The opening of the Pemberley International Study Centre in Haputale

'Venturing into uncharted waters'

By Dr Rajiva Wijesinha

The Pemberley Interna- tional Study Centre was formally opened on July 31 this year. The concept of such a Centre perhaps requires some explanation. It is intended primarily as a retreat for scholars and writers, and is based on the Rockefeller Centre at Bellagio in Italy, where Brendon and Yasmine Gooneratne spent a happy and productive month some years back.

The idea is that the selected Fellows of the Centre should be absolutely free from all worries, so that they can concentrate on creativity. The Centre looks after board and lodging and, since one is far away from one's usual address, the ordinary disturbances of one's day-to-day existence are avoided. In addition, one benefits from the company of others who, it is hoped, will provide opportunities for stimulating interaction. The assumption is that Fellows will work during the day in the quiet seclusion of their studies or the Library, but relax in each other's company at mealtimes and in the evenings.

Bellagio, set on the shores of Lake Como, is sybaritic, and its luxury would be hard to rival. Pemberley, however, may come close. It is set in the Haputale hills, looking southward, on a clear day, to the sea at Hambantota. From the broad verandah of the sprawling estate bungalow, you look down upon fold after fold of various shades of green, interrupted by Samanalawewa to the right, the Walawe Reservoir almost directly in front. Behind the house rise stunning mountains, while the grounds themselves are beautifully landscaped, with smooth lawns, imposing trees and colourful flowers.

July 31 was a sunny day but not too hot, perfect for the visitors from all over the world who began arriving shortly after noon - many dignitaries from Australia, academics from the United States, Singapore and India, librarians and curators from Europe, a blend of Sri Lankans, it was a pleasure to meet. The world of officialdom seemed far away, as befitted an enterprise which it is intended should be carried on without political involvement. The administrators who were there were individuals distinguished for their contributions to education, culture and the arts: Roland Silva, Lyn de Alwis, Dharmasiri Peiris were among them. Those still in service came from nearby as neighbours who, it is hoped, will be involved in the Centre development.

This accords with an additional role for the Pemberley Centre, which may in the end prove as important as its creative function. The founder, Dr Brendon Gooneratne, believes also in education in the wider sense, and in making this available to youngsters who do not have such opportunities readily. He hopes therefore to start residential workshops for bright young people, to raise intellectual consciousness while also enabling them to travel to some of the more remarkable parts of this country that can be easily accessed from Haputale - the waterfalls of Uva, the Yala wild life reserve, the archaeological heritage of Ruhuna that is so sadly under-represented in the official histories.

Guests were greeted on arrival at the gates of Viharagala Estate by girls in festive sarees, and taken up to marquees on the upper lawn for kiribath and beli juice. The visiting monks, from the centres of learning at Malwatte in Kandy and the Vajirarama in the low country, had their dhana, after which the ceremony began at noon, with the boiling of milk and the lighting of the traditional lamp. Dr Gooneratne then welcomed the guests, after which Mrs Patricia Farquhar-Webster Lawson, one of the Trustees of the Centre, delivered the inaugural address.

The Guests of Honour were then introduced, including Lyn de Alwis and Roland Silva from Sri Lanka, from Australia the judge Sir William Kearney and the first female Vice-Chancellor of a university, Emeritus Professor Dianne Yerbury. After these introductions and the garlanding of the Guests of Honour, the Centre was formally opened by Vajira, as elegant still as she ever was (and described by Dr Gooneratne as "our beloved icon, the pride of Lanka"), cutting the ribbon across the entrance to Pemberley House.

Two Army bands were in attendance throughout the day, a ceremonial Band in striking attire, and another to dispense light music. To these strains the invitees, over 200 of them, settled down to a fantastic lunch, catered by the Bandarawela Hotel. The wines, Australian of course, were served in chalices specially made for the occasion out of beli-fruit shells; the watalappan arrived in clay pots, baked to perfection.

It was a marvellous day, beautifully organized. I was reminded of Anne Ranasinghe's evocative lines in her poem, 'We have built a theatre' -

This then is the time
for which we have been waiting
We have built a theatre
It is complete
Stone by stone it has grown
to this glad day,
and now it reposes -
a ship at anchor, yet ready to sail
There is an air
of movement and of expectation,
a venturing into uncharted waters ...
From this bright launching let us not confine
your course ...
May the wind
be with you, taking you
safely from port to port - and
may you distil some intimation
Of the magnificence
Of the spectacle, and of the endlessness
of your horizons.

The progress of Pemberley will be eagerly awaited, and celebrated.

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