Powerful songs rendered powerless

Kularatne Ariyawansa, creator of words who nurtured Sinhala songs with his lyrics for almost four decades laments on the current situation

 

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

 

 

 “Once there was this song played in the bus in which I was traveling. It was one of Sunil Edirisinghe’s and barely two or three lines in to the singing I noticed a difference. It made me reflect that there must have been a problem when Sunil recorded this song. Not a minute passed he jumped into another song, and then to another song, then did I realize that it was someone else singing Sunil’s songs. It was cassette bought off the pavement containing non-stop pre recordings. I don’t understand how a person could enjoy such great songs when transmitted like that, it is to this level that songs of this country have descended.” Kularatne Ariyawansa, creator of words who nurtured Sinhala songs with his lyrics for almost 40 years, expressed his regret about the current situation.

Deno Dahak Nuwan Athare, Sithak Kelesada Me Lesin, Pawena Nil Walawe, Chandikamata Randuwak Wela, , Mata Mulu Lowama Obai, Aa Maga Ketiy, Sanda Maha Sinasuna, Raththaran Neth Dekin … are some in a long list of Kularatne Ariyawansa’s most popular songs. Because of these words are hummed by song lovers he doesn’t need a long introduction. Commenting on the ‘Collection of 66 selected songs’ launched in 2006, fellow lyricist Prof Sunil Ariyarathne had said, that one will get to know the competence of Ariyawansa by just glancing at the collection. And also because of variety the songs could never bore anyone.

There is a claim in contemporary society that songs with meaningful lyrics is dying and that the new generation does not value them. Some question the basis of evaluation between good songs and bad songs. “I think songs giving out an acceptable message to the listener through its words as well as the melody are called as fine songs (subhawitha geethaya). A song is not only for the aesthetic feeling. It also conveys a message. As I see, a song which has both these qualities could be characterized as such,” he opined.

 According to him there is a clear distinction in the quality of a good song and a poor one. “One might have a different opinion on this. A fine song for one, may not make sense for anther one. It’s true that the taste differs from what we eat, what we wear to what we listen. Some don’t like songs of the same pitch, rhythm and style. That is all right. But it doesn’t say that we could approve all songs as first-class,” he said.

Song is the first aesthetic experience of a person. In any part of the world, first thing a baby hears is the mother’s lullaby. Singing is also a strong way of communicating ideas and messages. “As the listener doesn’t have to get prepared to hear a song, he becomes familiar with songs spontaneously. It doesn’t take much force for a song to get into the listeners head,” he pointed out. “A song has the potency to relieve tension, stress or depression. It is a natural remedy. We were 70s children. We had the essence of the best songs. Therefore we know the power of a song,” he highlighted.

 According to him the song creators were able to maintain quality and standards of a song despite the rhythm or the type of songs. “It’s not that all the songs in that era were in the same style. There were Baila songs too. See MS Fernando’s Baila. His rhythm was different from Amaradeva’s calm music but its meaning did not harm anyone; not the listeners or society,” he stressed. “Singers like Clarence Wijewardene or Milton Mallawarachchi also had their unique styles which were also not damaging. All the singers were concerned about the communication through sound variations and words,” he continued.

Kularatne Ariyawansa held the cassette traders who came along with the open economy and the initiation of private radio channels were responsible for the downfall of Sinhala songs. “When we first started writing lyrics, the main responsibility of songs was held by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. 90 percent of the songs were created under their authority. Only about 10 percent was made in other ways like films and the four-song discs,” he said. “Singers like Clarence Wijewardane and Indrani Perera who sidestepped Broadcasting Corporation into the music industry were introduced through these four-song discs. When they present their discs to the SLBC, there was a procedure to approve the songs before playing,” he explained.

When a song is written it had to be submitted to a board for approval, which included veterans like Wimal Abeysundara and Madawala S Ratnayaka. “If the lyrics get approved then the song can be recorded for a Sarala Gee program. But the recorded song has to undergo another screening to determine whether the rhythm or the tune is suitable for the particular song. People from many fields used to come to the Broadcasting Corporation once a week for this,” he explained the procedure.

According to Ariyawansa this continued until 1977. “During the times of Ridgeway Tillakeratne, the singers were encouraged to do autonomous songs. Singers like H R Jothipala, Latha Walpola, Mohideen Baig or Milton Perera who used to sing along to Hindi melodies also started to make songs of their own. That’s why it was called the golden era,” he said.

When song production went in to the hands of cassette traders with the open economy it became a business. “That is where the standards started to drop. All they cared was about money and they didn’t have to follow the rules of the Broadcasting Corporation. Their fine-quality songs were allowed to be played on radio but they could always sell the rejected songs in the market,” he pointed out.

