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| Sunday, 1 January 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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New Year 2006 :
Hopes and aspirations The beginning of a new year brings with it new desires, new goals and new aspirations. Sunday Observer finds out what might already be written or is yet to be written on brand new diaries at the beginning of the new year. by Aditha Dissanayake
Maestro W. D. Amaradeva is already determined to make the best of the year ahead, ensuring that 2006 will become yet another landmark in his career as one of the foremost musicians of the country. He will be touring Canada and the U.S.A from February to April and on his return in May begin work on a new musical opera based on the Guthila Kavya, called the Guthila Geethaya. Dr. Henry Jayasena too, says he "would like to move about a bit more" in 2006. He will participate in another teledrama and dedicate most of his time to work on the Manel Jayasena Trust. He also hopes to write a new novel but confesses "other than doing whatever good work I can do, I have not thought very far into the year ahead". Travel though, is not on the agenda of Tissa Devendra, Chairman, National Council for Administration, turned writer, whose latest book On Horse Shoe Street was launched last year. Even though he likes to visit new countries, the hassles of being airborne has made him determined to be earthbound in the year ahead, dedicating himself to improving the administration of the country, because he believes "Sri Lanka has only one way to go in 2006, up!". Having worked as a government administrator in Jaffna and Trincomalee and having made many friends there, he fervently hopes a peaceful solution will be reached to the ethnic conflict in the new year. "I am not going to do anything dramatic or exciting like taking up painting in the year ahead" he assures us. "I'll be reading, writing and spending time with my three grandchildren in 2006". Another doting grandfather, Professor J. B. Dissanayaka too will be devoting most of his time to children in the new year by contributing to the literature of children in Sinhala and English. Having already completed fourteen books in the series based on village folk-tales Professor Dissanayaka says he will begin work on another series with the aim of introducing our culture to our children in 2006. "Our children should be taught that there is more to an event like the Kandy Perahera than counting the number of elephants" explains Professor Dissanayaka. Having almost single-handedly taken upon himself the task of being the Guardian of the Sinhala Language, the Professor also hopes to write a book on Sinhala grammar in 2006. His wife, Kusum Dissanayaka too hopes to come out with a collection of short stories in the year ahead. She says that even though she doesn't have any so called new year resolutions, she has one resolution for life "to write more and more". Professor Dissanayaka adds to this by saying "I make no new year resolutions, because I never fulfil them. But every year I hope to write a book because a book will be there for a longer period, which is not the same with newspaper articles". Professor D. C. R. A. Goonetilleke, too hopes to devote himself to reading and writing in 2006. Commenting on the current literary scene he says "There is a proliferation of writing in English in Sri Lanka at present. This writing is of mixed quality and needs aim and direction. I hope the writing itself will continue to flourish in the year ahead and that the necessary direction and the evaluation will also be forthcoming". Recently returned from a three-month stint in India, Dr. Basil Mihiripenna says his main resolution in 2006 is to inaugurate a professional training centre for traditional dancing. The institute he is planning to build with the donations given to the Hela Udana Cultural Fund, instigated by him, which would provide residential facilities, thus reverting to the guru-kula system, when the students are given the opportunity of living with the master while absorbing the intricacies of the dance traditions will be the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. A trip with his dance troupe to India in March is also on the agenda for Dr.Mihiripenna in the year just about to unravel. Meanwhile, Sirisumana Godage, CEO of Godage Book Emporium says he intends to continue publishing upto around 700 books in Sinhala, English and Tamil in the year ahead, and hopes to compile an encyclopedia of Sri Lankan history before the year ends. He has one main resolution for 2006. "To contribute in every way possible to uplift Sri Lankan literature in all three languages". Amaresh Pereira, the young artist from Kandy in whose paintings Carl Muller sees "the burning vision of a Turner, the stark lines of an El Greco, the surrealistic meanings of a Goya and the loving details of a Monet", says he intends to get "closer to our culture" in the year ahead. i.e travel to Matara to study and paint the traditional dancers, capturing their life and times onto the canvas. Admitting these are more dreams than resolutions, Amaresh says