Drama Director SunilRenowned
stage drama director Sunil Chandrasiri suddenly passed away.
Mr. Sunil Chandrasiri entered stage
drama through Jayalath Manorathne’s ‘Puthra Samagama’ and directed
‘Ginidandu Sevana’, Bheema Bhumi’, ‘Nishbdvenu’, Samavenna Varadeemak’,
‘Don Juan’, ‘Mayadevi’ and ‘Jana Mithuro’. The last drama he directed
‘Adaraneeya Sanvadayak’ won the best direction and best production
awards at the National Drama Festival and his ‘Sindu Kirillee’ won the
award for best translation.
Gratiaen Prize has ‘leavened Sri Lanka’s cultural scene’
Text of the address by Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, chairman of the panel
of judges, at the awarding of the Gratiaen Prize 2013 in Colombo on May
4, for what is adjudged as the finest creative work in English for the
year, by a resident Lankan.
The Gratiaen Prize was
established twenty years ago and in these two decades, not even its
most caustic critics can deny that it has leavened our cultural scene.
Creative writing in English contributes significantly to the
contemporary Sri Lankan ethos far out of proportion to the minority
that engages in it as practitioners and those who appreciate it as
readers. The far-sighted companion H.A.I. Goonetilleke Prize for the
best translation ensures the cross-fertilization of the writing talent
in our country in all three languages. The debt of gratitude to Michael
Ondaatje for establishing this prize, unlike our foreign debt, will be
borne for decades to come with pleasure. Ondaatje identified one of his
aims in making this generous endowment as being, "to celebrate and test
and trust ourselves. To select and argue about the literature around
us. To take it seriously, not just to see it as a jewel or a
decoration." Four years into the period of healing and reconciliation
after the end of our 30-year trauma of conflict, the focus on the role
of the creative writer in our society has intensified. We do need "to
celebrate and test and trust ourselves" as equal citizens in a richly
diverse nation with lessons to be learned from an ancient history. My
thanks to the members of the Trust for honouring the purposes of
Michael Ondaatje so conscientiously and so efficiently. I must also
thank the sponsors - Standard Chartered - for this meaningful
demonstration of their corporate social responsibility.
On
the 22nd of March, my colleagues on the panel of judges and I announced
the short list of 5 works of creative writing from among the 59 entries
received this year in the annual competition for the Gratiaen Prize. On
behalf of the panel of judges I thank all the participants in the
competition. We recognize the hard work that went into your writing.
The short listed five are, undoubtedly, works of outstanding literary
merit of which Sri Lanka can be proud. Of these, three were novels; one
a collection of poems and one the script of a play. If creative artists
are indeed the antennae of a society then these five writers have
transmitted messages to us based on their imaginative transmuting of
their experiences of contemporary Sri Lanka into novels, poems and a
play that can give us joy and cause for deep reflection.
We
have already made our assessment of the five short-listed works in the
citations which were read out on March 22nd and which, I believe, have
been reproduced in the media obviating the need for me to repeat them.
Four of the short-listed works can be read and appreciated by the
reader. Reading the script of a play however is a limited experience.
The script comes to life when it is acted on stage and the play
Kalumaali is best appreciated when staged. Reading the script one has
the impression that this is therefore like a musical score awaiting
performance since much is left to the reader’s imagination. The
theatrical rendition of a play adds a special dimension and the
judgment of the script as words on a page in comparison with a novel or
a poem seems to me to be placing the playwright at a disadvantage. A
separate prize for the scripts of plays may be considered at some
future stage. Despite this the lyrical parts of the play, the interplay
between magic and reality and the tensions of domestic life do come out
in the reading of the play Kalumaali.
Together with the
scripts of plays I think a separate prize should be awarded for poetry
as in other countries. The comparison between the prose of a novel and
the words on the page of a poem is an invidious one. The dimensions are
different. In my days as a student of literature - a very, very long
time ago and I quote from memory- I recall reading one time Poet
Laureate of the UK Cecil Day Lewis’s description of a poem as, "a
concentration of words, thoughts and feelings." In Malinda
Seneviratne’s slim volume of poems, Open Words are for Love-Letting,
there is indeed a concentration of thought and emotion in powerfully
charged language. The evocativeness of his poetry cannot be matched too
easily where the poetic voice is able to convey a touch and tone beyond
the personal. The imagery of Seneviratnepoems holds the reader in a
"heart-palm", to use his phrase, while the rhythm of his poems subtly
supports his themes.
