A close look at the life and works of I believe a great man who had humble thoughts. He tried to find what he loves to do, was determined to find a unique style of drama that Sri Lankans can be proud of as our own, tried to lift the declining appreciation we have for Sinhalese language(our native language), attempted to recognize our identity and our own ways of drama production through, putting detailed focus into each area of its creation from script writing to careful look at the music, tune composition, costumes, and dance, to unearthing the perfect talented individuals to act in his dramas, which was how Maname came to fruition.
While admitting that I was entirely , entertained by how he had penned down the miraculous way, he put together Maname, I admired how he was not amused by money or fame that his drama productions were going to accumulate. Despite some challenging times of his personal lives, he continued to write , enjoyed putting all his efforts into his work that he cared about and associated literary friends who shared the same passion.
His travels around the world with his Rockefeller scholarship could have inspired him to write his masterpieces such as Maname, Sinhabahu etc, as he has tried to infuse a native style to them, just like how Japanese did with Kabuki or how USA had their own Broadway dramas.
In a world where the ones who were different, who wanted to make a change were ridiculed , the author of this book, එදිරිවීර සරච්චන්ද්ර was a a artist who paid no attention to critics , just as he perfectly ended the book, saying, what he tried to produce through his dramas were a value that cannot be measured with money , and their work maybe be of absolute mockery to some, yet the happiness they get out of their creative process is far more valuable for them.
As the author rightfully states, this book is not a success story nor an autobiography , but for me this book served as an inspiration to do what I love, increased my admiration for the creativity, that went into works of arts produced by great characters that were introduced to me in this book, and to appreciate genuinely creative music and literature, in a world that always follows a certain trend ,and easily satisfied by worldly amusement.
I read "පිං ඇති සරසවි වරමක් දෙන්නේ" in preparation to Sena Thoradeniya's "පේරාදෙණිය ගුරුකුලයේ උපත නැගීම හා බිඳවැටීම".
This "essay" describes the life and times of Sarachchandra. He makes it very clear at the very beginning that this is not an autobiography, stating that the Sinhalese culture (or more generally, the Oriental culture) does not provide a suitable setting to publish an honest autobiography, or a "confession" (citing the backlash to Kamala Das' autobiography "My Story" as an example). Reading through, it is clear that the author only mentions events and thoughts related to his work and art, and decides to gloss over his intimate personal life in a terse, factual manner.
In the book we find the humble origins of Sarachchandra's artistic tendencies, his artistic engagements at University College, first marriage, his stay at Shantiniketan, return to Sri Lanka, close interaction with Martin Wickramasinghe, involvement with the so-called "Peradeniya School" of Sinhalese literature, travels as a Rockefeller scholar, production of "Maname" and various other milestones of his life. One wonders at the amount of notable people he had interacted with in a very intimate manner throughout his life as an artist.
Sarachchandra's entire journey seems to be fueled by his desire to re-energize the dying Sinhalese spirit; to bring back the use of the Sinhalese language from its (then) dilapidated state, to create a Sinhalese identity in art, specifically in drama (in a similar note, I recall the feud between Khemadasa and Ranawala on Sri Lankan folk music) and to encourage other artists to follow suit for which he helped by producing examples of what he considered as good aesthetics (through his own works and by endorsing others). His expectation was that the aesthetic revival would generate a sense of national pride in Sri Lankans, who by then had begun to worship all things occidental, and that local artists would be at the forefront of this revival.
Sarachchandra does not claim that the so-called "Peradeniya School" of Sinhala literature did not exist; rather, he says that his intention as an artist was to produce a work of art, and that he was not in a position to prevent others from attempting to imitate (or in today's parlance, create a "trend") the sentiments found in his work. I need to revisit this point more deeply after reading Thoradeniya's work stated above and few other key works by Gunadasa Amarasekara and Siri Gunasinghe. I have heard few people say that after the publication of "මළගිය ඇත්තෝ", there were many female "නොරිකෝ සං" adoptees in universities (disclaimer - I absolutely love both "මළගිය ඇත්තෝ " and its sequel). I believe there are many other horror stories related to the "Peradeniya School".
Towards the end of the book Sarachchandra states his disappointment (frustration?) that the revival for which he sowed the seeds did not yield the intended harvest; the television has robbed time from society (then), the aesthetics of the works produced had fallen into new lows and artists that he considered to be pivotal in the revival in late 50's had fled Sri Lanka for greener pastures. This was preceded by his own failure at both party politics and as an ambassador. One wonders what Sarachchandra would state seeing the mobile phone/content addiction that is now plaguing the young and budding populace of this country.
These are some of the things that come to my thoughts from the book; it is valuable considering the density and the context of the information contained. Furthermore, the book is written in a manner that makes it an enjoyable read, but requires few (re)readings to get a good picture.
However, I do not agree with Sarachchandra on his view of finding a Sinhalese heritage in everything, adopting a certain "going back to the roots" procedure. As an internationalist myself, being Sinhalese is defined, at least for me, the current (emphasis!) state and systems of values held by the Sinhalese people. All things, including cultural values, are subject to change based on multifarious factors. Preventing change, embracing entirely new things or claiming that an earlier form is superior are all equally fallacious in my opinion. What is present now is what it is, despite how different thing were before.
In contrast, my opinion on what is important is that we should have a pride in our national identity as an expression of civic nationalism (in contrast to the popular ethnonationalism). It is necessary to explore, research and rediscover what has been lost, but the adoption of these should be done in an organic manner (the best example is Japan, where the old and the new live at perfect harmony). Despite all said, Sarachchandra, in this matter made noteworthy and significant contributions to the national identity of Sri Lanka, and was committed through and through towards rediscovering and providing fresh interpretations of the aesthetics found throughout Sri Lanka and in the Sri Lankan heritage.
I can’t say I enjoyed the book. But it is quite illuminating. He without arrogance, exposes the vastness of his in-depth knowledge on drama, literature, music, religion, philosophy and, well humans. Yet I feel sad for him. Also, what he saw in late seventies and feared for about the country, has now become a reality, hundred times worse.