The Central Province Handcraft Exhibition - 2006
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
EXHIBITION: The annual handcraft exhibition of the Central
province was held at the Grand Ballroom in Queen's Hotel, Kandy from
November 16 to 18.
A large collection of handcraft items, nearly 1500, were present by
craftsmen from different areas of the central province: Kandy, Matale
and Nuwara Eliya.
Ariyawathi Muthupatinge with her certificates and one of her creations. |
The chief guest was the Chief Minister of the Central province,
Sarath Ekanayake, while the opposition leader of the Central province,
Nandimithra Ekanayake, the former minister, S. Arulswami, the secretary
of the Ministry of industry, Shirani Weerakoon, the assistant director
of the Department of Central Province Industrial Development and
Business Promotion Pushpa Dissanayake, and the director of the "Jathika
Shilpa Sabha", Thilaka Jayasundara graced the occasion.
This special event was organised by the Department of Central
Province Industrial Development and Business Promotion with the
assistance of the Central Province Ministry of Industry and the "Jathika
Shilpa Saba". "Kandurata Sanwardana" Bank was the sponsor.
The handcraft items include "Sesaths", brass items, musical
instruments, Bathiks, Jute (Dumbara motifs), Reedware, jewellery,
artefacts made of red clay, patchwork, lace, traditional paintings,
handmade paper and wood carvings.
The specialty about this year's event was that a number of new
creations have joined the field. Among them is a clock made of lacquer
and wood. It had won first place in the category of modern creations and
is the work of O.K.G.S.K. Sanjeewa from the Matale district. It had
taken him nearly a month to put the creation together.
Another product which won first place from the Matale region is a "Sesath".
It is the work of A.G. Dharmadasa and he had expressed the wish to
donate it to the Temple of the Tooth Relic.
To the head of the Ballroom was a beautiful artefact carved out of
leather portraying god Saman inviting the Buddha to set foot on Adam's
peak. This spectacular creation was done by M.A. Dharmawardana from
Peradeniya, Kandy. It was sold for Rs. 15,000.
Chief guest Minister Sarath Ekanayake and the other guests
admiring the handcraft items. |
"The prices of the creations ranged from Rs. 25 to nearly 300,000.
There is a metal trunk with cravings done by E.D. Weerasinghe of Kandy,
which costs Rs. 250,000. It is the most expensive creation on display,"
pointed out M.M.H.G. Samaranayake, the "Jathika Shilpa Sabha" associate
from Matale.
"We chose winners under 42 categories. The winners were selected by
six judges from the University of Aesthetic Studies, Colombo. We
received about 320 applications and about 200 craftsmen took part in
this exhibition," Samaranayake said.
One of the contestants of this event, Ariyawathi Muthupatinge, 68,
had been a continuous winner of the annual event for 13 years.
She had an exquisite collection of lace works, wool and satin
garments, and Beearalu sari blouses on display. Her work ranged from
hand woven table clothes to knitted lace portraits. Her talent and years
of experience had led her to emerge as a winner in this year's
competition as well.
The clock by O.K.G.S.K. Sanjeewa which won first place in the
category of modern creations. |
"The National exhibition was be held at the BMICH on November 29 and
30. All those who have won first, second and third places would to take
part in the final competition. Those who win at the final will be
presented with presidential awards and cash," explained Nishantha
Wijayalath, the associate director for the central province of the "Jathika
Shilpa Saba".
Apart from the exhibition and competition, an awards ceremony was
held at the Pushpadana Hall, Kandy, to present last year's winners with
awards and certificates. H.G. Lapaya from Kalasirigama, Kandy, R.N.U.A.
Wijerathne from Neelawa, Kandy, and M.A.R. Karunarathne from Palle
Hapuvida, Matale received special awards.
Ariyawathi Muthupatinge with her certificates and one of her creations. |
These three awards were said to be given once in every two years to
three great craftsmen who have been a pride to the nation.
"We hold events like this with the aim of opening doors to the local
as well as international market.
This opportunity serves to benefit the economy of the individuals as
well as the country," commented Wijayalath. "There is a good market for
nature friendly products. The attorneys need to pay more attention to
this matter," he stressed.
Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage
'Sewwandi' a tale of love, passion and revenge
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
CINEMA: Internationally acclaimed actress Sangeetha
Weeraratne's first cinema production, "Sewwandi" is to be screened at
the Savoy and other EAP theatres from December 7.
"Sewwandi" is an adaptation of the true story of Inoka Sewwandi. The
film portrays a touching tale of an ordinary girl who is faced with many
challenges in life and gives up everything she possesses for the sake of
love.
From left: Roshantha Kariyapperuma, Sangeetha Weeraratne, Timothy
Weeraratne and Sunil T. Fernando at the premiere.
|
It vividly highlights its theme, "When a woman's love is betrayed,
there is no limit to her wrath". "I feel that this story would appeal to
the women in society as this storyline is about a woman's struggle,"
said Sangeetha, the producer, lead actress and international distributor
of "Sewwandi".
"I think the message is focused in facing love, passion, and marriage
in our society. Since this is based on a true story, I felt that it
would touch the hearts of all our people. My role as Kumari was tough to
perform and was a challenge for me."
The movie has a strong back up cast: Sangeetha Weeraratne (Kumari),
Kamal Addaraarachchi (Pradeep), Chandani Seneviratne (Lalitha), Ravindra
Randeniya (Priyantha), and Dilhani Ashokamala (Shirani) play the lead
roles. Dayan Witharana makes his debut appearance to the silver screen
through this movie.
A scene from “Sewwandi”.
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Wasantha Obeysekere composed the script and directed the film while
Jayantha Gunewardena handled the photography.
"Sewwandi" was edited by Ravindra Guruge. The music is by Rohana
Weerasinghe and the art director is Lal Harindranath. It is co-produced
by Sunil T. Fernando.
Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage
Mathura Strings to usher in Christmas breeze
MUSIC: The bells of the CSI Church, Francis Road, Wellawatte
will peal merrily on December 2 "Ushering in Christmas Breeze" at 6:30
pm.
Isaac Kulendran
|
This year will be the fourth year of performance by Isaac Kulendran's
Mathura Strings, which was named after his mother Mrs. Mathuram
Kulendran, in remembrance of her contribution to the betterment of
Church music.
One aim of Mathura Strings was to build the ability of the young
players and Isaac Kulendran proudly claims that his pupils have mastered
difficult keys of "A" Major and "B Flat" majors, and are able to play
them with ease.
Among the young soloists would be Mewan Dabare, Ruth Anketell and
Ramesh P. Ganahariti. Among the mature players would be Amila
Jayawardene and Rosana Kulendran, all whom would be accompanied by the
seasoned pianist Premila Perimpanayagam.
To top it all will be Ramesh P. Ganahariti's message. There would be
interesting pieces too like the Manandarin Chinese song "Midnight
Stars", Bach's minuet, Mozart's Einekleine Nacht Musik (Andante only)
and a piece displaying the technicalities of the violin.
A relaxed and cool breeze awaits everyone who would be attending the
programme "Ushering in Christmas Breeze". All music lovers and critics
are invited to attend. Admission is free. |