A lion comes to life again

Gal lena bindala,
Len dora herala, Sinhaba
Sinhaba, Sinhaba

The then undergrad Mark Antony Fernando's deep voice heard in the early Sixties still reverberates in our ears. To most of us Professor Sarachchandra's 'Sinhabahu' was synonymous with Mark. He was so good. He was so powerful in his portrayal of the lion.

A packed auditorium at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute heard and saw Mark get back to the role the other day. But this time it was different. He was interpreting Namel Weeramuni's bold attempt to present 'Sinhabahu' in English. The audience got a glimpse of how the English production would be, using the same melodies that Dr Sarachchandra used in the original drama.

The cave is shattered,
the door forced open..
It's Sinhaba - Sinhaba, Sinhaba

He sang the words to the original tune backed by a chorus led by Kamal Addaraarachchi, better known for his acting abilities than singing. There was pin-drop silence in the hall. The audience enjoyed every bit of it. Mark presented the three well selected excerpts which conveyed the mood of the play. First was the arrival of the lion singing 'I am the lord of all horizons of this world - Ruler of beasts, Sinha, the Lion King..........' In between he sang the cave is shattered and finally, the emotional meeting with the son who was aiming to kill the father:

'Sinhaba! Am I seeing my son, my very own,
what a joyful sight! I can't believe my own eyes!
Have you come in search of me
with the mother and dear little sister?
I thought you were another human similarly
who had come to kill me!
Do not have any fear
Let me hold you dear son.

Mixed with apt movements, Mark was superb. He and Namel had worked with musician Mahanama Wickremasinghe on the music score based on ragas How well they fitted in to Namel's commendable effort.

Meeting Mark after nearly four decades, I found he hasn't changed much. He is a practising lawyer in UK and is now looking forward to the English production of 'Sinhabahu'.

"Namel has done the impossible" was how Professor J B Disanayaka paid tribute to his effort. "It is not a mere translation. Namel has succeeded in translating the poetic impression capturing the finer points in exactly the same way Dr Sarachchandra intended when he produced his classic."

Dr Sarachchandra succeeded in creating a great play giving a new dimension to the myth of the origin of the Sinhalese race. He changed it into a story of love and affection. It also brought out his capabilities as a poet. Professor Disanayaka commended Namel for introducing this great play to the western world.

The evening turned out to be an occasion to pay tribute to Dr Sarachchandra, whom Dr Sarath Amunugama described as "the one who enriched our lives, gave us values which we cherish, typified what was best in university education and made us better people." He had a superb knowledge of the language, an unrivalled knowledge of theatre and an excellent knowledge of music."

"Namel has paid a great tribute to a poet without peer in modern times. 'Sinhabahu' is one of the best - if not the best - literary work of all times. It is poetry and theatre of the highest order. Namel's is an excellent translation - a fusion of effective stylistic translation with the literal," Dr Amunugama observed.

Explaining his task as the translator, Namel Weeramuni said that he had tried his best to preserve the authenticity of the original work. It was a very difficult task, he admitted, particularly because of the richness of the language.

He described Dr Sarachchandra as "a national treasure". Creativity was his gift, education his profession and simplicity his life.

The release of the English version of 'Sinhabahu' (beautifully printed by Sarasavi Publishers) was a combined family effort. In writing the book, Namel had the fullest support of his wife Malini who had also created the stage settings at the launch. The greenery on the back of the stage was a soothing departure from the sponsorship banners we normally see on an occasion like this. In fact, it was a very 'colourful welcome' which greeted the guests who had to pass through a series of multi-coloured penants, tastefully done, recording the involvement of the Weeramuni couple in theatre over the past four decades and more.

The creator of the book cover with an effective illustration of a fusion of a man and a lion is Namel's son, Heshan Berent, who has obviously acquired the artistic talents of the parents.

It was an evening of sheer delight

"One family unbroken", a joyous celebration of local cultures by Sinhala and Tamil students of Ladies' College on October 22 provided an evening of sheer delight. As a preface to the programme, the two schoolgirl Presidents of the Sinhala Literary Society and the Tamil Manavar Sangam of the School, briefly addressed the audience (in Sinhala & Tamil), to express their pleasure in jointly presenting this entertainment celebrating unity within cultural diversity, and showing how their school has, for almost a hundred years, nurtured 'one family unbroken'. The title for the theme of unity is a phrase from the school hymn.

For the Pooja Dance that was the first item on the programme, the Hewisi Band of the school made a stately entrance from the back of the Hall, wending its way solemnly up the aisles and on to the stage, followed by a stream of graceful 'pahan' dancers who made way for the Pooja dancers in both Sinhala and Tamil traditions.

A short Tamil drama about suitors for the daughter of a conservative couple followed, the male characters played with aplomb by girls. Then Sinhala and Tamil choirs combined to present, first, a Sinhala song sung by all, and then a Tamil song raised as if with one voice.

The costumes were gorgeous and couldn't be faulted, the background music always appropriate as it changed to suit the different 'creatures' who took centre stage in turn and the choreography wholly satisfying. The whole was a visual delight. The innovative and imaginative handling of the entire programme was again clearly underlined in the item entitled 'Sangeetha - Sangeetham" in which various musical instruments from different musical traditions were combined in excerpts from three musical compositions. Violins, flute, batanalawas and veenas blended in harmony.

The enactment of Dr. Sarachchandara's popular one-act play, "Elova Gihin Melova Ava", almost stole the show. The four characters, Kalu Hami, Kalu Appu, Kiri Puncha and the Beggar who successfully duped them all, had us entranced by the rhythmic movements done to perfection along with the singsong speech. Each one in turn held our complete attention and a word must be said about the white horse on which Kalu Appu 'rode' in pursuit of the beggar. It was played to perfection.

The school's Hewisi Band took the stage for the final item which was the National Anthem movingly rendered as the audience stood to attention. It was an uplifting evening.-AA

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