he would like to use his paintings to create a bridge of brotherhood with the youth of Jaffna. "I want to work towards achieving peace through my work. I want to use all my talents and resources to promote brotherhood. Says Amaresh. Having already paid several trips to Jaffna on his own and met and talked with several undergraduates of the University of Jaffna, he had found the atmosphere in Jaffna quite "peaceful". "Peaceful to an artist. "Unlike in Kandy I felt I could easily have an easel in the middle of the Jaffna town, and paint to my hearts content". Amaresh also says being young and vulnerable, there are times when he is drawn towards the darker, forbidding side of life, but that he hopes in the coming year he will be more attentive towards the advice of his elders and steer clear from evil temptations. Namel Weeramuni, talking about the programs lined up at the Namel Malini Punchi Theatre explains, the year will begin with a workshop on Henrik Ibsen, on January 13th and 14th . "The production of the English version of Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra's Sinhabahu is one major event that I have planned to launch in 2006." "I am still looking for actors and actresses to complete the cast. It is a big problem to get the right people for the particular characters, with a good knowledge of English and the ability to sing. Yet I am positive that I will ultimately succeed". Rapidly running out of space. The number of names on the list is endless. Perhaps you are on it too. Sorry, I could not get round to asking you about your new year hopes, dreams and aspirations... But here's wishing you will achieve everything you are planning to do in the year ahead. You are bound to do so, if you dare to dream, dare to live. Let 2006 be your year! Focus on goals by Umangi de Mel
Dashing through the snow into a very happy New Year 2006, we go with a couple of new year resolutions, which are most of the time, not kept... But stepping into a brand new year with quite an open mind we took the trouble to ask a few successful personalities in the year 2005 for their resolutions for the year 2006. Twenty seven year-old Madrive Jayasekera who won the Fashion Designer in 2005 says, that the year 2005 has treated her pretty well, "It was a good experience and I learnt that I could do whatever I set my mind on, basically." Talking about her victory Madrive says that it's her second award as a fashion designer, "three years back at my graduation at (LIFT) I became the designer of the year. But this was a little different as it was an open contest where talent was ample. It was more challenging than the last one. I was actually very surprised when I got it, because all of them were very talented and the standards were higher than I expected. And of course, I did my own sewing, embroidery and painting and I must be the only contestant who did everything by myself." Finally being able to reap what she sowed, Madrive says she couldn't have done it without her best friend Christian. Thus making not one but four new year resolutions, she says the first would be to get down to serious designing, "that's what I always wanted to do. In doing so, hopefully to become my own boss. And my second resolution for 2006 is to be less speculative and judgemental of people and in the process, accept the human race for what they are... Well, the third one would to be more positive, negotiative and have faith in myself. And the last one would be to cut down on my sweets and replace it with fruits." Twenty two -year-old Heshan Jayawardena, who got the best musician award at TNL on stage says the year 2005 has been good, "I've improved as a drummer. I joined Tantrum in 2005, so it's been a productive year, as a musician. As for my winning the best musician award, well I wasn't especially to win. All the other guys were so good but I think for some reason, people thought I had a mettle influence. And my new year resolution would be to improve as a drummer, and finish my IT degree." Jehan Aloysius (a very busy dramatist) says the year has been fantastic and he was able to work with tsunami children and helping them in the camps. "I also went to Scotland to perform at the Edinburgh Festival, where I performed with 25 tsunami affected children for a whole month as a part of trauma management and rebuilding lives. Actually the main good was to build confidence through drama and theatre. So basically, my new year resolution would be to continue my work. Even my theatre troupe has promised to do things for the whole community rather than the Colombo audience". He also says that they're also imitating a project where they'll be extending their work, "we're also doing a musical called 'Rag' which deals with ragging and violence in the university. We'll be taking it outside. I'll also continue my work at Care International and other places, basically to try and make a change through theatre and drama." |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days have gone by. Another three hundred and
sixty five have just begun. What lies ahead? How many of the days will be
happy? How many memorable? How many wished to be forgotten? 