“Then the private radio channels were started where those poor quality songs could go on air without a fuss. Song production became easier and the lyrics writers didn’t have to be as responsible as they write anymore. The value of the songs started to fade away,” he further said.

According to him, the attitude of the country also changed following these changes. People started to question the value of literature. Children were encouraged to study science or math rather than studying literature or languages. Education system became very competitive and the child didn’t have time to spend reading. “When we were kids we had the freedom to read and to build a close relationship with nature. Suddenly everything changed for the child and they had to face the battle of education. They didn’t have time to develop their aesthetic senses,” Ariyawansa mentioned. He stated that it is another reason for the lack of aesthetic state in the population including the taste in music.  

He lamented that the music is now treated as a slave in Sri Lanka. “There are more than 30 radio stations in the country. The time allocated for songs is very high compared with the time allocated for songs when there was only one radio station. Now there are channels which run for 24 hours a day with nothing but songs and the chit chats of the announcers,” he said. “When you walk on the road you are forced to listen to songs of the sweep ticket seller, when you get into a bus you are forced to listen to the bus songs. A song is used for everything as a slave. They give prominence to the temporary satisfaction over morals. Just listen to the songs played in the majority of private channels. I worry about the future of song,” he added.

During the golden era it seems the singers had tried to develop an identity of their own. “If you listen to a song sung during those days, you could identify whether it is Latha Walpola, Nanda Malini or Indrani Bogoda. Can you do that with the new generation of singers?,” he raised a question. “If the announcer didn’t mention the name the listeners won’t be able to recognize the voice. A song is a work of art, not everyone can do it. But some don’t seem to understand that. Today anyone who knows how to write would write songs. Anyone who could talk would sing songs and sell. There is no need for skill, talent or experience to create melodies for a song. They will just tap here and there and produce music,” he criticized some new songs.

According to Ariyawansa, this has happened because of the freedom with no limitations and correcting this would not be simple. “I suppose a song registry would help a little. There is a registry to keep records on published books. But there is no such thing for songs. Therefore anyone could produce a cassette without any details of them. There is no wonder if there would be filth recorded and sold in the market since there aren’t any laws preventing that,” he pointed out. “There are people who sing other’s songs and make money. If you can remember the instance where a man sang Nanda Malini’s songs, you’ll know how unpleasant it could get,” he added.

He also mentioned that, if the Cultural Affairs Ministry could initiate a procedure like that with the help of some institute to register songs when a cassette or a CD is released that would be a solutions to many issues at the present and the future of the song industry. “Also if some guidelines and standards to define the quality of the songs and usage when permits are issued for the radio channels, that would also ensure some discipline,” he opined.

According to him a process like this would also help the preservation of songs as well as ownership issues. “According to the Performing Rights Act, the lyricist holds a right for the ownership of the song, when he finishes writing. Since these information are not recorded anywhere a Sri Lankan lyricist could be challenged about his right in a couple of years. There isn’t a proper way to prove his right,” he stated. If there is a place where the track, notations and lyrics could be submitted and recorded these issues will never occur. No one would be able to claim a false right to the song. In fact the songs will be preserved automatically,” he said.

 Ariyawansa also explained how this system would help to detect fake CDs and Cassettes which is rampant in the market. “Who would want to pay more when they could buy hundreds of songs for just 150 rupees on the payment? It’s no surprise that there is no place for the original music CDs and cassettes now,” he mentioned. “It’s just these simple methods. The problem is that nobody is bothered to do anything about it,” he added.

He also expressed his grief about the damage some private radio channels cause. “Look at the way these kids speak in some radio channels,” Ariyawansa said speaking about the language used in FM channels today. “I remember one senior announcer saying how careful he was in front of the microphone how he was reminded of his school teachers, the chief priest in the temple and the headmaster of his school. How he spoke with self-discipline, thinking that they might be listening. The kids today speak as if they are talking only to people in their own mental state,” he said.

A song is made up contributions from main people; the lyricist, the music composer and the singer. Yet the song is popularly known by the vocal artiste’s name as the radio doesn’t seem to give the necessary credit to the other two. Kularatne Ariyawansa said that it is an opportunity to pass over the lyricist’s responsibility. “A song writer could write anything just pretend as if it was not his fault. We were introduced to the listeners through the Broadcasting Corporation. We were told about the responsibility we hold. Since it was mentioned with our name we were automatically made responsible,” he said. “Do you know who wrote which song today?” he raised a question.

