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| Sunday, 12 January 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Samanala Uyana soon on screen by Jayanthi Liyanage
It is a story set against a beautiful garden. Of a man whose maturity is matched by an obsessive passion for his garden. To this garden, a young butterfly flies in and is trapped by the garden's subtle enticing. Samanala Uyana (The Garden of Butterflies) is the newest film to be made by the renowned film-maker Sumithra Peries in celebration of Ceylon Theatres Ltd. being in cinema for 75 years. The film will be her visual translation of Godfrey Goonatilleke's short story, The Garden. It is an unusual love story of a couple set apart by years, yet drawn together by the emotional bonds forged through marital ties. "An exploration of a marital relationship in which a man is married to a girl much younger to him", explains Sumithra, humorously hastening to add, "Not an autobiography!" Sleeping cracks in this matrimonial idyll come to surface when the husband's young brother returns home from studies abroad. Full of vitality, he brings to life her youth she overlooked in order to be close to the man she married. The film allegorically examines the conflicting aspirations and outlooks of these differently-aged individuals, with each reaching a stage of self-analysis and a questioning of one's future direction. "The film has no dramatics", Sanath Goonetilleke describes his male lead, with Kanchana Mendis as the female lead. The film introduces as the young brother, the newcomer, Dinindu Jagoda, the 23-year-old son of late theatre veteran Dhamma Jagoda and Manel Jagoda.
Dinindu ascribes his presence in performing arts to his mother's theatre school, "Maya Shakthi", and his unexpected debut cinema role to an equally unexpected turn of events. "The film's Assistant Director, Asoka Rodrigo, asked me to sing at a friend's party and in total contrast to what he expected from my denim-gear, I burst out into Pandit Amaradeva's 'Sasara Wasana Thuru'". Rodrigo was impressed and Dinindu found himself being auditioned by the country's most sought after film-making duo Lester and Sumithra. The film also stars Vasanthi Chaturani, Rangana Premaratne and Daya Tennakoon with Irangani Serasinghe taking on the role of visually-impaired mother-in-law. Directed by Smuthra, Samanala Uyana will be produced by Ceylon Theatres Ltd. ############### Eleventh annual kala pola
The 11th annual Kala Pola will be held on January 19 at Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, opposite the National Art Gallery. It is presented by the George Keyt Foundation and sponsored by the John Keells Group. At a press conference held to publicise this event, Mr. Cedric de Silva, Chairman of the George Keyt Foundation said that the Kala Pola had turned out to be Colombo's most successful and popular artistic event. Presented for the first time in July '93 and thereafter every January, the Kala Pola has taken painting and sculpture from galleries and museums into the open air, providing a large spread of it for thousands to appreciate and acquire. The pavements opposite the National Art Gallery at Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha will be the venue as always and the George Keyt Foundation with the ever present support of the John Keells Group will make the street inviting to both artists as well as the public for this unrivalled, collective artistic event of the year. ############### Amarnath's new film at Rotterdam film festival
IFFR is a specialised film festival which supports the promotion of sales of movies from the developing countries for the worldwide market place. Based on the popular novel by Nihal P. Jayatunga it is a story set between the years 1987-90 when Northern Sri Lanka raged with terror of separatism and Southern Sri Lanka was under the siege of an insurrection marked by regain of terror, torture and murder. Against this horrifying backdrop disappearances of men, women and youth were a common occurrence. This is the story of two families caught between the disappearance in one family that is symbolic of the epoch that engulfed the country in flames of terror. The cast is headed by Nita Fernando, Clitus Mendis, Vishaka Siriwardhana, Madhuranga Chandeemal and Anushka Nilanjani Ekanayaka. Its cinematography is by Lal Wickremarachchi, edited by Elmo Halliday and the music is composed and performed by Priyanjit Wijesekara. The film is produced and directed by Amaranath Jayatilaka on loans provided by the Film Development Fund of the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. It will be released this year. ############### From sun rise to sun set by J. B. Disanayaka The sun rises at dawn and sets at dusk. In between many things happen, and what happens depends where you are, whether you are near the equator or far away from it. If you are near the equator the sun moves above your head at midday but if you are in the very far north or