FGLF 2019 – Free Festival for Children
The Free Festival for Children at the Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2019 took place at the picturesque premises of the Martin Wickramasinghe House and Folk Museum in Koggala on January 19. Boasting of a proud history and legacy of Sri Lankan literature, the ancient ancestral house of novelist Martin Wickramasinghe rests amidst a grove of greenery. The natural beauty of the place is similar to the village scenes in ‘Madol Doova’ the famous Sinhala children’s fiction by the writer.
It was an enjoyable experience for the children of Somawathi Niwasa ( Holland House of Hope Children’s Home) in Habaraduwa, Galle who joined to make arts and crafts with the volunteers of the Serendipity Trust. The workshop was on teaching children how to make felt badges, crepe calendars, sparkling squares, masks and coconut spoon puppets paired up with clay-pot painting, tie-dyeing and printing with recyclable materials.
We met Sahan Dilshan, Rasika Sewwandi, Apsara Sandamali and Lakshika Madumali from Somawathi Niwasa, teenagers from 14 – 16 years, who were extremely happy to be a part of the programme and glad to learn new ways of making arts and crafts. “Even though the workshops were conducted by foreigners, in English, we understood what to do as they were showing how to make crafts in slow steps,” said Sahan. “We want to try out what we learned today, in the future,” they all exclaimed.
Students of Batapola Central College, Galle were also trying out their hand in arts and crafts. The teachers who accompanied them, Ms. Damayanthi and Ms. Nureshika said, “It’s a great opportunity for the students and a first time experience for them. They are all stressed out because of exams and it’s nice for them to engage in activities in outdoor settings close to nature.” The students shared their experiences and how they are looking forward to next year’s festival.
The arts and crafts workshop was followed by a hilarious comic monologue ‘Peyar’ performed by the students of the University of Visual and Performing Arts. The audience was filled with laughter when the drama presented the funny plight of modern love affairs where love is measured in minor things. The act is based on a young lover calling his girlfriend to check on whether she had her lunch as he was unable to eat till then. Finally by the time she eats, the boy’s lunch had gone stale!
It was indeed a must-see children’s play that unfolded on stage next. ‘Vandippajanam,’ The State Children’s Drama Festival 2018 award-winning play performed by the Aarohana Theatre College, Jaffna mesmerized the audience. The extremely talented child actors played out an act of kindness on stage where they make a small cart and give it to an old grandmother who sells mango.
The innovative and entertaining, trilingual band, ‘No Names’ sang in Sinhala, Tamil as well as in English to entertain the children and parents alike.
Sulochana Dissanayake with her ‘Power of Play’ team took the audience on a mesmerizing journey to the magical village where Punchirala,
a farmer who owns a Labu Hena (Bottle Gourd Cultivation) lived. Paired with a unique style of storytelling, the fascinating children’s folktale
‘Labu Gediye Thovilaya,’ was dramatized and accompanied by live music of low country and western guitar. The kids enjoyed the live ‘Thovilaya’ (ritual of exorcism) paired up with traditional Sri Lankan low country dance and the beats of the traditional Yak Beraya.
“This year’s FGLF Children’s Programme is very literary. Children learn basic soft skills from art and it’s a vital part of childhood and personal development,” shared Sulochana.
Shown in these photographs are the free events of the FGLF Children’s Programme held on January 19, 2019 at the Martin Wickramasinghe Museum in Koggala.
- Pix by Ishanka Sunimal