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| Wednesday, 13 October 2004 |
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Artscope | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
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Beach Wadiya: A pictorial record Seldom do I care to write about a book of this nature; but this is different because it is of historical interest.
This is put on record in a 160 page, illustrated book compiled by H. M. Mervyn P. Herath and Niranjan Abeysundare. Herath, a publisher with wide experience in London has also been a UNESCO Consultant on Book Development, and written several historical publications. Niranjan Abeysundare is a popular presenter and newscaster over the SLBC. The book released recently opens with an introduction by Mervyn Herath. He talks about the owner of the Wadiya, Olwyn Weerasekera, who happened to be a friend of the former from school days. The writer informs us that a host of distinguished personalities have dined at 'the thatched hut mushroomed on the Wellawatta beach' Among them were Princess Anne of England, world famous cricketers, movie stars, musicians, diplomats and eminent Sri Lankans. Prestigious newspapers and magazines around the globe have featured Beach Wadiya in many different languages... Olwyn Weerasekara's 30 years service as a universally accepted restaurateur has put Sri Lanka on the world map. Internationally honoured Lankan film-maker, Lester James Peries notes that 'No Wonder, Beach Wadiya is in Time Magazine and I am not'. Writer Carl Muller says, "If you allow me to sit here and you feed me - I'll write my next book, looking out at the sea." Remember Hariharan who sings songs in English, Thamil and Hindi? He and his partner in the group 'Colonial cousins', Lezz find the sea food 'absolutely fabulous'. These are just a few samples of felt experience by the thousands of people who have enjoyed wholesome sea food over the years. Most of the westerners whose entries I have left out had found this restaurant one of the best in the world. All these entries are grouped together under 'World Opinion'. The next section is a portfolio of colour pictures showing several world celebrities. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Princess Anne, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, Sunethra Bandaranaike, Rohan, Druvi de Saram and his wife, Asha Bhonsle and family, Trini Lopez were only some of them featured. The views of the well-wishers continue in the subsequent pages. Every single observation praises the right atmosphere, romantic surroundings and a desire to be in communion with nature, attentive service and above all excellent and delicious topical food provided at the restaurant. Then there is another section in print of global clippings from newspapers. We learn that International Herald Tribune, Time and Economic Times and top culinary magazines around the world has voted Beach Wadiya as the best sea food restaurant in the world. This section features some of the excerpts from such journals. Seeing is believing and eating is sumptuous. I hope to be there soon to prove it myself. My columns While I am happy that at least some interested readers of Artscope read my column Gleanings as well, a few informed me that I write only about everything Thamil. This is sad, because they didn't seem to have read my pieces in full. Indeed I write about Sinhala writers and books and plays and even books and magazines and films and theatre in English. Apparently they have not noticed it, may be because the headings invariably is on writings in Thamil. So they might have skipped reading the rest of the items in a particular column. Two more things: a young woman seeing my e-mail address at the bottom of the column wrote to me while I was in the US criticizing my views on the last Oscar winning film and the writer Tolkien. She has apparently not read the logo above where my name was also given. She wrote in her e-mail that she didn't know who wrote the Gleanings column. So, we have to understand the reading habits of some of our readers. The other is about the Music CDs I wrote about. These Compact Discs of some fine music are not available at local stores or even in the US, not to mention in our country. I used to order them on line from BMG Music or Columbia Music and such producers of CDs. I have said in my columns that they are not available in Sri Lanka and even given the web addresses of these music clubs. But most did not notice that and ask me to lend them the CDs for copying. I am sad to say that I have not brought them here, since I may have to go back sometime or other. Vijitha Yapa Old Thomian, former journalist, editor, bookseller and publisher, Vijitha Yapa is a very enterprising and respected journalist. Hailing from the south of the country, he always had a sense of balance in his writings. He was the first editor of The Island and since 1984 I had known him as I worked for him as deputy features editor of the paper first for its Sunday edition and later for the daily edition working with the late Eriq Devanarayana, who was the features editor. When Vijitha Yapa moved out of The Island, its successor, Gamini Weerakoon, made me the editor of the "Culture" page. Like the present Artscope of the Daily News, Culture page also covered contemporary cultural events in all three languages and it was welcomed all around. I must say that the Artscope editor, R. S. Karunaratne, who worked at The Island then, does a better job for his supplement in making the readers keep it a valuable source material. Getting back to Vijitha Yapa, we found him editing the Sunday Times later and also coming on TV doing a Business programme on Money matters. Soon, he began opening a network of book stalls in Colombo and his concern is one of the best bookshops in the country. The latest was opened last Wednesday: The Corner Book store inside the Barista Coffee Shop in the World Trade Centre (3rd Floor). A much travelled man, Vijitha Yapa has the capacity to go for the best and thanks to him a great variety of some of the more important books and magazines and journals in the world are available from his stores. Vijitha Yapa publishes books by top Lankan writers like Tissa Abeysekera, Carl Muller, Jegatheeswari Nagrendran et al. I am yet to read Tissa's and Carl's fiction, which are with me. I hope to plunge into a world of creative fiction soon. The fear of history Some of us are afraid to know about our past because if we learn the truth we would not be able to face shocks and our steadfast beliefs as historical facts might turn haunting us for our misdirected actions. There are many historians of Sri Lankan history now. At school some 50 years ago we studied G. C. Mendis' history books. He is now forgotten by many ultra nationalists. However, there are the trustees of the G. C. Mendis Memorial Fund functioning now. They organised a memorial lecture for 2004 in remembrance of G. C. Mendis last Thursday at the SLFI with a lecture by Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne (Prof. Archaeology at the University of Peradeniya). His topic: The Problems of Ceylon History & The Fear of History. I hope his considered views are published in the newspapers as well for general readership. French poet Arthur Rimbaud A tribute to great French poet Arthur Rimbaud with a French breakfast is scheduled to take place at the Alliance Francaise in Colombo on Saturday, October 16 at 9 pm. Rimbaud, a 19th century poet (1854-91) is supposed to have inspired Jim Morrison, Jack Kerouack and the rock generation. A note says that 'Rimbaud's life and work was fuelled by an insatiable hunger for intense experience unbounded by rules of consequences. Rimbaud's was a revolutionary vision that has inspired rebel artistes ever since, from Jack Kerouack to Jim Morrison". Today at 6 pm; a film titled Total Eclipse directed by Agnieszka Holland will be shown at the Alliance Francaise featuring a romantic turbulent story of French poets Paul Verlaine (1884-96), the Prince of Poets - and Arthur Rimbaud. Taking the role of Rimbaud in the film is Leonardo di Capiro. "Romane Bohingermstars as Verlaine's loving wife Mathile, who finds her husband magnetized by the intoxicating lure of Rimbaud. "I saw this film in May this year in the Sundance Film Festival cable channel in the US. On the 150th birth anniversary of Arthur Rimbaud on Saturday next, among the items organised is a recitation of some of his poems in Sinhala and Thamil translations. I have rendered into Thamil via English translation one of Rimbaud's poems at the request of Dr. Gerard Robuchon, who teaches French at the Kelaniya University. I hope it would be included in the forthcoming programme. There is also a discussion scheduled on Friday next on philosopher Michel Foucault at the Alliance in Colombo. Contact: [email protected], 2587617 **** Back **** |
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The regular 'eat-out gourmets', who particularly like sea food do haunt
around, relax at the Beach Wadiya - beyond the Wellawatta railway station
by the sea. This restaurant is internationally known judging by the visits
and comments of foreigners.
