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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

'Wahalak Neti Geyak' in English
After many years dramatist Premaranjit Tilakaratne made contact when he sent me a copy of the English version of his highly successful play 'Wahalak Neti Geyak'. "As we grow old, we tend to drift to the past, to a by-gone world. This book is my attempt to re-live the past," he said in a note. Titled 'A House without a roof ' he identifies the story as 'the dilemma of a law-abiding son'.

'Wahalak Neti Geyak', staged in the early-sixties was one of the most popular plays of the day and was hailed as a landmark in the Sinhala realistic theatre. Having tasted success in his first effort, 'Waguru Bima', which Premaranjit himself admits was based on the "hackneyed theme of the love triangle",he produced 'Wahalak Neti Geyak'. It brought him recognition at the State Drama Festival 1964 winning awards for the Best Script for himself, Best Actor (Navanandana Wijesinghe) and Best Actress (Chandra Kaluarachchi).

While some look at the play as a modern version of the story of Sinhabahu, Premaranjit describes it as "a distant reflection of my own complex love-hate relationship with my disciplinarian father, who strangely enough deserves my deep gratitude for promoting my interest in drama."

Premaranjit had thought of translating the play after a run of over 500 performances all over the island over a period of two decades. It was also adapted as a teleplay. He calls the English version a creative adaptation and not a mere translation since he has changed the setting slightly and updated the dialogue whilst keeping the plot of the original in tact.

Reminiscing on the success of the play, Premaranjit remembers how many years ago, a prestigious cleric delivering the 'Thought of the Day' over the Radio borrowed the title of the play to compare the world to a house without a roof. "True, we as mortals in this vulnerable world are exposed to disaster from within and without," he says.

Active 'public servant dramatist'
Premaranjit also belonged to the category of public servants who became active dramatists and contributed significantly to the development of Sinhala theatre. Forming the '63 Group', he was an energetic playwright producing five plays - 'Waguru Bima', 'Wahalak Neti Geyak', 'Thoththa Baba', 'Ammai Appai' & 'Kontare' - in the sixties following up with three in the seventies - 'Moonu Sayaki Rookadayaki', 'Julie' & 'Sri Wickrema', and two in the eighties - 'Sarade Sita' & 'Devi'.

The sixties were the most fruitful when apart from the awards won by 'Wahalak Neti Geyak', he produced the Best Actor (Felix Premawardena') in 1966 in 'Ammai Appai' - an adaptation of Strindberg's tragedy 'The Father' and adapted the famous American musical 'West Side Story' ('Kontare'). Joining the public service as a clerk in 1958, Premaranjit went up the ladder after being promoted to the Sri Lanka Administrative Service and was a Senior Assistant Secretary of a Ministry when he retired six years ago. Premaranjit hopes to devote time to his writing in retirement.

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