Let’s admit it, our hearts fill with pride every time we see our country being represented on an international or foreign platform. Be it our cuisines, our customs or even one of our movies, it is always joyous to see a glimpse of Sri Lanka among a sea of foreign faces.
Founder and Managing Director of Arakavila Dance and Theatre Foundation, Janaki Hill
Motivated by the passion that youth possess towards theatre, drama and music, renowned choreographer Janaki Hill along with her husband, Peter Hill, established the Arakavila Dance and Theatre Foundation (ADTF) in 2005. Still going strong after more than 15 years, ADTF has come a long way from staging award-winning productions like Patachara, Chalana, Sakala Kasala, the Ranganika series and ‘An Angel Arrives’ to launching their own youtube channel – ‘Channel ADTF’.
“I believe that dance and drama has become a part of my life due to some meritorious act that I have done in my past life. Everybody is not born to become an artiste. An artistic entertainer is a special being among living creatures. An artiste has the ability to entertain, address, mesmerize and change the whole world,” Janaki said.
Origins
A product of Sri Pali Vidyalaya, Horana, Janaki began her tryst with dance as a primary school student. Hailing from a family of nine children, Janaki notes that the artistic background in her family inspired her to take the path she has chosen to lead today. Her brother, Athula Edirisighe, is a musician. The duo used to dance and sing together during their childhood.
President and Principal Sponsor of Arakavila Dance and Theatre Foundation, Peter Hill
“I loved watching dance items staged at our village temple. Such moments impacted me deeply. I am still consistently searching for this dance culture which I have encountered during my childhood,” she explained on how dance became a part of her soul.
Janaki began learning acting and drama and took part in drama competitions at school. Her talents came to the spotlight through dramas like Maya Shakthi, Lihini, Yerma, and Polina. She soon turned production manager and dished out dramas like Hiroshima, Kanthoruwa, The Banyan Tree and Piriven Piuma.
Commenting on the way that traditional dance has evolved today Janaki says that she feels that little has been done by the state to uplift the subject.
“The Tower Hall Theatre Foundation has a committee which works on a small scale to preserve drama and noorthi. A ballet subcommittee exists but it is stagnant! A State Drama Festival is held annually in pathetic conditions. An annual ceremony is held to felicitate artistes and they are handed a polished wooden block with a five-thousand or ten-thousand cash prize. Artistes who come all the way from remote areas to the BMICH become lost in the big city and spend bucks on three wheels to reach their destination. Tired and hungry after their ordeal, they spend a part of the money at a restaurant and venture home in pride, clutching that piece of polished wood. The Cultural Ministry pays 15,000 rupees for dance, drama and music academies which have registered under them. The Government has apparently limited the value of our cultural to this sum. You reap only as much as you sow. Authorities are doing their bit to kill our culture while paying millions of bucks to get those who engage in dance and music with a business-minded mindset to come and perform at mega scale state events. However, they are strategic enough to project our traditional costumes and masks on stage while inserting Bollywood dance moves into the act. Then they market it to the onlookers. Nobody can stand against or ban such actions but can they really engage in this practice with a clear conscience? If the answer is “yes” I will hold my peace,” Janaki retorted passionately.
Importance of traditional dance
“Just go to the airport and see what a tourist catches sight of first as he or she steps out from the plane. It is a picture of a traditional Kandyan dancer holding his palms together in a gesture typical to our culture. Then video clips made up of elements like our traditional masks, dance moves or sacred ruins are played for them.
Why have they chosen to insert these features to greet visitors to the island? It is because the authorities are well aware of what truly belongs to us. This is our heritage but it is dying each passing day. This traditional costume will change into something different in a few days. They do not wish to preserve it. If they only uphold these traditions to make money, then there is no use of only one or two people raising their voice among millions of others. That is why I refrain from addressing these issues in front of the media and choose to spend my time and money arming the youth of a little village called Arankavila with my knowledge and teachings,” she said.
Menace
In the past it took years for a student to master traditional dance moves but today, especially due to the media promoting programs like reality shows, children think it is something that is easy to excel in. Janaki laments about this fact dubbing it as a menace.
“Children were gifted traditional arts with great respect by parents during the days of old. It was like a sacred act done on behalf of the gods. Once a child is around five or six years, he is taken to a guru’s home.
The guru checks his horoscope to see if he is capable of excelling in the subject. If the result is positive, then only he is accepted into the household. Yet he is not taught the art straight away. The guru supervises his personality and checks for qualities like patience. The student engages in household chores at the guru’s house. He sweeps the garden, brings water from the well and splits wood. This practice continues for a span. A boy who lacks patience gives up and returns to his parents. The guru engages the student in such chores to make sure that the student will carry what he has learnt forward and that he is worthy of being taught this sacred art. A person who is devoted to the art will overcome any obstacle to reach his goal,” she observed.
She says that the greatest harm done by these programs is that capable children are made stars overnight.
