Life style

Sumitra shines with the Rising Sun

Published

4 years ago

2020/10/4

‘Poetess of Sinhala cinema’ Sumitra Peries was recently conferred Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Government. The first Sri Lankan film artiste to have been decorated with this coveted 145-old Order, sits with the Sunday Island to recap her treasured memories of the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ …

by Randima Attygalle

When the new bride Sumitra Peries impulsively changed her return ticket home from Mexico, having clinched the Golden Head of Palenque for Gamperaliya directed by her soul mate Dr. Lester James Peries (and edited by her) at an international film festival and set foot in the Land of the Rising Sun in 1966, she was “completely bowled over” not only by kimonos, platform slippers and deftly crafted tea ceremonies, but by a ‘cultured nation’ at large.

For young Sumitra who sailed to the University of Lausanne chartering unknown waters as a young girl, exploration of the unknown comes as the most natural. Carrying only the motifs of the dreaded Mount Fuji Volcano and the air attack on Colombo during the Second World War by the Japanese Navy with her, the avant-garde young cinema-maker booked into the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo reputed to have withstood many earthquakes! “Next day when I went to the Sri Lankan Embassy there, our people were horrified to hear of my outrageously expensive choice of accommodation, claiming I had to be just out of my mind. My only concern was that it would be a buffer against a possible earthquake,” recollects the poetess of the Sinhala cinema decked with The Order of the Rising Sun 2020 more than half a century later since she had her first taste of Japan.

Established on April 10, 1875 by Emperor Meiji, the Order was the first decoration awarded by the Japanese government. The badge features rays of sunlight symbolizing energy as powerful as the rising sun in harmony with the Land of the Rising Sun Japan is known to be. The order is conferred on those who have left a footprint in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, advancements in their fields and development in welfare or preservation of the environment. “Interestingly it was only 20 years later in the same era that the Lumiere brothers first presented moving pictures to an audience with the help of a projector in Paris, sowing the earliest seeds of film-making. For over a century women were not eligible to receive this Order,” reflects Sumitra, the first Sri Lankan film artiste to have been decorated with this 145-year old coveted Order. Former Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya was honoured in 2017.

Followed by her hits Gehenu Lamai, Ganga Addara and Yahalu Yeheli, Sumitra took the silver screen by storm, with Sagara Jalaya madi henduwa oba handa an adaptation of Simon Nawagaththegama’s short story Ohu mala da pasu. The golden couple of Sinhala cinema once again captured the imagination of a nation transcending national boundaries. With Dr. Lester James Peries credited for the script, Lal Piyasena for his editing, Donald Karunaratne for his cinematography and Pandith Amaradeva for his musical score, Japan embraced it and celebrated it. Despite the protagonist Heen Kella’s pathos (played by Swarna Mallawarachchi) threading the plot and the film-maker’s milieu taking a shift to a rustic setting in Sagara Jalaya madi henduwa oba handa, the visual sophistication which is Sumitra’s strong suit is unmistakable in it. “Perhaps it was the kind of lifestyle which was beyond the imagination of the contemporary Japanese living that arrested them to it,” reflects Sumitra. The film which clinched her the Sarasaviya Best Director Award and Swarna, the Best Actress Award was telecast by the NHK in 1990, capturing the hearts of many a Japanese.

The invitation extended to Dr. Lester James Peries to sit on a jury of a film festival of documentaries in Yamagata in the mid-90s further solidified the Japan-Sri Lanka bridge. The communal bonding the couple shared with the rural Yamagata folk still warms Sumitra’s heart. “It was the first time the villagers had seen a ‘coloured’ person, so much so I remember them stroking my hands to see if I had actually applied some paint!” chuckles Sumitra. The ‘Japanese connection’ as she avers, was further fuelled by close friends such as Joy Fernando who came to work as an assistant to Lester and Sumitra. “Joy had studied in Japan and many of his acquaintances which later became mutual friends strengthened our bonding with Japan,” says Sumitra who came to be effortlessly assimilating into its culture over her many visits to Japan. She fondly recollects sleeping on tatami mats, yet laments that she could never master the Japanese language.