As judges we looked in all the pieces
of writing for sensitivity to the social environment; for a fusion of
innovative thought and authentic experience conveyed vividly through
image and idiom that was distinctively original and for a freshness of
themes and a distinctive approach to them. With the novels, the sharp
delineation of character and a coherent structure was important. An
innovative use of language and the avoidance of clichés and stereotype
descriptions was a vital aspect in all the short-listed works
identified by us.
Of the three novels, It’s not in the
stars, presents a unique perspective of our society with insights into
the Malay community but without sentimentality. It does not balk at
facing the tough harshness of middle class life and its preoccupations
and persuasions, the mundane and yet enduring nature of love, sex and
marriage. It presents a complex picture of the 80s, and 90s with the
dark events of July 1983 as a seminal event shaping the plot and the
characters in it as they live their lives here and abroad.
The
Professional was a bold text both for its innovativeness and subject
matter. It presents a sensibility of alienation that cuts across
generations and multiple locations; traversing once again marginalities
ranging from being a down and out immigrant and a hustler in London to
an ageing man, desiring and yet acutely aware of the transience of
those desires. The unsentimental creation of a cityscape of Colombo
where marginal people are central to the plot provides an aura of
loneliness that the characters feel without ever naming it as such. One
of my co-judges said," The two older women reminded me of the daughters
in The daughters of the Late Colonel by Katherine Mansfield, though
these two women are more worldly wise than Mansfield’s Constance and
Josephine."
Finally, Playing Pillow Politics at MGK is an
unusual and extraordinary novel." Our citation is self-explanatory. The
bold, unconventional and innovative story telling is indeed impressive.
It is a work of our times and yet not just of our times. It is exciting
and formally quite inventive, mixing realism with the allegorical. It
is also a work that touches upon working class lives and handles that
well without descending into the usual clichés and stereotypes that are
often substitutes for authentic experience. Instead it provides a
formally daring perspective on urban social and political life. It is
quite successful in pulling together different strands of the narrative
together, mixing genres quite easily.
Conceived as a story
told by an invalid boy to a CFL bulb, it portrays life in the diverse
and fascinating community that inhabits the mountain Maha Geeni Kanda
(MGK). The dismantling of the community and its replacement with a
boutique hotel - the Cassia Palace - is the backdrop against which we
are introduced to the characters in the community, the interaction
amongst them and their turbulent life stories. Dedicated to the
Federation of University Teachers’ Association, the author also
includes myth loving people and myth denying people in his dedication
thus encompassing a broad swath of his readers. The novel begins and
ends with brief but eloquent quotes from the poetry of the 1996 Nobel
Prize winner for Literature – the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska. Her
Nobel citation referred to, "poetry that with ironic precision allows
the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of
human reality". Writing in prose, Medawattegedera does use irony very
skillfully in the episodes he gives us depicting the lives of the MGK
dwellers.
The novel succeeds best at the level of allegory.
It is therefore an extended metaphor of our community with all its
political, economic and social complexities treated with supreme irony
- witty at times and at other moments with deep sympathy. Even when he
is amusing in his description of the MGK characters Medawattegedera is
not laughing at them but compels us to empathize with them. Scene
setting is done with deft strokes whether it is the opulence of Cassia
Palace or the subsistence life of the MGK citizens in their shantytown,
"where things disappeared more than they appeared, and where life
bludgeoned you on to hard surface – like the way a washerman or
washerwoman dashed clothes on to a rock…" Concurrently a streak of
irreverence pervades the book. Nuggets of rich imagery appear
functionally. In the midst of the narration we stumble on sentences
like, "The defeated twilight sun staggered like a wounded soldier into
a bloody trench at the horizon." The episodic structure of the novel is
highlighted by the diary-like recording of events on the seven days of
a week followed by a conclusion nine months later.
