Samanalaya: They made us laugh and cry too
Dances, songs and moving dramas, with more than 1,000 differently-abled from all over the country showcasing their talents at ‘Samanalayaya 2012’ left the audience spell-bound.
The annual drama festival presented by the Sunera Foundation to bring to the stage the cream of the young differently-abled from its 28 branches on August 24 at the S.D.S. Jayasinghe Hall, Dehiwela, was the finale not only of the arts workshops but the 10 regional drama festivals held around the country.
From each workshop blossomed a play, conceptualized, scripted and directed by a Sunera trainer and rehearsed for over a year. Thereafter, the regional performances were evaluated by a jury and the best four plays selected for the finals in Colombo. ‘Samanalayaya 2012’ featured the talents of the Matara, Panadura, Puttalam and Mawanella Sunera Foundation workshops.
‘Mal Pethi’ (Flower Petals) presented by the Mawanella workshop participants had as its theme the generosity of a girl, herself ostracized by society helping another disabled girl through the petals of a flower given to her by a witch, ignoring the scolding from her friend’s mother.
The next drama, ‘Wattakka Kottei’ (Pumpkin Seed) in Tamil by the Puttalam workshop participants was touching and revolved around the blessings showered on children by someone up there quietly.
Toe-tapping and laughter came to the fore when two of the Mawanella workshop participants danced their way through a comedy surrounding a maiden being wooed by a youth, while they were accompanied by the singing of a Kandy workshop student.
The audience was moved to tears by the next item, a drama titled ‘Handa Hawa Penala Gihin’ (The rabbit on the moon has escaped), when the ‘mother’ of a disabled child narrates the life they lead. The little boy, with images imprinted in his mind through what he sees, dreams of marrying a beautiful girl when he becomes a youth.
‘Hada rendi gee’ (Songs on the mind), a musical by the Matara participants which wrapped up ‘Samanalayaya 2012’ brought home the reality of the differently-abled when the poignant question was asked: “If there are 20 million people in Sri Lanka, why do I feel this loneliness?”
This year’s Sunera Foundation event was sponsored by Stefan Deane, a differently-abled young man who lives in Melbourne, Australia, and his parents to raise awareness that ‘Disability is a Possibility’.
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