“These youth surface thorough SMSs equipped with only their innate skills. They lack training and discipline. They achieve fame and are flooded by gifts. They lack the sense of what is right and fall into a frenzy to earn more fame and riches. Television channels and musical show organisers use them to promote foreign art forms. They forget about humanism. They neglect their beginnings. They become rootless,” Janaki said.
She said that she is both proud as well as ashamed that Peter, a British national, has stepped forward to spend a bulk of his earnings to uphold Sri Lankan traditional arts.
“He has spent more than Rs. 270 million on behalf of local traditional art. I don’t think any Government has spent that kind of money on local arts but the authorities have not recognised his yeoman service because we have not publicised it. My regret lies in the fact that while he who is a foreigner does his utmost to preserve our traditional arts, some of our great artistes promote reality programs and spend a majority of their time fostering them. Television channels rent all the renowned artistes in the field and the audience are ensnared by this. They forget our roots and go with the trends. However, we should be aware that one day this fad too will come to an end and on that day we would no longer be able to return to our roots because the generation of traditional artistes will be dead and gone. Then they will try to find knowledge through ancient manuscripts but they will struggle to read and understand them. The youth will then try to get the aid of new apps to seek this knowledge but even these apps will be of no use to revive these art forms. The death of our traditional art forms is nearing and we can only save them if we act this instant,” she mused.
Need to safeguard traditional art forms
Steps are taken to pass laws regarding drugs, cannabis, same sex marriages and prostitution. Nevertheless, not a shred of interest had been spared towards safeguarding our traditional art forms. If it has been done then at least people would think twice before misusing and disfiguring traditional Sri Lankan costumes, masks and songs.
“I remember a scene from Bava Duka where Swarna Mallawarachchi splits a drum with an axe. The drum belongs to her husband who is a traditional dancer. It is essential to engage in this act to send the message across to the viewers but the censor board at that time tried to ban the movie due to this fact. But today television channels openly misuse our traditional art forms and equipment. The Cultural Ministry, Cultural Department, Art Society and the National Film Corporation should get together and find solutions to this crisis,” she said.
Another issue concerns the academic qualifications that a dancer needs to excel in the field. The University of Visual and Performing Arts offers a degree to students who wish to pursue a career in dancing but is this sufficient for them to become virtuosos?
“Several universities like Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayawardenepura offer music, dance, drama and art courses for students. They can obtain a degree by following these courses as well as arm themselves with knowledge about the subject. However, one cannot use this to compare oneself with our traditional art gurus. Our ancient artistes sung thousands of traditional songs by heart. The youth by heart songs in their syllabus but engage in only a few practicals. The traditional gurus performed some of these items on behalf of the villagers to cure them of certain ailments but the younger generation learn this to make a career out of it. One cannot criticise this fact though. This training makes them suitable candidates to teach children dance, music and art in the school syllabus,” noted Janaki.
Speaking about the challenges that traditional artistes face in Sri Lanka today, Janaki says that she has raised her voice on this topic on several occasions before. She is greatly distressed by the lack of respect and honour shown towards traditional artistes in the country.
“Yet one person alone cannot change this situation. Those who share my feelings need to gather with me. Who actually values our traditional artistes today? A majority of them are old now. They have fallen into such a pathetic situation that they are pushed to sell the drums that they have used for generations to buy medicine for their illnesses while those who have become reality show stars by disfiguring and marketing our traditional arts earn stacks of notes in one musical show and speed off in luxury cars! Isn’t there something wrong with this picture? Our traditional artistes sing thousands of songs, play drums and dance several nights in a row to perform rituals like shanthi karma and other poojas. They only get around thousands of rupees per performance despite toiling through the night. The youth are avaricious enough to ridicule our roots for cash. Therefore, they follow the trends. Who can blame them? However, the authorities have a duty to prevent this crisis. Instead, what they do is import some well-known foreign artiste and promote the practice of selling tickets worth around Rs 50,000. Isn’t this shameful? We need to start somewhere to set things right,” she stressed adding that ADTF hopes to stage a Gammadu Shanthi Karma in December. She hopes this will revive old traditions and give a certain value to traditional artistes.
Her greatest joy
A scene from the drama Sakala Kasala
Queried on how she wishes to be remembered in the future, Janaki says that she strongly believes what would remain among the public is the service done by an individual. She says that though they could have established a dance academy in Colombo, they chose to venture into the little village called Arankavila to teach children and youth across the country without even a penny from the Government or private sector.
“I have witnessed the results of providing this free training with my own eyes. That is my greatest joy and achievement. I believe ADTF will remain long after I have gone,” she added with a touch of emotion.
Her vision has always been to be with the art and to serve it within the borders of the nation.
“As time passes, we mature and become old. Then we change our direction. I engage in meditation and yoga to improve my mindset. My body and mind seek this mohksha (ultimate goal or heaven). I am not planning to give up everything and live in the jungle but to distance myself from everything and focus my mind and body on one aim. Once I have fulfilled all my duties to my husband and my daughter, Anupama, I will choose this path,” she added.