The iconic Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa whom Sumitra dubs as “a wonderful craftsman who projected the soul of Japan to the world,” offered her immense inspiration. His landmark creation Rashomon which shone at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, winning the Golden Lion, enabled the Japanese film industry a window to the Western film markets. “An energetic and a visually rich” architect of cinema as Sumitra alludes to him, Kurosawa first crossed her path in the 1980s, around the time when her box office hit Ganga addara and Lester’s Beddegama toured in Japan.

While Kurosawa inspired Sumitra, it was Yasujiro Ozu whom she found “close to her rhythm of narrative.” Her experience as a juror at several film festivals in Japan including the ‘South Asian Young Film Makers’ had widened her horizons of the Japanese way of life. The film director and screenwriter, Nagisa Oshima of Realm of the Senses fame whom Sumitra befriended at one of such festivals, adds to her list of globally renowned Japanese film acquaintances. “I remember him to be quite bashful man sporting a t-shirt with the slogan ‘Oshima Gang’ which I complemented. To my surprise, I found an ‘Oshima Gang’ t-shirt delivered to me a few days after my return!” smiles Sumitra.

The Fukoka City Public Library which is a repository of a sizable collection of films including several local films and the Japan Foundation are lauded by Sumitra as bridges connecting Japan to the rest of the world. Sumitra who counts several visits to the Fukoka City Public Library lauds it to be “a far sighted institution, opening doors for the entire South East Asia” including students of cinema, film makers, researchers and critics. Sumitra’s evergreen hit Ganga addara had been preserved by the Japanese Foundation. Loku Duwa and Sakman Maluwa are among her other work acclaimed by Japan.

Sumitra’s association with the ‘Bunka Awards’ presented to mid-career artistes by the Japan Sri Lanka Friendship Cultural Fund is a long one. Today only she remains out of the four original committee members. Prof. A.J. Gunawardene, Prof. Ediriweera Saraschandra, Dr. P.R Anthonis were among the rest.

A woman who had always championed ‘human conditions’ transcending gender stereotyping, Sumitra was one of the earliest Sri Lankan women to have shattered the glass ceiling. Behind the camera, she proved to be as good as any of her male counterparts. “I was never given the conventional margin for being a woman, for which I’m thankful,” says the iconic artiste who had never felt inadequate in a male domain. A strong advocate of the mantra, “create for your people first”, Sumitra’s notion of ‘global appeal’ is an extension of this acceptance locally. “If your creation is accepted by your own people and if it has some ripple effect somewhere else enabling the rest of the world to log on to it or have some contact, then you can be content that it had impacted the world outside.”

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Life style

Sri Lanka’s first elephant orphanage celebrates 50 years

Published

7 hours ago

2025/02/23

Thilina Walpola

Sri Lanka is also facing a major human-elephant conflict in areas bordering traditional wild sanctuaries

By Amal Jayasinghe
Pics by Ishara Kodikara

Sri Lanka’s main elephant orphanage marked its 50th anniversary on Sunday february 16 with a fruit feast for the 68 jumbos at the showpiece centre, reputedly the world’s first care home for destitute pachyderms. The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage lavished pineapples, bananas, melons and cucumbers on its residents to celebrate the anniversary of their home, which is a major tourist attraction.

A few officials and tourists invited to the low-key celebration were served milk rice and traditional sweets while four generations of elephants born in captivity frolicked in the nearby Maha Oya river.

“The first birth at this orphanage was in 1984, and since then, there have been a total of 76,” said chief curator Sanjaya Ratnayake, as the elephants returned from their daily river bath.

“This has been a successful breeding programme, and today we have four generations of elephants here, with the youngest 18 months old and the oldest 70 years,” he told AFP.

The orphanage recorded its first twin birth in August 2021 — a rarity among Asian elephants — and both calves are doing well.

Two years before the orphanage was formally established as a government institution in February 1975, five orphaned elephants were cared for at a smaller facility in the southern resort town of Bentota.

