Serene verses, immortal message

Victor Ratnayake releases DVD to commemorate Sambuddhatwa Jayanthi:

Channa Bandara Wijekoon

Dr Victor Ratnayake. Picture by Rukmal Gamage

The 2600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi is round the corner. Sri Lanka is getting ready to celebrate the event in a noble and highly devoted manner. In this backdrop, Dr Victor Ratnayake has embarked on an innovative project, a DVD with a collection of his most popular Buddhist devotional songs. In an interview with Daily News, Victor shares insights of his venture.

Following the much coveted SA concert he launched in the 1970s, this has been the most desirable and mass-friendly idea which enthused his mind. The endeavor is nearing completion and the DVD will be launched to coincide with the Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi on May 17, the Vesak full moon Poya day.

A presentation of this nature has been carried out for the first time in the history of Sinhala Buddhist devotional songs by a reputed artiste. It does not come as a surprise though, since Victor’s name is always coupled with innovation that made him a living legend.

People are excited about the approaching Sambuddhathwa Jayanthiya not merely because the majority of the country is Buddhists. Even non-Buddhists and foreigners are enthusiastic about the subject. There seems to be a multitude of reasons for this highly developed respect towards the Buddha and his teachings all over the world.

Buddhist devotional songs stand tall among all Victor’s songs. There have also been other hidden aspects contributing to invaluable creativity of this artiste.

A good example is how Victor created the song Dun Duni Handa Nenguna for the DVD. The song with a comparatively high tempo drum beat embedded, stands tall among contemporary Buddhist songs.

The song explains how Queen Maya had been escorted to the Sal grove in Lumbini to give birth to a prince. It was not a Buddhist background in that part of India at the time. People observed Hindu culture and rituals.

Thus the melody, tempo and drum beat are created in harmony with Hindu culture prevailed at the time. The visual in the DVD includes a vivid dance item choreographed by Budawatte Rangayathana. This mere example highlights the extent of versatility and vision demanded from an artiste. It is pathetic that the new generation of musicians is deprived of associating with veterans to nourish their budding creativity.

A handful of so called media stations do this damage to the youth and to the society as a whole. The majority of youth are taken for a ride by these interested parties. According to Victor, it is high time a national policy made for aesthetics.

Scientists predict a mini-ice-age after 2012. In Buddhist teachings, ice-ages and mini-ice ages are clearly defined as Maha Kalpa and Bhadra Kalpa.

The teachings go on to say that a preordained period (Abuddassa Kalaya) may occur, eliminating non religious and non ethical persons from the face of earth, paving way for a better world. The era seems to be approaching faster than anyone can predict. The world is entangled in a viscous web of injustice and abnormality.

In contrast, Sri Lankans get ready to celebrate Sambuddhatwa Jayanthi with much devotion. The Buddha Vandana DVD of Victor Ratnayake will be a fitting contribution to this spiritual partaking.

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