south of the world, the sun will be seen even at midnight but not passing above your head. In Sinhala, the sun is called 'ira' or 'hira' and morning is 'ude:'. There is yet another term to denote 'early morning': 'irima: ude:' in which 'ma:' means 'big' or 'great'. Dawn is called 'pa:ndara' or 'ude: pandara'. The word 'pa:ndara' is a contraction of the two words 'pahan' meaning 'light' and 'dora' meaning 'door' or 'gateway'. Dawn is the time when the first rays of sun enters the world. The light (eliya) of the sun is called 'ira eliya' (sun-light). Thus 'eli venava' denotes the time when the first rays of the sun appear in the sky. Sun-shine is called 'ira avva' or simply 'avva' and thus the phrases 'avva pa:yanava' and 'avva vaetenava' refer to the act when sun-shine spreads across the sky. When there is too much strong sunlight, it can cause 'sun-stroke' which is called in Sinhala 'iruva:rade:'. From morning till evening the sun is on the move. At twelve noon, it reaches the summit, 'muduna' and the gradual movement towards the summit is called in Sinhala ira mudun venava. The time (vela:va) when the sun has reached the summit is called ira mudun vela:va. In Sinhala folk idiom, this time (ya:me or ja:me) is called ira mudun ja:me, ira mudun ya:me. Folk priests consider this hour as one full of ritual danger and there is a particular healing ritual performed at this hour called 'ira mudun samayama'. At dusk, the sun sets, and in Sinhala folk speech it is called ira gala vaetenava. In this there is an allusion to a rock, (gala), behind which the sun (ira) sets. The sun at sun set is a beautiful sight to see. Thus says the folk poet: ire: ruva balan ira gala vaetena kota (Watch the beauty of the sun when it falls behind the sun-rock). ############### Agnidahaya - a rare cinematic creation by Dr. Senarath Tennakoon The writer, producer and director, Jayantha Chandrasiri has created a rare, memorable and matchless cinematic creation, "Agnidahaya"; is amazing and ambient in plot, texture, technology and amplitude. Jayantha's uncommon talent and potential were previously displayed in his magnificent teledramas like "Veda Hamine", "Dadubasnamanaya" and "Akala Sandaya". "Dadubasnamanaya (The range of an Arrow was perhaps a prelude to "Agnidhaya". In the plot, Jayantha examines the vibrant issues of human power struggle, sexuality and mystique, with intuition and suspicion. King Rajasinghe the second, had to face a turbulent period because of Dutch intrusion and the rebellion launched by a local rebel-lord- Ambanawela Rala. Punchirala is an exorcist who supports Ambanawela Rala. Sobana, is Punchirala's assistant. Herath is a merchant who has easy access to the Dutch-controlled region. It is Kirimanika, who nurses and ignites the flames of gender sensitivity in the pink bosoms of Punchirala, Sobana and Herath. In "Agnidahaya", one key sublime characteristic is the behaviourial change that evolves in Sobana, after his attachment to Kirimanika. Even Kirimanika becomes a changed woman, after her indepth cognition of Sobana's talents and motives. Jayantha has selected the cream of actors for his creation. Sanath Gunatillake, Kamal Addraarachchi, Jackson Antony, Buddhadasa Withanarachchi and Yasoda Wimaladarma vie one another in their performances. Their respective roles and specific tasks appear to be quite challenging and quite different from their previous ones, in their creative experiences. In that sense, Jayantha has offered them novel opportunities for testing their creative acumen and potential. Throughout the entire profile of "Agnidahaya" a keen observer could discern Jayantha's quest for novel editing techniques. Angle and close-up shots, in particular, have been selectively employed to elicit a "de luxe" quality to several scenes in the decision-making dialogues between Kirimanika and Sobana. In particular, the close up shots of Sobana and Kirimanika elucidate the inner feelings lurking within them. Prof. Khemadasa's musical contribution, as expected, has strengthened the quality of Agnidahaya. ############### Musings of a ghost from the past : Random thoughts on Prof. Sucarita Gamlath by Prof. Suwanda H.J.Sugunasiri, University of Toronto, and Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies The thoughts I seek to share with you were triggered by reading two of Professor Sucarita Gamlath's works, Guru Guna Samara and Manamay Naatya Saywanaya. And I write this in English with apologies to the Sinhalese reader. Why comment in English on a book written in Sinhala? Here I can only ask for the reader's understanding. It is that I have simply lost my ability to write in Sinhala. My faculty days at Vidyodaya University were in the early seventies! My recent Sinhala book, Sinhala Ketikataaway Sambhavaya haa Vyaaptiya, for those who have seen it, was written, to share a secret, as my master's thesis at Vidyalankara in the sixties. With that caveat, then, on to the books. It is not with any particular expectation that