Kularatne Ariyawansa said he is not certain whether there will be another golden era in Sri Lankan song. “It’s the children I am worried about. They are hypnotized by worthless songs, that they don’t know what they are doing. Don’t you think there is a connection between the reported stabbing incidents, murders or violence reported and musical shows?” he questioned. “A song or music is the best medicine to ease the human mind, in the reverse it could also make people violent if it was used in that way. If anyone has enough guts, they should sue all these radio channels for making a bad influence on their children and the transgression committed,” Ariyawansa challenged.

When language crashes the country also crashes - Priyankara Ratnayake

 

Pic by Ravindra Dharmathilake 

Traditional dramatists question the compatibility of the adaptations of foreign dramas into local theater. Priyankara Ratnayaka, the director of adoptions of Greek stage plays Wisekariyo and Ada wage dawasaka Antigone, claims that there are two types of dramas where one belongs to a country and one belongs to the humans. “A drama belonging to the humans could be adapted into any community or culture since all the emotions and issues could be interpreted accordingly,” he said in an interview with The Nation.

Priyankara Ratnayake, a Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at the University of Kelaniya, is an artiste, who set foot simultaneously in teledrama, cinema and theater. He gained experiences under veterans like Somalatha Subasinghe, Dhamma Jagoda, Tissa Abeysekara and Wasantha Obeysekara and Priayankara Ratnayake and now shares knowledge with budding dramatists in the country.

Q. How do you see the difference in the teledrama field, then and now?

Unlike today, teledrama artistes worked with great responsibility at that time. All were well planned. I remember when I was acting in Wanasarana, my first teledrama; there were times when the director took three days to shoot one scene just because there were few flaws. They wanted it perfect. Today there are some teledramas which shoot three episodes in a day. Many of it is thibba gahuwa (fast paced) productions.  

Another thing we have noticed is that the actors are celebrities today. They are famous. If you take one actor or an actress, they simultaneously act in four to five teledramas. If you have noticed, sometimes the characters are similar to each other and even the costumes they wear are similar.       

Q. What caused this drawback?

Look at the pioneers in teledramas. Veterans like Tissa Abeysekara, Lester James Peries, Dharmasena Pathiraja, Asoka Handagama or Parakrama Niriella were responsible in what they did. Most of them were well experienced in theatre or cinema before they moved on to teledrama. They had a scholastic knowledge to handle the visual medium. Unfortunately, none of them do teledramas now. They have gone back to do what they are mostly interested in. 

Today most of the teledrama directors in the field are not nurtured well. They go straight into directing after assisting two or three teledramas. They lack the knowledge to see the depth of art work. There are exceptions like Sudath Rohana who was able to maintain the standards in his dramas. He gathered experience over many years by working with Tissa Abeysekara. If he can maintain the standards, why can’t others?

Other thing is the objectivity of telecasting a drama. Today the teledramas are made to sell products.  Those days there were 30 minutes allocated for a teledrama. At least, we watch a drama for about 25 to 26 minutes. Now its only 18 minutes. We are watching advertisements for more than 10 minutes. The actors are selected according to the wishes of the media institution where sometimes the talent doesn’t get opportunity. On the other hand, the new actors in the field just want to maintain their fame, not to study what they do. Therefore many can’t be on the field for a long time.

Q. Why are the veterans of in the field silent about this?

An originator has two aspects of doing a work of art. One is to convey a message through the creation. The other is to satisfy himself. Today’s system doesn’t seem to satisfy these people who want to do something good. People like Handagama and Niriella who made a difference in the teledrama field have gone back to cinema and theatre seeking things which satisfy them. They have understood that they cannot use teledramas to go in depth of art in the contemporary system.

Q. Future of the teledrama field doesn’t seem to be optimistic?

I’m not sure how long a person like Sudath Rohana will be able to maintain the standards. That is my problem. If the relevant media institutes don’t pay attention to this, I don’t think the future will be positive. They should understand that they cannot keep a long time audience by continuous reality shows.

Q. Does this cause audience to get distracted from teledramas?

Teledrama is something shown to the audience by force. But the television cannot force them to see what they don’t like forever. This could be a reason why the cinema and theatre audience is greater now after the war ended. Now that they are free, they seem to seek what they like. Unlike the teledramas, the cinema or the stage cannot fool the audience. Since a person has to schedule time to come and see a movie or a stage play, the creation team should be capable enough to attract them to their creation.  

Q. Would this be a way up to the stage?

This won’t happen if the dramatist starts to make cheap productions to attract the audience who broke up from the television. Even though a generation or two may seem to have abandoned the stage, there was always a good audience for the stage. There was an era in 60s and 70s, where there was a full audience for stage plays. I have seen people seated on the floor as the theater became full. It’s true that this number declined, but there was a stable number always, even outside Colombo. And in the past few years we noticed a moderate increase in this number, but we have still not come back to a time where the theatre is full.

