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| Sunday, 26 March 2006 |
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Arts Be Lankan, buy Lankan by Aditha Dissanayake Kusumawathi sits inside a mock cadjun hut in the middle of the National Art Gallery, weaving a mat. Next to her Swarnamali sells red clay pots priced at Rs. 65.00, which she guarantees are energy saving devices for the health conscious who use gas cookers; "cooking in aluminium pots is not healthy, but these earthenware pots are good for you", says her sales assistant, opening the lid of one of the pots and tapping the base with his finger. Two stalls away, M.G.Premachandra too sells "good-health" products. He has a range of herbs in the form of tea-bags (a packet of Iramusu costs Rs. 100, a packet of Karapincha Rs. 120) and suggests you serve your visitors a cup of iramusu when they pay you a visit instead of tea, to show how patriotic you are (Ape cama rakaganna mewa bonna). Meanwhile a monk... no, hold it there! If you had visited the National Art Gallery on March 17th, 18th and 19th, you would have met these small-scale entrepreneurs participating in the eco friendly handicrafts exhibition (Parisara Hithakami Athkam Alevi Pradarshanaya) and met G. Dammarathana Thera too, from the Sigiriya Handicrafts Village, selling Panhinda and Puskola, you already know all about it. But if you missed this opportunity, read on... The second in the series of exhibitions conducted by the National Crafts Council, (the first was at Queen's Hotel, Kandy) the exhibition in Colombo featured products which were entirely environment friendly. Every stall, allocated free to the participants, featured hand-made products ranging from wall-hangings to table cloths, stuffed toys to necklaces, handbags to lady's hats made without causing any harm to the environment. "Even these?" I had to ask H. M. Dayawathi when she showed me table mats made from the bark of the "Nawa" tree. Can they be called environment friendly? "Yes", she assures me. "We don't do any harm to the tree". Continuing a traditional craft she had learnt from her mother, who in turn had learnt it from her mother, Dayawathi says the bark is removed from the tree on the day of the full moon and the dyes she uses too are from herbs. Among her products are hats which would have looked good on royalty. "This is Rs. 2,500", says Nanda de Silva showing a cotton table cloth which had taken three weeks to stitch. She owns a Lace Centre on Matara Road, Megalle and explains how she had to start anew after her workshop was destroyed by the tsunami. "With the help of my sister and my niece I have managed to carry on, somehow or the other" says Silva, who is grateful to the National Crafts Council for the assistance they have given her to continue to make hand-made batiks, table cloths and pillow lace. M.G Premachandra of Seewali Osu Hala too says he too would be grateful to any form of financial support given to him and his wife to continue making the traditional herbal products for which he has to ravage the jungles to find the raw material. He suggests the best way you can do this is by purchasing his products. "Look at me. I have been diabetic for 19 years, but I'm still going strong, thanks to all these herbal medicines". So, if you missed last weekend, but if you are interested in seeing and promoting traditional practices, most of which are eco-friendly, be there in Kurunegala, at Maligapitiya on April 3rd, 4th, and 5th to visit, no less than 175 stalls where you will find products that match nature's pulchritude. Kala Pola: Meeting place for artists, art lovers by Ranga Chandrarathne The annual grand event of Kala Pola, a meeting place for artist and art lovers will be held along the leafy sidewalks of the Viharamahadevi park and the National Art Gallery on April 02 (Sunday). The much awaited grand event where nearly 300 artists are expected to display their creations, is expected to attract a large number of artists and art lovers from all parts of the country in addition to the growing art enthusiasts from the expatriate community. The annual event sponsored by John Keells Group and organised by the George Keyt Foundation will be held for the 13 consecutive year. This year's Kala Pola will feature nearly 300 artists and their creations with colour, music, songs and a lot of fun. Artistic appreciation Kala Pola was modelled in keeping with traditional open-air summer art fairs in European capitals such as Montmarte in Paris, with a fascinating air of festivity and a deep sense of artistic appreciation, after a harsh and dismal winter. Caricaturist, stilt walkers, Viridu singers and fortune tellers will add colour to the annual art fair where artists from all parts of the country and art lovers will converge to share their experience. "The John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation is strongly committed to supporting the art and culture of our country. We consider it a privilege to extend our patronage to Kala Pola, which is one of the most celebrated events in Sri Lanka's cultural calendar. Kala Pola showcases various talent from all parts of Sri Lanka and provides a platform for budding artists to display their work and launch their careers. I am very happy to note that Kala Pola is a good source of income for these artist, empowering them financially, while encouraging them to pursue their careers," said Sumithra Gunesekera, Director John Keells Holdings. |
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