At the Youth Services Council
 THEATRE: As I said earlier, after Siri Sangabo I got back to
my dusty old Record Room in the Public Works Dept. and carried on as
usual. Mr. Premadasa had meanwhile set up The Tower Hall Theatre
Foundation and appointed A.J. Ranasinghe as its very first
Director-General.
They were reviving old Tower Hall favourites such as Sri Wickrama,
Vidiya Bandara, Sivamma Dhanapala etc. After the inaugural Siri Sangabo,
I was not involved in any of their later productions.
One afternoon I got a call from Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe - Minister
for Education and Youth Affairs - from Parliament. He asked me whether I
would like to join the National Youth Services Council - N.Y.S.C. - in
charge of its cultural activities.
He said that he would be taking me on, on a Cabinet Paper, so that I
could get the full salary of a Deputy Director. [The normal practice in
such cases was to take the person concerned on ‘secondment’ where that
person could draw his substantive salary plus one third of the salary
only, of the new job] I agreed gladly. This would be a new experience
for me.
So, on 5 February 1981, if I am not mistaken, I reported for duty at
the Head Office of the National Youth Services Council situated at De
Fonseka Road, Colombo 5 at that time.
Mr. Charitha Ratwatte, Chairman and Director-General of N.Y.S.C.
welcomed me, explained my duties briefly and gave me a slip of paper
which indicated the salary I would be drawing as a Deputy Director. He
introduced me to a few members of his staff and told me that I would
come to know them as I went along.
I was put in charge of all Cultural activities under the Council and
also Sports - although I did not know much about sports. Ours was a big
organisation with branch offices practically all over the country
including the North and the East.
Mr. Ratwatte asked me to book a vehicle and go round the country
visiting as many branch offices as possible - so that I could
familiarize myself with the many activities of the Council.
We had two training camps - one at Batangala, near Avissawella, for
the Oriental and Western Bands, the Yovun Gee singers and other
trainees. The other camp was at Biyagama, Kelaniya where the Sports
Section was housed.
Youth Festivals
On reflection, I think the main duty of the Council was to keep the
Govt. in power, popular by involving youth in multi faceted programmes.
We had what were called Youth Festivals and Youth Camps in practically
every electorate.
These were very popular events where a couple of Ministers and the
M.P. of the area invariably attended. Not knowing much about sports, I
concentrated mainly on the cultural activities of the Council.
One of the very first tasks I did for the Council was to compose the
Council theme song. They did not have one, until I appeared there. So on
festive occasions they only played the National Anthem. I composed the
Council song ‘Helana dahadiya mutu apagei’, etc., which is used even
today by the Council whenever there is an official function.
Later [after I left the Council, in 1983] this song was submitted to
some International Youth Song Festival held in Japan, if I am not
mistaken, and it had won second place. I was sent a replica of the award
by Sriya Danansuriya, the man who was responsible for submitting the
song for the Festival. I think Sriya was a senior Asst. Director of the
Council at that time.
I invited eminent personalities in the Arts such as Chitrasena and
Vajira and Amaradeva to our youth abodes to spend a day with the
trainees and they gladly obliged. They would speak about their
experiences while the young men and women listened with rapt attention.
The friendly discussions always ended up with a few demonstrations by
the Masters and a bit of creative activity where the trainees also
contributed.
Farewell song
I remember one such occasion vividly. It was the second or third day
after I joined the Council. A Friendship Ship full of Japanese youth had
visited us to join in various youth activities and this was the day of
their farewell. It was a very imposing ceremony.
The ship, decorated with multi coloured flags and bunting was docked
at the quay and as the ship waited to start on its return journey, the
entire group of the Japanese delegation stood erect, lining the upper
deck of the ship at its railings and started singing their farewell song
waiving their hands.
It was a beautiful sight. When they had finished their farewell song,
it was our turn to bid them farewell. But we had no song. I remember
Chandralekha Perera and her group of Yovun Gee singers suddenly breaking
into a popular song - ‘Adi ennadie Rakkhamma’ - and waving goodbye to
the visitors.
Fortunately they did not know either Sinhala or Tamil and they would
have been under the impression that we were actually singing a gusty
‘farewell’ song!
I felt ashamed that bright morning. When I came back to office at De
Fonseka road, I composed a song - a farewell song - to be used on future
such occasions. I wrote the lyrics and kept it in my pocket.
