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