These drummers were a class by themselves
It was an absorbing performance by the trio
- Piyasara, Ravibandu and Krishna - (call them drummers or percussionists,
what ever you like) last Sunday evening at the German Cultural Institute.
They proved that they are a class by themselves. Not that we understood
much about the intricacies of what drumming is all about. But it was just
fine!
Due to the heavy downpour in the evening they could not perform on the
lawn, as planned. That would have been lovely. So inside the hall, it turned
out to be a 'peduru party'. We didn't mind it. Neither did we care
about the heat (air conditioners would have disturbed the music) nor the
failing lights. The three of them just kept all of us enthralled.
Piyasara, master of the tammettama, davula and the udekki, Ravibandu
in his inimitable style playing the geta bere and Krishna with a thimla,
the main percussion instrument used in Kerala. (He had mastered this instrument
during his recent visit there when he studied the 'Pancha Vadyam' at the
Kerala Kala Mandalam). There was a fourth in the group - Robyn Schulkowsky
from Germany, quite competent in playing western drums. A keen student
of drumming, she is on tour and had spent the past two to three weeks learning
about our drums.
We need more of this type of entertainment. The artistes will ask, "where
are the sponsors?" Food for thought for those interested in lending
a hand to promote the arts.
Felicitating a pioneer translator
He will be 71 this week - on March 3. He
has had a passion for the Sinhala language and literature throughout his
life. He was rewarded with a honorary doctorate from the Kelaniya University
for his "noble, incomparable, unique" service the other day.
And now on his birthday he will be offered the nation's gratitude by way
of a felicitation ceremony.
He is the distinguished writer Kiringoda Gamage (K. G. ) Karunatilleke,
the pioneer in introducing world classics to the Sinhala reader. He was
responsible for creating an awareness of Shakespeare classics like 'Othello'
and 'Macbeth' while maintaining their original form. Thanks to him
many a Soviet, French and English writer are no longer strangers to Sinhala
readers. He has over 40 translations to his credit today.
Hailing from Akmeemana in the South, he began his literary career by
contributing to the 'Sinhala Jatiya' and 'Sinhala Balaya'
when he was a student. He served on the editorial staff of the 'Dinamina'
and 'Silumina'. As an Assistant Commissioner in the Department of Educational
Publications, he launched a programme to provide additional reading material
to students in keeping with the syllabus of each subject.
Five times winner of the State Literary Award for Best Translator, Karunatilleke
was awarded the Vishwa Prasadini Award presented to mark Prime Minister
Sirimavo Bandaranaike's 80th birthday. Colombo University conferred the
Vindana Prasada Pranama on him.
It is an open invitation from his publisher Dayawansa Jayakody to the
Jayewardene Cultural Centre on Wednesday for the felicitation ceremony.
Two more new books will be released - Karunatilleke's translations of British
novelist Sir Henry Rider Haggard's 'She' in two parts.
They turned up in their numbers
Creations (similar to framed paintings)
done with remnants of throw away material from the coconut palm (what we
call 'pol matulu' in Sinhala) are my pick from this year's Kala
Pola, the annual open air art market organised by the George Keyt Foundation
on February 14. They were unusual and extremely creative.
The creator, Piyal Inguruwatta, a young man from Minhettiya off Kurunegala
had got the idea from a friend who had painted on 'matulu' . Piyal had
gone a step further. He had translated his ideas into creations on 'matulu'.
Piyal, an A level student at Maliyadeva College should have a bright future
with his unusual creations.
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