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Lovers sigh when the sire sings
“Thotupala ayine, kawuda atha wananne...” the melodious voice sent the audience at the Lumbini Theatre into a trance-like mood on the evening of July 23, 1973. Those who could not secure a seat on time, banged on the gates. Tears cascaded when adaraye ulpatha vu amma was sung while Sasara seri sarana thek had lovers locking hands. His voice crossed all boundaries of class, race and religion as the spellbound audience became one, humming Api okkoma rajawaru.

Since then, with his much celebrated ‘Sa’- the first solo performance by a Sri Lankan artiste, Victor Ratnayake has become the ‘voice of the lovers’, mesmerizing several generations through his ‘Sa’ series which has to-date a record 1,300 performances.

The Sunday Times met him soon after his return to the island from the US, where he was conferred with a Life Time Achievement Award, presented for his excellence in music of Sri Lanka by the Lanka-America Cultural Council of Hollywood. Mr. Ratnayake was the second Sri Lankan artiste to be honoured with this prestigious award after the late silver screen legend Gamini Fonseka.
In the mid-60s, an era marked by two extreme disciplines of music- classical and light, Mr. Ratnayake’s success was in bridging these two. Since his first song in 1964, an ode to Lord Buddha, Mr. Ratnayake has entertained the nation with hundreds of songs and film lyrics.

Even when he speaks, his syllables are sheer music as he recalls his cherished childhood memories. “We can enter the gates of our childhood only through words of a lyric. We can touch and feel that era through a melodious tune. I grew up in rural Kadugannawa where weli bath (sand pies) was not such a distant concept as it is to the present day youngsters,” smiles Mr. Ratnayake adding, “we had free time and most importantly the encouragement of our parents to explore mountains, to have a dip in the river- all of this which enriched our creativity and imagination.”

It was the same village surroundings that moulded this legendary musician. “I mastered both singing and instruments under Syril Perera- my guru at M.G.P. Institute in Mulgampola from where I proceeded to then State Music College in 1963, later known as Heywood and presently known as the Institute of Aesthetic Studies.”

Victor Ratnayake’s career as a professional musician began in 1964 where he became a radio artiste of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Having joined the Ministry of Education as a music instructor in 1966, Mr. Ratnayake received his first teaching appointment to Ethwela Maha Vidyalaya, Bandarawela, memories of which are encapsulated in his famous hit Sihil sulang relle. “I used to absorb the beauty of the misty hills and the surrounding vistas on my train journeys to Bandarawela and wanted to immortalize them in verse,” explains Mr. Ratnayake. The lyrics of this song were composed by Sena Weerasekera.

Although love songs and the name of Victor Ratnayake are synonymous, he has sung a considerable number of Buddhist songs. “I consider it a victory to explore a spiritual subject through a worldly medium such as music and I believe whatever your religion is, as an artiste, if you can bring its purity and goodness through music, it invokes lot of blessings on you,” says Mr. Ratnayake.

“Do you know that I treasure 49 hairs of yours?” wrote a young female fan to Mr. Ratnayake. This was no letter of adolescent infatuation, but the fact that she watched his ‘ever-green’ Sa 49 times! It was often referred to as an ‘exquisite insanity’, a ‘melodic lunacy’, so much so auditorium owners had second thoughts about lending their premises for a show of Sa. The fans who failed to obtain seats often gave vent to their disappointment by damaging the auditorium! To prevent further calamities, Mr. Ratnayake sometimes had to accommodate them on the stage beside him. Sometimes the handkerchief used to wipe off perspiration under the lights was ‘lovingly robbed’ by an ardent fan.

Smiling at these fond memories, Mr. Ratnayake recalls the series of incidents which gave birth to Sa. “Solo shows were unheard of in Sri Lankan society in the early 1970s. My contemporaries, Premakirthi de Alwis, Sunil Ariyaratne, K.D.K Dharmawardena, R.R. Samarakoon, Chintana Jayasena and Bandara K. Wijetunga persuaded me to have a solo show though I was quite nervous initially,” laughs Mr. Ratnayake.

Named after the root or tonic note sa or ‘C’ in the musical scale by Chintana Jayasena, the show proved itself to be unique. “Hitherto, there was no drama, a film or any work of art bearing one syllable and Chintana firmly believed that articulating the syllable ‘Sa’ would bring good luck which indeed it did,” says Mr. Ratnayake.

Sa passed its 1300th mile post in 2003. “My heart is full of humble pride when I see many generations flocking to enjoy Sa and my style of music is not restricted to just one class or subject,” explains Mr. Ratnayake whose songs cover diverse themes from the ecstasies of love, to patriotism and childhood memories.

Whether it is about the sensuality of a woman as in Pembara Madhu mage, composed by eminent lyricist Karunaratne Abeysekere or a young girl who has come of age in Sina dolak wan Sinamalee, (words of Kularatne Ariyawansa), subtlety is an assertive feature in most of Mr.Ratnayake’s songs. “In any form of art, subtlety is vital. An artiste should not forcefully impose his work on the listener or viewer. He or she should induce the listener to be inquisitive, to research. Even delicate issues such as sensuality and human passion can be discussed with subtle beauty which unfortunately today, is replaced by direct and crude analysis,” explains Mr. Ratnayake.

Mr. Ratnayake with his substantial foreign exposure in many Asian and European countries, believes that language is no barrier to enjoy ‘music of quality.’ “Music is the universal language and what is important is to identify the cultural ideologies of one’s land of birth.
The test of a successful piece of music or song is when people will embrace it like a parent, a sibling or a friend. If an artiste does not appeal to the pulse of the natives, he or she becomes a foreigner in his own land like Jawaharlal Nehru once said,” explains Mr. Ratnayake.