Out of
the narration of events there emerges a succession of characters - all
earthy working class figures eking out an existence as illegal
squatters in their shantytown. They are a contrast to the characters we
meet at the commencement of the novel who are the owner and staff of
the Cassia Palace with Mr. Kodiwinner’s face described as looking "like
a simmering chicken curry". The reactions of the working class visitors
to the plush hotel are both hilarious and touching. The multi-bulb
chandelier is seen as a lunatic exercise for a huge electricity bill
(and that was before the recent electricity tariff hike!); a decorative
fountain is used to wash one’s face and the dress of the hotel stewards
aping the dress of the ancient Sinhala kingdoms inspires amusement
rather than awe. The image of the pillow is presented right at the
beginning as part of the plush furnishing of Cassia Palace and at the
conclusion of the visit to Cassia Hotel the invalid boy and his aunt
Tandoori Nanda are gifted two pillows with the hotel logo. The visit
provokes the boy to probe "an old gunny sack of memory" and extricate
the story of his life in MGK and the characters he has lived with. They
are presented in a parade rather like the characters in Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales together with interesting stories connected to them.
There
is Sujatha Meniyo the high priestess in MGK whose shrine was venerated
until it was abandoned to make way for the boutique hotel. It was she
who began the invalid boy’s career as a boy god. His caretaker is the
pragmatic Tandoori Nanda who interprets his howls to all and sundry
except the horror howl intended to chase away devils. Entering the
‘auras’ of people the boy is able to read the minds of the characters
to whom we are introduced. There are the usual petty rivalries and
disagreements among the citizens of MGK. Toyota Nanda is a municipal
council parking attendant who lives a frugal life helped by the
generosity of others while storing her savings in a Krisco tin. Her
tragic-comic infatuation with the magazine cover of a Bollywood actor
is described with sensitivity as she weaves her make-believe world
around this phantom romance. When the bubble bursts Toyota Nanda hangs
herself on the durian tree and a silence descends on the community
haunted by the ghost of Toyota Nanda. There are other unforgettable
characters - Victoria Malli, Bassa, Natami and others with their own
stories surrounding them. Natami’s ability to read people’s thoughts
from their pillows becomes a powerful tool and attracts a number of
clients. The community of MGK is bound together by a strange
solidarity. There are no ethnic or religious differences among them.
Their poverty unites them as human beings. It is the same human
solidarity that one would find in a favella in Rio or a Soweto slum.
The
language used by Medawattegedera is appropriate for his shanty dweller
with a homespun colloquial style interspersed with a powerfully
original use of language effortlessly and smoothly combined. For
example, "Bung" - the Sinhala equivalent of "mate" - is blended into
the conversations among the characters highlighting the fundamental
comradeship among them. Folk beliefs are woven into the tale with
devils or evil spirits hovering around. At the same time modern liberal
ideas of feminism are put into practice uniquely with Sujata Meniyo’s
curse on liquor salesmen until alcohol related wife-beating ceases in
MGK. The role of Sujata Meniyo’s shrine, its evolution and function in
the community is itself skillfully described. The shrine attracts
politicians’wives and a variety of high society persons but Sujata
Meniyo also has her limitations exposed as she tries to curb the
drinking and singing of the three wheeler drivers and ban Tandoor
Nanda’s chicken farm.
Medawattegedera’s MGK is thus a mix
of tragedy, comedy, drama, love, jealousy and all the elements that
make up life, featuring characters that the reader can relate to. It is
an enjoyable book containing a story well told.
One final
word. I have enjoyed working with Sumathy and Lynn - my fellow judges
-and must thank them for their patience with me and for their
remarkable insights as we participated in the judging process over the
last four months.
I now have great pleasure in announcing
that the panel of judges have agreed unanimously that the Gratiaen
Prize for 2012 should be awarded to Playing Pillow Politics in MGK by
Lal Medawattegedera.
(Jayantha Dhanapala chaired the panel
of judges appointed by the Gratiaen Trust. The other judges were Dr.
Sumathy Sivamohan and Lynn Ockersz)
Three youngsters stepped into my office, bubbling with zest and a
hope in their eyes, inviting me to write for their newly launched
e-journal, dedicated entirely to theatre. And adding on their plans to
bring some of the issues in print. Had I heard right? A magazine
dedicated to theatre? Did this not ring bells of similar sentiments
voiced over the years and aborted attempts of this genre of journalism.
