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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

Simplicity was the theme
No jarring music. No meaningless dances. No lengthy speeches. The launch of the 'Laa sanda paaya' CD and audio cassette with Damayanthi Jayasuriya's latest collection of songs was a simple event. The stage décor consisted of a solitary graphic of an unopened lotus and the moon in the centre while lotus flower arrangements adorned the stage. Damayanthi herself was elegantly dressed in a white saree.The army orchestra played well without distracting the audience.

Damayanthi has been singing for three decades starting in Lama Pitiya over SLBC. She came into the spotlight when she sang the best film song of the year in 1996 with Kamal Addararachchi and won the prestigious Presidential Award for 'Unmadavu Premaadare' in H.D . Premaratne's 'Sapta Kanya'.

The audience at the John de Silva theatre got a taste of the new compositions in 'Laa sanda paaya'. I didn't keep a count but she sang most, if not all of the 18 songs in the CD (a Singlanka production) during the two- hour show. Her son Nuwan Kumara joined her on a few numbers.

Damayanthi had made the right choice in asking Dr. Carlo Fonseka to comment on the songs. A few digs here and there made the audience laugh. He just spoke on three songs, hinting that the others were as good. He picked on Major General Ananda Weerasekera's lyrics on a mother's words of advice to the son when selecting a partner, to add his own thoughts and wondered whether a military approach to the subject would not be risky!

In the presentation, husband Ranjit Kumara's touch was also evident. We remember the time when he, as editor of Sarasaviya, was responsible for sleek and imaginative presentations at the annual Sarasaviya Festival, in contrast to what happens these days.
It was fine entertainment, neatly presented. Well done, Damayanthi!

Group of 76
It was Royal's Group of 76 that organised the Royal Farewell to the Super Golden Chimes as a fund-raising project for their alma mater to build a Skills Development Centre.

Andare in English
At the launch of 'Andare' at the National Library Services Board, I met one -time Daily News feature writer and editor of the women's and children's pages, Vijita Fernando and instantly remembered her own work on Andare in English. The Typeforce publication, 'The Adventures of Andare, the court jester' was released not so long ago.

My former colleague on the Sunday Observer, Neville Weeraratne (now domiciled in Australia) was responsible for the publication - a neat little work ,well illustrated by Sybil Wettasinghe's black and white drawings. The 30 stories are a fine collection of the old tales which Neville introduces as "yarns narrated of an evening when the day's work was done and children demanded a story as they prepared to go to sleep”.The book was released along with another - Tales of Mahadenamutta. Both were snatched up and a second print had to be done.

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