Kala Korner
By Dee Cee
Looking at the new millennium
Ranjit Dharmakirti has been a playwright and fiction
writer for over three decades. With several publications to his credit
and possibly better known as a dramatist, he calls his latest work "a
futuristic novel". Titled 'Sayuru Taranaya' (Over the Oceans), it
looks at what the new millennium holds for us. With so much talk on the
challenges of the next century and with such rapid development in the field
of technology, he takes the Sinhala reader on a voyage of discovery.
Ranjit says, that while looking at what is in store for us in the future,
the novel is also an attempt to impress on our writers the need to widen
the horizons of the Sinhala novel. He calls it a bold step since he feels
many believe new topics should not be touched. Sayuru Taranaya' examines
all these questions as well.
Quiet and unassuming, Ranjit has been a silent worker. He has at least
six Sahitya Awards to his credit - two for his novels 'Abhaya Bhoomiya'
(1987) and 'Ahasa Polova Lang Vei' (1991), two for drama scripts, 'Modera
Mola' (1984) and 'Megha' (1993), one for a collection of short stories,
'Pradeepagaraya Yata' (1985) and one for an analytical study on theatre
(Natya Praveshaya - 1997). So far he has written five novels, four collections
of short stories, two children's stories and five dramas.
Widening the reading habit
The reading habit got a boost with the celebration
of World Book Day (April 23) by leading book publishers and booksellers.
Giving discounts for a week and launching new books were some of the key
features.
The Knowledge Bank set up on the initiative of book lover Anura C. Perera
three years ago was quite active in promoting activities that would popularise
the reading habit. The Bank appealed to everyone to gift a book on World
Book Day. "We wanted everyone to give a book to a child, a neighbour
or any deserving person. It could either be a new book or a well used one.
The primary objective was to spread knowledge," Mr. Perera said.
He tried his hand in doing something novel himself to mark the Day.
He organised a 'poth dansela' where he wanted to distribute books free
among children. The demand was far greater than he had anticipated.
An appeal also went out to bookshops that a courtesy drive be launched
to mark the Day.
Keep these dates free
The Sinhala drama festival is an eagerly awaited
event in our cultural calendar. The festival will be held from June 22-27
at the John de Silva Theatre.
Six plays-E. M. D. Upali's 'Eva Balava', Buddhika Damayantha's 'Dawasa
Thavama Gevune Na', Priyantha Siri Kumarage's 'Maranaya Saha Kanyaviya',
Lalitha Sarachchandra's 'Ratnavali', Athula Peiris' 'Maha Oedipus' &
Rohana Samaradiwakara's 'Aacharasheli Dadayamak' have been selected for
the final round. They are all adaptations.
A good show for children's drama
It's encouraging to see the interest in children's
theatre. This year's children's drama competition had over 200 entries.
A hundred scripts were received in the schools category and 118 in the
open category.
The Children's Drama Panel has selected 98 plays for the first round
- 44 from schools and 54 from the open category.
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