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Arts Dramatising
a dilemma The first courtroom scene, with the Public Prosecutor addressing the audience as if addressing the jury, gave the background. It also conveyed the soulless nature of a legal proceeding where the individual human being does not count. It was simply another murder trial. The case of Meursault Vs the Republic of France. The second part appealed to the audience as the protagonist tried to explain his actions. The plight of the condemned man, looking out at the sky through his prison bars, was well brought out. There are many interpretations of "The Stranger" or "The Outsider". Mark Amerasinghe's monologue dramatized the idiosyncrasies of an individual as against social conventions. Meursault ultimately was condemned from the start because, "He did not cry at his mother's funeral". The actor asked the audience the question put to him by the Public Prosecutor, "Did you love your mother?" Would you ask someone a question like that?" Mersault's sensuous enjoyment of life was apparent in the portrayal. The dramatization of the climatic scene where he shot the Arab was perhaps the most eloquent argument for the defence. The audience could empathize with Mersault in his solitude before and after the act. The final words
conveyed the dilemma of the individual vis-a-vis society: "You
have to put me away... for I am the outsider." Alfreda wins
poetry competition Well-known writer Alfreda de Silva was a winner in the first two of these categories and her poems will be included in the next Annual Poetry Anthology of Triton, Ariel Twenty One. This competition which originated in 1973 as the All Nations Poetry Contest was based on the hope that it would provide a means for poets in various parts of the world to express themselves, to share their personal triumphs and tragedies that are all part of our common human experience. Alfreda de Silva has won several awards in earlier Triton contests. Reality wrapped
in mythical texture The plot revolves round the unhappy life of a university lecturer well versed in philosophy, and his conflicts with his wife. They accept and practise diagonally opposite lifestyles. However, they resemble one another in their unfaithful gender specific behaviour patterns. Sunanda, like Milan Kundara, adopts an impressive lyrical as well as realistic approach in revealing the substratum of the life-stream of the key characters; Kapilasena and Vajira. Like Milan's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Sunanda's "Niruwath Deviwaru" could be decribed best, as a novel of ideas, as there is no straightforward presentation of a story. A novice will find it difficult reading, as the key and critical life events are scattered and interspersed amidst secondary musings and revelations linked with issues related to philosophy, ideology and gender. Vajira presents her feminist ideas and ideas of women's empowerment; while Kapilasena appears to be sane, just and balanced in thought but also has his gender weaknesses. They try to appease their crude senses in secrecy. Milan too shows the family plot between Tomas, a young doctor who happens to be a womanizer, and his wife Therasa being churned by illicit scandalous sexual relationships. Sunanda has used a considerable free hand and mind to exhibit his knowledge of diverse subjects, like Milan in imparting diversity, depth and allegory to this creative novel. Techniques of interpretation, analysis, deconstruction, elaboration and distortion have infused a mythical texture to this novel. A tint of metaphysics is also discernable when Kapilasena pictures the image of his father striking a link with a lion in a folk tale. Symphony
Orchestra seeks singers Preference would be given to those who are able to read music and sight sing. But at the audition, applicants could sing any song of their choosing, he said. The orchestra plans to enrol equal numbers of tenors, sopranos, altos and basses. He added that all aspiring singers are welcome to attend the audition and those who wish to have additional information could contact Marita Anandappa on 325922 or 071 209757. The Symphony Orchestra, which is Sri Lanka's premier body dedicated to the performance of good music, has presently a 15-member chamber choir. The choir's potential was demonstrated at the recent performance in Colombo of Bach's St. John Passion. Kala
Korner by Dee Cee The occasion was the launch of an audio cassette and a CD with his latest creations, and two books. Ajantha Geetavali - is a collection of Ajantha's songs and the other titled Janakanthayange Manakantha Katha is a series of interesting anecdotes Ajantha had picked about popular personalities in the field of arts. Ajantha's has been a silent service. As a matter of fact, it's not always that we look for the lyric writer's name when we enjoy a good song. True we admire the words, the meaning and its theme but may not be bothered to find out who its creator is. Today we hear music throughout the day and late into the night over so many radio channels. Some of them make it a point to mention the name of the lyric writer and the music director while some others don't even care to mention the singer's name. Some pay royalties, others don't, according to Ajantha. Looking back at his efforts, Ajantha breathes a sigh of relief that most of his creations are being appreciated. "That is the satisfaction a lyric writer gets. Even if we don't see a positive response sometimes, a lyric writer can be happy that he has done a good job." The use of simple words is Ajantha's forte. His themes are varied - from love and romance to a sympathetic view of our housemaids in the Middle East. 'Kalpana Vijithaya' , his latest cassette is the second to be released. The first was 'Vikasitha Pem'. In an exhaustive review of Ajantha's creations, Colombo University don Samantha Herath dealt with the impact they have had in uplifting the quality of Sinhala music. His contribution to film music is also significant. Out of the 933 Sinhala films screened to date, Ajantha's songs had been used in 239 - over one fourth, according to Samantha's calculations. The crowd at 'Ajantha Geetavaloka' was a clear indication that good work is highly appreciated - may be silently - by many, even though the trend is for cheap, meaningless songs to gain instant popularity. A
good man departs Quite apart from his close links with the electronic media, he was a true lover of the arts. In recent months, he rarely missed an evening's do at the Indian Cultural Centre. In fact, the commemorative lecture on Ravindranath Tagore was by him just the other day - on the 7th. In the early seventies, we regularly met on Saturday mornings at the Chitrasena dance school. Till our daughters finished their classes we used to chat - going down memory lane talking about the days when Ananda Samarakoon and Sunil Shantha pioneered the course of Sinhala music. Very often Chitrasena would join us. H.M. was such a simple, unassuming individual. He never showed the vast amount of knowledge he possessed. Not only was he knowledgeable, he was always willing to share what he knew. His was a pleasing personality. He had his own style in doing a radio or a TV commentary. Whenever he compered a show or an event, he kept his calm, never went overboard however exciting the event was. He knew exactly what to say and how much to say without boring the audience. The show to felicitate Pandit Amaradeva after his return from Manila having collected the Magasasay Award was a classic example. From the steps of the BMICH, he could see the vast crowd before him. The mood was just right for the compere to 'go to town', as we say. But not H.M. He was restrained, did his bit perfectly. H.M. may not
have had any regrets. He led a simple life. He had good friends.
He moved about with the most talented artistes in the country -
yet maintained his individuality and dignity. |
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