Song not distorted by visuals

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

‘I am glad I became second’, Visharada Nanda Malini received a letter from the veteran musician Victor Ratnayake right after an interview of her was published on a newspaper. Recalling the story published a few years ago, she said that she is blessed to sing with maestro Ratnayaka in Ramya Theerthaya on January 25. “I was more than happy to accept Sirara FM’s offer to sing with Victor on stage. This is the first time we are singing on the same stage in Sri Lanka and after the legendary show at London in 2002,” she added beaming.

“When I was a little girl, I came first in a singing competition named Airship produced by Ariyasena Millawithanaachchi and presented by Prosper Fernando at Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). I won an air ticket to Bombay. My father was a tailor, how could he afford such luxury for me?”

And so she took the air ticket and went in search of the company near the clock tower at Fort, with her father. “I remember asking them money in exchange of the ticket.” They were kind enough to comply. When they got the money, the first thing the father and daughter did was to have glass of Saruwath. She suggested to her father that they should buy an electric iron. “I was young but I had noticed his struggle with the coconut shell iron.” But what she forgot was that they didn’t have electricity. “You silly girl,” her father chided her lovingly.

With the money they managed to purchase electricity for their small house at Hatewatta, Kotahena. “I also bought a hot water flask for Thaththa, his tea always went cold at night,” she continued. But this little girl did not foresee that the boy who came second in the competition will also become a maestro one day and the two families will become very close friends. “We didn’t know each other then, in fact I don’t remember who sent me to that competition,” she added. In fact until she revealed this story to a newspaper, both of them didn’t know that they had competed with each other that day.

Nanda Malini was born to a rural family of nine siblings in 1943. After their move to Kotahena, she was enrolled at Sri Gunananda Vidyalaya, where her talent was recognized. “We lived with minimal facilities. But our parents tried to teach us morals despite our situation. There were days that we had to skip meals. Sometimes I had to share my clothes with my sister. However that was not my father’s concern. He wanted us to get the best education possible. My school also had limited facilities,” she said. “Although my parents didn’t observe my talents, my school recognized it. The teachers were always honing our interest in the arts and literature. At school I participated in many dramas and singing competitions. We went to sing devotional songs for Vesak and people used to invite girls from our school to their weddings to sing Jayamangala gatha.”

Nanda Malini proudly acknowledges that she is a product of SLBC and soon made her imprint as an A grade singer. Margret Perera, a teacher of her school foresaw that she had a prosperous road ahead of her. She took her to SLBC and introduced her to the Lama Mandapaya which was presented by Karunarathne Abeysekara and Sarath Wimalaweera at the time. “Unlike today, there weren’t any interviews at SLBC. If the child was talented anyone could go and introduce them there. However I didn’t get a chance to sing a song for a year.” Her first song was written by Asoka Kolambage and music composed by DD Danny. The song has been a hit since she first sang it. After 55 years she first sang her debut song, Budu Saadu, Budu Saadu; it’s still popular as if it was sung yesterday.

According to her meeting Pundit WD Amaradeva was a turning point in her life. Observing her talent in Lama Mandapaya Pundit Amaradeva invited her to sing in a movie, Ranmuthu Duwa in 1962. Ranmuthu Duwa was the first color full-length Sinhalese language film to be produced in Sri Lanka. It was produced by Shesha Palihakkara and directed by Mike Wilson, who also made his debut as a feature director with Serendib Production Company. The movie was able to win the best music, singer (male and female) at the Sarasaviya Film Award Ceremony in 1963. Nanda Malini became the Best Playback Singer (Female) for the song Galanagangaki jeevithe.

Since then, Nanda Malini has sung for 116 films and won 12 Sarasavi Awards and 11 Presidential Awards. She was able to win the best female singer award at the SLIM Nielsen People’s Award continuously for the past six years.

