition or other in our ears. There were stories of kattadiyas, thovils, lime cuttings, which intermingled with haunted houses, and the potent charms of huniyams.

I can tell you many more tales about these. Hush and Kuveni's Palace are just mere two stories of such.

Q:"May Time "is a poem which symbolizes the happy moments of Vesak and also melancholy parting of a relation. I would say you have masterly used 'May' to strike home the changes that time has brought upon on the family.

Does this poem relate to any personal experience?

A:Our lives are touched by young people, like soldiers, dying every day. So many young lives cut short leaving behind bereft families. There is some tragedy at every turn. This is only part of life at present times. War is such a mistaken oddity. When we, I and my peers, were young, we had no war, no curbs on freedom of speech, on passage or otherwise. We lived in a prosperous country of inspiring beauty. The beauty is still there to be viewed but it is with dim eyes that we do so.

Q:"Sara "is an attempt, I would say, you made to change the prototype attitudes of people towards disabled persons. What really inspired you to write the story?

A:Sara is a story of children with special needs. It is with dismay that I see the growing number of children that are differently abled. One cannot turn one's back on such a child. Sadly, some do that. If you take some time, you will see that these children who have some deficiency in one faculty are much developed in their other faculties. I met such a child who is an amazing artist. When speaking to him, he grins blankly. Now, this child needs art therapy and I am sure he would excel in it. Where could he go from where he is? Our country needs many more schools and places for such. Many people help out but it's not sufficient. We must help these children to help themselves. More development is needed in this area.

Q:"Gladioli" is a short story which once again strikes home the impermanency of life. Through an illustration of a flower, you have attempted to give the sense of time. What did you really want to pinpoint through this story?

A:This story also shows that hope lies incessantly within oneself. A sheaf of flowers arrive. The joy of beginning of some magic is anticipated. But it dies before it can even start. The waiting, the wilting away, shows the impermanency of life and even the anticipation itself. But anyone can rebound and the search for the meaning of life never ends.

I like to add, considering stories and poems like Maytime, Sara, After the Massacre and Two Lonely Children, what wouldn't I give like Khayyam's poem:

'Could you and I with life conspire

To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire

Would we not shatter it to bits

And then, remould it nearer heart's desire?'

Wouldn't you?