Connect with us

Features

Perspective of the Moment: Murals at Gotami Viharaya

Published

2 years ago

on

Mara in Gotami Viharaya. Web Image

By Uditha Devapriya

Commissioned in 1939 and completed a year later, the murals at Gotami Viharaya in Borella represent a high point of 20th century Buddhist temple art. Painted at a time of world war, they occupy a world away from the art décor, art nouveau, and rococo styles that had come to prevail in Buddhist temples. Borrowing from the past, they also subvert its tropes. Rooted in tradition and convention, they are also bold and modernist.

The Viharaya was constructed in 1925 on land owned by Lady Apollonia de Soysa. The mother of Sir James Peiris, Lady de Soysa belonged to the colonial elite in British Ceylon. By inheritance and marriage, her family was connected to some of the most important figures in 20th century Sri Lanka, who played a major role in rejuvenating the country’s culture. Lady de Soysa’s grandson, Harold Peiris, devoted much of his life to these efforts, while his cousin Harry Pieris went on to become a leading national painter.

It was against this backdrop that Peiris persuaded his brother-in-law George Keyt to paint the murals at the Gotami Viharaya. Keyt did not accept a payment for the commission, though his benefactors provided him with the material: one report indicates the paint alone cost Rs 35,000, a huge sum back then.

By now, George Keyt had fully abandoned his Anglican upbringing. Renouncing his middle-class inheritance, he had first attempted to enter the path of a Buddhist monk. He then began contributing to arguably the most seminal Buddhist publication in the country, The Buddhist Annual of Ceylon. Over the next few years he drew sketches from the life of the Buddha, the Jataka Stories, and classical Sinhala texts, for other publications, including the Ceylon Daily News Vesak Number and Observer Annual.

In her book Buddha to Krishna: Life and Times of George Keyt, Yashodhara Dalmia contends that in all this, Keyt was shaped by the growing tide of Buddhist nationalism.

This is a fairly accurate observation. But it reduces Keyt to a passive receptacle, a byproduct of various external developments. Keyt’s response to the Buddhist revival was radical, for it represented an affirmation of an ancient tradition. Yet at the same time, as Dalmia notes, he did not let the revivalism of his time dictate his conception of art. The sketches he drew for The Buddhist Annual, which predict his paintings for the Gotami Viharaya, are at one level respectful of the characters they portray. Yet they are also bold and innovative. The painter regards his subjects with justifiable awe. But he does not deify them.

Queen Mahamaya at Rest. Web Image.

Keyt’s sketches in the 1920s and 1930s are evocative of the figures of the celebrated British painter and sculptor Eric Gill. By the late 1930s, however, he has grown fascinated with the curve, a hallmark of traditional Sinhalese painting. Most of his sketches from this period, featured in publications like the Daily News Vesak Number and the Observer Annual, are well-rounded and well curved. This is especially so of his female figures.

One sketch, of Mahamaya Devi sleeping on her bed, stands out in particular. Languid and relaxed, she is well poised even at rest. Though only a sketch, we can almost imagine the colour of her flesh, the thoughts on her mind.

Dalmia notes that Keyt did not come up with preliminary sketches of the murals at the Gotami Viharaya. This may be because he had done them many times before, elsewhere. The sketch of Mahamaya Devi at rest, for instance, predicts his portrait of her in the temple. Such parallels underlie a sustained evolution in his career.

For these reasons, we cannot comment on the Gotami Viharaya murals in isolation. They must be placed in their context. From the soft, languid figures of Siddhartha, his wife Yasodhara, and his disciples and associates, to the writhing, contorted figures of Mara and his army, Keyt exhibits a grasp of multiple styles.

More than anything, one notices an attempt at humanising his characters. Unlike traditional Kandyan temple art, the murals at Gotami Viharaya are lifelike, certainly life-sized. Yet they are hardly larger than life. Tellingly, Keyt chose not to include the suvisi vivarana and sath satiya, episodes that follow the Buddha’s attainment of Enlightenment.

