Plus

Plus

Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

They came in their numbers - once again!
A packed hall. Eager fans. Colourful dresses. The sound of musical instruments being tuned. The curtain opens slowly. A solitary huge letter 'Sa' in gold on a deep red vertical backdrop. Fans give a rousing applause. Then pin drop silence. Victor Ratnayake is ready to lend his voice for the 1300th time to his solo performance began 30 years ago. Then it was the Lumbini Theatre where crowds simply refused to go away though they couldn't even get a glimpse of Victor. The hall was so jam-packed. Victor obliged by performing on the next two days as well. The 1300th show was at the BMICH - full yet orderly crowd except for the occasional cry of a baby and a little one running up and down the aisle. After the usual 'Sthotraya' - the invocation and a warm welcome, it's 'Api Okkoma Rajavaru' to begin the show as it has always been for three decades. Yet everyone gets excited. The song is so close to everyone's heart. And the feeling is "fabulous", as they say. From the patriotic song, he moves over to the solemn 'Devuram Vehere' creating the feeling of 'saddha' and a nostalgic remembrance of the talented lyric writer, the late Premakirti de Alwis, Victor's bosom pal who in the first few years compered 'Sa'.

Victor sang through - throwing a new number or two in between. At the appropriate moments, Victor paused to explain. Half way through the ever popular 'Aadaraye Uplata Amma', he changed course to sing 'Doi Doi Doi Doiya Putha' to illustrate Premakirti's versatility in picking lyrics based on the everlasting lullaby. Singing 'Meena', with Niranjala Sarojini about the girl in the North who is scared to fall in love with the Kandyan boy, Bandare, he insisted that he was only singing the thoughts of Dr. Sunil Ariyaratne who was attached to the Jaffna university staff at the time he wrote the lyrics many years ago. "If more songs with such thoughts were written, we wouldn't have faced the current ethnic crisis situation," Victor said. Hitting hard at today's trend of singers distorting the age-old Nurti songs, which have become part of our folk tradition, he said it was most unfair to treat these well-accepted songs in that fashion. To make amends, Victor sang a John de Silva creation from the Tower Hall play, 'Ratnavali' in the original form receiving a thunderous applause.

He also paid tribute to the classical masters with 'Hopalu Wanapetha' demonstrating his versatility.

Vast repertoire
Just as much as his is probably the most liked voice judging from the numbers repeatedly turning up for 'Sa', his cleverness in presenting different styles of singing is much appreciated. Victor's repertoire is vast - ranging from W. A. Abeysinghe's 'Sigiri Lankdakage' and Sunil Ariyaratne's 'Daivayogaya' & 'Bindumati' to 'Andura Bindennata' from 'Matara Aachchi', the first film for which Victor directed the music.

One could see Victor's elder son Jayantha enjoying the evening. He was full of life- whether it be at the keyboard, joining the chorus while playing or giving an appreciative smile to a fellow musician. His talent was well demonstrated particularly when he accompanied his father playing the harmonium for the popular 'Podi Kumarihamiye'.

Though we expected to see the other son Lelum playing percussion, he was content to be in the chorus with the evergreen Lakshan Wijesekara and Ananda Weerasiri.

Back to Plus