I read the two works, given to me in Canada, by one who knew my great regard for Prof. Saracchandra. Though no student of his, I have had the humble privilege of acting in two of his plays, Maname and Hastikaanta Mantaray, a very minor role in each of them. My last personal encounter with him was when I returned to Sri Lanka in 1971, after seven years overseas, when he said, "I thought you had left us for good." I did have communication with him both when he was in the States teaching and in Paris as Ambassador. But what a chalice of nectar it was for a chance been reading on him! Chance, because it just fell into my hands. Chalice because it took me right back to a time, culture and excitement, indeed a life I had left behind some forty years ago, thanks to a US Fulbright scholarship in 1964. Once into the pages of Guru Guna Samara - what in the early pages of at least read like a Prashasti kavyaya 'panygeric poem', I was a real Madhupa. A 'honey-sucker', as was my pseudonym, little-known, writing a column for Dawasa (Independent Newspapers Ltd.) under the late Mr. D.B. Dhanapala, and the careful editorial eye of Mr. David Karunaratna. The nostalgia for me in guru guna samara was encountering many a cultural elite of the day - Amaradeva, Gunadasa Amarasekara, Gunasena Galappatty, H M Gunasekara, Siri Gunasinghe, K Jayatilleka, Madawala Ratnayaka and P Welikala. It was as if I was meeting them again, as I had in my culture vulture days, through theatre or making home at YMBA with the likes of Madawala and HM. Not, of course, that they cared for me much. This was the sort of emotional grab that the good professor's book had on me. But the work also brought me up to speed on the cultural scene since my departure. I mean here not only the many plays written and produced by Professor Saracchandra, but also his personal life (the careful attention to grooming and good health in particular struck me), warts and all (as e.g., conflict between him and his protogo, and my good friend, Gunadasa Amarasekara). This background will help understand part of my title - a ghost from the past. As to musings, because it has triggered in me some random thoughts, for no particular reason, other than my personal and academic interest perhaps. On Guru Guna Samara There are a great many features I like in both of Professor Gamlath's works. But although much of my comments are on Guru Guna Samara, allow me to make a quick comment on Maname Naatya Saywanaya first, if only because I myself have written on Maname critically. As the title of my paper, "Sexism in Maname" (in the J of South Asian Studies, xxix.2) makes it clear up front, it is on patriarchy. But, it is with a sense of humility that I tell you that the treatment of the subject by the good professor far outweighs my own. The good professor's critique is not only more comprehensive but certainly far sharper than my own feeble attempt. Equally refreshing was the Marxist undertone of his critique, which, like an Uragala 'sharpening stone', helps him do it, as we say in North America, with pizzas. If one sees the same sharp and critical eye in Guru Guna Samara, what I value equally is his candor, and daring, in taking on his very own guru - intellectual master and personal mentor, in the hallowed tradition of Moosila vis-a-vis Guttila. My own memory is that the Sinhalese artist brooked no criticism. I well remember how in a newspaper review I characterized Henry Jayasena's experimental play Janeylaya 'window' as a 'half-baked potato', and got into real hot water with him, who was by now sharing the same Maname bus tour! But what strikes me as a rare noble value and a healthy attitude in Professor Gamlath is not allowing that critical awareness to mitigate the highest personal regard he has for his guru. I call the combination 'critical compassion'. Critique when you must, professionally, but be grateful, and compassionate, personally. That the attitude helped maintain the relationship between teacher and pupil is evidenced by the late Professor turning to his wife, Lalita, on his death bed, and mumbling, "Look after him". Not once, but twice (P. 95). What an elevating example for social living, on the part of both. Prof. Gamalath's work undoubtedly contains many a gem, rendered all the more lustrous by his sharp insight. But in the confidence that sharper minds have done more than justice to him in evaluating his contributions, I shall only make mention of the two outstanding features of his work. The breath of knowledge shown is one - from theatre to classical Sinhala literature to Marxism to... the list goes on. The other is the richness and skill of language usage. When waxing poetic in his description of the Peradeniya campus (pp.35-6), or engaging in critical analysis, he raises the quality of language by more than a few notches. He is, as the blurb on the back page appraises the reader of, quite at ease with Sinhala, Hela, Pela (Pali) and Saku (Sanskrit). With these few broad