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| CREATING
HISTORY
Fifty km from Colombo in the hamlet of Pasyala, one is confronted with most of Sri Lanka's rich history in the form of reproductions of carvings and sculptures. Famous relics of bygone eras- from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa and to the golden age of Sigiriya, stand before you, under one roof. That of the Antiquities Replica Centre. Begun in June 1997 under the guidance of former Minister of Cultural Affairs, Lakshman Jayakody, the centre trains 40 students in each batch to duplicate the country's ancient works of art and has so far reproduced thousands of murals and sculptures. The centre which had previously been under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs was last September transferred to the Central Cultural Fund, explains its officer in charge, Renuka Premathileke. "When the government was deliberating on getting experts from India to replace the moonstone and the two elephant-faced guardstones which were destroyed during the bombing of the Dalada Maligawa, the artists of the centre took up the challenge to re-create these ancient artefacts," says Mrs. Premathileke explaining that the aptitude of the students of the centre and their commitment saved the country a lot of money. "We agreed promptly, because we knew we were able to do it. We were also keen because we knew that getting Indian artists to handle the replacement of the Dalada Maligawa artefacts would mean losing some degree of the local identity. We first did a test sample which took us three months and completed the moonstone and the guard stones in another three months," adds Senarath Kiriwaththuduwa, one of the instructors who passed out from the centre in 1999. Senarath is one of the six visiting instructors of the centre, which has three residential teachers as well. "We strive to retain a high level of artistic talent, with the recruitment of students for the two-year course being based on both talent and academic achievement. The general requirement is good results in the Arts stream at the GCE A’ Level," he explains. "The sculptures are made mostly from studying pictures of the original masterpieces," says Senarath, pointing to a five-foot mural of a Sigiriya damsel. "It is only during the last months of the training that the students, some of whom are from generations of artists handle the important pieces of work," he says. The miniature works are displayed and sold at the Museum premises in Colombo while the bigger pieces, such as the life size statues are usually made on order for temples and other Buddhist establishments. The centre has been open to foreigners and local visitors but with the opening of its showroom next door, the public will have a greater chance to admire the works of art created within its confines. "The Buddha statue of the Polonnaruwa Watadage moulded in the same size as the original, the reclining Buddha of the Gal Vihara which lies at sixteen feet, the Abhayagiri Samadhi statue of four feet and a miniature replica of the Sithumpaya are a few of the main carvings. The statues are sculpted with either fibreglass, cement, plaster of Paris or brass. Of the murals, the reproductions of the Sigiriya paintings are notable. In a world where materialism is rampant, both the students and the instructors carry out their work without any craving for either prestige or money. The instructors are paid Rs.200 a day, which they agree, is not sufficient. With the centre now under the Central Cultural Fund, the staff has been promised better incentives. They say that they can only hope that the promises made would be kept and their salaries enhanced, in appreciation of their role in helping the country retain its cultural heritage. Sudath Somarathne from Yakkala is one of the 32 students at the centre, in his last month of training, having gained entrance to the Heywood College of Art. His dream is to travel to countries such as Nepal and India to see their ancient architecture. Another student, Madawa Somarathne from Ruwanwella had been dabbling with sculpture and carving from the time he could walk, his father K. N. Somarathne being an award-winning artist whose speciality is carving on coconut shells. Having on three consecutive occasions won the Presidential award for his work his father watched proudly as his young son won numerous district level and school level awards. Nirmali Kaushalya, one of the 12 girls at the centre says that she would like to be an instructor. "We would like if the government could arrange more opportunities for us such as training and exposure to traditional art in India and other Buddhist countries. We are happy that there will be a showroom at the centre premises for our work to be displayed as this will bring us more recognition," she says. As we walk out of the centre, it is a sense of beauty, a purity unsullied by the muddy waters of financial craving, that stays in our soul…. |
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