By contrast, the artist dehumanises Mara and his army. They are made to stand apart from the rest, and we are made to see them as such. They are the “Other”, and as such exist away and apart from his other figures and depictions.

Lionel Wendt liked the original sketches that Keyt drew, and suggested that he leave them in that form. Wendt had seen Keyt’s sketches Keyt in the 1930s and may have felt the murals would look more distinctive as sketches. Keyt, however, insisted on painting them in colour. In his choice of colours, he departed from convention: he made the whites and greens more prominent, balancing them against the reds, yellows, and browns.

In other words, he was ready to do away with convention, but not to the point of rupturing with them completely. This somewhat ambivalent attitude epitomised most of the 43 Group, a point Qadri Ismail brings up in his critique of that artistic collective.

“The most celebrated members of that male institution – Keyt, Wendt, Justin Däraniyagala, [Ivan] Peries – produced stunning, innovative work and, as is now well known, the group itself determinedly introduced modernist painting to Sri Lanka in the face of powerful opposition from a conservative, realist, colonial art establishment. However, it is also necessary to insist, from the perspective of our moment, that the group’s staging of Sri Lanka in its artistic production… was profoundly complicitous with both orientalism and the problematic of Sinhala nationalism.”

When first shown the outlines of the murals, we are told the monks at the Viharaya raised concerns over their depiction of female sensuality. Unlike most murals, Keyt had chosen not to feature fair-skinned women in his panels: almost all of them are brown-skinned. At one level, that represents an attempt to de-exoticize the South Asian woman, something Dalmia emphasises in her book.

Yet at another level, it betrays his fantasies and his obsessions about that specific feminine type. It is possible that in all these paintings Keyt was evoking his wife, Pilawela Menike, who occupied his life and dominated his passions.

In other words, in a pattern reminiscent of most of the other members of the 43 Group, Keyt’s radical conception of art was tempered by a somewhat conservative counterpoint, be it in his choice of colour or his mode of representation.

From the perspective of their moment (or the moment of their perspective?), of course, these murals do represent a break with tradition, and they should be discussed, praised, or critiqued in that light. But perhaps owing to their inability to go beyond the visual confines of the medium they worked in, the 43 Group became, as Ismail notes, “complicitous” both with nationalism and, ironic as it may sound, orientalism.

There is nothing overtly orientalist about the murals, of course. Yet in the female figures which adorn these walls, there is an attempt, however vague or slight, to translate his obsession with dark-skinned women into a definitive form. This, we believe, may explain his reluctance to leave the murals in sketch outline: he knew, and not wrongly, that they would lose their character if not in colour.

Today the Gotami Viharaya stands on the side of a residential road in Borella. Keyt’s murals, on walls designed by the British architect Andrew Boyd, contrast sharply with the buduge, which features murals more in line with conventional 20th century styles.

George Keyt’s contribution to the Buddhist revival, as a writer, a poet, and a painter, comes out beautifully in these panels. They reflect his abilities, and no doubt also his limitations. Yashodhara Dalmia describes the Viharaya as “perhaps the second most visited monument after Sigiriya.” Yet today it stands in isolation from its surroundings in Colombo, indeed from the rest of the country. That is a pity, for at the temple we discern a high point not just in Sri Lankan, but also South Asian and Asian art.

Uditha Devapriya is a writer, researcher, and analyst based in Sri Lanka who contributes to a number of publications on topics such as history, art and culture, politics, and foreign policy. He can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com


Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Features

Acid test emerges for US-EU ties

Published

13 hours ago

on

2026/01/22

By

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday put forward the EU’s viewpoint on current questions in international politics with a clarity, coherence and eloquence that was noteworthy. Essentially, she aimed to leave no one in doubt that a ‘new form of European independence’ had emerged and that European solidarity was at a peak.

These comments emerge against the backdrop of speculation in some international quarters that the Post-World War Two global political and economic order is unraveling. For example, if there was a general tacit presumption that US- Western European ties in particular were more or less rock-solid, that proposition apparently could no longer be taken for granted.

