Creativity at full throttle

Anada Abhiman 2012 exhibition :

Amalshan GUNERATHNE

With creatively woven new innovations, the stalls enthrall and amuse the visitors with great food for thought. The classical theatrical showpieces wrap the atmosphere in exhilarating, aesthetic excitement. Adding mystique and intrigue to the grand fiasco, at another corner, the tales of mysterious aliens and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life are depicted. The stalls with vibrant paintings, sculptures and other exhibits add colour, making it a whimsical extravaganza filled with great entertainment and wisdom. Such was the atmosphere that surrounded Ananda College school premises, as they celebrated 125th anniversary in grand fashion.

A sense of festivity and a carnival atmosphere ruled as, Anandians showcased their talents and creative prowess with Anada Abhiman exhibition which unravelled last week in the college premises. It was a grand extravaganza worthy of their 125 years of brilliance.

The exhibition provided proof to the fact that kids today are not the same laid back species they once were. They are smart, intelligent and posses the intellectual capacity to push their imagination to great heights. The teacher-centered class room education has not dulled their creativity. Their creative minds are willing to go beyond their restrictive norms and push themselves to the possibilities that lie ahead.

The exhibition was not a one of those monotonous, boring extremely academic, educative ones that you often find in other colleges. While educating the visitors, the exhibition also provided great entertainment and amusement for those who attended. Varying from traditional ‘Kolam’, Sokari and ‘Rookada’(puppet shows) to more contemporary grand musical concerts, the exhibition provided great aesthetic entertainment for the visitors. The popular sons of Ananda, Bathiya, Kasun Kalahara, Isuru Jayarathne, Mithra Kapuge and Sahan Ranwala, all took the stage to entertain the college ground with their exuberant tunes. The exhibition also brought some of the timeless theatrical classics such as Nari Bana, Sinhabahu, Kalani Palama and Thala Mala Pipila to life.

Secretary of the organizing committee, Athula Panagoda noted, "We wanted it to be a wholesome exhibition. We did not want to restrict the exhibition to educative ends. The exhibition offers something for everyone. It is educative and entertaining at the same time.”

The exhibition provided the students with a great platform to showcase their talents. From numerous stalls that we visited, the stall of ‘Ananda College Young Inventors Society' caught our attention, as it held house to many budding, young creators. Punch ran in to few aspiring young individuals who shared their creative concepts and ideas with us.

A grade seven student, Osal Thuduwage has discovered a solution to the vegetable basket fiasco which created a huge farce recently. Speaking to Punch he noted, “I have introduced this basket to address the issue, this basket can be easily separated in to small segments and you can manipulate its frames the way you want. You can use it for day today use as well,” he eloquently explained.

Rashan Wanniarchchi's ‘Highway Security System’ which monitors the traffic in highway was also another interesting and practicable concept that caught our eye. Then there were more advanced technological creations like 'Mobile Phone which comes with attached microscope.’ The creation was invented by the senior student, Chandula Pathmasiri. The phone acts as an easily movable, mobile scientific data transferring device. The system allows the user to instantaneously transfer data that he gathered through the use of mobile phone. Then there was another interesting concept called 'movable staircase' which helps to address the issue of space management in an urban houses.

Another interesting concept was Ravindu Yasas's ‘Vehicle smoke purification system.’ The system purifies the destructive chemical materials that emit from vehicle and reproduce them for productive purposes.

The creativity was such that some were even looking for more outrageous ways of expressing their ideas. One such means was Devinda Kulathanga's suggestion of transforming certain segments of modern day traveling air buses in to transparent fiber glasses. “The idea is to provide a pleasant view to the passengers. It will disrupt the mundane nature of routine traveling and provide the travelers with an exciting journey,” Kulathanga explained.

Another major exciting prospect was hand made dune buggies. The kids were running wild with their buggies and vehicles in the school playgrounds, as we approached them. The buggies resembled the ones that you see in popular TV show junkyard-wars. These were all assembled by their own hands and were done with their own creative talents. Grade seven student, Sanjula Hewamanna who was having great fun driving around his dune buggie noted, “We made this with the help of our senior brothers. First we wanted an engine which we bought from Panchikawatte, and then we had to assemble the body with metal framework.”

The exhibition also featured cultural stalls from several foreign embassies including, Malaysia, Romania, Cuba, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Pakistan stalls as well. The arts section there was dedicate to artistic drawings and sculptures. The other stalls were dedicated to medicine, zoology, the central bank and the three armed forces.

Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage