Indian Poems

An excellent collection of photographs

Prasad Abu Bakr

PHOTOGRAPHY: Waswo X. Waswo is a photographer who has lived in India for the sole purpose of carrying on with his passion of photography. This passion to photograph India alone has been permanently seated in the mind of the artist since 1993. But it was not until 1999 that Waswo carried out his serious passion of focusing his camera around the vast sub-continent.

Between the years 2003 and 2004 Waswo travelled through India showing to fellow Indians how an American can interpret his love for their country through celluloid.

The exhibition which travelled through Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa and Udaipur during this expedition the artist also visited Sri Lanka and had his pictures shown here in Colombo and Kandy through interesting and well attended exhibitions organised by the Alliance Francaise de Colombo and Kandy.

The 53 year old photographer has had his work published in magazines such as Jetwing, Namaskaar and Asian Photography. But it was not always a kind response towards Waswo's pictures. Sometimes they have been strong enough image wise to stir controversy in India specially when he captured images of the country's urban and rural poor.

The work by this artist are undeniably beautiful. His ability to capture the beauty of old things such as buildings and tools, transportation using old fashioned methods for its purpose such as the Rickshaw which is fast disappearing from the streets of India where at one time there were hundreds or thousands for that matter criss crossing its streets.

The technique that the artist uses (using his sepia-tone method) to develop his photographs adds a lot of character to his finished work. They convey a haunting melody to each of his pictures making them look unique -- a one of a kind experience that is brought before an audience that has probably travelled widely in India but may have never been to see it in the manner that this artist has.

Waswo has recently come up with a book that has his entire travelling collection beautifully laid out in the same sepia-tone shades that he originally used to execute them.

"This book raises more questions than it answers. I see this book not only as a presentation of my work, but as an invitation to seriously think what photography is and what political and cultural baggage we carry when looking at the world. I hope this book expands a reader's awareness", said Waswo.

The book is a narration of the moral and cultural dilemma a 'First World' artist encounters while approaching a supposedly 'Third World' subject. The book which contains a stunning collection of photos has many writings and comments within its pages written by many celebrated Indians which in fact reads as salutations to this man from far that has got so near to their lives.

Indian Poems: The Photographs are currently available at Barefoot Gallery Bookshop.

New Quai Branly Museum in Paris:

Sri Lankan objects displayed

ART: 256 Sri Lankan objects are to be exhibited at the new Quai Branly Museum on June 23. Already defined as "un musee du regard sur l'Autre" ("a museum for viewing the Other"), the Musee du Quai Branly was born of the resolve of French President Jacques Chirac to "give arts and civilizations that have been neglected for far too long their rightful place", with the aspiration that the museum will also become "an instrument of peace that bears witness to the equal dignity of all cultures and individuals".

The project's initial phase was completed in April 2000 with the opening at the Louvre - a "temple of Western art" - of the "Pavillon des Sessions", devoted to the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. The new gallery comprises 120 stunning art pieces selected by Jacques Kerchache, a passionate primitive arts expert.

Still shrouded in mystery, the museum was designed by architect Jean Nouvel and it is being built from the ground up along the Seine, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, on the city's last major undeveloped lot (25,000 square metres) in the heart of Paris.

The main edifice, which will house the combined collections of the Ethnological Laboratory of the Musee de l'Homme and the now-closed Musee des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie (MAAO) - some 300,000 artifacts - is a long, fluid building raised on piles.

It overlooks an 18,000-square-meter garden planted with 180 trees growing over 15 meters tall in order to conceal the building. A ramp leads to the 6,500-square-metre main gallery, the museum's central exhibition area, where 3,500 objects will be on permanent display alongside thematic presentations.

The museum will also feature a 500-seat amphitheatre opening onto a luxuriant green setting, a 120-seat cinema, a 180-seat multimedia study and research library with some 250,000 works for consultation.

The Musee du Quai Branly was designed as a new type of cultural institution, with a dual purpose: to conserve and exhibit the collections, and to stimulate research and instruction. The museum will also run a programme of performing arts events - theatre, dance and music - designed to resonate with the wide range of exhibits on display.

This will enhance the site's role as a convivial "cultural city" of non-Western arts showcasing non-European populations.

Jana Karaliya comes to Puttalam district

THEATRE: The "Jana Karaliya" Drama and Theatre programme will be held in the Puttalam District. The "Jana Karaliya" Mobile Theatre Group arrived in Puttalam on May 5 and installed the Mobile Theatre at St. Mary's Tamil Maha Vidyalaya ground.

They will stay there till mid July, engaging in drama and theatre activities. They have already started conducting drama and theatre appreciation programmes at Puttalam, Mahakumbukkadawala, Karuwalagaswewa, Anamaduwa, Vanathavilluwa, Serakkusiya, Kalpitiya and Nawagaththegama with the assistance of the Provincial Secretaries of those areas.

They will start drama and theatre appreciation programmes and workshops for school students and teachers after the A/L examination and holidays.

"Jana Karaliya Drama Festival", the most attractive item of their activity is scheduled to be held in the Jana Karaliya Mobile theatre from June 23 to July 3. Jana Karaliya Sinhala and Tamil Drama productions, "Charandas", "Seethambarapata", "Andaramal", "Develowagamana", "Charandas Kallan", "Mayappattadai", "Erukkalam Poo", "Dewaloha Payanam" and Children's Plays of Saman Pushpakumara ("Ahankara Kiribabi and "Dangayo Ne") and Sumith Samarasinghe ("Soru Evilla") are also included in the list of the drama festival schedule.

All the "Jana Karaliya" plays are collective efforts of the Janakaraliya Mobile theatre group that consists of Sinhala and Tamil youth. Palitha Abeylal, Jayantha Kumara Muthuthanthri, Suneth Shanthapriya, Sokkalingam Krishanthan,, Chaminda Prasad, Manjula Ranasingha, Nishantha Kularatna, Sumudu Mallawarachchi, Thyagaraja Sivanesan, Muniyandi Kalidas, Verni Theresa, Ajanthan Shanthakumar, Arosha Tharanganee, Sineth Devinda, Dinesh Swarna Sri Livera, Sam Paul, Malithi Kumari, Praneeth Jeewantha, Chinthaka Kodithuwakku, Rasaiya Lohanadan, Selvaraj Leelawathi, J. Sri Devi, and B. Radhika will perform in all these plays.

H.A. Perera has composed music with the assistance of Sumudu Mallawarachchi and Tharindu Gamage. Palitha Abeylal is the sound controller, Ajanthan Shanthikumar is the lighting technician and Chaminda Prasad is the Make-up Artist. Ravindra Mapitigama assists in choreographing and direction.

Dilip Rohana is managing the program while Parakrma Niriella and H.A. Perera leads the entire Jana Karaliya Programme.