For instance, while US President Donald Trump is on record that he would bring Greenland under US administrative control even by using force against any opposition, if necessary, the EU Commission President was forthright that the EU stood for Greenland’s continued sovereignty and independence.

In fact at the time of writing, small military contingents from France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands are reportedly already in Greenland’s capital of Nook for what are described as limited reconnaissance operations. Such moves acquire added importance in view of a further comment by von der Leyen to the effect that the EU would be acting ‘in full solidarity with Greenland and Denmark’; the latter being the current governing entity of Greenland.

It is also of note that the EU Commission President went on to say that the ‘EU has an unwavering commitment to UK’s independence.’ The immediate backdrop to this observation was a UK decision to hand over administrative control over the strategically important Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to Mauritius in the face of opposition by the Trump administration. That is, European unity in the face of present controversial moves by the US with regard to Greenland and other matters of contention is an unshakable ‘given’.

It is probably the fact that some prominent EU members, who also hold membership of NATO, are firmly behind the EU in its current stand-offs with the US that is prompting the view that the Post-World War Two order is beginning to unravel. This is, however, a matter for the future. It will be in the interests of the contending quarters concerned and probably the world to ensure that the present tensions do not degenerate into an armed confrontation which would have implications for world peace.

However, it is quite some time since the Post-World War Two order began to face challenges. Observers need to take their minds back to the Balkan crisis and the subsequent US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the immediate Post-Cold War years, for example, to trace the basic historic contours of how the challenges emerged. In the above developments the seeds of global ‘disorder’ were sown.

Such ‘disorder’ was further aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years ago. Now it may seem that the world is reaping the proverbial whirlwind. It is relevant to also note that the EU Commission President was on record as pledging to extend material and financial support to Ukraine in its travails.

Currently, the international law and order situation is such that sections of the world cannot be faulted for seeing the Post World War Two international order as relentlessly unraveling, as it were. It will be in the interests of all concerned for negotiated solutions to be found to these global tangles. In fact von der Leyen has committed the EU to finding diplomatic solutions to the issues at hand, including the US-inspired tariff-related squabbles.

Given the apparent helplessness of the UN system, a pre-World War Two situation seems to be unfolding, with those states wielding the most armed might trying to mould international power relations in their favour. In the lead-up to the Second World War, the Hitlerian regime in Germany invaded unopposed one Eastern European country after another as the League of Nations stood idly by. World War Two was the result of the Allied Powers finally jerking themselves out of their complacency and taking on Germany and its allies in a full-blown world war.

However, unlike in the late thirties of the last century, the seeming number one aggressor, which is the US this time around, is not going unchallenged. The EU which has within its fold the foremost of Western democracies has done well to indicate to the US that its power games in Europe are not going unmonitored and unchecked. If the US’ designs to take control of Greenland and Denmark, for instance, are not defeated the world could very well be having on its hands, sooner rather than later, a pre-World War Two type situation.

Ironically, it is the ‘World’s Mightiest Democracy’ which is today allowing itself to be seen as the prime aggressor in the present round of global tensions. In the current confrontations, democratic opinion the world over is obliged to back the EU, since it has emerged as the principal opponent of the US, which is allowing itself to be seen as a fascist power.

Hopefully sane counsel would prevail among the chief antagonists in the present standoff growing, once again, out of uncontainable territorial ambitions. The EU is obliged to lead from the front in resolving the current crisis by diplomatic means since a region-wide armed conflict, for instance, could lead to unbearable ill-consequences for the world.

It does not follow that the UN has no role to play currently. Given the existing power realities within the UN Security Council, the UN cannot be faulted for coming to be seen as helpless in the face of the present tensions. However, it will need to continue with and build on its worldwide development activities since the global South in particular needs them very badly.

