Cultural Diary

Thanuja blossoms as a modern poet

by R. S. Karunaratne

Thanuja Dharmapala is a familiar name in journalistic circles. Although she is well versed in the Russian language, Thanuja writes her poems, short stories and other literary work in her mother tongue- Sinhala. Perhaps she believes that mother tongue is the best medium to express her ideas clearly and effectively.

Thanuja Dharmapala

Although Thanuja does not work as a fulltime journalist now, she comes to the surface from time to time. Her latest literary creation was "Lavanda", a compact disc containing the Sinhala version of some selected Russian songs.

By the way, "Lavanda" is a wild flower in Russia. The songs depict the Russian culture. Anybody who happens to listen to these songs will be reminded of the eminent Russian authors such as Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gorky, Gogol, Anna Akhmatova and Mayakovsky.

Her selection of Russian songs represents different aspects of the country's literary field. Dr. Victor Ratnayake sings "Moscow Evening", the Sinhala recreation of the Russian lyricist Mikhail Matusovsky.

The song hails the serene beauty of Moscow evoking nostalgic memories of the city for those who had the fortune to do their higher studies there. Following is the English version of the song translated by Malini Govinnage:

"Not even a whisper to be heard in the garden,
Everything has calmed down until dawn.
If you only knew how clear they are to me,
The evenings near Moscow!
The river is moving and sometimes not
All made of the moons silver
A song sounds and is not to be heard
In those quiet evenings.
Why do you darling look at me from the side,
Bending your head so low?
It is not easy to tell
All the things that are in my heart.
And dawn is getting more and more visible
So, please be so kind
You also don't forget
These summer evenings near Moscow."

Thanuja says the song was originally composed in 1955 and was sung at the Moscow Youth Festival in 1956. Meanwhile, the prize-winning American pianist Van Cliburn played it at the White House in 1979 when the late Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev visited the United States.

Thanuja has also recreated the popular Russian patriotic love song entitled "Katyusha" which was sung by Kaushalya Fernando. The original Russian song was written and composed by Mikhail Isokovsky.

Katyusha became so popular in Russia that the rocket launchers used by the Red Army during the World War II were named after it. Meanwhile, the popular Russian children's song was beautifully sung by Kithsiri Jayasekera and Pumudu Vitarana. The song celebrates the innocent wish of a child: Let the environment created by the sun remain there forever!

Thanuja had her education at Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo. After collecting her first degree in arts (BA) from the University of Colombo, she proceeded to Tashkent State University in Russia and obtained her Master's Degree (Honours) in Mass Communication. She worked for the Silumina newspaper for 13 years and edited the poetry and book review pages.

Up to now Thanuja has written 30 books of poetry. Her poetry collection "Digu Man Peth" was translated into English by Prof. Sunanda Mahendra. The same book was translated into Tamil by Swaminathan Wimal. Her latest novel entitled "Devadara Mawatha Den Kaluvarai" will be out shortly.

It will reflect her experiences gathered in Russia. Her short story collection "Dangediyata Yana Pare" will also be launched soon. Meanwhile, she has translated a number of Russian folk tales and fairy tales into Sinhala.

In recognition of her contribution to popularize Russian literature in Sri Lanka she was given an award by the Russian embassy in 2005.

At present, Thanuja works as a freelance journalist and a visiting lecturer in Mass Communication at the Press Institute, Colombo.

Sri Lankan dancer honoured in US

Disna Tennakoon a Sri Lankan dancer was among the five awardees that were honoured for their contribution in developing the Asian culture at a grand function arranged by the Asian American Democratic Caucus in Las Vegas.

The function was held on May 29, at the Italian American Club, with Congresswoman Shelley Berkley as the chief guest to celebrate the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States. Several elected officials including Congresswoman Dina Titus also attended the event.

Disna was recognized for her role of training the Sri Lankan children in dancing and preparing them to participate in cultural activities in Las Vegas.

Disna is an old girl of Nawala Ananda Primary and Ananda Balika Kotte. Her dance guru was Somapala Mudunkothge. She is married to Wijeya Tennakoon and she is a mother of two sons Anuradha and Pulathisi.

'Evocative' - classical piano recital

Classical music lovers can look forward to a stimulating concert performance by the acknowledged young pianist Eshantha Peiris at the Lionel Wendt on July 18. The concert titled Evocative will commence at 7.00 p.m.

The program for the evening will include compositions by Bach, Debussy, de Falla and Piazzolla. Eshantha Peiris has also chosen to play music composed by two recognised Sri Lankan musicians Dinuk Wijeratne - pianist/composer/conductor and Rohan de Livera.

Ananda Rathriya

Ananda Rathriya, a concert with artists produced by Ananda College over the last 60 years, will be held on July 17 at 6.30 p.m. at Ananda College Auditorium. The old Anandian artists from the 1950s to 2010 will take part in this unique concert which will bring back loads of memories.

The group of artists concert include Wijeratne Warakagoda, Jananatha Warakagoda, Bhathiya, Santhush, Jagath Wickremasinghe and Damith Walpola.