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and black To whatever place she has travelled with her wildlife photographer husband, the artist has been quick to notice that trees have been cut and tanks in Kandalama, Polonnaruwa and other places of scenic beauty have been polluted. The change she thinks has been dramatic over the past 10 years. "There is no hope left for landscape in our country!" There was a time, she recounts, when people mourned the death of an elephant or the axing of large trees. "Nobody is worried now and that is why the situation is hopeless," she explains, adding that people are only worried about money today. Oil on canvas being the medium, the paintings are in shades of black and white, with brief but attractive glimpses of gold, silver and blue. Paintings of snakes have been teamed with the bleak landscapes to portray what the country is now left with. The Giritale tank has three islands, which were covered with trees earlier, the artist explains. With hotels now built around the tank and a large statue erected in the tank, people picnicking and throwing their plastic bags around are a common sight. The artist shows her concern with the absence of colour in this painting. "Why have we become so uncivilized?" she asks. While she appreciates the work of the environmental groups, she thinks they are doing so in isolation, without enough support from the people. Is there a message she wishes to convey? "I don't have a message - people should realize it themselves and exercise discipline." Nelun learnt art with Cora Abraham from the time she was five and kept at it throughout her school days at Ladies' College. She received much encouragement from her parents who appreciated art a great deal. At university she opted for advertising and went on to work at ad agencies such as JWT and Leo Burnett. It was in the
past 10 years that she has pursued art seriously and held four exhibitions
of landscapes and figures. Most days see her seated beside her two-year-old
daughter Aarenga, listening to her delightful chatter, both at their
easels absorbed in painting. The family eagerly looks forward to
their monthly getaway to the countryside where they observe nature's
treasures.
"When I was small my mother read me stories and I drew pictures in my mind," says Athula, explaining that these pictures fascinated him. That was why when he started reading on his own he always paid more attention to them. 'Vipassana', the title of his exhibition stems from his interest in meditation for almost 12 years, which he feels has helped him in his paintings. "Over the years, it has improved not only my mind but also my paintings." Though he was interested in pictures at a very young age, he took to painting only in the latter part of his school career. Much later
after comic strips caught on in Sri Lanka, he went to work at Grant
McCann Erickson. There, he was encouraged to do life drawings by
Reggie Candappa. "Initially, I did only memory drawings but
Mr. Candappa prodded me to do life drawings to broaden my horizons
and improve myself as an artist," said Athula. He also gets
immense satisfaction from conducting workshops for budding artists. A
celebration of music from medieval to modern by Peradeniya Singers
This group will present a wide spectrum of choral music representative of the work it has done in the past 50 years. Beginning with the earliest tradition of Western Music, Medieval Latin Plainchant, it will move on to a selection of Renaissance polyphony, both sacred and secular, from Italy, England and France. Two examples of the work of the Baroque master J.S. will follow, after which there will be two choral works by Mozart, representing the homophony of the Classical period. Works by two great Romantic composers, Schubert and Brahms, will follow. Then across the Atlantic to America, with two great spirituals of the black people in the days of slavery. Three lively and uplifting numbers will follow suggestive of the hopeful joy of a youthful nation and then a choral harmonization of Grizabella's aria from the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The last group of choral works will present music from different countries and musical traditions, including Sinhala and Japanese songs and a Dravidian dithyramb. The
Peradeniya Singers The original group faded out after the departure of Robin Mayhead in 1958, though the impetus was carried to the SCM choir and the Newman Society choir, the latter directed by Frederic Ludowyk and then by Ray Forbes. The present director Bridget Halpe was a member of the Newman Society choir from 1956. She returned in 1962 from a two-year stint in Bristol studying music at the university. Drawing on her training and experience in Bristol's Department of Music and as a member of the University of Bristol Choir, the select Thirty-two Choir and the Paragon Singers, she took over the Newman Society choir and revived the University Singers. Both choirs met regularly and presented several programmes despite disruptions by events in this turbulent period and by the so-called university reorganization which removed the Humanities from Peradeniya and the Halpes with them. The unrest in the country in 1988-1990 led to a closure of universities for two years. Fortunately, the group already included several non-university people, and so the choir was able to continue under the new name Peradeniya Singers. Besides its own annual concerts, Peradeniya Singers has presented or participated in several special programmes, notably the concert in celebration of the Bach/Handel tricentennial (1985), the bicentennial of the French Republic (1989), the fiftieth anniversaries of university education in Sri Lanka (1992) and of the move of the university to Peradeniya (2002), the ceremonial opening of the rebuilt Central Bank building (2001), etc. The temple dancer
pirouettes The story is set in legendary India, where Nikiya (Ran Akama), a temple dancer, is having a relationship with Solor (Nishan Peiris), a noble warrior. However, the Rajah (Michael Philip), unaware of this relationship, has his mind set on Solor marrying his daughter, Gamzatti (Anika Amalean). On meeting Gamzatti, Solor immediately forgets Nikiya and accepts the marriage proposal. The delighted Rajah sets about organizing the wedding when, the High Brahmin (Seneka Abeyratne), who is also in love with Nikiya, informs the Rajah of Solor's infidelity. The enraged Rajah then decides to put the Bayadère, Nikiya, to death. On hearing this Gamzatti plans a secret meeting with Nikiya, asking her to give up Solor but Nikiya refuses, resulting in Gamzatti too agreeing to the killing of Nikiya. The big day arrives and the wedding celebrations are underway, when Nikiya is summoned by the royal family to dance at the wedding. She performs a beautiful dance, blissfully unaware that her end is possibly quite near. 'La Bayadère' was originally choreographed by the great ballet master, Marius Petipa and first performed in St. Petersburg in 1877. It contains some brilliant music written by Ludwig Minkus and unites a strong Romantic tradition with a rich classical superstructure that gives the dancers plenty of opportunities to demonstrate their technical and artistic skills. The ballet also gives as much emphasis to acting as dancing and is especially designed to fully utilize the entire range of human emotions. As for the storyline, the creators have been influenced by some of the great Indian classics like ‘Sakuntala’ and ‘The Cart of Clay’ by Kalidasa. Past productions of the Deanna School of Dancing include classical ballets like 'The Nutcracker' and 'Swan Princess'. Much effort has gone into this production, with Deanna's dancers having put in about six months of rehearsal time. With its lavish costumes, soul-stirring music and amazing choreography, 'The Temple Dancer' is billed to give any ballet lover a performance worth watching. |
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Her
collection of paintings is a requiem for our fast dying landscapes.
Nelun Harasgama Nadaraja foresees a dismal future for the country
with no trees whatsoever. Her exhibition, 'All Black and Snakes'
currently on at the Barefoot Gallery depict these feelings clearly
and forcefully.
Painting
pictures with the rhythms of life
