The new committee of the Sri Lanka

Association of NSW proudly promot-

ed the Sri Lankan dance company

from the Chitrasena dance Academy

of Sri Lanka.

Mr Arun Abey, an entrepreneur & a

member of the Sri Lanka Association,

initiated the task to showcase Sri

Lankan culture & heritage to a wider

audience outside Sri Lanka.

The results are outstanding. Arun re-

ports that the well known critics have

given an excellent “Thumbs up” for

this performance. Here are, some of

the reviews by some well known

critics, about this performance.

Deborah Jones of The Australian

said: If there is a more immediately

captivating dancer than Thaji Dias, I

have yet to see her, or him…In the

first solo, Dias reeled her audience in

effortlessly with divinely articulated

wrists, rippling shoulders, jaunty

strides around the stage, the deepest

and plushest plies and her warm, di-

rect gaze. She is an artist of excep-

tional individuality

Bill Stephens of Canberra Critics

Circle while also commenting on

Thaji, then went on to commend the

whole troupe: Her beautiful face se-

rene and smiling, completely in the

moment, and dancing with all the

grace, skill, security and showman-

ship of a classical ballerina, Thaji

Dias was truly mesmerising.

With these reviews it is fair to say

that this performance was a great

success.

You will be able to read all about it

in the inside pages of this issue.

“Dancing for the Gods” gets excellent reviews

Back to work ...

After a short holiday break at the end

of the year, most members of the new

committee are back at the bench. SLA

hosted the Chitrasena Dance company

performers for a sumptuous dinner, as

the first event of their new term of of-

fice. The committee hopes to follow

this up with HSC high achiever recog-

nition and the Seniors day. Updating

of the 2002 constitution with neces-

sary amendments is another high pri-

ority task of the committee. We also

hope to run a series of information

sessions on topics of special interest

to our members and the community.

Special points of interest to members.:

SLA committee is in the process of amending

the constitution to minimize anomalies and

optimize operational efficiency.

Our focus will be directed to provide more

services for the Sri Lankans living in NSW.

Steps have been taken to streamline the ac-

counting and budgeting procedures of SLA

using computerized accounting.

Dancing for the Gods Cover

Editorial 2

An eminent Sri Lankan 3

Pink Sari project 6

Did you know these facts? 6,7

Independence—Hangover 8

Chitrasena Dance Company... 10

About SLA 13

In this issue

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Issue 1– Qtr. 1 -2015

February 2015

Celebrating 67 years of independence

The first objective of Sri Lanka Association of NSW is

stated as ‘To provide a common meeting ground for

persons of Sri Lankan origin and to integrate with the

Australian community on a multi-racial basis’. Howev-

er there has been some recent debate about who the

SLA represents and how we should describe our mem-

bership. In particular, it has been suggested that the

SLA is best described as representing ‘Australians of

Sri Lankan Heritage’. However, it is fundamental to

the aims and objectives of the SLA that all Sri Lankans

living in New South Wales should be welcome to

membership and representation, regardless of their citi-

zenship or migration status. This includes anyone with

Sri Lankan roots living in New South Wales.

To understand who we are, it is helpful to look back at

the history of Sri Lankan migration to Australia. There

were very few Sri Lankan migrants in Australia prior to

the 1950s. Then, in 1966, the Australian government

made a watershed policy announcement which began

the gradual dismantling of the White Australia Policy.

The environment following these changes prompted

many Sri Lankans of European heritage to find their

way to Australia. Hence, the first wave of migrants to

arrive here were Burghers, descended from the Dutch

and Portuguese who colonised Sri Lanka.

From the 1970s onward, political upheavals in Sri

Lanka prompted people with English education and

professional backgrounds to look to the world outside

Sri Lanka for greener pastures. A massive influx of

migrants from Sri Lanka occurred in the late 1980s and

the 90s. Many people discovered the opportunities in

Australia and during this time roughly 2000 to 3000

persons arrived each year to resettle.

There is no single way to describe the experiences of

these many Sri Lankan migrants. Some embraced the

culture of their new home with ease, while others

found it more difficult to integrate. Many of us, who

have lived in Australia for years, or decades, still find

our hearts in Sri Lanka.

If we look at the profile of our current SLA members,

and more broadly at Sri Lankans in New South Wales,

we discover an interesting mix. We are: Sri Lankan

citizens, Australian citizens, dual citizens, Permanent

Residents, for a start. Presently we also have a large

student population and those seeking migration for

family reunion. On top of that, the number of Sri

Lankan nationals visiting Australia, and granted tempo-

rary entry, is about 14,000 per year since 2009.

(Country profile report—Sri Lanka).

Page 2

Editorial - Australians of Sri Lankan Heritage ?

T HORA T HU RU

These individuals may not be Australian citizens, but

they are equally entitled to representation by the SLA.