Whilst many women in Sri Lanka demand their position and equal rights as men, Nanda Malini, citing her own life story said that a woman will receive her rightful place in society through will and commitment. Therefore there is no need for women to riot, demanding their position, she points out. “It comes naturally. If a woman knows how to be satisfied with what she has, if she knows how to plan her finances and more importantly if she could become independent,” she continued. “We didn’t have many dresses when we were young. Some days I had to wash my school uniform, iron it at night and wear it again the next day. Our father taught us how not to envy other people who had plenty of clothes.” This is why, she explains, that she still tries to live a simple life.

Nanda Malini admitted that there is a dearth of quality songs. She spoke how thoroughly SLBC screened the lyrics and graded the singers. “They standardized the song with the help of a panel of veterans. That’s how they maintained quality,” she reiterated. “There was a time when people knew me only by my voice; they didn’t know how I looked. There are people who still remember. I remember one person telling me that they used to listen to those programs with lights off. They’ve tried to imagine ‘Nanda Malini’ singing with the help of a picture they had seen in the newspaper,” she said. According to her, another major reason for this loss of quality is money. “For the first five or six years at Lama Mandapaya, the singers were provided only transport and a cup of tea. Today, the child knows how much he or she is going to earn when they receive the invitation,” she said woefully.

She also recalled songwriters the likes of Dolton Alwis, Madawala S Ratnayake, Wimal Abeysundara; musicians like Pundit Amaradeva, Lional Algama, Somadasa Alwitigala and DR Peiries; orchestra members MW Peiris, Piyadasa Athukorala, Mervin Wijewardana and M Nadaraja. “They were the best and we weren’t even aware that we were going to be products of these great people. Program producers like Palitha Perera, Daya Alwis and Kusum Peiris were always ready to welcome us. That is how these old songs made their way into the hearts of the listeners.”

She believes that another reason the old songs maintained the popularity is that the songs were not distorted with visuals. “It went from the ear to the brain directly. No visuals to distract the listener.”

‘Ma hada uyane 

ekama malai pipune,

E mala oba desa balaa hindiddi 

sali sali ashawen…’

‘Only one flower blossomed in the garden that is my heart, and while it looked on you, dancing with desire…’ she sang in example, pointing out the word power of the lyricists who did not require visuals to get across their message to the listeners. She opined that this is an era where people believe that anyone with money could make a song or a visual. “Money is the controlling factor, it’s for this same reason the song is deteriorating.”

She pointed out that the lack of decent production companies to invest in song production is another reason for the downfall. She recalled how companies like Sing Lanka with people like Ananda Ganegoda and Kularatne Ariyawansa made attempts on song production. The ability to produce a music album existed at that time as well as the market for it, she explained. “Sing Lanka was a company which released the best of songs. These companies are bankrupt today because of the thieves ever ready to copy their decent products,” she lamented.

“Technology is all good. We need to move with the changing trends of the new world, but there is an ugly side to trend as well,” she added. She criticized the fact that the laws to protect the song artists are full of loopholes. “Once, I, Prof. Ariyarathna and Mahagama Sekara’s son filed a court case against a group who copied our music, which took three years to deliberate. We won the case, but can we file cases against all such incidents?” she asked.

She is optimistic of the new generation who enter the field of music. She mentioned that there is a group of people, new music enthusiasts wanting to take the Sri Lankan song to a new dimension. “They seek guidance and help. They are keen to talk to us, take our advices. We are also keen to help them and make a connection with them. We cannot be in this field forever,” she iterated.

She said that the Sinhala song needs the strength of the young, the advantages of technology and the inspiration of foreign music. “But it should be our songs, our culture and our music. We must know how to choose between what’s suitable and what is not.”

She explained how an artiste can take the responsibility of shaping society. During the war Nanda Malini produced a song album including Tamil folk songs named, Kunkuma Pottu. Some groups challenged her morality asking why Sinhalaye Yashoraawaya (the legendary voice of Sinhala) took the Tamils’ side. “The music album was a loss. But Mr. Ganegoda believed that it was an essential service at the time. I still believe that it was. This problem would have never occurred if we knew Tamil language,” she opined.