Unfolding intrigue in changing times
Ananda Pilimatalavuva has followed his previous work The Pillimatalavuvas in the Last Days of the Kandyan Kingdom (Published in 2004), with this set of Biographical Sketches of Some Kandyan Chieftains, all of whom were confronted, in the last phase of Tri Sinhale with a whole series of difficult choices. The first was how to get rid of the Nayakkar rulers and bring to power a Kandyan radala with substantial royal claims or even pretensions. That was difficult enough, but to do it in the context of the British presence on the coast was to make the task virtually impossible because the British had their own plans if the Nayakkars were to be eliminated. They would not permit the change if it conflicted with their own programmes and ambitions in Sri Lanka. Third, the Kandyan chiefs were as suspicious of each other as they were of the Nayakkar ruler and of the British themselves. It is a story, then, of intrigue in its richest variety.

The Kandyan chiefs had experience of struggle with the Dutch in the recent past and their ancestors would have had to deal with the Portuguese during the many Portuguese invasions of the Kandyan kingdom. But neither the Portuguese nor the Dutch presented difficulties of the sort of problems posed by the British; unlike the Portuguese and the Dutch, the British had the military strength to conquer the Kandyan kingdom. The Kandyans were no match for them, but the British were careful not to engage in warfare if that could be avoided. In their negotiations with the British the Kandyan chieftains described by the author had no real understanding of the objectives of the British or of their strength.

They felt in their bones that they could prevail against the British as they had done against the Portuguese on many occasions and against the Dutch on one or two occasions.

This book gives us a picture of the differences among the Kandyan leaders as they set about their tasks of replacing the Nayakkars with a Kandyan, and of handling the complex issues of dealing with the British who, it should be stated, had no anxiety for such a change at the top of the Kandyan kingdom unless they had guarantees that their own objectives in the island of Sri Lanka were secure.

The Kandyan chieftains did not pay much attention to the problem of the island as a whole and concerned themselves with merely the Kandyan kingdom. The British were expanding their control over parts of South Asia, and as they set about doing so they saw Sri Lanka as part of their own possessions in South Asia.

The Kandyan chieftains whose lives are sketched here never understood this part of the story or understood it too late. The book deals with the lives of some of the principal Kandyan chieftains in these events. It deals with differences among them, the intrigues among themselves and against the Nayakkars and the British. The Kandyan chieftains did not present a united front either against the Nayakkars or the British. On every occasion that could be described as an armed conflict, or a crisis, there were sections of the chieftains who supported the other side whether they were the Nayakkars, the Portuguese, Dutch, or lastly the British.

The Kandyan chieftains neither had a cohesive strategy, nor were they united among themselves. No wonder the British succeeded so easily. They could rely on some support among the Kandyans. The British had more support among the Kandyan radala and people than the Portuguese and the Dutch before them. It was a complex and changing historical background.

Step into a special world of colour
It’s a first for them and the excitement and enthusiasm are tangible in their own special way. The Colombo Centre for Special Education, down Layard’s Road in Colombo 5, is a hive of activity, for this is the first time that these otherwise able members, from 18 years upwards, will venture out into the public domain to exhibit their work, both art and craft.

The Centre, where 28 youth and men are being provided “respite care” in the form of a home away from home, is full of light. In a room piled high with canvases, one is transported under water, with the paintings hung on the wall giving out a kaleidoscope of colour – multi-hued fish, bright orange crabs and octopuses with long tentacles and also the grimmer side, a black and white shark, with sharp, jagged teeth. Fifty poster-colour paintings, a variety of collages and other handicraft items will be on display and sale.

Though it’s a rainy Monday morning, the members are trickling in. One sits at a table surrounded by a pile of red and black rags, making a rug, two others are concentrating on Maths and English and will get into creative mode later while a third is painting.

Pointing out that this is the first time that they will be exhibiting their work at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Executive Director of the Centre, Charika Muttiah said their aim is to make the public more aware about the mentally impaired, so that they will be given their due place in society. Earlier their exhibitions were held at the Centre itself.

“We would also like to set off a ripple effect and make people want to establish this kind of centre in the outstations too,” says Mrs. Muttiah stressing the need for more such places. The Centre that was a dream conceived by the late Rev. Celestine Fernando and his wife, Nora, and starting off with just two students in 1975, now caters to the needs of those ranging from slow learners to others suffering from cerebral palsy to Down’s Syndrome and also autism

Explaining that the Centre attempts to “give a break’ for both the member and his carer from the monotony that is likely to set in if the member is at home day in day out, she says they have members of all races and religions. “Our most important objective is to become a centre of excellence for caring and to be a role model for others. The stress is not on academics but vocational training to make them self-reliant and independent to some extent.”

And their efforts in pottery, weaving, recycling of birthday cards, sewing, rug-making and painting will be there on June 29 for everyone to see. “They are very enthusiastic and take a lot of pride in their work,” says Mrs. Muttiah.
For the exhibition and sale, especially of the paintings, all the work has been done at the Centre itself. “We have made our own canvases by getting amu redi, nailing them onto wooden frames and applying two or three coatings of emulsion paint. Even the frames have been made by the students in the woodwork section,” says a volunteer teacher. Thirty-seven-year-old Roshan who likes to watch the Kandy Perahera on the TV, proudly shows us his painting, a caparisoned elephant.
-Kumudini

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