The UN needs to strive in the latter directions more than ever before since multi-billionaires are now in the seats of power in the principle state of the global North, the US. As the charity Oxfam has pointed out, such financially all-powerful persons and allied institutions are multiplying virtually incalculably. It follows from these realities that the poor of the world would suffer continuous neglect. The UN would need to redouble its efforts to help these needy sections before widespread poverty leads to hemispheric discontent.

Continue Reading

Features

Brighten up your skin …

Published

13 hours ago

on

2026/01/22

By

Hi! This week I’ve come up with tips to brighten up your skin.

* Turmeric and Yoghurt Face Pack:

You will need 01 teaspoon of turmeric powder and 02 tablespoons of fresh yoghurt.

Mix the turmeric and yoghurt into a smooth paste and apply evenly on clean skin. Leave it for 15–20 minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water

Benefits:

Reduces pigmentation, brightens dull skin and fights acne-causing bacteria.

* Lemon and Honey Glow Pack:

Mix 01teaspoon lemon juice and 01 tablespoon honey and apply it gently to the face. Leave for 10–15 minutes and then wash off with cool water.

Benefits:

Lightens dark spots, improves skin tone and deeply moisturises. By the way, use only 01–02 times a week and avoid sun exposure after use.

* Aloe Vera Gel Treatment:

All you need is fresh aloe vera gel which you can extract from an aloe leaf. Apply a thin layer, before bedtime, leave it overnight, and then wash face in the morning.

Benefits:

Repairs damaged skin, lightens pigmentation and adds natural glow.

* Rice Flour and Milk Scrub:

You will need 01 tablespoon rice flour and 02 tablespoons fresh milk.

Mix the rice flour and milk into a thick paste and then massage gently in circular motions. Leave for 10 minutes and then rinse with water.

Benefits:

Removes dead skin cells, improves complexion, and smoothens skin.

* Tomato Pulp Mask:

Apply the tomato pulp directly, leave for 15 minutes, and then rinse with cool water

Benefits:

Controls excess oil, reduces tan, and brightens skin naturally.

Continue Reading

Features

Shooting for the stars …

Published

13 hours ago

on

2026/01/22

By

That’s precisely what 25-year-old Hansana Balasuriya has in mind – shooting for the stars – when she was selected to represent Sri Lanka on the international stage at Miss Intercontinental 2025, in Sahl Hasheesh, Egypt.

The grand finale is next Thursday, 29th January, and Hansana is all geared up to make her presence felt in a big way.

Her journey is a testament to her fearless spirit and multifaceted talents … yes, her life is a whirlwind of passion, purpose, and pageantry.

Raised in a family of water babies (Director of The Deep End and Glory Swim Shop), Hansana’s love affair with swimming began in childhood and then she branched out to master the “art of 8 limbs” as a Muay Thai fighter, nailed Karate and Kickboxing (3-time black belt holder), and even threw herself into athletics (literally!), especially throwing events, and netball, as well.

A proud Bishop’s College alumna, Hansana’s leadership skills also shone bright as Senior Choir Leader.

She earned a BA (Hons) in Business Administration from Esoft Metropolitan University, and then the world became her playground.

Before long, modelling and pageantry also came into her scene.

She says she took to part-time modelling, as a hobby, and that led to pageants, grabbing 2nd Runner-up titles at Miss Nature Queen and Miss World Sri Lanka 2025.

When she’s not ruling the stage, or pool, Hansana’s belting tunes with Soul Sounds, Sri Lanka’s largest female ensemble.

What’s more, her artistry extends to drawing, and she loves hitting the open road for long drives, she says.

This water warrior is also on a mission – as Founder of Wave of Safety,

Hansana happens to be the youngest Executive Committee Member of the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) and, as founder of Wave of Safety, she’s spreading water safety awareness and saving lives.

Today is Hansana’s ninth day in Egypt and the itinerary for today, says National Director for Sri Lanka, Brian Kerkoven, is ‘Jeep Safari and Sunset at the Desert.’

And … the all-important day at Miss Intercontinental 2025 is next Thursday, 29th January.

Well, good luck to Hansana.

Continue Reading

Trending