Art Brief

Marambari 50th show

Edward Jayakody

Marambari, the popular musical show by Edward Jayakody will celebrate its 50th show at the Ananda Vidyalaya Kularatne Hall on April 6 at 6.30 pm.

Jayakody's musical career spans 36 years. He has given voice to some of the most popular songs of the decade which includes songs about romance, patriotism, children and natural beauty. He has even rendered his voice for playback singing in films, tele dramas and stage plays. Some of his most popular hits will be sung live at the show. Music by Susil Amarasinghe.

Charitha Priyadharshani, Sriya Kariyawasam and Sharnya Jayakody will duet with him at the show.

Wasantha Rohana will compeer the event. Marambari 50th show also coincides with Edward's birthday. The show is presented by Sarisara Api.

Curtain call for JMF 2013

The Jaffna Music Festival 2013, held at the Jaffna Town Municipal Grounds on March 1 and 2, concluded to thunderous applause. It was witnessed by a collective audience of over 25,000 people. Many groups of people from the North, South, East and West travelled to the grounds to witness the excitement of hosting a wide array of musicians and performers from both all over the country and internationally. They entertained the crowd with their colourful costumes and unusual instruments.

There were numerous family-friendly activities lined up during the daytime programme which included an intimate and informal setting on which artists of Folk, Classical, Contemporary genres could entertain and educate audiences about their various musical genres. The performers were colourful and lively and most engaged the audience by getting off the stages to encourage members of the audience to join in on the singing, dancing and general merriment.

A participant named Thush said, "It felt like we were all part of the show, and the atmosphere was as if we were in a village somewhere in Jaffna - it was exciting but also very relaxed at the same time."

The children's stage was a huge hit where children from all over the country were inspired and entertained through very impressive and polished performances ranging from Folk to Blues, Jazz, Choral and Percussion. The mornings were lively and colourful with a blend of a variety of languages, songs, music and flair floating in the air.

Capturing all those special moments were official JMF photographers, accompanied by the participants of the Youth Social Media Programme conducted by USAID together with the National Youth Services Council.

The night-time main stage performances dazzled everyone - the local artists astounded audiences with multi-faceted acts which featured a unique performance from a female drummer and fire eater. It truly was a festival of diverse cultural interaction. The mix of diverse musical genres representing traditions and styles from across Sri Lanka and the world provided an interesting musical experience. The multiple collaborations between Bangladesh, Norway, India and Sri Lanka in forms of both song and dance were a huge hit with the crowds. The Jaffna Music Festival 2013 was brought by Sewalanka in collaboration with Rikskonsertene (Concerts Norway) and Aru Sri Art Theatre and is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This time around the festival was conducted in co-partnership with the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and the Municipal Council of Jaffna.

Kala Agni to be launched

Chamminda Welagedara's Kala Agni will be launched on April 4 at the Auditorium of National Library and Documentation Services Board at 3.00 pm. Kala Agni is a Sinhala novel based on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and delineates in graphic detail events surrounding the lives of people in the North and South who were trapped in the 30 years cruel war and their turbulent mindsets.

The novel weaves the social issues and relationships between various ethnic groups during the war and the movements of the political authorities as seen through the eyes of Chamminda Welagedara, an award winning senior novelist in Sri Lanka.

The name Kala Agni refers to Fire Time which Welagedara uses as a metaphor to elucidate the grave challenges faced by his protagonists and the mental conflicts experienced by them during the brutal civil war.

His theme is extensive - the origin, existence and the fall of the LTTE.

What makes this study entirely different from all other records of the terrorist regime is the present writers' perspective. He narrates the LTTE story from the point-of-view of an intimate insider and ramifies its impact into the deep South.

Adept writer Chamminda Welagedara's Kala Agni, plays a pre-eminent role, in ushering in a new phase, in the history of Sinhala fiction.

His attempt to create and augment insights on humanity of diverse ethnic groups and draw attention to the urgent need to ensure post-conflict harmony and wholesome co-existence, to prevent future generations from being plagued by the vicious and destructive doctrines through this latest novel could be considered as his finest literary achievement.

Geethma music concert

Organized by Nalanda College Eastern Music Section Parents' Association, 'Geethma' music concert will be held at the BMICH on April 6 at 6 pm.