She believes that the Pavana, a revolutionary musical show in late 80s also rendered such a service to society. Prof Sunil Ariyaratne wrote the songs included in Pavana, in an era when the country’s situation was volatile. “The youth of the country was unemployed and suppressed and the society was unjust.” She said that this harsh reality was what turned into a series of songs. Perhaps the messages of these songs were considered a threat. Some of her songs including Pavana were banned at SLBC and SLRC. Pavana concert was also banned.

“I had to move out of the country for a while in 1989 because of this.” However she revealed that she was not afraid to continue singing even though she hit a rough patch now and then. “I believe that it happened because of the background I came from. I remembered the pain of being rejected when we went door to door selling what our father sewed. This was voiced through Pavana. Not persevering with Pavana would have been to neglect our responsibility,” she said that the wellbeing of society is the motive behind her singing. “Some Pavana songs are still relevant even in the contemporary context. We must work towards making those songs irrelevant,” she stressed.

Sangeetha Ashramaya, where Nanda Malini is conducting music classes for children is also as simple as her, painted white like the white saree she is always clad in. She is thankful for the children who come to her classes and their parents, as it is her sole livelihood. “I don’t conduct musical shows as a principle. In fact I couldn’t release an album for six years,” she revealed. She also pointed out the importance of music and aesthetic subjects in making a complete child. “It doesn’t matter how much you feed them, clothe or educate them, if you are not feeding the child with art and literature, he or she would never become a wholesome human being,” she said.

She mentioned that she should be grateful to Sirasa FM for inviting her to Ramya Theerthaya. Shwetha Rathriya; the musical show Sirasa organized few years ago was one of the most successful shows in the country. She returned to stage 22 years later after Pavana with Swetha Rathriya. “No one but Sirasa invited me for a show in those 22 years. And nobody did even after the success of Swetha Rathriya, therefore I must be thankful to them,” she reiterated. “There is a generation who has not seen me singing on stage, children who were born in the 1990s. I suppose this will be a great opportunity for them as well to see us on stage. My invitation is especially for them,” she made an open invitation. “I am still strong. I can still sing and will continue to do so,” she assured.

 

 

‘I remembered the pain of being rejected when we went door to door selling what our father sewed. This was voiced through Pavana. Not persevering with Pavana would have been to neglect our social responsibility. Some Pavana songs are still relevant even in the contemporary context. We must work towards making those songs irrelevant' - Nanada Malini

Staying afloat on the drama stream - Interview with Director of Johnge Saththu Watta

“A person should make a connection with an animal if he can’t make a connection with another human being,” says a man who has lost his mother and father and whose memories of failed relationships puzzle him. This man, John, addresses his audience from the zoo, telling them about the value of making relationships appearing in the stage play; Johnge Saththu Watta (John’s Zoo). Director of Johnge Saththu Watta, Gayan Randheera spoke to The Nation about the similarities he sees in the story Johnge Saththu Watta and of contemporary society and why John says that this relationship is essential.

Johnge Saththu Watta is Gayan Randeera’s third stage play and has reached over 40 performances of late.  Randeera plans to travel around the country this year with John’s zoo. Randheera’s enthusiasm for directing stage dramas was inculcated from his school days in Kalpitiya Nirmala Matha Vidyalaya. “I am a Catholic and eager to make dramas for Christmas and Easter. That’s when I began to hone my talent. I forged ahead with the experiences I gathered in my school and the dharma schools,” he explained. After Randheera was selected to the University of Kelaniya in 2003, he received ample opportunities to expand his capabilities as his subjects in the University included Drama and theater studies. He first directed a play called Kadadasi Baloonaya (Paper Balloon) and then a Greek play called Agamemnon. Johnge Saththu Watta is his third play. “I started this drama four years back. Although I had studied about it at my American drama classes in university,” he recalled. Gayan Randheera also teaches drama and theater studies at Lumbini College, Colombo and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Kelaniya.

