Montage from
readers’ perspective
Varied insights into the arts
I would like to convey my warm good wishes to the team at the
Montage, Ranga and Indeewara, on their first anniversary.
In the spirit of the definition of 'Montage', the articles are
interesting and unusual and provide the reader with varied insights into
the arts.
I applaud them for their passionate interest in the arts and for
giving their readers the opportunity to share this. I hope that your
readers can look froward to more years of enjoying Montage Best wishes.
Sunethra Bandaranaike
Best wishes on the anniversary
At the end of a busy week, like many others, I too look forward to
some sort of relaxation, reading the Sunday newspapers, not forgetting
the Sunday Observer. I have only a cursory glance of the usual news
items but I stop turning pages when it comes to 'Montage', the section
comprising articles on literature, literary criticism, culture, music
and in addition, the Montage poetry section.
The Cultural Diary brings home news and information about the current
stage plays and other performances, both local and foreign. The Sunday
Monologue is rich in content and quality as can be expected from a
veteran media person like Edwin Ariyadasa. Well-known artists like
Jayasiri Semage are interviewed and given the opportunity to remind the
readers of their invaluable contribution over decades.
English translation of Agni Chakra by Kathleen Jayawardana,
translated by Ranga and edited by Indeewara adds quality to Montage. The
non-Sinhala readers are given an opportunity to be in touch with the
current Sinhala literary scene, especially the novel. Montage brings
home to the reader a variety of reading material, written and presented
in the most attractive manner, highlighting events with appropriate
graphics and pictures.
Montage has come a long way to go enriching the Sri Lankan readers,
young and old with knowledge and experience. I take this opportunity to
wish all those who are responsible for this contribution, Ranga
Chandrarathne, Indeewara Thilakarathne and everyone else for their
interest, dedication and earnestness.
The Montage, Cultural Paradigm of the Sunday Observer is a
masterpiece of achievement.
Happy anniversary, best wishes and good luck for an even more
successful future!
Professor Kusuma Karunaratne - Professor Emeritus
Long life-Montage
It is appropriate to state that the Sunday Observer is the oldest,
profitable weekend paper with the largest circulation. The newspaper
which has been publishing for over 82 years since February 4, 1929
offers comprehensive knowledge, entertainment and novel experience to
readers.
The information relevant to readers on diverse fields as well as its
contribution over the years to languages, traditions and conventions,
diverse fields of arts and religion and politics is commendable. Sunday
Observer is used to present supplements innovatively and creatively.
The Montage, Cultural Paradigm of Sunday Observer, which commenced a
year ago, is extremely popular among readers. First of all, I am happy
about it. The age is only one factor which determines the importance of
a person or a thing.
During the last year, Sunday Observer as well as Montage has expanded
the horizons of the readers. Montage promotes high culture of universal
appeal. Human imaginations and thoughts are limitless as well as
artistic creations. Montage's co-editors Indeewara and Ranga are bright
and up coming writers.
They enrich their supplement as well as the newspaper day by day,
thereby popularising it more and more among readers. During the last
year I immensely benefited from reading pages of Montage. Especially the
defining characteristic of Montage is to focus on arts, diverse fields
of art and creations and to present them in an innovative manner.
"To build an informed society" is the vision of the main state policy
"Mahinda Chintanaya". Montage, Cultural Paradigm of Sunday Observer
contributes a lot toward realising that noble objective. Therefore, I
hope that it will be more strengthened in the future in its contribution
toward realising a new world through creating an informed and virtuous
society.
- Wimal Rubasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of National Heritage and
Cultural Affairs.
A rare treat
I have often heard people saying that literature and the arts in Sri
Lanka suffer from lack of educated appraisal and absence of debate and
discussion. What passes for critical review has hardly ever been
anything more than plot summaries and friendly back-pat endorsements.
There have been of course the occasional review penned with insight,
balance and honesty and by those with some authority on the particular
subject. More often than not such people are themselves practitioners
and therefore open themselves to charges of being envious.
Newspapers themselves have suffered by a lack of competent critics.
