Arts

Rhythms of Sri Lanka brings traditional:

Beats to Fremantle's KULCHA Centre

It's a normal Friday night on the South Terrace strip in Fremantle. The street is alive with busy chatter and laughter from cafes' and the clink of more than a few wine glasses as people unwind after a long week of work.

But something is different. The excited buzz people-on-the-strip is beginning to get drowned out by the steady beat of pounding drums. A crowd is beginning to gather at the entrance of KULCHA, the WA multicultural arts centre, with everyone eager to get upstairs to see what the fuss is all about.

As the crowd settles into their seats, the stage erupts into a mass of light, colour and vibrant rhythms of the drumming showcase known as Rhythms of Sri Lanka. Through an energetic display of ritualistic Sri Lankan drumming and dance routines, the concert of sight and sound offered the Perth community a rare chance to experience the traditional percussion styles associated with the fabric of this culture.

As a collaborative project between Perth-based Sri Lankan artist Kanchana Karunarathna and Colombo-based master-drummer, dancer and choreographer Karunarathna Bandara - the dramatic and impressive displays also incorporate elaborate traditional costume design and reed flute accompaniments to tell the audience a story that dates back more than 2500 years.

Rhythms of Sri Lanka co-coordinator and percussionist Kanchana Karunarathna said the project had been in the making for 10 years.

"I have known Mr. Bandara for 17 years now," Mr. Karunarathna said.

"(Mr. Bandara) was my original teacher in Sri Lanka before my family migrated to Australia when I was 10 years old, but we kept in close correspondence through my father and my ambition to learn as much as possible about the traditional drumming styles within my culture.

"Before my father passed 10 years ago, he came up with the idea of bringing Mr. Bandara to Perth - to show the community the nature of traditional Sri Lankan drumming through his unique skills as a musician. "After my father passed, I wanted to fulfill his project - not only to create a showcase for the community, but to make his dreams a reality."

At the concert, an album documenting the performance was launched in Mr. Karunarathna's father's honor.

With the project being well-received in the local community, Mr. Karunarathna is excited about working with the acclaimed Mr. Bandara in the future.

"It's great to be working one-on-one with Mr. Bandara again," he said. "When I was younger, the teacher-to-student gap hindered me from understanding his principles - but now I know him more as a person than a teacher.

"The turn-out for opening night was fantastic, as there's always the risk of not knowing if you're going to keep your head above water.

"Both Mr. Bandara and I are really keen in the future to create a fusion project between contemporary and traditional styles - judging on how we've been received in the community, it should be interesting."

Courtesy : Asia Times

Gangsters to take over cinemas

Gangsters, a Hindi romantic movie by Mukesh Bhatta will, soon, hit the Sri Lankan big screen islandwide with its release from November 10. The Hindi romance which is tipped to take the Sri Lankan audience by storm, has been directed by Anukag Basu.

The film subtitled with English, is twined around a romance that takes the audience to many parts of the globe including South Korea.

Young and attractive Simran, though seems perfect, is terribly lacking something in her life. She is a semi-alchololic, spiralling towards a certain doom when she meets Akash by chance. Akash is a singer in an Indian restaurant in South Korea. The relationship thus commenced as friendship gradually develops into a passionate love affair.

Only when it becomes a love, Akash learns of the demons that haunted Simrsn's soul. Her sordid past haunts her presence. She has not only journeyed from the bars of Mumbai to the far East but is also the girlfriend of the deadly gangster Daya, who is the most sought after fugitive from India.

When Daya discovers her relationship with Akash, he promises to go straight, in order to keep her and fulfil her dreams of a normal, simple life. However, life is not simple and Simran discovers at that point that she is pregnant by Akash.

In a desperate bid to solve the dilemma she is in, Simran hurls herself into a firestorm that she could never have anticipated and now has to battle to be able to unite with the one man that she truly loves.

(IT)