Creations alive, creators no more
 “We could not meet each other for sometime.”
One writer spoke to another at a funeral of their friend, yet another
writer. The latter responded in a mellow voice, “But we meet each other
in our creativity. Whenever you write a book, I try my best to get at it
in order to be the first reader.”
“Oh that makes me live.” Writers and all other creators live through
their respective creative skill.
“I want to live until I see my latest book comes out.” Said the well
known writer Henry Miller, who was a prolific writer. There is a
Sanskirt dictum which goes as follows:
“Kavya Shastra Vindoena
Kalo Gaccati Dhimatam”
The literal meaning could be stated as “The skilled person (or the
wise one spends his time in creative activities such as poetic creations
sans perceiving the lapse of time.”
I am reminded of all these aspects in the life of the creative ones,
as we note the passing away of some of our loved creators, who lived
with us. Some showed us what life means, and how to get the best out of
it, despite its short span of existence. We love to live and we say that
we possess a life wish. But some others could possess a death wish which
we denote generally as a negative way of thinking.
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Joe
Abeywickrama |
A series of deaths occurred to some of our most sensitive and
creative artistes with whom we grew up. In the first instance I am
reminded my good friend the talented musician Premasiri Khemadasa. He
dedicated his entire life for musical creations.
Despite physical ailments he wanted to embrace creativity where he
excelled. He wanted to engage himself in creativity, and breathless he
committed himself to musical creations. He made us know how musical
compositions could pave the way for an inner happiness, the highest
bliss one could achieve, during a short span of life. But a day came
when he had to stop his creative actions and lie like a log of wood as
pronounced by the Buddha as nirattamva Kalingaram (meaningless as a log
of wood). Then we say that he is no more.
The same happened to the most skillful tablist of the day Wijeratne
Ranatunga, who was my good neighbour. He was a humble skilled person who
dedicated himself to his function.
Despite barriers and constraints the creators engage in creativity
passing away time blissfully. As they are screened form the humdrum of
the external world of rat races and competitions, some develop a value
added bliss, which perhaps could lead them to an elevated level of
livelihood. D H Lawrence once stated: “I consider myself superior to a
historian, sociologist and a saint, for the creativity itself transcends
is a bright book of life.”
The Lawrentian view could be interpreted as a certain deathless
state. The state of suffering is manifold. But one way of overcoming the
state of suffering is to recreate its vicissitudes. Leo Tolstoy’s great
work titled as ‘Resurrection’ seems to have been created on aspects of
human sufferings.
Tolstoy paved the way for us to perceive what death means as versus
life. We live and die. What we perform, or do, if it’s worth, never
dies. This is the great lessons taught to us by great creators.
My good friend, Hemaratne Liyanaarachchi, who died recently, wrote a
touching a narrative on the life of a boatsman who never realised the
turbulences in the outer world where people vie with each other on
monetary matters. His main issue was the upcoming of a bridge over a
river, which when completed will bring no more passengers for his boat.
One day he was seen dead. Was it the culmination in his life? As a
reader I found it a sensitive experience on understanding the realities
of life and death. Mahagama Sekara who along with Maestro Amaradeva
ushered in a period of visionary lyrics set to music died too young. But
his creative legacy which revolves mostly around life and death make us
realize what a wonderful world it is.
Sekara was influenced not only by Buddhist and Hindu classics, but
also by works of Omar Khayyam and Khalil Gibran. His two works Nomiyemi
and Prabuddha permeate an eternal bliss that kindles an inner light in
us. Mahagama Sekeara remains in our memory with his charming smile cast
on the face indicative of a deathless nature.
Tissa Abeysekara, as a bilingual writer and a steady-going skilled
scriptwriter for films and television, dedicated his entire lifetime to
creative activities, bringing an eternal bliss to our lives. His very
first collection of short stories Ipanella and his own film Mahagedara
are ample testimony to gauge his inner creative vision of life and
death.
Joe Abeywickrama and Gamini Fonseka are no more. They too joined the
series of passing away from us keeping an indelible mark in the field of
cinematography. Fonseka’s maiden film Parasatumal captured the effect of
death within the very existence a script written by the late poet P K D
Seneviratna of Haliggala. The film was based on an actual portrait of a
nobleman who was desirous of winning the love of a village damsel, but
fails owing to his own frailties which culminate in the actual physical
death. The portrayal for me was superb, and was reminiscent of Bergman’s
film Wild Strawberries.
Joe Abeywickrama’s portrait of a blind person in Lester Peries’ Desa
Nisa based on the late Sinhala playwright Gunasena Galappatty is
memorable. Many more lively portrayals were seen in such films as
Prasanna Vithanage’s Purahanda Kaluwara.
With the inevitable death everything has not changed. Though the
creator has passed away his worthy effort cannot be killed by any means.
It is only the trivialities and shallow creations that die with the
creator. As the Buddha said, Rupam Jirati Machanam, Nama Gottam
Najirathi (The physical image dies, though the name does not)
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