Santiniketan Friends President Chandana Wickramasinghe

Creative connections

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA

Art is universal. It has not language or geographical barriers. It is often considered as a window for us to see that we are one community and a medium in which we can communicate with each other.

Celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a group of ex-Shantiniketan Sri Lankan students have gotten together to host Char Adhyaya, a festival of cultural fusion. The event will take place from October 15 to 18 in several venues in town.

An art exhibition will be held at the National Art Gallery from October 15 to 17. The inauguration is on October 15 at 5 pm. Around 40 or more paintings by artists from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Milan will be on exhibit.

Char Adhayaya, the dance and musical show, will be held at the John de Silva theatre on October 16, 7 pm to 9 pm.

This event is presented by the India - Sri Lanka Foundation and Indian High Commission. It will comprise Rabindra Sangeet, Sri Lankan fusion songs, Manipuri dance recitals, Sri Lankan fusion dance recitals, instrumentals in the Indian classical genre and fusion on the sarod and esraj. Two dance and music shows titled ‘Salamba’ and ‘Kanya’ will be held at Museaus College Auditorium on October 17 and 18 at 7 pm.

Colourful dance item

“We hope to make Sri Lanka the cultural hub of South Asia and have been organizing events to achieve this purpose. Char Adhyaya is one such event which will put Sri Lanka on the map and mandate cultural corporation,” SAARC Cultural Centre Deputy Director/ Programme Soundarie David Rodrigo said.

The festival is aimed at staging the fresh talents of upcoming artistes to the Sri Lankan audience and providing art enthusiasts with a whole new experience. This will enable the artistes to share their knowledge and expertise which they have gleaned from their training abroad with a large crowd. They would no longer be forgotten by the society but will find their own footing and set their own mark in the field through recognition. Gone are the days that they have to struggle to make ends meet by training students in small classes hidden in rural villages and giving private lessons to make a living.

The team behind Char Adhyaya

A brainchild of Santiniketan Friends, Char Adhyaya will also bring renowned names to the limelight along with debutants. Speaking at the event Santiniketan Friends President Chandana Wickramasinghe said that the event will bring all sectors of art under one roof. “This is where future experts are born. We are also hoping to attract international artistes of repute in different genres of Fine Arts and even take the event to other countries in the future,” he said.

They hope to make Char Adhyaya an annual event which brings recognition to local talent as well as allow them to exchange experiences with artistes from other countries. Char Adhyaya is open to the public on invitation basis.