The effect of Santiniketan on Sri Palee

Deshamanya Chitrasena, the then President of Tagore Society of Sri Lanka has said,

“1934 was altogether significant. It marked Gurudev Tagore’s third visit to Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was then called with his troupe. Sri Palee, Horana, a centre for the arts modelled after Santiniketan created and built by Wilmot A. Perera was declared open by Tagore and so began a cultural renaissance that had far reaching effects.” Seventy eight years later, another troupe of Santiniketan players led by the Vice Chancellor of the Visva Bharathi University Prof. Sushanta Dattagupta is currently visiting Sri Lanka. Today they will perform at Sri Palee, College Horana, and in Colombo.

In this article the founder of Sri Palee, Wilmot A. Perera (now deceased), recalls the impact made by Gurudev, Santiniketan and Sri Palee on cultural re-awakening in Sri Lanka.

My first visit to Santiniketan was in 1932, twenty seven years ago. I had read of Rabindranath Tagore and his experiments in education. I was anxious to see for myself what was being done. I as a little child, had seen and heard the poet speak at Ananda College, Colombo, on his way to the United States of America - to deliver, I believe, The Hibbert Lectures. The figure of the poet remained a mere memory.

On our way up, we went round to the Arts and Crafts School in Madras. D. P. Roy Choudhry, the well known Indian sculptor, was the Principal, and Chitra his assistant. Both were past pupils of Santiniketan. Mrs. D. B. Dhanapala was a student there at the time, having obtained her diploma in painting from Santiniketan. I believe, I am correct in stating that she was the first student from Ceylon.

On our arrival we were agreeably surprised to meet a few Ceylonese there. Ariam Williams from Jaffna, had been the poet’s secretary and was at the time in charge of the Patha Bhavana Primary School. Rev. Heenatiyana Dhammaloka and the Rev. Udakandawela Saranankara were taking a course in Comparative Religion. My wife joined the Kala Bhavana which then was in the charge of Nandalal Bose and Surendranath Kar.

I did nothing very special except meet people and discuss the work in their particular fields. I would sometimes join the students in the open air classes, particularly those conducted by a Professor from New Zealand who had come to the poet with very high credentials from Dewey, the well-known writer on the Philosophy of Education.

We had a cottage to ourselves until then occupied by a Dr. Bake. I think he was from Holland and was collecting the Folk Songs of India. In the evenings our little verandah and the small garden in front of it was the meeting place of a whole host of friends. It also helped to bring about a friendship which developed into marriages for two of our friends who are now eminent figures in the public life of India - one in the field of politics, the other in the realm of art.

We used to go round to see Gurudev in the evenings when he had no visitors. There was nothing he liked better than being very friendly to young people. It was natural with him and he liked to see it is in others. He intensely disliked artificiality of any sort - whether in an individual or of a group.

He used to ask us to Uttarayan - next door - to see him directing the rehearsals of his dance drama. Santidev Ghose, who later came out with him as the chief dancer in Shap Mochan was in charge. To watch the rehearsals was in itself an education.

Harry Pieris, our well known 43 Group artist, who was mainly responsible for carrying out the Lionel Wendt Art Centre Bequest and I were classmates at the Royal College. We used to go to Tower Hall and watch John de Silva’s plays.

Those were the days of Lakshmi Bai, Romulus and ‘Ceylon’. We often used to discuss whether we could not do anything to help develop the theatre and the music of the East in our country. We had nothing concrete. No definite views except an urge to do something.

When I saw some of Gurudev’s dance dramas at Santiniketan, I thought to myself that here was the opportunity. Before I left Santiniketan, I mentioned this to Gurudev and told him that if he could come over to Ceylon with a troupe of his student players and show us something of the art form he had evolved and developed, he would help to bring about a re-awakening of the cultural traditions we had inherited from India and, more particularly, from Bengal. He replied that he would be only too happy if an opportunity presented itself.

The next year, in 1933, we sent to Sriniketan - the Institute of Rural Reconstruction of Visva Bharati (Sriniketan being a unit of the larger organization) - a student from one of the villages around Horana to learn the home craft of tooled leather work. This was the beginning of that industry in Ceylon.

Early in 1934, Santiniketan was faced with meeting one of its recurring deficits. Money had to be found and I was asked… “We have often discussed the question of taking over a party of boys and girls to Ceylon while you were here. I am glad to tell you that it is quite possible to arrange such a visit now, so far as we are concerned....... Are you and a group of your friends prepared to do it?”

We had just experienced a malaria epidemic of unknown intensity. We were also in the depths of an economic depression. I tried to get a hundred people to give a hundred rupees each but not with success.

A telegram was sent that we would do our best but that Gurudev must come.

Anil Chanda and Surendranath Kar came out. Friends like A. B. Cooray, Dr. and Mrs. S. A. Wickremasinghe, Colvin R. de Silva, D. E. Wijewardene, D. B Dhanapala, Somasundaram, Thambiyah, Vythalingam, Desai, Chandiram, Dr. Balendra and G. P Malalasekera did everything they could to help.

To be continued