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Comment:
Sahan Ranwala's Velava Keeyada? (What's the time?)
Sahan Ranwala's latest drama Velava Keeyada? is a play that everyone,
both young and old, must see. I was enthralled by it not only because of
its aesthetic quality but also because of the timely message it puts
across.
Let me hasten to add that I am not trying to write a review of the
play but only trying to express the aesthetic enjoyment I got from it.
There is an outcry today that the number of those who read books and go
to the theatre or the cinema is minimal.
But I wish to disagree with this view because it is my experience
that if a good book is published there is always a market for it. To my
mind, a discriminating readership is available here.
This applies equally to the theatre and the cinema.
It is also true that you forget the name of some of the plays or
films as soon as you leave the theatre or the cinema hall as the case
may be. Sahan Ranwala's play is one of the most memorable plays I
enjoyed after Gajaba Puvatha the recent play by Vijaya Nandasiri.
Ranwala delineates poignantly the tragedy of today's people who try
to compete with their peers trying to bear even time. It tells us the
futility of the aims and targets of competitive society.
The misfortune is that such people are unaware that they are running
after a hallucination. As a true artiste Ranwala takes a humane view of
this situation in contemporary life.
The play emphasis the plight of those who are detached from their
cultural roots and are just floating in mid air, as it were, seeking
objectives that are ultimately worthless.
To be conscious of time or to be punctual is not a bad thing in
itself. But what is questionable is that the competitiveness in modern
society presents a group of problems leaving the youth helpless and
desperate.
I feel that Sahan Ranwala in the main role depicts extremely well
this helplessness. This is essentially an eye opener in a society which
takes everything for granted.
As I observed earlier punctuality is good, but we must ask ourselves
what the ultimate objective is.
If because of this incessant struggle to be 'successful' in society
deprives you of your family life, if the mutual affection between
husband and wife is missing, if a child does not get his father's love,
what is the purpose of this rat race? He gets one thing - it is
frustration and sorrow.
Sahan Ranwala tells us that those who run after such shadows will
have to seek help of our traditional values in order to avoid such
emotional disturbances. I see this play as one inspired by the essential
teachings of the Buddha.
I understand that this script has been awarded the first place in a
competition conducted by a university. I am not surprised at all about
it because it justly deserves it.
I congratulate Sahan Ranwala, a son of the pioneer dramatist Lionel
Ranwala, and his group of artistes.
- Dayawansa Jayakody
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