Another reason for this increasing number could be the school and university curriculums. Now drama and theatre studies are part of the school curriculum from grade five. The number of school children and university students coming to see stage plays are increasing.  There should be good facilities for the audience. Or else, people would not come even though the drama is good.

Q. What is the situation of theater facilities in Sri Lanka?

It is not satisfactory at all. Look at the halls in Colombo. There are only few, but no one is trying to keep these in a good state.  The most suitable place for both dramatists and the audience is Lionel Wendt. That’s an ideal theatre. But we know that, it is maintained by a private organization. Government is not involved in providing facilities for theatre. Look at John de Silva Memorial Hall. If a person goes there, he’ll have to concentrate more on avoiding mosquito bites than watching the drama just like the olden days. It’s hard to enjoy a play there on a rainy day. Lumbini hall is not suitable for stage dramas at all. People boil inside.

The situation is worse outside Colombo. There are no acceptable theaters for stage plays. We usually use school auditoriums when we go out of Colombo, but it doesn’t even fit the minimum needs of the drama group. Quality of the creative production is lessening when there aren’t adequate facilities. We should at least built one theater for each district.    

Q. There is a connection between the country’s development and literature. How would you describe this?

It doesn’t matter how much physical resources a government gives its citizens, the country will still not be developed if their spirituality is not nurtured. The best way to improve spirituality is through drama, since it’s easy to teach people through drama. And literature improves the thinking power. If the literature and drama are going down, the development of the country is also going down. Same goes with language. If the language crashes, the country also crashes.

The constitution in 1978 was initiated asking the question ‘sahithya kannada?’ (Can we eat literature?) But before that, in 50s and 60s it was different and you know that was a golden era for the country. The men of letters were in the parliament and they worked towards the development of literature. Situation changed after 77 and the decline and the fall of literature started. It affected the whole country. Both literature and art are included in measuring the country’s development. We are in a crisis since we are under the margins of both these measurements.

Q. Lets talk about your latest contributions Wisekariyo and Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone? 

Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles’ tragedy was created three years ago and my latest direction Wisekariyo is an adaptation of the Lysistrata, a comedy by the Greek dramatist Aristophanes. Lysistrata was previously adapted as Gahanu Wada Arambathi by Darmapriya Dais, which was translated by Aruna Premaratne. We have used the same translation. Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone was translated by Ariyawansha Ranaweera. Ada Vage Davasaka Antigone and Wisekariyo will be staged at November 21 and 22 at the Lionel Wendt at 7 pm.

You could see how the university students have changed. It is true that we cannot change the mentality of the students, who had the minimum understanding of literature and drama, completely. But they have improved. Majority of the contributors of these two dramas are university products.

Q. Both the dramas use the power of humor. How essential is humor in a drama?

Humor is more than what makes you laugh and humor used in a drama, or even in any other creation should not leave the audience go home empty handed. It should offer the audience something to think about. For instance when we watch Chaplin for the first time we laugh, but the third or the fourth time we watch it, we see the pain and the struggle hidden. Some dramatists mistake this for light humor which does not offer anything to think. People will not hang on to these light humored dramas, even if they continue to produce them. The audience will get fed up with them similarly to the television.

Q. Both Antigone and Wisekariyo display the power of female characters. Was there a special reason for choosing these scripts? 

I didn’t take the female aspect of this, but the humanistic aspect. True that both dramas highlight female characters. A hero is a hero regardless of the gender. It all depends on the motive of the character. Both Antigone and Lysistrata are such characters which give out their powerful way of thinking. That is what’s important. Antigone speaks about a post war scenario while Wisekariyo finds a way to end a struggle. Both storylines had bonds with our situation. There is a message for all of us hidden in the dramas. 

Ada wage dawasaka Antigoni

Wisekariyo

Sri Lankan readers are far ahead of the critics - Kapila Kumara Kalinga

 

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

“Wasanthaye aga hamuwemu sonduriya -
Lawali thalawaka wisula kusum matha
Athinatha gena pera noki katha asa
Aluthin susumak gena wenwee yamu...”