Not being sceptical but definitely wary, I didn’t intend to dampen
their enthusiasm, but surely sat back to contemplate on the plight and
the unsuccessful run of many such ‘Exclusive for theatre Magazines and
Journals’. I started by asking few questions but ended up with tsunami
of unanswered issues and hiccups in this endeavour. In these musings I
don’t intent to encompass similar exercise across India, but restrict
to the ones carried out in Maharashtra or the ones I have personally
being associated with. With a touch of caution, I admit that I have no
scholarly research to back my observations- something that is the dire
need of the time- but definitely have been witness to many such botched
attempts.
At one end this trepidation, but at the other I am tempted to look
back and trace the contribution of such writings to the theatre
movement. Has it really been contributing or just a fancy of some
scholars and publishers, to the theatre movement? An enormous quantum
of work has been penned, both through journalistic writings in
Newspapers and Magazines and scholarly expression through books. This
reference material has been useful in laying the foundation for a
comprehensible understanding of a period in theatre that is now the
past. These have been in terms of reviews, critical writings,
interviews, books etc, by scholars and thinkers in the earlier times
like Madhav Manohar, Dyaneshwar Nadkarni, V.Y Gadgil, Pushpa Bhave,
Kamlakar Nadkarni, Raja Karle, Madhav Kulkarni, Padmakar Kulkarni, R.G
Sardesai, V.B Deshpande and others. There writings were valued by both
the theatre fraternity and the casual readers. The torch bearers of the
next generation that kept the flame alive were noted writers like
Mangesh Tendulkar, Madhav Vaze, Sureshchandra Padhye, Prasannakumar
Aklujkar etc. They contributed primarily to Newspapers, magazines and
specialised journals. A host of other litterateurs like R.S Walimbe,
K.Narayan Kale, V.D Kulkarni, G.K Bhatt and many others pitched in
through their writings on theatre in books.
This was a time when there was a reader for such inputs. Also
theatre was a main source of entertainment. With passing times and the
advent of cinema and television the equations changed. Compounding this
was the changing socio-political, economic and cultural changes that
the country went through. With liberalisation and globalization the
scenario changed drastically. Policy matters of media, dwindling space
for theatre writings, dearth of scholarship in the arts, a fast-track
and techno savvy generation and a poor reader to this form of writing
sealed the fate of any attempts at revival. Currently writings related
to theatre are confined to newspapers and few periodicals. However they
don’t do much justice as they are limited to the form of reviews
touching upon appraisal. Yet critics like Jayant Pawar, Ravindra
Pathare, Shanta Gokhale and a few others try to cover theatre
activities to best of their capacity. These are primarily restricted to
the theatre activities in the urban cities and a large body of work,
especially in the rural belts and small towns goes unnoticed.
In the past couple of years there have been stray exceptions of well
researched and authentic writing on theatre. All these factors have a
direct impact on the sustenance of magazines or any such outlets
catering to theatre. Important contributors such as ‘Samvedana
Pariwar’,’Natak’,’Seagull Theatre Quarterly’,’Natyarang’etc had to shut
shop and wind up for lack of funds ,a dedicated reader and off course a
guaranteed buyer. Some attempts, like the one recently made by the
Achrekar Prathisthan in Kankawli, to start a theatre magazine, was
nipped in the bud, much before it could take off.
One thing is indisputable. No matter how much they are shunned,
these writings are an important link of the past to the present and a
guideline to the future. Their presence bridges gaps. Presently there
are some newspapers which give some space for reviews, primarily in the
vernacular, some sporadic autobiographical books written by artistes,
few e-magazines and surprisingly considerable amount of documentaries
on theatre artistes, which is welcome. But these are not necessarily
scholarly writings or ones with archival values. A large amount of work
is not taken cognisance of, not because of any bias, but just that
there is no guaranteed outlet for documenting it all. There is a dire
shortage of writers who take interest in this type of writing, let
alone their personal knowledge and interest in the art of theatre.
Against this realisation, newer strategies will have to be devised
and put into place, along with a committed team to see it through. Mere
passion and a fervent appeal to float another such venture will not
work. We have to learn from past mistakes and design the future. And
this doesn’t refer to the mere task of the physically bringing out a
magazine or journal dedicated exclusively to theatre, but stringing in
all the contributing elements, to weave a firm pattern, which will
sustain. It is not an impossible task, but needs solid ground work and
a firm belief in its success!