Johnge Saththu Watta was adapted to Sinhala from an American Stage play; ‘The Zoo Story’ which was originally titled Peter and Jerry by American playwright Edward Albee in 1958. The last show of Johnge Saththu Watta was on December 28, 2013 and the next is scheduled in Kurunegala in February 28. “I started comparing the plot with our contemporary society when I first studied this. It is an absurd play which shows our day to day routines and how we struggle to make relationships. It is a very hard task for the common man to survive in the society today similar to John in the play. I have experienced this myself, when I moved from my village to the city for my studies,” he explained.

While Radeera was directing the story in his mind, he met Dinesh Sandaruwan, now a final year student at University of Kelaniya. According to Randheera his appearance fitted John’s profile. “That is when the actual process started,” he said. “There are some people whom we reject just by looking at their appearance or what they wear. We have a natural tendency to look down on them, guessing they belong to a horrifying category of drug addicts, thieves or beggars,” he said. “However it all depends on how much that individual is earning since money is the factor which turns him in to the person whom he looks like.” he added.

John is an isolated and disheartened man who failed to build any form of a relationship with others. In the play, John possesses an empty photo frame. He doesn’t have anyone’s picture to put in it. He is completely alone in life. His parents abandoned him. “We need a relationship to survive; maybe with our parents, maybe work. However we need something or the other. But we are failing in making relationships today” he stressed. “When the physical relationships started to fail, our parents were used to build a relationship with the unknown; maybe with God or maybe with a Bo tree. It helped them to survive. Even that’s not there anymore,” he added.

The other character Lenin, which is played by Lenin Liyanage, belongs to a middle class family. He is happily married and has two daughters. He has two kittens at his home and two parakeets for the two daughters. He likes to be alone sometimes, so he comes to the park bench to read books. That is where these two incompatibles meet. John is desperate to have a meaningful conversation with Lenin which ends up in bringing ill-fate to him.

Randeera believes that this transformation happened with time when Sri Lanka took the expressway in the direction of rapid development. “It all began, when people started running towards money; to earn more. Who has time to spend on society or relationships?” he asked. He opined that this may have happened because we welcomed physical development too fast. Social system today makes us buy a television. Therefore we have to pay for it and thereafter for the electricity it consumes. We have to have a car and it follows a fuel bill. “Therefore we have to earn extra money. If we stop and turn back, we will be considered as failures. Therefore there is no going back,” he said.

He believes that people still honor the artistes. "People still love art. Parents still like to send their children to the singing star shows. It’s just that they don't see a financially successful future for them to make their children artistes," he reiterated. “Parents would want their children to live in a comfortable house, drive a car, but not to spend each rupee they earn on art which brings them no money in return. They compare their child with the child who earns 500,000 rupees making software or treating patients" he added.

Continuing to explain the financial situation of Sri Lankan dramatists he said that a person cannot engage in theater productions fulltime as a beginner and needs extra financial aid to continue with lives. "I would engage with theater full time if I can. But what I earn from theater is not enough to spend for its own growth. We are helpless in that regard that we have to engage in other careers," he lamented. He opined that theater is only a place where they can find self satisfaction. He believes that this is the same reason why the directors are losing their interest in making stage plays. "It’s less dangerous to make films, where they can earn money. Who has a guarantee for the stage play? What if the audience doesn’t accept it?" he queried. “If an audience accepts it and the director has a built-up reputation and the capability to go around the country with his work, maybe he will start making money with a stage play. Or else it is an unattainable goal,” he explained.

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

Facilities are limited for theater production in Sri Lanka. The tickets for the theater shows are also expensive. Therefore it is almost a facility only the rich can afford. "We've to pay the crew; we've to pay for the stage which is very expensive. When all this is calculated it exceeds 1000 rupees. What can we do?” he asked. Randheera pointed out that this abandonment goes hand in hand with the country’s development. “Look at Nelum Pokuna, it is a blessing. There is no issue. Everyone from all over the country can come to Colombo and watch a stage play,” he said sarcastically, adding, “If you want to book Nelum Pokuna you have to pay 800,000 rupees. Which drama director can risk investing such money, in fact searching for such fund is no easy task,” he expressed his grief. “If people can come to Colombo to see a stage play, if they can spend over 5,000 rupees for a ticket, there is no issue. If those millions of money wasted were spent to renovate the theaters in each district that would have come as a real blessing to the dramatist,” he stressed.