comments, then, I now seek the reader's permission to move on to three matters that have jumped at me reading the good professor's work. They all relate to the issue of development, an area of academic interest to me (see my article, "Nationalism and Development" in Development Express (1999) published by the Canadian International Development Agency). Hopefully, it may be of some mild interest to the reader. "Unreaching the masses on Sinhala and Development will appear on January 26. ############### Carrying the family tradition globally by ANJANA GAMAGE They arrived in Sri Lanka from the "Land of Maharajas". The Rajasthan Folk Dance troupe who were in Colombo recently, to perform at the National Dance Festival, organised by the Cultural Affairs Ministry under the cultural exchange programme between India and Sri Lanka. The troupe comprised ten artistes with Umrao Khan Langa as the leader, Samsu Khan Langa (Sarangi player), Sakoor Khan Langa (Harmonum), Atamohammed Langa (Khatal Vadak), Sikandar Khan Langa (Drum), Kalunath (Flute) and four women dancers - Jasu, Samada, Rekha and Sukiya. According to the leader of the troupe - Umrao, their dancing presentations are traditional performances handed down from generation to generation. "We do not have to attend dancing classes as others. It is not a formal education", he said explaining that the troupe members are associated with each other. Drescribing the Rajasthani folk dance the troupe does as traditional performance, Langa said it was a gift for all of them from their ancient family members and would be continued. In 1985, the present leader of the troupe, Umrao Khan founded the Langa Vikas Lok Sangeet Society and got land allotted from the government for construction of a Sangeet Bhawan in Falodi town for the progress and development of music. Since the setting up of the society he along with his team have presented several programmes for All India Radio, Doordarshan, Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal, Nehru Youth Centre and Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy. Although this was their first visit to Sri Lanka, they had travelled all over the world with their traditional folk dance performance, including USA, France, Hong Kong, Turkey, Japan, London, Dubai, Germany and Italy. "Every visit was a memorable one for us. But we must specially mention one thing. When we were performing here, the feedback we got from the spectators was something totally different and was unlike anything we've experienced before. The crowd was very enthusiastic and we will never forget the praise they gave to us at the end of each show", the oldest member of the troupe, Kalunath (52), said. (This interview was conducted with the assistance of Mr. Jai Singh of the Indian High Commission) ############### Books : Focus on little known facts of Sri Lanka's history Dafther Jailany Reviewed by A. Denis N. Fernando (Former President, Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka) I came to know Mr. Aboosally as a member of the Royal Asiatic Society where he showed a keen interest in historical matters. He subsequently became the Deputy Minister in the Mahaweli Ministry following my discovery of the ancient Maduru Oya sluice in 1981. I accompanied him on several official visits to ancient, historical and archaeological sites. At that time, was commissioned by Gamini Dissanayake, the Minister of Mahaweli Development, to prepare the lay out to display artifacts for the Mahaweli Centre and was also given the task of collecting and displaying artifacts of interest in relation to our ancient hydraulic civilisation. Mr. Aboosally showed a keen interest and also participated in some of the visits. Mr. Aboosally came to know of my several visit (Sri Pada) Adams Peak along its different paths, in particular of my attempt at locating the land route that Ibn Batuta took from Attala to Adam's Peak and back, which included his passing through Balangoda, Mr. Aboosally's hometown and the Dafther Jailany rock cave mosque of which he was the trustee. These interactions brought about a close rapport between us. Sri Pada, also known as Adam's Peak, was venerated from ancient times. Some believe that the footprint on the mountain top was the footprint of Adam, the progenitor of the human race while others believed that it was the footprint of the Enlightened One, while others yet attributed it to one of the other gods they believed in. Be that as it may, as a scientist it is clear that the footprint has been sculptured in the Iron Age by those who had access to iron tools. The Iron Age dawned in Sri Lanka through early immigrants namely the Yakkas (who were Persian) and Nagas (who were Erythrean) who had access to this technology even before the advent of Vijaya. The antiquity of Adam's peak (Sri Pada) could be attributed to ancient seafarers and merchants who were enamoured by the mountain and drawn to it after seeing it from the ocean in their journeys to Sri