“Since the orphanage was set up at Pinnawala in 1975, in a coconut grove, the animals have had more space to roam, with good weather and plenty of food available in the surrounding area,” Ratnayake said.

The home requires 14,500 kilos of coconut and palm tree leaves, along with other foliage, to satisfy the elephants’ voracious appetites.

It also buys tonnes of fruit and milk for the younger calves, who are adored by the foreign and local visitors to the orphanage, located about 90 kilometres (56 miles) east of the capital Colombo.

It is also a major revenue generator for the state, earning millions of dollars a year in entrance fees. Visitors can watch the elephants from a distance or get up close and help scrub them during bath times.

Sri Lanka’s Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is a major tourist attraction

– Tragic toll –

The facility lacked running water and electricity at its inception but things improved as it gained international fame in subsequent years, said retired senior mahout K.G. Sumanabanda, 65.

“I was also fortunate to be present when we had the first birth in captivity,” Sumanabanda told AFP, visiting the home for the jubilee celebrations.

During his career spanning over three decades as a traditional elephant keeper, he trained more than 60 other mahouts and is still consulted by temples and individuals who own domesticated elephants.

Twenty years ago, Sri Lankan authorities opened another elephant home south of the island to care for orphaned, abandoned or injured elephants and later return them back to the wild.

While Pinnawala is seen by many as a success, Sri Lanka is also facing a major human-elephant conflict in areas bordering traditional wildlife sanctuaries.

Elephants return to Sri Lanka’s Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage after taking their daily bath in a river

Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody told AFP on Sunday that 450 elephants and 150 people were killed in clashes in 2023, continuing an alarming trend of fatalities in the human-elephant conflict. The previous year saw 433 elephants and 145 people were killed.

Killing or harming elephants is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, which has an estimated 7,000 wild elephants and where jumbos are considered a national treasure, partly due to their significance in Buddhist culture.

But the massacre continues as desperate farmers face the brunt of elephants raiding their crops and destroying livelihoods.

The minister was confident the new government could tackle the problem by preventing elephants from crossing into villages.

“We are planning to introduce multiple barriers—these may include electric fences, trenches, or other deterrents—to make it more difficult for wild elephants to stray into villages,” Jayakody told AFP.

Life style

Growing the Cultural Landscape with Suhanya Raffel

Published

7 hours ago

2025/02/23

Thilina Walpola

Suhanya Raffel

The Geoffrey Bawa Trust which was launched its 2025 is followed by Curatorial Conversations Series. Recently a presentation was made S by M+ Museum director and Geoffrey Bawa Trustee Suhanya Raffel. Speaking at the new Bawa Space on Horton Place, Raffel drew on extensive experience in the museum and art world to present insights and programming from the M+ Museum in Hong Kong. M+ is Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture and presents itself as an intersection of visual art, design and architecture, and the moving image.

The evening presented an opportunity to hear from a leading expert in the museum field and discuss Sri Lanka’s present and future cultural landscape. It also highlighted the role of the Geoffrey Bawa Trust in conserving the legacy of the architect and his collaborators, and promoting contemporary art and design. “There are amazing artists, great designers, and reactive minds in Sri Lanka and the region,” Raffel said at a press event earlier in the afternoon. “There is opportunity in the aspiration to establish things, artists doing very important work, and the energy of individuals to try to make a difference.”

In part, this opportunity stems from the lack of established large-scale infrastructure to conserve Sri Lanka’s modern cultural legacy and support emerging artists. While there is the scope to shape the domestic art world and build institutions reflective of the local cultural community, there are also limitations and challenges in realising this potential.

Raffel spoke extensively about the need to build curatorial skills and knowledge and nurture cultural leaders in the region. Recognising this need, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust maintains public programmes, including exhibitions, residencies, tours, and lectures, to broaden public discourse and knowledge on the built environment and the arts in Sri Lanka and overseas. To fulfil curatorial needs and encourage growth in artistic and cultural institutions such as museums, the Trust employs a dedicated curatorial team and runs a robust internship and training programme. It is hoped that building this skill base will encourage others to explore similar career opportunities and support art, design, and architecture in the region. Sri Lankan visual arts over the past century have enjoyed wide international acclaim. “Sri Lanka is known globally for its creative work,” says Raffel, “it is culturally very strong.”

