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| Sunday, 30 November 2003 |
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Features |  |
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Prithipurability : The differently abled have much to offer Products from Prithipura Infants Home have been teamed with photography in an exhibition that will take place at Finomenal Space Gallery, 35, Galle Face Court 1, Colombo 3, from December 3-10.
Everyone is encouraged to put aside their preconceptions about abled and disabled people and look at the work from a purely aesthetic point of view. This way, people will buy the goods because they are desirable rather than purely for a good cause. The people at Prithipura don't want pity, rather they want to be recognised for their individual skills and abilities. All too often, the skills and abilities of these people are underestimated because of their disabilities, and people feel more comfortable pitying or over-protecting the disabled than giving them options and independence. Prithipura Infant Homes have been working with people with disabilities for almost 40 years and recognises that everyone has something to offer, no matter how big or small. The people who go to live there as children have often been abandoned by their parents and consequently have little hope of returning to the community after rehabilitation, education and training. For them, Prithipura is home, and therefore internal job opportunities have been developed to ensure that they can engage in meaningful work.
If you are interested in visiting Prithipura Infant Homes or purchasing
goods or making a donation, contact: Prithipura Infant Home, Hendala,
Wattala. Tel: 012930635. e-mail: [email protected] ###### The Ritual : Novel theatre experience by Jayanthi Liyanage
One could say that the timing of The Ritual, staged at the fiftieth anniversary of the Lionel Wendt Theatre, could be deemed a timely omen. For this satirical stage tragedy of director/producer, Jehan Aloysius, whom the play's audiences are compelled to believe at the close of the curtains, to have achieved one of the most singularly unusual theatre interpretations of recent times, the production could not have been more timely. One reason why this is so, was partly hidden in the printed information clutter during the period, in a modestly announced news item that a young mother and her infant son inexplainably perished after a "bottle lamp accident." The other more coherent reason, consequential to the first, is in the question of how many more metaphorical "bottle lamp fires" must incinerate us in our day-to-day personal lives, expanding to wilder fires in our political lives? Bottled-up, little inner fires of suspicion, gluttonously fed and fanned in remorseless mirth by the outside fires of malice and gossip, born of inherent human curiosity to probe and observe how far it could go. Many such bottles do not climax in actual "accidents", yet, the plunder of flames on the mind leaves charred edges which are hard to regenerate. It was obvious that much thought had gone into the role construction and the play of the family made of mother - Karunawathie (Tracy Holsinger), daughter-in-law - Kalani (Anushka Pereira), elder son - Chandrasekare (Rajiv Ponweera) and younger son - Sujeewa (Leon Arendtsz), and the village gossip Ariyawathie (Ruhani Perera) who play havoc with the demons in the vulnerable mentalities of Chandra and Kalani. The new comer Rajiv as Chandra, the role ably executed by Jehan in the earlier renditions, gives a notable performance worthy of applause, as the tormented and enduring young husband, torn between his mother, young wife and the fuelled fires. In fact, Jehan has improved his new rendition of The Ritual. Its psycho-analysis through the manipulation of "Yakkas" in the local devil dance tradition, was further enhanced. The play is unique for its fusion of the characteristics of Maru Yakshaya (Michael Jayawardena) and Andabera Karaya (Chaminda Jinarathna) to the black and white hues of Chandra's mind; and the portrayal of Kalani's increasing desperation through the medium of young Lenchina (Sugibun Sathiamoorthi) and Nonchi Akka (Marlon Flavian) who enacts Kalani's perception of Karuna. All the players deserve praise for the commitment they show to their characters. The Ritual also achieved an unbroken tempo, manipulated through cleverly mixed oriental sounds and brisk flowing of the scenes, which is a pointer to the talent of Centrestage Productions which has ventured into a novel experiment with this play. The Ritual can be, perhaps, called a modern day "Thovilaya" or a ritual of exorcism which tries to exorcise the Sri Lankan mindsets of malignant social attitudes in the social constructions of family, parent-child relationship, marriage and child bearing. Jehan does this exorcism in style, using Sri Lankan "Singlish" to fuse Sinhala village colloquialism with its mannerisms and perceptions. The Ritual is a theatre experience, of such a nature that may not be seen for some time. |
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News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
When people first see the products of Prithipura Infant Homes, they
often ask if people with disabilities have really produced them. It is
Prithipura policy is that all work with their logo on it is made primarily
by this group to show the public what can be done with the right training
and guidance.
The latest initiative is the Prithipurability Workshop, which provides
employment for those who can be trained to produce high quality
handicrafts for the Sri Lankan market. After training and practice,
workers begin to produce for partner retailers, such as Barefoot, and are
paid according to how much work they complete. In addition, the workers
are given training in money handling skills so they can develop the
knowledge and abilities to be able to go shopping independently.