Remember how these words of hope forced you to calm down when you heard this song out of the blue on a radio channel? These are just few lines out of thousands of lines written by Kapila Kumara Kalinga, who cannot be introduced only as a lyricist. He is a writer, a poet, a journalist, a stage play writer, radio and tele-drama scriptwriter, a director as well as an award winning novelist. His creative excellence in commercial advertising was also awarded with a silver medal at the Indian ABBYs Award ceremony (All India Awards for Creative Excellence) which was the first international award Sri Lanka ever won in the field of advertising. His creative team won this award in 2006 for the campaign under the theme ‘Don’t be blind to the blind’ created for the Sri Lanka Federation for the Visually Handicapped.
Kapila Kumara Kalinga believes that he inherited this creative capacity because of his family background. “My father was the Arts inspector in Central Province. He was also a student of Shanti Niketan, India when Ravindranth Tagor was still alive. My home was a place where artists met. I was following them,” he recalled. “I was also an ideal reader. I did not miss a single stage play which came to town,” he added.
Young Kapila dreamt of joining theater since childhood. Shelving his dream, he had to join a newspaper as journalist, his first profession. “I was first a freelancer for the Aththa newspaper. Then I joined Lake House and later worked as a sub-editor for Dawasa. Similar to the youth today, I too was radical and headstrong in my 20s, but the wisdom of people like Hubath Dissanayaka, whom I worked under at Dawasa sharpened us,” he said.  According to him the senior students at school, Dharmaraja College, Kandy who entered the Arts field before him also offered guidance to him. “Among them were Dharmasena Pathiraja, Daya Tennakoon and Amarasiri Kalansooriya. It was easy for me since they had already found the path,” he added.
After leaving the newspaper industry young Kapila started writing radio drama scripts. “I have written over 100 radio drama scripts. I started writing while Mr. Sugathapala de Silva was in charge of radio dramas at the Broadcasting Corporation. He was very pleased with my work,” he said.
The stage play Rhinoceros marked a milestone in his stage script writing. “It is one of my achievements I admire. It was a drama many gave up since it was believed to be inflexible. It was chosen as the best adaptive stage play at the state award ceremony that year,” he mentioned. “When we first staged my debut stage play, Bim Gae at the Peradeniya University it didn’t take much time for the audience to make insulting noises. They even threw water at us. But we continued as if nothing happened. When Rhinoceros was staged, we received a standing ovation at the end. That was an achievement as well as revenge for their response on Bim Gae. That revenge was sweet”, he showed his pride.
All his script collection published to date had been made compulsory readings for the students of theater. “That is the best appreciation I can ever receive,” he said.
He entered the field of advertising following a request by veteran film director Dharmasena Pathiraja. “When I was working in the movie, Para Dige with Dharmasena Pathiraja, he asked me whether I was interested in advertising. I had the passion for it since I was young. I used to collect newspaper advertisements and paste them in a scrapbook as I started to see a unique art in it. But I never imagined myself in that field,” he opined. “Advertising was a well-paid job. It made my life easy,” he added.
He published his first short story collection while he was working in the advertising field. So far he has published over five short story collections including Navikayan Sathara Denek, Galu Kotuwe Sinhaya and 70 Dashakaye Premaya.
There was a demand for teledrama scriptwriters. Since Kapila had already made his name in radio dramas, he could not resist the demand. “My first was Moragirigamana. It was a children’s tele. Makara Vijithaya, Gandela Nisalai, Sakwithi Yagaya, Dakathi Muwahatha are few among the scripts I enjoyed,” he stated. “I was more interested in writing one-act dramas. It was easy for me since I had to save my job also,” he added. Kapila Kumara Kalinga is still known as the Paye Raja (One hour king) in the teledrama field.
According to him, teledrama producers aren’t ready to spend money for the creative quality of a drama as they used. “It was easier to do these dramas at that time. People weren’t afraid to spend money for creativity,” he pointed out. He said that everything is limited. According to him when it comes to the television, everything has to be common. “It’s catered to a common audience. The main goal is selling the product and it has little to do with quality,” he added.
Speaking about radio dramas, Kapila Kumara Kalinga said that the radio drama audience was distracted as a result of the struggle between the radio and the television. “Even BBC radio, which supported radio dramas at international level, could not compete with television. That is the true story,” he stressed.
He admitted that the quality and the message conveyed through radio dramas were elevating the imagination of the audience. “In comparison to the television dramas the radio plays were far better,” he said. “Some plays I wrote were associated with the sky, heaven or sea. Teledrama can’t perform that magic. We were able to create what the teledramas can’t show, in the mind of our audience, from heaven to hell using the power of imagination. Quality of creativity was incomparable with the teledramas,” he exclaimed.
He doubts radio dramas will be uplifted. “Who will turn off the television to listen to a radio act? Even the scriptwriter doesn’t have time to listen to his own drama. I remember, at that time when a drama was broadcast, the conductor of the bus I took also had a comment. It is not there anymore,” he lamented.  “This does not predict a good future for the creative work since the television does not help people to enhance their creative imagination. It does not permit the audience to think,” he opined.
As a teledrama scriptwriter Kapila Kumara Kalinga succeeded in incorporating humor in his work. The hilarious boy, Ping Pong we met in Tattu Gewal is just one example. Produced over a decade ago, Tattu Gewal still has an audience despite the number of times it was repeatedly telecast. “Good humor is always admired anywhere in the world.  Making people laugh is not an easy task. This is true with what you write for children,” he stressed.
