Dream and reality
An exhibition of oil pastels by Chamindika Wanduragala opens at the Barefoot
Gallery on February 7.
A young, Sri Lankan born, artist now living in the US, Chamindika obtained
a Bachelor of Fine Arts from
the University of Minnesota, USA and recently received a grant to travel
to Sri Lanka for her exhibition of oil pastel drawings at the Barefoot
Gallery.
Her art deals with the psychological dimension of the interactions between
people. These tensions are highlighted by bright, contrasting colours,
unique facial expressions, and attention to detail. Each drawing is a journey
where experiences and relationships are transformed into mythical tales.
Many of the pieces deal with the discovery or giving of wisdom/enlightenment.
The people in the drawings inhabit a space between dream, reality, and
myth.
Chamindika has developed her own style neither realistic nor abstract
during the past eight years of working with oil pastels. Her characters
strike a raw balance between dream and reality.
Colombo Chetties: Who's who and who did what
Do you want to know who the Gratiaen Award Ondaatjes are? From where did
they come, who married whom, and who are their children? Our mothers' generation
would have revelled in a book such as this and would have spent many delicious
hours discussing what ATS Paul has written in this marvellous Who's Who
about the Chetties. For us today, this book is a wonderful font of knowledge
about a very vibrant community of our nation.
Names we have all heard - the Muttukrishnas, Aserappas, Casie Chitties,
Pauls, Fernandopulles, Candappas to recall a few, are all here in a scintillating
run of their dazzlingly brilliant achievements along the generations. The
first Ceylonese Medical Officer of Health; Founder President of the Association
of Surgeons of Ceylon, who achieved the rare distinction of obtaining both
the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians and the Fellowship of
the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The first Ceylonese Director
of a British Company (Lewis Brown) rising to be its Managing Director;
the first Ceylonese to be a member of the High Court of Justice of the
Netherlands; first to act as Crown Counsel; first to import an automobile
and an air conditioner; first to introduce neon advertisement (Berec ad.
on top of the Savoy Cinema). Then there was the Chetty who was admitted
into the Colombo Club for Europeans only. Then there is Lady Corea. Do
you know who her father was? And who was Mabel, the patron of Bishop's
College? And who, the lovely Vanaruha?
ATS Paul, the surgeon, writes with the precision of his surgical skill.
Neat, tidy, precise. He tells that Chetty merchants were visiting Ceylon
in their own sailing vessels carrying diamonds from Golconda, emeralds
from Rajasthan, rubies from Burma and so on from various states of India
from pre- Buddhist times. Their arrival here is documented in our history
during the time of King Rajasinghe 11 and the governorship of the Dutch.
Once they settled in Ceylon, these traders and money lenders dropped out
of the money-lending livelihood as it was considered repugnant and switched
to the learned professions where they rose to great heights of fame.
We learn that the Chitty legal luminary, who owned one of the first
imported automobiles, used a rickshaw to go from his home Stafford House
to the Supreme Court. That his son drove the family American carriage drawn
by an Australian horse to Royal College at about the age of ten. ATS has
not explained why their neighbours objected to this. All his children were
educated at home and the boys went straight into Form 1 at Royal College
and walked away with may prizes.
The book takes you on a romp through Colombo when fields and forests
lay beyond Pettah and the Fort, from where a wild elephant might emerge.
Do we know Pettah was originally Janpeta and why? And that it was just
a village street owned by the Colombo Chetties. And why 'Colombo' Chetty?
How did that name come into being?
I must admit I never knew half these interesting facets about a clan
of people who have made great contribution to our nation and belong with
pride to Sri Lanka. This easy to read compilation is a MUST for our public
and private libraries.
-Manel Ratnatunga
Learning words with click of the mouse
By Esther Williams
The CD-ROM version of the Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary was launched
at a programme organized jointly by the British Council and the Oxford
University Press, India on January 18. The software programme when installed
can be used while using Word, Netscape, Explorer and e-mail. The click
of a mouse when required would activate a window, which is called the 'Genie'.
Like the genie in Aladdin's Lamp which comes in when the lamp is rubbed,
this genie comes in when a student requires help and helps in an almost
magical way.
Ms. Moira Runcie, Editorial Director, ELT (English Language Teaching)
Dictionaries, Oxford, who was in Colombo for the launch says that the Advanced
Learners' Dictionary CD-ROM is for more than meanings and spellings. With
visually pleasing and user friendly page lay-out, the CD-ROM offers the
most comprehensive coverage of current English through easy access to A-Z
entries with both British and American pronunciation.
It shows how to use particular words, giving examples that show grammar
and various syntactic structures. In addition, it contains vocabulary from
different specialized areas that is explained in a simple straightforward
way. "Difficult words are made easy," through the software programme, she
explains.
In addition, it has short cuts and pointers to get the exact meaning
quickly. During a presentation on 'Oxford Dictionaries for Learners of
English as a second language' made to English language educators in Colombo,
Ms. Runcie stressed the importance of dictionary skills in the learning
process. "With dictionary skills," she says, "you equip learners for life,
making them fully independent when a teacher is no longer with them. Eventually,
they become proficient users of English."
The presentation took the participants through some basic exercises
to show how dictionaries can be used to a full extent.
Before joining the Oxford University Press, Ms. Runcie was an English
teacher for about 11 years in Malawi, Central Africa, also a country with
English as a second language. During her tenure there, in the mid-70s she
was called upon to teach English to the government staff of Malawi. What
she felt they needed most was 'dictionary skills' which she promptly introduced.
With her vast experience in teaching English, she has had the privilege
of helping shape this Advanced Learners' Dictionary CD-ROM. She is aware
of the problems of students and has included in the dictionary, aspects
her students would like to see. The best dictionaries she says are the
ones written by ex-teachers.
Manzar Khan, Managing Director of the Oxford University Press, India
was present for the occasion. "I've seen it and it is quite amazing. It
will be of great utility for the South Asian region where English is the
business technical language. Learning it will be made easier with the CD
ROM,' adding that the Oxford University Press, India, which sponsored the
programme has always provided their material at inexpensive prices to Sri
Lanka.
Vice President of SLELTA (Sri Lankan English Language Teachers' Association)
Nirmali Hettiarachchi who helped organize the programme commented that
the CD ROM culture has now reached rural areas and is increasingly used
in all fields. "Having lost a couple of generations to English, there is
a vital need for tools such as these to learn English," she said. |