Dr. Ajay Joshi is a practicing dentist, with a PhD in theatre
criticism and an MA in Journalism and Mass Communication. He has
freelanced as a theatre journalist for publications like Times of
India, Indian Express, Saakal, PtNotes, Himal etc. He is involved in
theatre as a media person, organiser, coordinator, judge and teacher.
Humanizing,
De-colonizing and De-politicizing Archaeology & Heritage Management
By Dr.SUDHARSHAN SENEVIRATNE
(TEXT OF ACCEPTANCE SPEECH DELIVERED
AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA on January
4th at Seattle. USA)
President
Bartman, members and professionals of the AIA, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne
addressing Archaeological Institute of America Awards Ceremony, Jan 4, 2013
I was honored to receive a
communication from President Bartman stating my name as recipient of the 2013
Award for Best Practice in Conservation and Heritage Management. It also
gratified me to note that heritage initiatives carried out in Sri Lanka during
the past few decades have been recognized by one of the oldest standing professional
bodies of heritage in the world and by the community of global heritage
professionals at large.
Our commitment towards professional excellence was seen as an investment for
the future protecting the tangible, intangible and mixed heritage of humanity.
By doing so, we placed a high premium bench-marking best practice for the next
generation of archaeologists and heritage managers. Among a wide range of
initiatives undertaken I wish to make special reference to: surface,
sub-surface and maritime heritage excavation and conservation achievements at
World Heritage sites; establishment of state of the art museums unfolding the
inclusiveness and diversity of an island society; multiple programs on heritage
empowerment, capacity-building and revitalization; sustainable heritage
tourism; heritage as an outreach program for conflict resolution and
reconciliation and peace.
Heritage practice as a team effort
While thanking you most sincerely
for this recognition conferred upon me, I do not stand here today to be honored
as an individual. We archaeologists and heritage managers are team players. It
is with a solemn sense of gratitude that I note the professional investment
made by my predecessors in the fields of archaeology and heritage management in
Sri Lanka. Our present achievements are “constructed” upon their vision,
experience and dedication. I also accept this honor on behalf of the University
of Peradeniya; Archaeology, Conservation and Administrative Directors, young
archaeologists, architects, engineers, site managers, research officers and
especially on behalf of thousands of nameless site workers of the Central
Cultural Fund (the Custodian Organization for UNESCO Declared world Heritage
Sites) in Sri Lanka. They stood by me as we placed our vision plan for heritage
initiatives on track and carried them out to a logical conclusion. It is due to
the concerted and dedicated engagement by all of them, as a team, that enabled
the launching of ambitious and impressive projects showcasing Sri Lanka’s
heritage to the world.
Heritage initiatives
Our tasks were undertaken and
implemented while Sri Lanka was reeling under the bloody carnage of a 30 year
old civil war. Under such negative conditions we needed to work with a
positively pro active mind set. We mobilized professional, intellectual,
material and financial support from the public sector in Sri Lanka, UNESCO,
ICCROM, ICOMOS, and foreign missions, especially the Netherlands and Japan.
Public – private sector partnership participation through Corporate Social Responsibility
was initiated and awareness programs were carried out beyond the metropolitan
areas through stake holder UNESCO school-clubs and people to people
connectivity. In addition, out-reach overseas heritage exhibitions were
launched while artifact replica reproduction was fine tuned and trilingual
heritage publications revitalized. Such multiple activities ensured that our
UNESCO declared World Heritage sites do not have a stand-alone policy but also
incorporate all stake-holders and maintain a ripple and counter-ripple
momentum.
Sri Lanka is now reaping the
benefits of such heritage initiatives during the post war period. In just four
years after the conclusion of the war, Sri Lanka is recognized as one of the
ten most sought-after destinations for eco and heritage tourism in the world.
Today the 4th Century AC World Heritage site of the Sigiriya rock palace alone
nets US$ 10 to 15,000 per day during the high season. Similarly, the 17th
Century AC World Heritage Site of Galle Dutch Fort is not only a vibrant multi
cultural hub blending tradition and modernity but also a high-end tourist
destination and a portal of convergence for international art and literary
activities.
Heritage, identity and contested
spaces
There are however short and long
term ground realities, concerns and implications on the qualitative sustenance
and application of the science of archaeology and heritage management. In my
part of the world an archaeologist and heritage manager plays multiple roles.