Lanka. Adams' Peak (Sri Pada) was believed to have been the highest mountain in the world as conjectured by the ancients who had then no technology to measure heights except by speculative observation. There is even speculation the Alexander the Great visited Sri Lanka although he did not and could not have placed the iron chains still found there which facilitate the climb to the top. These chains were placed, if at all, by Alexander's forward troops, the Kataragama Ksatriyas, who came to Sri Lanka. Be that as it may, this could possibly be the reason to link it the Alexander tradition. However, one has only to visit this mountain and see the vision and splendour of the morning sunrise to be enthraled by it because it is a sight one would never forget in a lifetime. It is possibly this that pilgrims of different religious beliefs were drawn to - not only be the description of this sight through word of mouth but also for the closeness of communication with the Gods in their heavens. The marvel that was Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) was spread the world over - even indicated by Ptolemy (circa 150 AD) in his Taprobane. The mountain drew pilgrims from all faiths from the BC period and is indicated in several Brahamic inscriptions enroute to the Peak at various stops, including at Dafther Jailany, indicating that the Peak was visited by Buddhists as well. Ibn Batuta had well recorded the route to the mountain and back with enough topographical details to establish it. (This map was compiled by me and reproduced in Mr. Aboosally's book). The details provided by Mr. Aboosally is of much interest not only to Muslims but also to all Sri Lankans. The book brings to light facts little known to us and is recommended especially to those who have little or no access to reading of our history. The reader would be further drawn to the fascinating story of Sri Lanka's historical development. Mr Aboosally presents aspects of our history that every citizen should be aware of, as it is the very lifeblood of our people that has kept us together as a nation together. In this materialistic world where people are only interested in promoting their own interests, so that they can all divide and rule us - every Sri Lankan citizen should know of our diverse cultural and historical past. Foreigners tend to discount and ignore our long history which has spanned over 2,500 years and which we are heirs to - we should be proud of the tradition of tolerance that epitomises our traditional Buddhist civilisation that sustained us as a single and unique nation drawn from all the cultures of the world. Mr. Aboosally, in addition to the descriptive passages of the book, gives life to his narration with several colour photographs of different scenes and inscription which includes the Maduru Oya dam and Sluice. (In this connection, I have to remind the reader that the dating of the sluice gate was done with only one sample and therefore more samples need to be examined before establishing its antiquity with scientific precision. However it could be accepted that it did exist in the time Pandukabaya when he had create rapport with the Yakkas in the BC period. I recommend all Sri Lankans to read this very interesting book as it is of interest to all, whether Muslims or not. Moreover it contains over 25 illustrations and maps from which much information can be gathered. ############### 'Kavuluwa' exhibition "Kavuluwa", an exhibition of paintings by architect Nilu Kottegoda will be held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on January 18 and 19 from 10.30 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. daily. As young architect Nilu puts it, "Art is and always will be intricately woven to the human psyche. It is man's hunger of expressing his individuality where the creative process can mean more to the artist than to the beholder." Painting and art has been a life long passion to Nilu, which influenced in her choice of career in architecture. Even while continuing a highly strenuous architectural eduction, most of her spare time was dedicated to the pursuit of learning about the great masters and the constantly evolving movements and schools of thought in the world of art. Her inspiration, she says has always been the impressionists. "It is how they captured the quality of light that is so beautiful, the changing light and the shadows it creates is held in their paintings giving it that quality of light and air". A completely self taught artist she admits that a painting can never be completely finished. It is, she says, "constantly evolving just as it is with a single thought". |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
Well-known filmologist Amarnath Jayatilaka's latest Sinhala film
Bheeshanye Athuru Kathawak (a drop in the reign of terror) has been
selected by the organisers of the International Film Festival: Rotterdam
in the Netherlands for presentation in the upcoming edition in January
2003.