“I try to see everything lightly. I laugh at my mistakes first and then I am able to see what mistakes other people make. I remember when we were making Tattu Gewal, residents close by to that setting started complaining that we are trying to show the world what they were doing. I didn’t even know where was going to be shot, when I was writing the script. Later they enjoyed seeing their mistakes, and started telling us about the funny incidents in the neighborhood,” he recalled. 
He expressed grief about the situation of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation education service. “I suppose the SLBC didn’t understand the value of it.  Education service was a huge medium of information for the people in rural areas with limited facilities. The education service of the SLBC was an independent body at that time. It created a dialogue among people about various subjects like art, politics and culture. One instance is the program Rupana Mandapa. I think we can still create a dialog within the country through an education service, if well organized. People will listen,” he emphasized.  “There are many ways which the SLBC can go further, yet they seem to ignore those paths,” he stressed.
Television and radio commercials are more common than popular song. Sometime we get to listen to the same commercial advertisements several times a day. There is no doubt about the impact of these advertisements both the cultural aspect and the marketing aspect. “Since these commercial advertisements are now a part of our everyday life, it could influence the society. One, it influences the consumers. Advertising people are the opinion makers for them. They tell you what you should buy; they tell you what your lifestyle should be. Consumers change according to them involuntarily,” he explained.
According to him these impacts could be both positive and negative. “On one hand people need someone to help them with their decisions. That’s the advertiser’s responsibility. But sometime they make non-essential goods, essentials. Advertisers cannot lie, they exaggerate,” he said. “If an advertisement bluffs about some product, they could be sued according to the code of ethics,” he added.
In his opinion, new creative words used in advertisements could enrich a language and help the language maintain its liveliness. “Sometime we have to coin new words to describe products and sometimes people start using these words in common practice,” he said. “There is a term call ‘ad-Sinhala’, the language used in the advertisements, but not in the common context. My opinion is that it is good if I don’t have to distort the language. But it’s a competition out there. If I want my advertisement to compete with the others I have to give all the treatments that ad needs,” he claimed. 
He continued to explain. “For an example, when the advertisers had to introduce margarine they didn’t have a way of explaining ‘poly-saturated’. The Sinhala scientific term for this was ‘bahu asanthruptha’. If a scientific word is used in an advertisement it will be nonsense for the ordinary people. But we had to use it. But with time people got used to the word. Now they know what it means,” he elaborated.  “I am the baas, I will construct it the way I want. But you have to know the grammar to break the grammar,” he pointed out.
He described the work of a creative team in an advertising agency. “A creative team has a certain task. They do what they’ve been briefed on. A creative team cannot challenge the market value of the product or its politics. Their responsibility is to sell the product. They don’t know whether a button they try to sell will later be lethal for the consumer,” he said. “Only thing we can do is refuse to work if we are not sure. Once I was asked to help with a cigarette ad campaign. Since it was against my principals I said I can’t do it. My management was understandable enough to release me from that,” he explained. “The question remains whether there was or there will be a virtuous advertisement in the commercial field,” he said.
Kapila Kumara Kalinga published his debut novel, Piyasi Kawuluwa in 2011. The following year his contribution as a novelist was appreciated with the Sri Jayewardenepura University Vidyodaya Literary Award for the Most Excellent Novel. It was also nominated for the final round of Swarna Pusthaka. Piyasi Kawuluwa is a biography about an astounding person who can see and talk with people who are dead and gone. The story is filled with mystics and the main character, Vinter is lovable. But his character is hard to understand. His second novel, Kande Weediya woven around a historical character gives the reader a dramatic experience filled with romance, humor and curiosity. Time period of the story dates back to the last few decades of the British period. The main character, Lloyd – a lawyer coming from a rich business family, his father- a vedha mahattya who later becomes a renowned planter, Sarojini- a poetess from India and Subha- Lloyd’s pretty bride are the constructors of the story.  Poems included in both the novels boost the attractiveness of stories. “Poetry is a part of the stories. It gives a structure to my story. It added flavor. I enjoyed including the poems and the poetic language I used,” he said.” And I felt easier to build the Piyasi Kawuluwa story on my own than build the story around a character that actually existed. A writer has to limit his imagination when he is dealing with such a character,” he explained.
After so many years of experience in the art field, Kapila Kumara Kalinga says that he has observed that the ordinary readership is much more intelligent than the critics in the field. “A person cannot judge a book, a movie or a teledrama by an appreciation of a critic. Sri Lankan readers are far ahead of the critics. If a writer bluffs them, they will immediately notice this,” he opined.
In conclusion he said that he has a positive attitude toward the Sri Lankan novel. According to him, there is an improvement in the contemporary Sinhala novel. “All these literary awards could be a reason for that. Writers now try to produce complete novels. I think, we would be able to compete with the Indian writers in no time,” he said hopefully.