He or she is a professional field practitioner, teacher, mentor and social
activist – all blended into a single personality. This is inevitable. Heritage
practitioners of today are faced with critical challenges over their
intellectual and professional space as reading the past itself is under siege
in a global context.
Dr.Sudharshan Seneviratne
Archaeological Institute of America, Recipient of the 2013 Award for Best
Practice in Conservation and Heritage Management
Contemporary heritage practitioner
has therefore to resolve his or her professional status with ‘competing
interest’. The professional is challenged by individuals, groups and even by
regimes in power that have appropriated the task of retrieving, interpreting
and reinventing the past. Such individuals and organizations are increasingly
realizing the functional value of subverting the past sustaining ideologies of
legitimation and domination negating diversity and plurality. As a consequence,
this process quite definitely does marginalize, hegemonize and even expunge the
memory and histories of the “Other”. In the long run, it imposes from above, an
“imagined” racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious homogeneity over contested
spaces. Conversely, the reactive response to this is a surge of embedded
reverse racism and ultra nationalism represented by various shades of
fundamentalist and social fascist ideologies of centrifugal forces that invent
their own versions of “reconstructed” pasts and “imagined communities”. Add to
this, there is an unabated displacement and looting of heritage and cultural
property perpetrated by in-country socially affluent as well as other rapacious
interest groups aided and abetted by global museums and collectors. These three
dynamics ultimately undermine, in an irreparable manner, the scientific and
humane application of archeology and heritage initiatives investigating and
presenting the past. This abysmal situation is now a shared tragedy by many
developing countries.
Professional purview
In view of this, the professionals
reading the past are now required to redefine their intellectual space and are
forced towards a paradigm shift in their craft safeguarding scientific skills
and the enterprise of knowledge harvesting the past. As such, the contemporary
discourse needs to hinge on the intervention and claims of defining, owning,
protecting, managing, interpreting and experiencing the archaeological
heritage.
Today, we need to resort to the dual
strategy of humanizing, decolonizing and de-politicizing archaeology and
heritage management on the one hand and advancing country and culture specific
applications in historically evolved multi cultural societies on the other.
Implementing such strategies must
essentially be the purview of independent professional bodies of scientific
archaeologists and conservators. There must be less or non involvement of
amateur archaeologists who are in most instances the ideologues of
fundamentalist “tribal” organizations; the regimes in power that often subvert
the past and also predatory sections of the private sector seeking purely an
investment venture. Our pledge must be to excavate and present truth for a
futuristic vision plan beyond boundaries of parochialism and contours of
inverted political and financial agendas. If properly applied, the “archaeology
of heritage” is perhaps the most sensitive and enlightened medium to reach out
and foster greater understanding and appreciation among diverse communities of
their cultural pasts and shared heritage of human achievements and thereby
rectify misunderstood histories. It is critical that we cross this chasm for
the profession to survive in a meaningful and productive manner. I note with
humility my own contribution as an engaged professional, humanist and social
activist to contest negative ends and to promote positive initiatives of
archaeology and heritage management.
Conclusion and mission statement
In conclusion, the Mission Statement
I inscribed in 1996, for the next generation of archaeologists is noted here.
The next generation essentially needs to grasp the dialectics of “present in
the past and past in the present” as the very foundation of the humanistic
heritage professional.
“The science of archaeology is
problem-oriented and issue-related. It is essentially a multi disciplinary
study investigating, documenting, interpreting and presenting human
expressions, experiences and behaviour patterns of the past to its rightful
inheritors – the next generation. The archaeologist investigating the past is a
scientist who is objective, unbiased and unprejudiced. Above all, an
archaeologist is a humanist and social activist who does not fear the past or
compromises the future”.
President Bartman, I wish to convey
my appreciative sentiments to the AIA and good wishes for its future endeavors
sustaining, both, the scientific application and aesthetic appreciation of
archaeology and heritage initiatives.
(Dr.Sudharshan Seneviratne is
Professor of Archaeology. University of Peradeniya. Sri Lanka and Edward F
Arnold Professor of Archaeology. Whitman College. WA. USA (2012-2013).)
Renowned
stage drama director Sunil Chandrasiri suddenly passed away. 