I had already arranged for a visit by Amaradeva to our Training Camp
at Batangala. That was just a few days away. So on the due date we got
into a Council vehicle and proceeded to Batangala. I did not show the
lyric even to Amaradeva on our way. I wanted it to be a real impromptu
composition.
As I expected the morning meeting with the trainees went off very
well. Amaradeva gladly obliged them with a couple of songs they
requested and our boys and girls also sang some of our compositions -
mostly made by Shirley Vaijayanth, our Director of music.
We were all in a nice jolly mood. After the teabreak, I pulled out my
piece of paper and gave it to Amaradeva. [I had made enough copies for
the trainees too] I related the ‘ship’ incident to him and suggested
that we put a melody to my lyrics then and there - on the spot.
Amaradeva caught on with the spirit of the moment gladly and sat himself
down on the floor with the harmonium in front of him.
The eager young boys and girls gathered around him, sitting on the
floor. Amaradeva caressed a few notes on the harmonium, looked at the
lyrics and produced a most haunting melody.
The youthful company sang the lyrics as Amaradeva composed the melody
line by line. It was a delightful experience. That ‘farewell’ song -
‘Jayatu jayatu jayatu jayatu - Ayubowan, Subha gaman... Siri subha gaman...veva
oba semata subha gaman...’ is used by the Council even today.
Youth Festivals
Our Yovun Gee group was very popular at that time. Singers such as
Chandralekha Perera, Chandrasena Hettiaratch, Marshall Janata and
Somasiri Medagedera were very much in demand at Youth Festivals etc.
Some MPs organised Youth Festivals and Youth Weeks especially to get
down our group of Singers and Dancers. We had bought two brand new buses
to take our groups to their places of performance.
I remember a particular unpleasant experience with an MP down
Matugama area. It was the final day of a Youth Festival and our band,
dancers and singers were to participate in a final show that evening.
We were all waiting for the M.P. to turn up. Then it started raining
heavily and we were confined to our buses. Charitha Ratwatte was also
present to welcome the M.P. - I forget his name.
It was getting very late and we were about to cancel the whole thing
and get back. The group had to get back to Belwood in Knady. Yes, we had
moved our Youth Centre to Belwood by that time.
As we were about to depart, the M.P. arrived in a nasty mood. I kept
back as I disliked politicians even at that time. Poor Charitha had to
welcome him and put things right. By this time our band had left, having
to appear in some other place the very next day. So the M.P. was
conducted to the makeshift stage - all wet and looking dismal by now.
Most of the crowd too had dispersed. The M.P. was very angry. I
observed an exchange of words between Charitha and the M.P. Later, I
asked Charitha what it was all about and he laughingly told me that the
M.P. was annoyed that there was no band to conduct him to the stage!
That evening must be one of the rare ones that our dancers danced
without much spirit and our singers sang without much pleasure. So we
had our ups and downs too.
The now famous Kulasiri Budawatte was in charge of the Dance Group at
that time. Nimal Sedera, now very much an Insurance man, was Asst.
Director to me in charge of Cultural activities.
Sriya Danansuriya was in charge of the Youth Centre at Batangala as
well as in Belwood. We took Amradeva to Belwood too. For a two day
workshop. The weather was too chilly for Amaradeva and he was housed in
Kandy for the night.
On our way from Colombo to Belwood in the van, we even composed a
song. That is Amaradeva, myself and Nimal Sedera. Later Amaradeva sang
it for one of his cassettes. The song was ‘Sansare eka mohotak nevetila’.
Some of my readers may have listened to it.
Thought of the week
It is a world of high technology today. Whether it is communication,
printing or the electronic media, the present day scientists and
technicians have created wonders. Practically anybody could access the
world with the press of a button. Old type telephones and under sea
cables have become old hat. Today people all over the globe communicate
via satellite access.
In the electronic media all kinds of marvellous new developments have
taken place. Printing is no longer what we knew 25 years ago. You could
read your manuscript into a disc and the very next day you could read
your proofs. I am sure proof reading gadgets will also be coming out
very soon so that the author need not go through the drudgery!
With all that, I am not sure if the world is a HAPPIER place to live
in today. There are many more wars, trauma and much more frustration and
unhappiness in the world today than 50 years ago.
I must be a very old fashioned man, but I think the quiet and the
peace we experienced as children are NOT there today. Today’s children
are put into a race continuously - not because they like it but because
most parents have joined in the rat race.
Too much technology breeds too much competition. I wonder if today’s
children have a ‘childhood’ to ENJOY.
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