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Miranda Hemalatha - a committed Kala Guru

by Aditha Dissanayake

Tam dit tam tai tat tai.

Miranda Hemalatha stretches out her hands to begin the Allarippu. The smallest movement of her body is filled with grace. She speaks eloquently with her eyes. As the song unfolds her expressions change to suit the meaning of the words. She becomes a "dancing painting" claims a "Tamil Daily" of August, 1965.

Today, nearly four decades later, Kala Guru Miranda Hemalatha has established herself not only as a performer, but also as a teacher, composer and choreographer.

Her newest venture is teaching girls to perform the vess dance wearing the traditional vess costume, which has hitherto been worn only by men. The vess costume is almost an object of worship among dancers. For centuries, traditionalists have been adamant the dress should not be worn by women.

The first woman to have defied this law had been Marian Peiris in 1931. Later in the same decade, a dancer called Chandraleka too had worn the vess costume. The latter's tragic death had confirmed the belief that ill luck falls on women who wear the vess costume. But Guru Miranda dismisses this concept as nonsense specially as Marian Peiris had lived up to 92.

She believes with less and less young men entering the dancing arena, if the traditional dance forms are to be preserved women should take up the role played by men. Last November five of her students - Pathini Madurangi, Amali Nisansala, Thushari Niroshini, Kumuduni Thushari and Shyama Kapuge - had worn the traditional vess costume, the first five to do so since the 1930s.

Guru Miranda is confident they will revere the dress as any man would, and thinks it is "better to be in a costume like the vess rather than come on stage half nude".

Moving on to TV programs where young men and women move their bodies to the music of a song, she says they are disgraceful. They are a concoction of various foreign dance forms and gymnastics.

She calls them light dancing and specially condemns some of the performances seen on 31st night. Guru Miranda Hemalatha who has been the Director of Aesthetic Education at the National Institute of Education, believes the pulse of the nation is changing, but before making the changes, one should have a thorough knowledge of the old order.

"Out of all the forms of art, traditional dancing is the only art which has still retained the national identity, but unfortunately it has not been given due recognition". April 29 is International Dance Day.

She hopes the new Minister of Cultural Affairs will take note, and celebrate the day.

Art competition to mark 100 days development program

by Vehelle Piyathilake

The arts, paintings, photography, wood carvings, posters and sculptures competition was organised by the Aesthetics Division of the National Youth Services Council to coincide with the 100 days development program announced by the Government.

280 budding artists presented their creations for the competition. Out of them 116 paintings, 35 posters, 60 photographs, 15 wood carvings and 21 sculptures were selected for the last round.

An exhibition of those creations was held recently at the National Youth Centre Art Gallery recently and thousands of students who are learning aesthetic subjects in neighbourhood schools witnessed the exhibition. Here are the exibits and names of winners of the traditional painting division.

Ray and Benegal-effect in Indian cinema

by Dr. Senarath Tennakoon

Satjit Ray won many covetous international as well as national film awards including an Oscar and Bharat Ratna in 1992 the Magsayay in 1967 and the Order of Yugloslav Flag. Ray exploited the days of the British Raj. The best examples are "Jalsaaghar" and Shatranj ki Khilar.

In "Jalsaagar" we observe the declining days of a very rich aristocrat who takes pains and pride over his lineage doing his best to safeguard its repute and image from a "moth trying to reach the stars". Ray's films focused on rural poverty in India and childhood memories were exquisitely illustrated in his Apu triology - "Pather Panchali" "parajito" and "Apur Sansar".

In these films the startling truth is the absence of heroes and villians.

Instead, we find hard working, poor folks struggling to make an existence through various traditional employment means. Ray gained much technical secrets in film making from Jean Renoir, and had to make changes in Pather Panchali.

In Pather Panchali we see the camera largely outside the film studio placed in actual natural locations. However Pather Panchali won the Grand prix in Canns.

The caged parrot in "Charulata", the tragic run over death of a pig in Apu Sansar and the roaming cattle in Pather Panchali exemplify Ray's keen sense of the living environment and his compassion towards the animal world.

Shyam Benegal has deviated from the traditional song-dance-love making Hindi film making, to serious issues, Benegal has been quite straightforward and revolutionary and encouragingly support the ideal of gender equality linked with women's empowerment.

In "Ankur" the issue of caste and wealth differences as well as gender exploitation are integrated in the character of Luxmi.

Luxmi who has been serving the Fuedal landlord's son through cooking, looking after the property and even sharing his bed becomes violent and scolds him when her dumb innocent husband was mercilessly beaten for no clear reason. "Ankur" ends in a scene where a child hurls a stone at Zamindar's mansion.

Shyam Benegal's "Manthan" deals with the events revolving around a veterinary surgeon who tries to establish a milk cooperative in a rural setting where traditional beliefs, caste ideology and rusted mores are firmly rooted.

The rich and powerful privileged minority are the power bloc with whom he has to work and fight with. One of his co-workers makes full advantage of the womenfolk and makes her pregnant thus making life more difficult for him.

His name too gets linked with 'Bindu' a beautiful wife of a culprit as he tries to help her family.

In this film too, Benegal attacks Feudalism, social inequality, gender exploitation and cruel anti-human relationships. However, the Vet was able to convince the people about establishing their cooperative, despite powerful opposition from the established power blocs and formal village leaders.

Benegal also focuses on the need of education for the rural downtrodden masses.

Although Ray concentrated on real life issues connected with poverty and unemployment, he was schematic in presenting the paradox and exposition of the plot so that the audience perceive the nature's way through the entirety of Rauy's cinematic creations. A villain is not quite distinct.

The crisis situations and life challenges appear to be engraved in the living environment. The evil forces exist side by side with the life supporting wholesome forces. The unfortunate death of Apu's sister-'Durga' and that of the homeless, aged, lean village woman in Apu's living environment expose ignorance, helplessness and fate.

Lack of service facilities and missed opportunities together with natural calamities seem to account for all Apu's mishaps. On the contrary, Shyam Benegal projects a clear ideology and vision in his creations.

He makes use of the rural background for an innovative challenging plot to germinate and burst out.

He breaks and tears the social fabric to shreads in Ankur and Manthan. He perceives the social issues and tries to exploit the root causes and key issues that impede human progress and social development. Sometimes he embraces Marxist philosophy and examines the portals of class and caste struggle as in Manthan.

Right from the commencement of Benegal's films, the audience is kept in constant absorption and anticipation of human conflict' and his films exert a huge influence on human emotions.

Ray has been slow and steady while Benegal has been a rebel in the Indian cinema.

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