Language has been a limiting factor here. The English literary scene has
suffered on account of there not being enough people conversant in
Sinhala and/or Tamil and as a result many 'practitioners' inhabit a
happy world of self-delusion. One remembers and laments the absence of
the late Ajith Samaranayake here. Today, we are in a situation where we
hope there will be more Rajpal Abeynayakas. Rajpal can but does not
write in Sinhala (he should, one hopes) and his language competencies
and interest in all forms of art makes him a kind of voice in a
wilderness. Within newspapers, at least, especially English newspapers.
It is against this backdrop that one has to assess 'Montage'. For
years those interested in things cultural were frustrated by paucity,
lack of quality and the highly inconvenient reality of having to
purchase several Sunday papers to get something even close to an overall
grasp of 'discussion'. Every newspaper does have an events calendar,
yes. There are write-ups about films, plays, book launches, art
exhibitions and so on. There is the rare 'review' (meaning serious
appraisal). All very sporadic, though.
Indeewara Thilakaratne and Ranga Chandraratne created for the readers
of the Sunday Observer a rare treat; a magazine on culture, literature
and the arts. Their energies are clearly evident in their own
contributions. They have a good team, clearly. They are not perfect,
which is a good thing; they can get better. The magazine too, will
continue to get better. As of now, I can clearly say that it made a
difference to my Sundays. I consider it a privilege to contribute to
this section; indeed of all the essays that I write for various
newspapers, the most pleasurable exercise is contributing to 'Montage'.
As a reader, this 'magazine', apart from the Wednesday 'supplements' of
the Divaina and The Island, is what stimulates me most. Yes, in this
sense too, I feel privileged.
I hope 'Montage' expands within the Sunday Observer. And I hope that
in time 'Montage' becomes too big for the Sunday Observer to carry,
making its conversion into a magazine that stands on its own a business
proposition too tempting to resist.
My salutations, then, to these two young people and the entire
Montage team.
- Malinda Seneviratne
Glamour of a rainbow
The sublime beauty of a rainbow lies in its combination of colours.
One could not think of which colour supersedes another. It is the nature
of the rainbow.
I was reminded of the metaphor of rainbow when I took pen to write on
Montage, Cultural Paradigm of Sunday Observer. I consider Montage as a
platform which offers space for all forms of arts.
It is the aim of an artist to convey a feeling which turned into a
zest, in diverse forms. for this, different artist use different
methods. Artistic creations are divided into two main categories of fine
arts and applied arts; music, paintings, sculpture belong to former.
Exquisite furniture and beautiful palaces belong to latter. The
spatiality of Montage is that it provides equal space for all forms of
arts. The attempt to present information on all forms of arts from an
investigative perspective is commendable.
Not only to select poetry but also to present them with a short
appreciation in an artistic manner is an important aspect of poetry
appreciation. It is very rarely that this trend is present in
contemporary newspapers. It is also commendable to present life and
works of outstanding personalities such as artists, journalists who have
buried in the sand of time, amidst art news and reviews is appreciable.
It is not traditionally that I send my greetings for Montage on its
first anniversary. These days, it is rarely that we encounter
contributions with commitment to art and culture. But it is not
difficult to find such commitments among the pages of Montage.
- Kathleen Jayawardana
Montage strengthens my ideas
Most of the time, I share my ideas with others in Sinhala. I present
my criticisms in Sinhala. I feel there is a limitation and confinement
in expressing my ideas in Sinhala. Though I wanted to convey my ideas to
the wider world in English, I can not write in English. But I am used to
reading in English to enrich my ideas and to learn other's ideas,
ideologies and criticisms. With great respect, I read pages of Montage
to strengthen my ideas. Montage helps me in this endeavour. I try to
look at the world from my native soil.
Since I encounter instances where I compare my thoughts, ideologies
of my soil with those of the world, I feel the concept of world and
native soil are not mutually contradictory concepts. Against this
backdrop, I appreciate and value pages of Montage. I hope that Montage
should live for many many years as I want to breathe meaningfully. For,
I should to express my opinion as an informed person.
- Ajith Galapaththi
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