Geoffrey Bawa is a great example of this global influence. During his lifetime, the architect was very well-known in Sri Lanka and among contemporaries around the world. His structural, landscape, and furniture designs continue to guide and inspire. “It is very important for makers to be seen with their international peers,” Raffel explains. This cultural engagement on regional and international platforms is paramount for ensuring open dialogue and exchange. This means supporting collaborations, encouraging foreign markers to come to Sri Lanka, and exhibiting Sri Lankan work internationally.

The Trust is working to support this global dialogue by hosting installations by artists and makers from Sri Lanka and abroad, as was done in celebration of Geoffrey Bawa’s 100th birthday and again throughout the To Lunuganga programme from 2023-2024. The Trust took Geoffrey Bawa’s work to the world in 2024 with the travelling It is Essential to be There exhibition in Sri Lanka, India, and the United States.

The Trust is proud to be part of major professional international forums such as the International Confederation of Architectural Museums and the Committee for Modern and Contemporary Art Museums, both affiliated with the International Council of Museums. These platforms are vital for global knowledge sharing and advocacy. “We want more of these types of collaborations to happen both with the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, but also other arts and cultural institutions in Sri Lanka,” says Raffel.

In furthering this mission, the Trust is excited to present the new Bawa Space as the organisation’s public face and offer opportunities for the public to engage with the Trust’s work. Located in a recently restored Bawa-designed house from 1959, the Bawa Space doubles as the Geoffrey Bawa Trust headquarters and archives, as well as a new gallery and space for talks and events that will continue year-round.

Life style

Colombo Fashion Week 19-22 February: Two decades of creating the Fashion Eco-system in Sri Lanka

Published

7 hours ago

2025/02/23

Thilina Walpola

Bernhard Stefan, MD, Nestlé Lanka

This year CFW will showcase a selection of Emerging Designers alongside established Sri Lankan designers. Adding international flavour will be well known designers from India Suket Dhir, Urvashi Kaur and Zaheer Abbas from Pakistan.

Colombo Fashion Week (CFW), presented by Mastercard, enters its 22nd year in 2025 with its Summer edition, marking another milestone in its journey as one of the four fashion weeks in Asia that have surpassed 2o years.Emerging Designer initiative of CFW this time remains one of its main pillars, providing an entry point for the next generation to pursue design-based entrepreneurship. This in line with the introduction of the Craft Fashion Fund this year is a testament to this commitment. The Craft Fashion Fund will select two winners, one who incorporates batik and another who utilizes crafts other than batik. This initiative passed 20 years.

Over the years, CFW has proven to be the backbone of Sri Lanka’s fashion design industry—its only voice—while creating a fashion ecosystem that provides support to new emerging designers entering the industry. Informally known as South Asian Fashion Week, it serves as a regional hub due to its geopolitical advantage. It is also one of the most significant fashion weeks in South Asia, having played a crucial role in revitalizing the country’s fashion design industry.

This year, Colombo Fashion Week has also expanded its international footprint since joining as a founding member of the newly created BRICS International Fashion Federation. This aligns with CFW’s ongoing mission to bridge diverse fashion markets and foster creative dialogue across continents. As part of this federation, CFW has signed a designer exchange program with BRICS, where a designer from a BRICS country will showcase their work at CFW, and a Sri Lankan designer will present their collection there. CFW continues to play a pivotal role in presenting Sri Lanka through the lenses of arts, culture, and sustainability, further contributing to destination marketing on a global scale.