When no reason gives a reason

wordsmith Sandun Lakmal says it’s difficult to enforce copyright because what we have picked up as language is what we have heard or seen somewhere and hence not ours

Pic by Chandana Wijesinghe

 

The number of Internet users as a percentage of the country’s population is small. The term ‘blog’, which comes along with the internet, is still new to many of us. Those who don’t know, the term blog or blogging are used to refer to the action that is performed by a person when they make a post to a web log or a blog. A blog is a journal, diary or a personal website on the internet and updated frequently by a person.  Maybe this group doesn’t include the older generation because usage calls for too much technology.
Some predict that the digital revolution would affect the book trade and defeat the print industry soon. Yet, Sandun Lakmal, a young Sinhala blogger, who was capable of leaving his mark among the Sinhala blog community, doesn’t agree with this claim.  “Some think that the books will disappear one day and it will be all about digital products. That fear is futile since there will always be people who love the smell of a new book and will be incapable of leaving it behind. Just like there are people who cannot leave their folks,” he told The Nation.
Sandun’s path towards blogging was created accidentally. “I used to write poetry to tease a tuition master pretending to be a girl. Then I tried to match four lines of a verse to catch a girl,” he said.  Sandun had never attempted to get his poems published. “I think I wrote a poem to a newspaper when I was a kid. It didn’t even get published. When I got hold of internet I started to post random stuff there. During the free hours of my nightshifts, I started posting what I wrote on the Sinhalaya forum. Then moved to Boondi.lk and from there into blogging,” he explained. “Everyone who started writing on the net at that time, started with forums. Blogging and facebook came next,” he recalled.
Sandun Lakmal, employed at a private advertising agency as a Sinhala copywriter, started his blog ‘Nikamata wage’ (for no reason at all) about five years ago. The number of posts he has made so far is more than enough if he wanted to get a poetry collection printed. Yet he said that he’d stick to blogging since printing and publishing a poetry collection demands enormous cost.
Poetry posted in his blog comes under the tag of ‘Kavi wennathi’ (Maybe these are poems)” He was not sure whether they fall under the category of real poems since he had not studied about writing poetry. His blog, www.nikamatawage.blogspot.com carries tiny poems which some call ‘headline poetry’. “I don’t like to read lengthy stories. I don’t want to write either. I expand words to paragraphs for my job and I don’t want to do the same thing in my blog. I try to tell what I want to tell in six or seven lines,” he said. “If I could tell it in two three lines why waste words?” he raised a question.
He is aware that whatever he writes for no reason at all is giving the reader a reason to think. “People can perceive things in different ways. It should be that way too. Sometimes people derive deeper meanings out of my posts. However, I think it’s better to define it myself,” he opined.
Sandun’s poems are often ridiculously funny and satirical. He develops his identity from a mocking signature line which he puts at the end of each poem. Once he is a key cutter and then he tries to discoverer a new way to frame women. He has also abandoned the act of pouring from bottle to glass. At one time he is Sandun who throws stones at a lake and then he is Sandun who throws stones at stray dogs.
“I use these signatures because I think it is nice. Apart from that there is no reason for that too. Unknowingly it became my identity and a trend. So far I’m not aware of anyone who writes like this. But I know that there are people who attempt to imitate,” he reflected.
He doesn’t believe that a writer can have copyrights for what he writes. According to him, a creative writer or a poet doesn’t own work. “There are no such thing as copyrights for what I write. What we write is always something we see somewhere, read somewhere or hear somewhere. How can we own those just because we wrote it down?” he queried.
“Therefore I think I won’t even publish a book. I don’t want to own anything. When I post my writing on the internet, I don’t even know where that would end up. Also I don’t care,” he continued.
Speaking about author’s rights, he explained one of his experiences. “Once a guy contacted me and apologized saying that he used to send my poems changing the name to a girlfriend. He hasn’t even copied my poems from my profiles; he has got it from somewhere else. That was fun. At least someone used it to get his work done,” he recalled.
“I am aware that there are people who just erase my name, add their ones and use it. They do that because they like it, don’t they? I take it as an appreciation to my work,” he added.
Other than the unique signature, another prominent feature in his blog is the photographs he uses. Almost all his poetry is connected to a picture. “I don’t know how I got used to this. I thought it would be nice to put a picture relevant to the poem. Earlier I used to surf the net to get these pictures, but now I use the pictures taken by the photographers I know. It’s an admiration for them also since I mention their names,” he said.
Those who are familiar with the blogs would have noticed that they are built around communities. “Internet is a wonderful place. Even though we thought that people would end up sitting in one place staring at a computer, it became a place where people could meet. People from faraway became close friends in the internet, through blogging,” he pointed out. “There are a few people who sit in one place and stare at the computer screen, but the majority fall into the category I mentioned. I also met a few fabulous friends through the net and through blogging. We used to organize wonderful events together,” he said while explaining the small rewards associated with becoming an online personality.
 He also spoke how the interaction of the bloggers and readers provides motivation for a writer. “Some internet writers press the like button and make a number of comments. I was also motivated from the comments and likes I get. Even today I’d like if someone makes a sensible comment seeing my work from a different angle,” he admitted. “But most of the comments you see in blogs are ‘Niyamai, Patta, maru, ela, andenawa’,” he described.
 According to him, a blog is a free place where anyone can write anything. There are people writing about their daily routine from the time they get up or a stone they accidentally stepped on. Sandun’s explanation justifies their writing. “There are people who read those kinds of posts and give positive comments. People have different tastes. They see different aspects of things. For an instance one might see the bad music of a song where another might see the depth in the words of that song,” he explained. “Also there are extraordinary talents shown on blogs where they either didn’t want to go into print media or were rejected from the newspapers and publishers. They all can publish whatever they want in their blogs,” he opined.
He also said that a blog is a place where people should perform new experiments. “Once a few people got together and tried to write one story, which was not successful. And there was this existing concept of writing a story using 100 words. Likewise people could try new methods of writing. These attempts matters,” he stressed. “Without limiting the posts to just words, a writer could use music, pictures or videos in a blog post,” he added.
This ultimate freedom in blogging could be used in a negative way as well. It could be used to promote violence, hatred or socially unacceptable things. According to Sandun Lakmal people always have a choice and can avoid those blogs. “Read what you want to read. Nobody tries to hold your head and make you read by force. If you don’t like it, just close it. It’s a single click,” he stressed. “There is an issue when we think about the age limits, but I think it’s where parents should be cautious,” he added.
 Another thing a blog reader should keep in their mind is that, the blogger has no responsibility toward his readership. Unlike in a book or a newspaper, blog writers can abandon their blogs whenever they wish. There is always a chance, that a blogger would stop continuing his posts without notice, just like Sandun Lakmal did when he wrote his story ‘Obama Namak Thiyanna’ (You can name it). “I was conducting an experiment and it was successful. Then I lost the enthusiasm in writing that story,” he said highlighting the fact that he had ignored his responsibility.

