Na is our national tree

by Derrick Schokman

I wonder how many know that Na or ironwood, (Mesua ferrea) is the national tree of Sri Lanka?

It is one of the finest trees in our dry zone forests, providing the hard heartwood that justifies its name.

The wood was once used in the construction of bridges. A good example is the unique roofed wooden bridge at Bogoda near Hali-Ella.

It is a rare survival of timber architectural engineering from the Kandyan period. The base is made up of three gigantic tree trunks of Na and Milla, buttressed in the middle by strong uprights of the same wood.

Another example would be the very fine Na pillars in the Anglican Church at Baddegama, near Hikkaduwa, the first to be constructed in 1818.

The choice of Na however as the national tree of this country is not because of its hardwood quality, but rather for its connection with Buddhism.

Na is considered sacred to the memory of four previous Buddha's who were enlightened while meditating beneath it.

It is also thought to be the tree under which the future Maithreya Buddha will find enlightenment.

Because of this religious significance, Na has been planted in vihara and temple premises, where it grows to a moderate height with a well groomed canopy that drapes to the ground cloaking the trunk.

The radiant white flowers with their golden centres are popular temple offerings along with lotus and frangapani.

At the 6th century hermitage at Arankele, once a famous retreat for hermits and arahats associated with the name of Maliyadeva, one can still walk along the ancient stone paved meditation path flanked by tall Na trees. The path goes around an ancient roundabout of well chiselled oblong blocks of stone still perfectly preserved.

There is an avenue of Na trees also leading up to the Dewala at Dodanwela, where King Rajasinghe II is said to have gifted his sword and crown after a victory over the Portuguese army.

Dodanwela is on a branch road off the Colombo-Kandy highway near the 64th milepost. A recent discovery has been a large grove of Na trees in the pink quartz mountain area off Madatugama a few miles north to Dambulla.

This Namal-Uyana, covering around 250 acres, is thought to have been planted by King Dhapulla IV in the 10th century. In it are the ruins of ancient religious buildings.

In Dambulla itself there is the International Fundamental Studies - Ruk Rakagama Arboretum, which contains a fine stand of Na trees, among other hardwoods like ebony, satinwood, tamarind, Palu and Helamba.

Visitors to historic sites in Dambulla, Sigiriya and Aukana, could very well fit in a worthwhile visit to Namal-Uyana or the Dambulla Arboretum. The best time to visit would be in November when the crimson young foliage gives the Na trees a particularly handsome and conspicuous appearance, or in April-May, when the trees blossom profusely emanating a delicate scent.

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St. Joseph's College Shakespeare drama competition champs

The much-awaited finals of the Shakespeare Drama Competition 2005 - boys category were held on Sunday August 28 at the Bishop's College Auditorium. The competition this year was extremely stiff with three productions of Julius Caesar and one production of Mid-summer night's dream. However, it came as a surprise to nobody when St. Joseph's College emerged the victors, beating traditional rival schools Royal College, D. S. Senanayake College and Trinity College. Their enthralling, intricately designed production of Julius Caesar captivated and mesmerized the judges and the audience alike.

Never have the Josephians demonstrated such outstanding teamwork, such vigor, technique and zest as were evident in their triumphant performance, making them winners hands down. They did not boast of lavish sets or elaborate props-their props and sets were simple and minimal. Yet, the sheer power of their performance kept the spectators on the edge of their seats, from the sensational opening sequence depicting the conflict and turmoil in Brutus' mind, through the suspenseful conspiracy scene and the portentous nightmare of Caesar's wife, right up to the chilling climax of Caesar's cold-blooded assassination and its aftermath.

The acting was gripping, spot on and exceptionally well balanced among the cast.

A novel touch in the production was the incorporation of personified omens and spirits that established and maintained the somber tone of the play, throughout, enhancing the production with their spirited, dynamic dancing and complementing the actors in a most unique fashion. The audience truly witnessed the performance of a lifetime in the Joes' memorable production - one that will remain in their minds forever.

Hats off to the Josephians for a job masterfully done! They truly did Shakespeare proud and the Bard is surely applauding from the grave.

- Gehan Cooray

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Value for every child's creativity through 'Varna Shakthi'

The first 5000 drawings and paintings by schoolchildren participating in the 'Varna Shakthi' programme will be exhibited from November 11 to 17, 2005 at the Chandra Wettasinghe Memorial Hall, Sri Jayawardenapura Road, Rajagiriya. Fifty such district level exhibitions will be held within the next 12 months.

"Education should not focus merely parting the necessary academic knowledge to children to pass their competitive examinations, but also the creativity needed to overcome many challenges they have to face as adults," said the Director of Aesthetic Studies at the Ministry of Education Thushara Gunathilaka at a media conference held at the Namel-Manel Punchi Theatre.

The Ceylon Art Academy through the 'Varna Shakthi' programme guarantees all participating schoolchildren the joy of seeing their drawings and paintings publicly exhibited.This programme is thus of paramount important because unlike any other competition where only a few selected drawings or paintings will be exhibited, under the Varna Shakthi programme every child who participates at the event gets an opportunity to exhibit publicly his or her creations.

"This is a sure way to help the children enhance their creativity, said Managing Director of the Ceylon Art Academy Lakdasa Colombage.

The 'Varna Shakthi' programme provides an opportunity to all schoolchildren in the age group of 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14 and 15 to 18 to join the Ceylon Art Academy and submit a drawing or painting through their school.

Every painting submitted will be exhibited at a central location within the District.

"Due to pressure of school work and examinations, creative skills that are inherent in every child often get neglected and suppressed as they grow older, said Director of the Ceylon Art Academy and a Communication Consultant Dr. Asoka Jinadasa. "This is a very unfortunate situation. Art encourages children to see the world from a fresh perspective.

