Dayaratne Dolapihilla:

An award-winning mentor, craftsman and artiste

By Ganga Ratnayake

It was my second visit to the renowned Kalapuraya – the crafts village tucked in the midst of the charming countryside of Kundasale not too far from the hill capital. Here I met the well-known craftsman Dayaratne Dolapihilla in his gallery, brimming with exquisite sculptures and paintings, where he began to relate about his life as a craftsman counting five decades and more.

He is Dolapihille Gedara Dayaratne better known as Dayaratne

Dolapihilla hailing from Marathugoda, Harispattuwa in the Kandy District.

Born on January 7, 1949 he completed his education at the Marathugoda Maha Vidyalaya and Nugawela Central College and decided to follow in the footsteps of his father D. Edoris, a school instructor specialised in lacquer works with a fine knowledge in temple carpentry. Edoris was among the few craftsmen families chosen to be settled in the newly built Kalapuraya in 1965.

Dolapihilla studied craftsmanship under the guidance of his father even before he turned 10, and later pursued vocational studies at the Technical Colleges in Matale and Aruppola in Kandy and at a carpentry institute in Moratuwa. Instead of specialising in one particular craft Dolapihilla packed his arsenal with an assortment of talents ranging from painting to sculpting, wedding poru, pandals, temple art and traditional carpentry.

Among his numerous creations is the beautifully carved wooden stand of the Sabaragamu Province Senkolaya (mace).Since 1973 he ventured into film and theatre background design and sculpting, contributing to 11 movies, both local and foreign. The movies include Gahanu Lamai, Seegiri Kasyapa and Beyond Rangoon (filmed in Penang, Malaysia) and stage dramas such as Sakuntala and Ratnawalli. He has worked with several renowned Art Directors including J.A. Vincent, Wimal Jayawardena, Hemapala Dharmasena, Errol Kelly and Chandran Ratnam.

Vivid memories

Among his vivid memories is the American adventure movie based on the famous novel Jungle Book – ‘Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo’, which was filmed in 1989 amid the lush green backdrops of Gannoruwa. He has also toured many countries to design film sets, such as India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

While flipping through the pages of his portfolio, a sizeable photo album, he eagerly shared titbits behind some of his exclusive props.

There were all kinds of props designed under diverse themes and their dimensions ranged from a few inches to over several metres. Dolapihilla has worked on a couple of massive creations while in Malaysia such as the 60 ft long reclining Buddha statue and the 120 ft tall golden stupa resembling Shwedagon Pagoda of Burma. Some photographs featured his award winning sculptures presented at the Vishva Karma Exhibitions. Among them a sculpture titled Saranagathayo won first place all island in 1998, which portrays the tragedy of a family abandoned by the breadwinner.

Dolapihilla also worked as a founding instructor of traditional woodcrafts at the Battaramulla Jana Kala Kendraya (National Crafts Village) from November 1988 to December 1995. During his tenure, he not only shared his knowledge and experience with over 200 youth studying at the training centre in Jana Kala Kendraya, but also trained several woodcraft instructors. He played a key role in designing courses for traditional carpentry and wood carvings in addition to producing two handbooks, for the instructors and students.

At each annual Vishva Karma Awarding Ceremony and Exhibition at least one of his students won an award. And so did their mentor, as Dolapihilla too won several awards up to national level for his enchanting woodcrafts and sculptures. In the 80’s he returned to his home at Kalapuraya in Kundasale and continued to produce woodcrafts and occasionally engaged in film set designing.

Due to many reasons including the diminishing supply of wood, the sales of woodcraft declined significantly, and he switched to making wedding poru. His poru designs ranged from traditional to modern. They are aesthetically pleasing as much as astrologically precise, for he incorporates the exact traditional dimensions that is said to bring good fortune to the couple.

Experience

Now at the age of 64, he still works just as hard as he did back in his youth, yearning every moment for an opportunity to share his knowledge and experience. His wife is a Fine Arts graduate and an art teacher. He is blessed with three children, a son and two daughters who have inherited his talents and creativity, and are presently pursuing their own aspirations in various fields. His gallery was like a treasure trove of innovation and creativity, silently whispering the many days and weeks of meticulous toil and boundless commitment rendered to produce them. There were lustrous woodcrafts and sculptures, attractive p?ru designs, towering statues, fine wooden masks featuring the Kolam tradition as well as beautiful Kandyan paintings to be used for a prop of a stage drama.

He says the demand of customers and markets have changed dramatically over the years that many seem to opt for cheap mass produced imitations rather than original handcrafted products. As the demand for technology increase, the thirst for traditional craftsmanship declines at the same rate. Being a well-known craftsman, Dolapihilla holds several titles in the Associations of Craftsmen and has won numerous awards and accolades including President Award, Rathna Deepa Award, Kalabhooshana State Award, and several regional awards for his refined artworks and extensive services. Being a magnanimous person active in social work, he is the consultant and instructor during every religious and national function in the area. In the face of modernisation, technology and market demands, he doesn’t give up and continues to support his fellow traditional craftsmen, helping them gain more experience and make a name for themselves in the country and beyond.