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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

Punchi sindu adds colour
The lady in white added colour to the opening day of the International Book Fair (the 'poth mangallaya', as the President of the Book Publishers Association described it) when she, along with a host of kids put up an elegant show in the open space at the entrance to the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Hall. Young and old alike thoroughly enjoyed it.

The lady, you may have guessed, was the ever-pleasant Nanda Malini. She was launching another collection of songs for the kids. Titled 'Punchi Sindu', it is a set of 14 lovely little songs recorded on CD and audio cassette.

It was an open invitation. Everyone grabbed the opportunity of seeing and listening to the country's leading songstress. She sang her latest creations meant for children. Her pupils joined in the chorus. The well-trained kids performed while singing. It turned out to be a lively evening.

'Punchi Sindu' is the third collection of songs that Nanda Malini has created specially for children. The first was 'Handahami' in 1986. In 1990 she released 'Sindu Hodiya'. Both became very popular. Recalling the early days, Nanda Malini paid tribute to Karunaratne Abeysekera and Sarath Wimalaweera for giving her a chance to sing in the children's programmes over Radio Ceylon (as the SLBC was then known). "I was just eight when I started singing over the radio. The children's programmes were so interesting and meaningful then," she reminisced.

The songs in 'Punchi Sindu' basically touch on topics close to children's hearts - flowers, the sea, the rain, animals and birds. One or two highlight the children's busy schedule today. In one (words by Somaratne Dissanayake of 'Saroja' & 'Punchi Suranganavi' fame), the little one laments asking the mother when he would finish class work to build a toy house, enjoy a ride on the swing and to run around among the paddy fields.

"We go to school before sunrise, we don't come home after school, by the time tuition is over it's dark, it's a rat race competing with one another, scoring marks, struggling to become first in class". How true. And Nanda Malini conveys the plight of the little ones so well.

Ashoka Kovilage's composition (music by Carlo Wijesiri) is a call to be good children. "Let us use our eyes to see good things - the ears to hear good things - the mind to think of good things - let us do good things" is the moral of the song. Such positive thinking will help children become good citizens.

Young talent
Young TV presenter Hasantha Hettiarachchi (remembered for 'Atapattama' & 'Doramandalawa' over ITN) did a fine job in compering the evening's programme. He made it interesting and entertaining. He kept the kids amused while reaching the audience with candid comments. Incidentally, 'Atapattama' currently leads the Top Ten among ITN programmes.

Nirupama Mahagamasekara displays her artistic talent through the illustrations in the 'Punchi Sindu' book released by Singlanka along with the cassette and CD. The book containing the words and music of the songs, has been beautifully illustrated by her in her own typical style. She got her big break when Professor J. B. Disanayaka invited her to illustrate his 'Akuru Mihira 2 for Daham Pasal' and she did an excellent job.

Singlanka's energetic duo Kularatne Ariyawansa and Rohana Weerasinghe deserve a big hand for continuing their efforts to lift up the quality of Sinhala music amidst the junk that is produced today in the name of indigenous music.

Story of a fly
There is reading matter aplenty these days for children. Among the latest releases is an interesting tale -'Mehi Pancha' written by P. G. Punchihewa, winner of last year's State Literary Award for the Best Children's Literature.

Punchi, as I call him, relates the experiences of a fly in 'Mehi Pancha'. The fly describes a trip overseas having quietly got into an airplane. Its observations of other countries and its eagerness to get back to Sri Lanka are described in simple words. Having come back, the fly decides to go to school, learns of the dangers to its life when they spray the school garden with insecticides and ultimately alerts its community to be careful of such dangers.

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