*Adapted to English by Malinda Seneviratne 

http://nikamatawage.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_25.html#comment-form

For a long, long time

from each and every fish

that strayed into

was caught in this net

I queried: 'Did you see?'

that's all.

I am Sandun, who sells to the fishmonger those who will not answer.

 http://nikamatawage.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-post_01.html

I loved you.

When you were sated

with the overflowing red

of my love

I rejoiced,

was overjoyed.

Then you left,

without a word,

and as recompense

for my red, red love,

you left with me

a token:

Dengue!

I am Sandun, who ever since then lights Mortein.

https://sites.google.com/site/sandunlakmal/balla.jpg

A dried leaf

came floating in the wind,

blew against me,

and blew away

from me.

Stubborn wind

twisted around my tail,

tickled my mind

and left me

abandoned.

In a fit of anger

I snapped

at a fly.

The wind intervened

saved the fly.

My jaws came together

teeth on teeth

I felt shy.

Who are you?
From where do you come?

When will you arrive?

Since I know nothing,

I close my eyes.

Perhaps I will dream.

I am Sandun who threw a stone at a stray dog.

http://nikamatawage.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post_04.html

The rose is tender

fragrant are the tender petals

and so you love the flower

all of you

and have no eyes

for the thorn that comes

with flower

for no extra price

which prick finger

draws out curse;

listen to this

for a change:

love rose, but

love the thorn too,

read this poem! 

http://nikamatawage.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-post_14.html

The wine that was poured

took the shape of the glass

and yet

there was no difference in taste.

And though I

when entering her

did not take her shape

a singular taste-difference

did I perceive.

Since I cannot

re-mould you

in the image of my preference,

I let you be

as you are;

I just photographed you

and framed you

in the dimensions

of my preference.

'I am Sandun, discoverer of a new way to frame women'.

Picture 6

I was indisposed

extremely ill.

Drop

by drop

by drop

by drop

you entered

my heart.

Drop

by drop

by drop

by drop

my heart

she left.

Signature: I am Sandun, totally cured now.