It was innovative and colourful
It was a totally new experi- ence for the
packed house at Lionel Wendt the other night. They had turned out to see
high calibre artistes give them something different- something innovative
and colourful- young and vibrant. That's what they had promised. And they
just did that. It was the Triveni Night where eight musicians belonging
to varied traditions met. It was a fine team effort - a new experience
to the musicians as well as to the audience.
From the time Krishna lit the oil lamp in a distant corner on the stage,
attended to the preliminaries and started the evening on a mellow note,
with Lalanath on the flute and Ranga on the keyboard, it was two hours
of solid entertainment. The curtain was always open. The stage was full
of (musical) paraphernalia. Musicians moved up and down quite casually.
It was so informal yet so professional.
I wished Krishna could be heard a little better when he described the
bureaucratic harassment faced by creative people (from obtaining a municipal
licence to paying taxes), but he did drive the point home. And then he
told us the thousand and one jobs they had to do quite apart from rehearsing
for the concert: collecting advertisements for the souvenir, looking for
sponsors, hanging banners, pasting posters, loading and unloading the instruments,
arranging the stage you name it, they did everything and were ready to
perform by 7.30 sharp, as promised. Half way through, it was announced
that there won't be an interval and no one grudged it. It was a good idea
because the crowd just sat there and continued to enjoy the music.
Each one of them gave of their best. Krishna and Ravibandhu formed the
ideal percussion duo. Quite apart from the geta bera, tammattama
and the 'udekki they played, their duet- Ravi on the tabla and Krishna
on the ghatum keeps reverberating in one's ears. Guy Halpe and the 'surprise'
of the evening Alston Joachim on the guitar and Anura Siriwardena on the
drums were in their element. Even with such a wonderful combination, the
evening belonged to Harsha Makalanda. We had always admired his talent.
Triveni was no different. He was just delightful.
Creating something of our own
"We are trying to develop a music of our own", was how Harsha
described his creations which everyone appreciated at the Triveni night.
He doesn't call it an experiment. "We play with conviction and
we have a positive attitude," he explains. "We can pick from
the Asian tradition and from the Western tradition and have a nice blend."
Only entertainment, no morality?
Are the private radio and television channels
paying enough attention to the question of morality?
Are they concerned of the need to maintain accepted norms in society?
Or are they only interested in providing entertainment?
This was the subject of a lively discussion the other night over ITN
in the popular programme 'Janatha Adhikaranaya' (People's Court).
Both chairmen of the state sponsored media institutions D E W Gunasekera
from Rupavahini Corporation and Janadasa Peiris from the SLBC were also
present.
While they accepted the need for controls in the type of material used
by private media institutions, well known artiste Jackson Anthony (himself
representing a private radio channel) was quite vociferous that the existing
law is not being strictly adhered to in seeing that private channels conform
to set guidelines. "You have the authority to direct them, but you
are not doing it," he pointedly told the two chairmen. He pressed
his claim until Peiris (with Gunasekera agreeing) had to confess that they
were not even consulted when licences were given to the private channels.
There was also a serious problem in the type of phone-in chitchats that
most stations are conducting. They often reach very low standards, it was
claimed.
Avaragira out again
Most critics hailed G B Senanayake's novel,
Avaragira as his best creative work. In 1974 it won the State Literary
Award for the Best Novel. Lester James Peries selected it for one of his
films.
Avaragira had been out of print for sometime. Dayawansa Jayakody
Publishers put out its third edition last month - Sahitya Month -
as a tribute to G B Senanayake's contribution to Sinhala literature.
Senanayake was a prolific writer of the day. He distinguished himself
as a novelist, short story writer, poet, children's author and a literary
critic. Among his creative works were Paligeneema, Duppathun Nethi Lokaya,
Kekerilla, Rala Binduma, Charumukha, Varadatta, Medha, Ranarala, Del Kavuluwa,
Mala Puduwa, Vindimi, Mituriya, Mal Kumari, Rat Handun Rupaya, Maha Lobaya,
Heenaya, Hal Messa, and Amba Kathawa.
Farewell
It was not so long ago that this column
referred to the talents of Dr Somapala Jayawardena as a lexicographer.
A prolific writer in Sinhala during the past three decades, his greatest
contribution to the development of literature came through the immense
work he did in compiling numerous dictionaries.
Today, he is no more having departed following a sudden illness. May
his work be a lasting monument to his efforts.
Bookshelf
More and more translations
More and more transla- tions of selected
global writings are beginning to appear. They are not necessarily world
acclaimed classics or well known works but selections by translators who
feel they would be of interest to Sinhala readers.
Buruma Veenawa is the translation by Vincent Periyapperuma of
a novel by Japanese writer Michiyo Takeyama. He has based it on the English
version of the novel titled Harp of Burma by Professor Howard Hibbet
who was commissioned by UNESCO to undertake the translation under its programme
of releasing contemporary publications.
Periyapperuma had picked up the English book from the pavement and had
thoroughly enjoyed reading it. "I reached a most composed mental state
after reading the book, just like a calm after a storm. It was so soothing,"
he says. So he decided to let others too enjoy that feeling.
Based on the trials and tribulations of a Japanese armed battalion in
Burma during the Second World War, the story describes how they cope with
problems. "A soldier's actual personality is hidden by his exterior
appearance. He is, after all, a common man like you and me. He also faces
the mental agonies of fear, worry, sorrow, disgust, disappointment and
loss of hope. The story reveals these features hidden in a soldier,"the
writer explains. It also questions life's true nature and the futility
of the so-called physical progress.
A Norwegian novel
Sisira Wijesinghe presents his second Norwegian
translation titled Pani, the work of reputed Norwegian writer and
Nobel prize winner Knut Hamsun. The original has been described as a poem
dedicated to nature and love in north Norway.
The book authored in 1894 followed two others by the famed writer Sult
(1890) and Mystery (1892). While the story runs through the ocean, the
city and the purity of a Norwegian summer, it is close to nature.
Another mystery
Sherlock Holmes stories are presented by
Chandana Mendis in a book titled Sivu Rahas Salakunu Saha Tavat Sherlock
Holmes Kathaa. The Sign of Four and three other short stories
are included in the book.
As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is well known even among the Sinhala readership
as the creator of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, the book should
interest any lover of mystery stories. Written in a simple style, Sivu
Raha Salakuna is the writer's fourth translation.
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