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Tissa
I owe you a poem – a couple of poems,
A garland. I’ll weave you one
Soon. But as you lie there
I just want to say this. You
Were one of our great ones. Exactly
How great? How can anyone say
Yet? It will come in its time. It
Will certainly come in its time.
There have to be tributes, appreciations,
From all sides; of all kinds:
Your talents, your performances, your
Achievements…
You started right, the old, the oldest way
Of both East and West: apprenticeship.
You joined the team of another great man,
Another of our greatest: Lester.
Behind the scenes, learning the techniques,
Serving. How well! – the screenplay
Of Gamperaliya, the role of the
Patriot, priest, martyr, in Sandesaya.
Directing Viragaya, and those superb
Teleseries Maya and Pitagamkarayo, the latter
Just as superb as a transformation of
Personal history and pain into art, like
Bringing Tony Home;
That neglected confrontation of
Contemporary history, Mahagedera;
That extraordinary combination of learning,
Production and directorial ability:
Sri Lankan Music and its Traditions, and
What turns out now to be
His crowning achievement:
In my Kingdom of the Sun and the Holy Peak
Which needs to be recognized for what
It so triumphantly is:
A refashioning of
The Sri Lankan novel in English:
Totally new and courageous
In its forms, its language, its rhythms, its
Imagery, narrative modes and symbolism.
You should not have left us so
Soon. But perhaps the Almighty had decided
That you had done what you were put among
Us to do, accomplished
What is for us to perceive and accept,
That the spirit of the nation had found in you
The nourishment it needed.
You were plucked away to be a segment
Of this very special moment in our history.
Farewell, great spirit, great soul!
We will cherish you in your creations,
That rich world now ours
To wander in. |
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