He has confidence that dramatists can be more successful in conveying messages to the community than politicians. “If the actor is successful enough he can convey to the audience an unforgettable message. It is as twice as powerful as a message of a politician. Theater stage is the best place to tell the world what you have to tell, to show them where you stand and the actor is the best person to give a message to the society. There is no doubt about that,” he opined.

He said that he has observed how people in the audience change with the messages hidden in the dialogues. “A person spoke to me on the phone recently said he didn’t like the drama when he watched it. He was feeling uncomfortable due to the harsh words used in the dialogues since he had brought his daughter with him. When he called me, it was after two or three months after they watched it. He was thanking me for the changes occurred in the way his daughter thinks,” he said. “There has been a person who was begging for money by singing in buses. His daughter has insisted on helping the poor man saying ‘pau, he looks like John aiya’. That is when he realized the politics in the story,” he continued.

He studied the syllabus of drama and theater studies at the University as a student. As he mentioned there have been some effective modifications to the syllabus since then. He appreciated the efforts of the lecture panel and The Academic Players Unit of the University of Kelaniya for the contribution they are making towards Sri Lankan theater.

In conclusion he admitted that Sri Lanka lacks autonomous scripts in theater. “Autonomous scripts require maturity. There are only very few dramatists who have gained that maturity. That is the reason why there are less local stories. However, even if we continue to produce foreign scripts I don’t see any fault in it since story plots are similar to what everyone is going through or what everyone feels. We can adapt the stories to suit our audience,” he pointed out. However Randheera said that he has not yet reached the maturity required to make an autonomous script. “I’m not there yet, in fact I am nowhere near. Let’s see how far I will travel,” he said.

Eagle eye

Forensic photography expert HMR Perera talks about his life and times and his love affair with the camera

Even though forensic photography is not widely spoken about subject in Sri Lanka, countless Hollywood detective stories have made us familiar with them through criminal investigation stories. When photogr­aphers swarm in and take countless pictures twisting and turning their cameras of a crime scene, it offers a clue which tells the audience that there is going to be a criminal investigation surrounded by mystery. Yet is that the way it really works? How does crime scene photography work in real life? Kalabooshana HMR Perera, a forensic photographer, who used to work for the Forensic Photographic Bureau of Criminal Investigations Department, explained to The Nation how crime scene photography really works.

“Since its purpose is to record evidence that will be admissible in court, it's hardly a haphazard operation, even though it looks like that in movies. It is a responsible job which only a trained individual can carry out,” he explained.

HMR Perera hails from Muwandeniya, Matale. He received his formal education at Ananda Shastralaya Kotte and also at Boward’s College Ambepitiya. After his school career he joined the Criminal Investigation Department and subsequently enrolled as a student of the Hegoda School of Photography. In 1971 he was appointed to the photographic Bureau of Criminal Investigation Department after undergoing a special training program.

The 19th century French photographer Alphonse Bertillon was the first to approach a crime scene with the systematic methods of an investigator. “Crime scene photography, also called forensic photography has been around almost as long as the camera itself. With the technology behind, the forensic photographer can make a record of a crime scene, a piece of evidence or even a body,” Perera explained. “The photographer has to make images at various distances in the crime scene and take ground level and overhead shots as it could depict the story as it was in the court room,” he added. 

­According to Perera forensic photographs are essential for investigating and prosecuting a crime because most evidence is transitory. Fingerprints must be lifted, bodies must be taken away and examined and those places must be returned to their normal state. Photographs help preserve the most fleeting evi­dence and the placement of items in a room and the relation of evidence to other objects. “These photographers help the judges to examine what they can’t see in three dimensional views,” Perera iterated.  LTTE’s first attack, Dore Appa’s murder, and Palali bank robbery are among the criminal investigations he was officially tasked with. 

Retiring from CID Photo Bureau in 1979 he joined the State Trading Corporation as a Manager helping to import photo equipment from Germany. “I left there at the onset of the free economy. Then I opened a professional studio where students can come and utilize themselves. It also helped me with my personal photography,” he said.

