 Well
deserved tribute to an artist of Buddhist themes
Jayasiri Semage is an artist of no mean repute. He is to be felicitated
shortly in recognition of his artistic talent and his contribution towards
the upliftment of Sri Lankan painting – a fitting tribute indeed.
Starting with a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery way back in 1956
as a schoolboy from Dharmasoka Vidyalaya, Ambalangoda, Semage has been
exhibiting his works regularly both here and abroad.
He excelled in Buddhist themes and was the first Sri Lankan painter
to be invited to create murals for Buddhist temples abroad. His paintings
adorn the walls of the Buddhist Viharas in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and
the Mangala Vihara, Singapore.
His speciality has been creating thematic murals for pandals. We have
seen these regularly at Temple Trees during Vesak in the early eighties
and at all Gamudawas from 1982 to 1992. He also erected a jumbo Buddhist
pandal at the entrance to the Asia Pacific Exhibition at Fukuoka, Japan.
Sri Lankan pavilions at foreign exhibitions regularly displayed Makara
Toranas and other traditional art objects designed by him.
His Buddhist paintings have won awards starting with 'The Birth of the
Buddha' displayed at the Dina Dina exhibition in the mid-sixties. The first
ever exhibition of paintings on mats was held by him at the Samudra Gallery
in 1972.
He was honoured with the title 'Kalasuri' in 1990.
His book titled 'Ridma Rekha' released two years ago depicts decorative
motifs based on traditional motifs.
An artist with his own style, Semage well deserves the honour of being
felicitated for his creative efforts for over four decades.
In touch with our heritage
Many of us may not have heard of the talents of Andrew Nicholl, a successful
English landscape painter who came to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1846 to
accept an appointment as "teacher of landscape painting, scientific drawing
and design" at the Colombo Academy which later became Royal College. Travelling
extensively in the island, he made sketches of Sri Lanka's "ruined temples,
colossal statues, tanks, dagobas etc:"
A selection of his sketches appear in this year's Sri Lanka Telecom
calendar conceptualised and designed by 'The Design Master' on the theme
'Keeping in touch with our heritage'. They have been picked from the Andrew
Nicholl Collection of 28 paintings at the Colombo Museum which portray
vividly the 19th century Sri Lanka.
The tastefully done calendar is a collector's item presenting a slice
of our history and heritage through a journey back in time.
The 'missing' Krishna
That incomparable 'Ghattam' man, Krishna had been missing since his excellent
performance in Triveni Night nearly three months ago. That night he vowed
not to play again in Sri Lanka and we all wished it was just a threat since
he was feeling so tired and fagged out having had to run up and down for
days on end, spending sleepless nights trying to get the show through.
Looking for him we learnt that he is away in Kerala on a two-month study
on drum traditions in that part of India. He has always been a student
of music and this stint would help him to sharpen his skills a bit more.
Before moving over there, Krishna had the distinction of being invited
to play in a concert organised by Sony, in India.
Carried along on a flow of memory
Book review
Asamath vuvakuge charya satahan-by Asoka Colombage. Reviewed
by Padmal de Silva
This new book by Asoka Colombage, an established writer whose first
collection of short stories was published in 1965, consists of three pieces.
The first two are short stories, and the third - the longest spanning over
50 pages - is described as the first part of a semi-autobiography. It is
this work that has given the book its title which may be roughly translated
as 'The Life Sketch of One Who Failed'.
The two short stories are different from each other. The first is the
story of a young man whose life and attitudes undergo a drastic change,
through religion, as seen through the eyes of a close friend. The second
is an allegorical story on an age-old theme, the yearning for rejuvenation
and its futility. Both stories bear the hallmark of Colombage's writing
- soft yet lively prose, convincing dialogue, and perceptive observation.
These general comments also apply, naturally, to the main piece. This
is the story of the narrator's - thus the author's - life, up to the end
of his childhood and youth. It is not clear why the story is described
as semi-autobiographical; perhaps the author wanted to have more freedom
than an autobiography would allow; perhaps he wanted to allow for lapses
and gaps in memory which would be inevitable in an endeavour such as this.
The writer gives an account of the setting, the geographical place and
the immediate environment - and of his life as a child, adolescent and
young adult. The early years, including the relationship with his parents
and the woman who looked after him, are described in a lively way.
The 'failure' referred to in the title arises from the lack of success
at a selection exam at the end of primary school years. The abilities of
the author took him in the direction of creative writing, the arts, all
of which obviously contributed to nullify the legacy of failure.
I was moved by the story. It is an effective, powerful piece, without
any visible effort at being effective. The author lets the story flow,
the sequences dictated by memory and association rather than chronological
ordering, and the reader is carried along. Some of the portraits are wonderful.
The author's father himself a wellknown public figure, emerges as a wise,
caring, relaxed man, always wanting his son to be well and cared for, but
never trying to impose his own will on him. Fittingly, the final sentence
of the book describes, again effortlessly, the father's unostentatious
but genuine happiness when the author gains success at the university entrance
examination.
A brief review cannot do justice to a piece of writing like this. This
is an unusually good autobiography - or semi-autobiography as the author
calls it, excellent both for its prose and style, and for the way characters
and events are allowed to emerge naturally. My only quibble is its publication
as a piece in a book which also contains two other stories. Published on
its own, despite its brevity, would in any view have been a better option.
But then again, presenting this autobiography in this almost incidental
manner is typical of the author - modest and unassuming, and never arrogant
despite his enormous and well-proven talent. |
