Art takes to Jaffna

Local and international art forms celebrated on stage:

Ruwini Jayawardana

Explore the rhythmic beat of the drums blending with the high pitched tunes of the horanewa. Witness the energetic moves of the dancers donning a variety of colourful costumes as they enchant their viewers with their shift-footed dance acts.

Tradition, talent, art and diversity will be in the spotlight as the first Jaffna Music Festival (JMF) unfolds in the North from March 25 to 27. It is a celebration of the richness of music and dance which had been practised by our ancestors for generations and which had been handed over from generation to generation.

JMF Coodinator Jan Ramesh De Saram addressing the gathering. Sewalanka Foundation Director Thamilalagan Thanabalasundaram, Advisor Lakshman Joseph, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Deputy Director and Marketing Manager Prasanna Jayasundara and JMF Artistic Director Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan are also present. Picture by Rukmal Gamage

These mesmerizing dance moves, each with its own unique strand of techniques, have lain hidden from the modernized society in the folds of the remote villages scattered in various part of the isle. Music, song and dance from the Hill Country, the North, the South, the costal regions and the central province will be showcased.

JMF's venue is a folk-village camp setting where artistes will perform from 10 am to 3 pm. The main performance will be from Friday to Sunday, 4 pm to 10 pm. Workshops and discussions too will be conducted to engage and educate visitors on the subject.

The event is organized by the founders of the Galle Music Festival which made its presence felt in 2009. Some of the most talented music groups and vocalists in the country displayed their skills in front of the historic fort, enthralling locals and foreigners.

The Music Festival will take place on an annual basis, shifting its locations between Jaffna and Galle: a link between the two Sri Lankan provinces. It is an emblem of togetherness between the two communities as art unites them under one roof as they deliver their performances.

Funded by the Norwegian Embassy as part of the music cooperation between the two countries, JMF was implemented by the Sewalanka Foundation. The Foundation works in collaboration with Aru Sri Art Theatre and Concerts Norway.

"JMF has several goals to fulfill. We hope that it will rejuvenate the ancient dance forms for the younger generation. It will bring youngsters on one stage to share the magic of traditional art and an opportunity for the media and filmmakers to document the dances and preserve them for generations to come," JMF Artistic Director Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan said. She also stressed that the regional and international dancers who will be flocking into Jaffna for the event will inspire local visitors and act as a crowd-puller for the foreign audience. "We have international dance troupes from India, Nepal, Palestine and Norway taking part in JMF," she added.

The three decade terrorist era not only had distressing effects of the inhabitants of the North but it had dismal effects in the region's folk art traditions as well. Years of curfew, frequent displacement and many other factors beyond man's control created a situation in which folk art died a temporary death in the area. Now with harmony blooming in the country and ethnic liaisons forming between the groups folk art had lifted its head from its hiding place and artistes too have the confidence to stage their work.

New art forms too have been detected due to research. Eight different folk art forms have broken into daylight due to university investigations. This had also paved way to close working relationships between people of different ethnic groups and cultures. It is a peace drive in the form of artistic creations. The performances will be broadcast through Rupavahini and Music Cooperations Media Partner in future.

Kali Kambattam	Kolam	Rookada

Jaffna causeway

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