When Keyt told a different tale

By D.C. Ranatunga

Just below the title in his own handwriting are the words 'For people of all reasonable ages' within brackets. A 'Cautious Note' describes one character: "Gombee is two-year-old slang for 'Gombel-la' which is, as you know, a snail".

Here is Keyt's tale of the Gombees :
 

The big trees cry The little trees hum To see the Gombees Come and come. They bring their friends they come to the trees They hang on the boughs And swing in the breeze Whenever you see a Gombee dance You may safely say That's quite by chance- They seldom see themselves as others, For Gombees never meet their brothers. How do they take away tills at night How do they take away tills, The shivering Gombees pale with fright How do they Wrapped in purple and white How do they take away tills? The Gombee will not sleep at night But sits up calling, calling; The leaves are heavy, the leaves are dead; The trees look down at the Gombee falling, Falling on his head

The rhymes are vividly illustrated by Keyt. Acclaimed as Sri Lanka's most celebrated modern painter, Keyt was also a poet, essayist and translator. This is just one of those creations.

In the pictorial, George Keyt is in the company of other 'greats' - the big names in photography at the time, Lionel Wendt, B. P. Weerawardena, Eric Swan, George A. Koch, Manil Ilangakoon, Lincoln Perera and B. G. Thornley. Chitrafoto too figures prominently throughout the pictorial.

Keyt is remembered this week with the release of a stamp on Tuesday along with a book on his life and work. 

An exhibition of his paintings arranged by the George Keyt Foundation in association with the Ceylon Tobacco Company, opens at the Harry Peiris Gallery at the Lionel Wendt on Wednesday and will continue till May 5.

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