Although he chose forensic photography as a career in his early life, he never lost interest on fine art photography.  He believes that this interest was nurtured from the Hagoda institute. He is still an active member of the National Photographic Art Society of Sri Lanka. Once he was the Exhibition Secretary of the society and received his associate-ship (ANPAS) in 1976. He has represented Sri Lanka at a number of International Photographic Exhibitions and was awarded the AFOAP by the federation Internationale de I’ Art Photographique in the year 1977.  He did his first one man photograph exhibition in 1978 at Lionel Wendt. His last exhibition in 2009 was his fourth photographic exhibition.

He has been lecturing photographic students in the Sri Lanka National Photographic Art Society since 1975. He extended this service to Nalluruwa Photographic Association, Upcountry Photographic Society, National Youth Services Council and School Photographic Societies on many occasions. He has also served as a panel member in seven local and International photographic competitions.

“My secret of being a fine- fine art photographer is watching movies. I used to watch all the movies which came in to theater. By the time I started watching movies there wasn’t even film halls; just the temporary huts,” he recalled. “I learnt many photographic skills just by watching movies. If you are intelligent and if you have watched enough movies inspecting the angles, lighting and positions, becoming a skilled photographer is not a big deal,” he pointed out.

According to Perera, a fine art photographer should also have a good knowledge about literature since fine art photography is also an art similar to drawing or painting. “Reading is essential. It gives the photographer the sensitivity he needs and what he needs to know about the settings beyond the camera,” he explained. “That’s also the message I have to give out to the budding photographers. They should watch good movies and read good literature,” he reiterated.

He also said that the future of photography is unpredictable with digitizing of the camera. Emergence of electronic imaging has allowed photographers the use of increasingly sophisticated methods of both capturing and manipulating images. “There was a time when we couldn’t make color photographs here. It all had to be sent to Singapore to get printed,” he mentioned. Even printing black and white pictures was a difficult task and it consumed a lot of time dealing with chemicals inside dark rooms to get the final product. “When all became digital, taking or printing photography became effortless. Photography was invented in 1950s. Its development was very slow until 1980s. When digital photography was invented in 1986, the development in the field was unimaginably fast. So I don’t know how far it will go from here. But might go backwards too,” he opined. 

Perera believes that altering images using photo editing software is also a form of art.  “Image editing is used to describe different processes that can be used to manipulate images in different forms which may be analog or digital, some might oppose, but I suppose that is a form of art too. That also shows the creativity of the photo editor. His success depends on his skills,” he explained.

He also said that Sri Lanka has adequate facilities to offer budding fine art photographers. “We have more than enough facilities. Good places to learn and enough opportunities too. If one reads and educates himself on the matter, it is not a hard task,” he said. He also worked as Editor of Shutter Art Photographic Digest for years.

Apart from Photography Perera has also worked as a film director and script writer. He has directed four films as a guest director accepting the invitation of Government Film Unit (GFU) including Malaka Waruna (Flowers of Sri Lanka); a documentary movie about the flower diversity in Sri Lanka. Perera was specially trained as a film cameraman by the GFU and German Cultural Institute, Colombo under the director of photography Germany Claus Deubel in 1990. He still dispenses his knowledge when training film cameramen in Sri Lanka. He has also directed a movie named Day Dust which was taken to be screened in Germany.

Perera is determined to author a book on color composition and art in photography using the knowledge he has accumulated. He also maintains a library at home where students can collect information on various fields including photography. Perera, who is always ready to offer his knowledge to the students, dedicates most of his time for this apart from the training sessions and lectures he attends, against medical advice.

He was awarded the Kalabooshana State Award in December 2013 in appreciation of the service he has rendered to the country. He also received the Swarna Prabashwara Award in August 2013 by the National Association of Photographers Sri Lanka. When asked about his tremendous commitment and free lecturing at various institutes since 1975, he formed his answer by posing a question, “Not all is measured by money, is it?” 

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe