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Part III:
Chitrasena reminisced
He would be a nonagenarian had he been among us today. Born
Amaratunga Arachige Maurice Dias, Chitrasena is internationally known
for his work in establishing a modern Sri Lankan tradition of dance and
popularizing traditional Sri Lankan dance forms worldwide.
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Chitrasena
in a leisure talk |
Chitrasena’s ninetieth birth anniversary fell on January 26. Daily
News Artscope reproduces the account of Chitrasena as laid down in Nrtya
Puja, which was published in 1986 to celebrate 50 years of his
contribution to the country’s art.
Q: Having spent a holiday, so to say behind theh stage all
these years, helping many a performance to success with his wide
knowledge and experience he will appear at St. Peter’s College,
Wellawatte, on Sat. March 2nd in ‘Sena’, a Sinhalese play by
L.L.K.Gunatunga, depicting a page from the era of Elara.
Besides the prospect of seeing Seebert Dias acting, there is a
stronger reason for patronizing this play, for the father’s return is to
aid his son, 19 year old Maurice (Chitrasena) whom a brilliant oriental
dancing career awaits.
Young Dias proposes to go to India to perfect his oriental dance
technique and his well-wishers have launched a fund for the purpose.”
Well, what was your father’s role during your formative period as an
artiste?
A :From as far back as I can remember from early childhood the
theatre world played a dominant role in my life. I was born, so to
speak, with the proverbial theatre in my blood. My father was interested
in English classical drama, particularly Shakespeare, for during the
British Colonial period the English educated elite burned incense at the
feet of the great English dramatists and actors like Sir Beerbohm Tree,
Sir George Arliss, Sir Mathesan Lang to name a few. My father created
the Colombo Dramatic Club and also ran the Tower Hall Theatre for a
while, which he had taken on lease, and produced many of John de Silva’s
plays.
He acted in several Shakespearean dramas, as Shylock in The Merchant
of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Winter’s Tale, as you Like it, Julius
Caesar and so I had a fine theatre background and imbibed a great deal
from my father about the theatre and its discipline which helped mould
the early artiste in me.
His discussions with his wide circle of friends nearly always
centered round the theatre and the finer points of acting and I remember
him often, in the course of conversation, quoting lines from Shakespeare
his addiction to drama and the theatre was such.with all this he also
had a wide knowledge of the traditional dance forms and the folk-theatre
mediums of Kolam and Sokari. So you see I was fortunate to be nurtured
under the best of both traditions, East and West.
I remember as a young boy when I wanted to go to India to study dance
it was my father who insisted that I first master the Kandyan dance
technique. It was also my father’s influence that taught me to express
emotion through the dance medium as there was no precedent in our dance
for rasa and bhava. The art of choreography grew from this necessity.
Our dance falls into Nritta or pure dance as enumerated in the Natya
Shahtra, where the dance does not interpret a mood or emotion, the dance
being a rhythmic accompaniment to the chants in the ritual.
Q:When did you first appear on stage?
A : My first public performance was in 1936 at the Regal
Theatre. I was 15 years old. The ballet was Siri Sangabo produced by my
father in which I danced the main role. In fact Siri Sangabo was the
very first ballet to be produced in Sri Lanka. It was the first time a
story was related through the medium of the dance, no doubt influenced
by Rabindranath Tagore’s visit here in 1934 with his troupe.
Q: Who were your early gurus in the Kandyan dance?
A :My first teacher was Algama Kiriganithaya GUrunnanse. After
my training I lived for about three weeks in the village of Algama
before the traditional ‘Ves bandine’ veremony. I stayed with the
principal of the local school. I was housed separately because the
feudal system was very strong then.
After Kiriganithaya Gurunnanse I changed to the late Muddanawe
Appuwa, a veteran dancer from Kandy. While learning under himI once
visited his village in Kadigomuwa to witness an all-night Kohomba
Kankariya.
Amongst the dancers was Bevilgamuva Lapaya Gurunnanse, then a young
man, who greatly impressed me. When Muddanawe Appuwa died Lapaya
Gurunnanse took over and for the last 30 years he has been with me. To
this day he visits me once a week for a class and I draw a great deal
from his vast reservoir of knowledge and it is Lapaya Gurunnanse who has
taught me all there is to know of the traditional Kohomba Kankariya. I
never fail to pay obeisance to him as my guru.
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Chitrasena
in Sydney - 1963 |
Q:Can you recall any artistes who might have influenced your
early thinking?
A : There were so many influences that crowded my
impressionable years that I find it difficult to isolate them at random.
However, Rabindranath Tagore’s visit in 1934 with his troupe left an
indelible mark on me.
They performed at the Regal Theatre and even as a young boy of 13 I
felt the powerful magnetism of his dynamic personality as he sat on
stage beating time with the talam. I sensed a spiritual affinity with
his life and works and the perfect synthesis he embodied in himself
artiste, poet, philosopher, visionary were a tremendous guiding force.
A sort of cultural renaissance began with Tagore’s visit here and Sri
Palee at Horana was modeled after his Shantiniketan. It was not until
1945 that I had my cherished dream fulfilled by being sent to
Shantiniketan to study, Of course Tagore was no more then, but his
spirit still lived. The University was a sprawling complex set in the
10,000 odd acre estate of the Tagore family.
The buildings were simple wattle and daub structures bearing striking
testimony to the truism of simple living and high thinking. Students of
diverse cultures came together at Shantiniketan and the years I spent
there were a liberating experience.
I was given the signal honour of being chosen to play the leading
role in Chandalika opposite Tagore’s grand daughter Nanditha Kriplani. I
was also amongst a 15 member dance group from Shantiniketan that
performed at the All India Dance Festival in New Delhi.
I performed a solo item which I set in the Kandyan style to a
Tagorean Song. It was a tremendous success. What was unique in the
Tagorean Dance tradition was that we were given freedom to create our
own dance roles. The ballets were set to songs which the dancer had to
interpret in a free dance style. |
