East meets west in this aesthetic quest
The story of Ravana is a part of the prehistoric legend and folktales of Sri Lanka narrated from generation to generation with many opinions and interpretations.
As portrayed by Valmiki’s Ramayana- the ancient Indian epic, Ravana is the Rakshasa (demonic king) of Lanka who abducted Sita, wife of the divine prince Rama. In the great battle between the allies of Rama and Ravana, the classical text narrates that Ravana is defeated and Sita, rescued.
Thanuja Bandula
Yet some historians and researchers hold a different view of Ravana. They see him as a humanitarian king, great scholar, physician and most of all a patron of great scientific and technological achievements who flew on the Dandu Monara, the legendary aircraft.
The Arts Council of the University of Colombo in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education is on an aesthetic quest to discover the true identity of king Ravana in their production of “Ravana: the legend untold”(Ravana: noki purawatha), a Sinhala operatic ballet performed by the undergraduates of the University of Colombo. Based on the script by novelist, Bhadraji Mahinda Jayathilaka; the instructor of Ranara Academy-Thanuja Bandula took on the task of choreographing and composing the music.
“Our intention is to bring an unbiased narrative to the limelight in an artistic way,” Thanuja explains. The performance narrates the incidents relating to Ravana which were left out by Valmiki in the Ramayana. “Historical accounts reveal that Sri Lankans have had a history even before Prince Vijaya arrived. Lord Buddha visited Sri Lanka three times-so there must have been people here who were intelligent enough to understand the Dhamma.”
“Even though the students have never done ballet or operatic singing before, they are committed, eager to learn and excited to be a part of the show which made it easy for me to train them,” Thanuja says.
The show combines western ballet and operatic singing, with the sounds of the traditional Yak Bera with violin and flute to bring out a local classical element, says Thanuja adding that musicians Jananath Warakagoda and Hasantha Jayalal supported her in the compositions.
Rehearsals underway. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
The gigantic set portraying Ravana’s palace and other structures was done by Senananda Indrajith Marthis while stage direction is by Niranga Wijesooriya. The costumes designed by Lasni Subasinghe combine western ballet outfits with an eastern touch.
Jeewantha Senavirathna who plays Kalanemi– uncle of Ravana, acts as the narrator of the story too and says that as a medical student the rehearsals have been a huge destressor.
Akhila Nilaweera in the main role of Ravana related how they all practise late into the nights, yet making sure to attend lectures the next morning. “We actually learned how to manage our time and to balance our studies through this,” he says.
Ashan Wijekoon who plays the role of Rama was always interested in the Ravana legend and is of the view that Valmiki’s Ramayana paints a distorted version of Rama.
Kumbhakarna, brother of Ravana, is portrayed in Ramayana as a man with monstrous physique – infamous for eating and sleeping. Yohan Dehigaswaththe who plays the role states that in this version they bring out the real meaning of his name as Kumburu- karana (farmer who harvest the paddy) and a valiant warrior.
Thathsarani Mallawa Arachchi is Mandodari- wife of Ravana, said to be a woman of intelligence and bravery. “She is said to be the one who introduced the game of chess to the world,” explains Thathsarani. “We all went through lots of exercise and training sessions to learn Western ballet dance moves,” she adds.
Maricha, one of the most loyal allies of Ravana is played by Dilan Vithanage. Piumi Kavindya plays Sita “a devoted and faithful wife to Rama.”
Soprano Tharanga Wickramage, studied Eastern music in school. “I was good at singing Jana Gee (folk songs). This is my first time exploring operatic singing and I went through a lot of voice training sessions under the guidance of Ms. Thanuja who helped me to expand my capabilities,” Tharanga smiles.
“Ravana: the legend untold” will be staged on January 5 at 6.30 p.m. at Nelum Pokuna Theatre.
A limited number of free invitations will be issued which can be collected from the Welfare Branch, at the College House, University of Colombo.
For reservations call- Dasuni- 0779386256