It will help them to develop the creative mindset needed to cope with increasingly complex problems they will face as children and adults in a world that is becoming increasingly volatile and fiercely competitive".

A distinguished panel of judges comprising renowned artists will select the best paintings from each such event for a final exhibition to be held in Colombo each year.

Three cash prizes of Rs. 100,000, Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 50,000 will be awarded to the three best entries in each of the age group.

The schools through which the winning entries were submitted will also receive a cash prize of equal value to promote art and help the needy students to buy the necessary material.

- Anjalie Garnier -

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'Nawa Kalakaruwo' 12th exhibition

'Nawa Kalakaruwo', an annual art exhibition of upcoming artists and their contemporary works were displayed for the 12th consecutive time at the Harold Peiris Gallery, Lionel Wendt recently.

Dr. Vernon Mendis, Director General of Bandaranaike Diplomatic Training Institute and Mrs. Mendis were the chief guests. The exhibition was a showcase of the talent of the 'new artists'who have drawn from all parts of the country and presented new and interesting paths and different handling of the medium they chose.The opportunity for 'art' that these exhibitions and presentations have provided since the George Keyt Foundation was established in 1988 and has led to an increasing number of participants each year. Several other art galleries which are now presenting individual and small group exhibition too participated at this year's exhibition.

The exhibition was sponsored by the Ceylon Tobacco Company for the 12th year.

- AG

(Pictures by Sudath Nishantha)

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'Jig Colouration' at Lionel Wendt

Kumari Adikari's third solo art exhibition will be held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo 7 from September 9-11. The exhibition will be opened on September 8 at 5.30 p.m.

Kumari was to spend a period more than a decade in developing her visual vocabulary through a variety of media; craft of advertising, book illustration, a videography, applied arts, multi-disciplinary design, jewellery design etc., by attending a few academic and professional training programmes, before she began to work on the craft of 'fibre-based soft tessellated mosaics'. Now she continues to submerge herself in her creations with her own visual experience, feeling, memories and even with mistakes. She can be classed as an artist of eclectic nature who speaks in a visual language about her dedication, passion and a fine eye for design details.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Colombo, Kumari started learning art at early childhood, her mother and father were art school graduates, and no doubt her home ambience was immensely filled with and full of jig colourations for inspiration.

As her first solo exhibition in Colombo (Lionel Wendt Gallery, September, 1999) attested, the subtle confident quality of her work of art remains undiminished over time. Indeed, this range of work reveals a talented artist of the height of creative powers, gifted with a kind of maturity.

- Sarath Surasena

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Artists from around the world to fly the Artlink WOMAD festival flag

Budding young artists from around the world will come together in a unique project for the first WOMAD Sri Lanka Festival of Drums to be held from September 21-25, an event of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB).

The artists will create a series of 30 flags, reflecting the vibrant nature of WOMAD Sri Lanka for display at each of the festival sites - Galle Face Green, Kandy and Negombo - providing a stunning visual element to the festival.

The flag project was initiated by the WOMAD Foundation, WOMAD Projects Singapore, the British Council, Germany's Goethe Institut, the French Embassy and the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA), as part of the ongoing Artlink project in Sri Lanka.

Artlink is an inter-cultural collaborative event organised in Sri Lanka each year by the British Council, Germany's Goethe Institut, the French Embassy/Alliance Francaise, in collaboration with the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA).

The main goal of Artlink WOMAD Sri Lanka 2005 is to encourage the exchange of ideas and expertise of young Sri Lankan and European artists.

Renowned UK artist Angus Watt will lead the project, conducting a series of workshop sessions to design and make the flags, together with French artist Batrice Dacher, German artist Cora de Lang, as well as seven Sri Lankan artists.

Lifestyle store Barefoot will provide a space for the workshops to take place, where the 30 flags will be assembled by a group of skilled local seamstresses.

Angus Watt's 'flag-scapes' have featured at WOMAD festivals worldwide.

His work crosses traditional boundaries, using colour, scale and movement to transform and enhance the ambience of the festival site.

Angus' previous WOMAD collaborations include a project with the Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara women of South Australia, as part of their 'WOMADelaide' event. His work in Sri Lanka is set to take him in an exciting new creative direction.

With more than 15 years experience in flag design, Angus hopes the flags for WOMAD Sri Lanka will provide a dramatic visual symbol against the backdrop of the Indian Ocean, when they are installed at Galle Face Green.

"Drummers from around the world will be gathering in Sri Lanka to share their techniques and traditions.

The flags will visually reflect this diversity in terms of colour and character," he said.

French artist Beatrice Dacher said that painting allows local people to become closer through exchange, productivity, inspiration and time.

"Every situation leads to new possibilities.

I find strength at the heart of different cultures and civilisations to produce a personal and collective creativity," she said.

SLTB Chairman, Udaya Nanayakkara, said WOMAD Sri Lanka will provide a unique platform for the flags to be enjoyed by hundreds of visitors. "The flags will symbolise the cultural collaboration between all the artists involved.

And they will also give festival-goers the opportunity to see first hand the skill of Sri Lankan crafts people and artists," he added.

WOMAD Sri Lanka Festival of Drums will feature a host of activities, including four indoor theatre concerts at Bishop's College Auditorium on September 21-24 and four Club Night sessions on September 22-25, at The Gallery, Beira Lake.

The Main Festival Field at Galle Face Green (September 24-25) will come alive at night and feature performances as well as a Global Village of crafts, textiles and musical instruments, with an exciting selection of Sri Lankan and international cuisine.

Acoustic concerts will take place in the grounds of the University of Peradeniya in Kandy on September 22 and on the beach front of Negombo's Browns Beach Hotel on September 23.