The Head Table From L to R: Harsha Maduranga, GM – Vision Care, Yatila Wijemanne, Chairman – Juniper, Dr. Vibash Wijeratne, Dirand CEO – Ninewells, Shamara Silva, Mrkt & Media Dir – Unilever, Ruwan Perera, CEO – NDB Wealth, Kamal Munasinghe, Area VP and GM – Cinnamon Grand, Ajai Vir Singh, Founder – CFW, Sandun Hapugoda, Country Mgr – Mastercard, Samrat Datta, GM – Taj Samudra, Bernhard Stefan, MD – Nestlé Lanka, Ramani Fernando, Founder – RF Salons, Arjuna Kumarasinghe, MD -Cargills Food & Beverages

Ajai Vir Singh, Founder, Colombo Fashion Week stated: “Colombo Fashion Week has consistently demonstrated its commitment to developing Sri Lanka’s fashion industry through strategic international partnerships and innovative platforms. Our growing international recognition and expanding designer network reflects vital role this platform plays in positioning Sri Lanka through its creative industries.”

Mastercard, as the presenting partner, continues to champion CFW’s vision of sustainable and inclusive fashion innovation, focusing on digitizing sustainability initiatives and supporting small and medium fashion enterprises.

Sandun Hapugoda, Country Manager, Sri Lanka & Maldives, highlights: “Mastercard is thrilled to partner with Colombo Fashion Week once again, celebrating the incredible talent and creativity within the fashion industry. This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to support local artistry. Together, we aim to inspire new possibilities, connect communities, support sustainable fashion initiatives, and elevate the local fashion industry to a global audience, delivering a truly priceless experience. We also anticipate CFW to be a great support to boost the Sri Lanka tourism industry as well.”

Fazeena Rajabdeen

The Craft Fashion Fund encourages young designers to engage with and incorporate Sri Lankan crafts into their collections. This approach has been highly successful for designers in other South Asian countries, where traditional crafts have helped establish a unique identity for them. Sri Lankan fashion has its best opportunity to develop a distinct identity when designers integrate local crafts into their work. The developing of this identity has been professed by CFW among the design fraternity, so they are able to create market demand beyond Sri Lanka.

The Emerging Designer initiative of CFW remains one of its main pillars, providing an entry point for the next generation to pursue design-based entrepreneurship. This in line with the introduction of the Craft Fashion Fund this year is a testament to this commitment. The Craft Fashion Fund will select two winners, one who incorporates batik and another who utilizes crafts other than batik. This initiative will support two exceptional designers, ensuring the preservation and evolution of Sri Lanka’s rich artistic heritage. This season, fifteen emerging designers will present their collections, further demonstrating CFW’s dedication to fostering the next generation of fashion talent.

Fazeena Majeed Rajabdeen, Director & CEO, Colombo Fashion Week further added: “Colombo Fashion Week, with its focus on nurturing new talent and emerging designers, has played a pivotal role in reviving and propelling Sri Lanka’s fashion industry. We are proud to present 15 emerging designers this year and to have Sharmila Ruberu mentoring these designers on collection planning. This, along with the Craft Fashion Fund, reiterates our commitment to further the thriving ecosystem we have built, embracing sustainability and empowering young talent.”

Colombo Fashion Week Summer 2025 is set to transform Colombo into an immersive fashion destination by showcasing designers across three of the city’s most prestigious locations. The key partners of Destination Colombo includes Shangri-La, Taj Samudra, and Cinnamon Grand. The shows will feature an impressive roster of international and local talent, including designers from India, Italy and Russia. Renowned creators such as Rimzim Dadu,

Cettina Bucca, Suneet Varma and JJ Valaya, will present alongside celebrated Sri Lankan designers including Fouzul Hameed, Sonali Dharmawardena, Asanka De Mel, Aslam Hussein, Kamil Hewawitharana, Dimuthu Sahabandu, Indi Yapa Abeywardena and Charini Suriyage.

Colombo Fashion Week 2025 is proudly supported by Mastercard, presenting partner along with Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Taj Samudra, NDB Wealth, Yatra, Ninewells Aesthetic Centre, Tresemme, Vaseline, Juniper, Chupa Chups, Nestle-Nescafe, Vision Care, Knuckles, Hameedia, Ramani Fernando, Wijeya Newspapers, Hard Talk, Acorn and Emerging Media.