It is not enough to say that we (SLA) are representing

‘Australians of Sri Lankan heritage’. The SLA does

not seek to draw lines along differences in our mem-

bership, but rather seeks to galvanize our diverse com-

munity. The Sri Lanka Association of NSW is dedicat-

ed to the interests of all persons living in New South

Wales from Sri Lankan heritage. So, however you

identify with your Sri Lankan heritage, we value your

participation and contribution in the SLA community.

Hema Perera - Editor

President’s Message

Dear Friends,

The heralding in of the New Year has also seen the ap-

pointment of a new committee for 2014/2015, in this

42nd year of the Sri Lanka Association of NSW. I am

honoured to represent you, the Sri Lankan Community

of NSW, as your President. The committee is com-

prised of a diverse group of people, ranging from those

who have served in previous committees to the youth,

all of whom are eager to initiate programmes that will

benefit this Community.

Although the Association’s roots had a social purpose

in connecting the small group of Sri Lankan migrants in

NSW, it has evolved into a multifaceted organisation

with focuses on education --and community service.

Even though the Association has changed throughout

the years, one thing has remained constant – the Sri

Lanka Association of NSW has and always will remain

an organisation that is open to all Sri Lankans and

friends of Sri Lanka.

Ultimately, the Sri Lanka Association of NSW belongs

to you, the membership. Therefore, I urge you to get

involved and participate with your friends in the activi-

ties, programmes and events that are planned this year.

We would also love to hear from you- whether you’re a

new member to the Association or a longstanding one;

and we welcome any suggestions or comments you may

have.

Finally, I would like to thank the outgoing President,

Mr Rajan Wijey and his committee for a job well done.

I hope to see many of you at the events organised by the

SLA and look forward to the year ahead!

Ruwan Walpola—President, SLA NSW

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015

“The artist is not a special kind of person; rather

each person is a special kind of artist” Ananda

Coomaraswamy.

Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy (1834-1879) was the

first Ceylon Tamil Knight. He was a lawyer and

Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. He

was the first non-Christian Asian to be called to

the English Bar. He married a wealthy English

lady, Elizabeth Beeby, who was a Lady-in-

Waiting to Queen Victoria. They had one child,

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, who was born in

Colombo in 1877.

Ananda grew up in England where he studied at

the University of London, graduating with first

class honours in Geology and Botany. He re-

turned to Ceylon and in 1903 was appointed as

the first Director of Mineralogical Surveys. In

1904 he identified the mineral Thorianite and his

work on this subject led to the award of a Doctor

of Science degree from the University of London.

He called it Uraninite in an article in Spolia

Zeylanica and then followed an extended corre-

spondence with double Nobel Prize winner Mad-

am Curie about its radioactivity. She suggested

that it be called 'Coomaranite' but he declined the

honour.

After a few years he moved to India and studied

Indian and South-East Asian Arts and Crafts, Re-

ligion and Metaphysics. He later wrote books on

Buddhism such as 'Buddha and the Gospel of

Buddhism', 'Elements of Buddhist Iconography',

'The origin of the Buddha Image' and 'Hinduism

and Buddhism'. He described his work as

'research not only in the field of Indian Art but at

the same time in the wider field of the whole of

traditional theory of Art and of the relation of

man to his work, and in the fields of comparative

religion and metaphysics to which the problems of

iconography are a natural introduction'.

Encyclopaedia Britannica describes him as a

'pioneer historian of Indian Art and foremost in-

terpreter of Indian culture to the West'. He set

about dismantling Western prejudices about Asian

Art through an affirmation of the beauty, integrity

and spiritual density of traditional art in Ceylon

and India. He was fluent in 36 languages, where

he defined fluency in a language as the ability to

read a scholarly article without referring to a dic-

tionary. Anthony Ludovici the famous British

writer and philosopher says of Coomaraswamy

"Thanks to his command of Greek, Latin and San-

skrit, he was probably the greatest scholar of his

age in the Scriptures of both East and West, and

was therefore a formidable exponent of the philo-

sophical and ontological foundations of his cul-

tural doctrines".

He refused to join the British armed services in

World War I on the grounds that India and Ceylon

were not independent and he was exiled from the

British Empire and a bounty of 3000 Pounds

placed on his head by the British Government.

Page 3

An Eminent Sri Lankan of Pre-independence era– Ananda Coomaraswamy - By Thiru Arumugam

Fig 1– Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877—1947)

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015

He moved to USA in 1917 together with his exten-

sive art collection. He was appointed Curator of

Indian and Oriental Art at the Boston Museum of

Fine Arts and worked there for the next thirty years

until he retired in 1947. His entire private art col-

lection was transferred to this Museum and the

Asian collection there is described as 'among the

finest in the Western world'. The Museum's Cata-

logue lists 1419 artworks as originating from the

Coomaraswamy Collection. Even today the Head

of this Section is designated as the 'Ananda Coo-

maraswamy Curator of South Asian and Islamic

Art', and the Ananda Coomaraswamy Annual Lec-

ture is held every year.

In 2002 James S Crouch published 'A Bibliography

of Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy'. Crouch says

that 'this book documents the remarkably produc-

tive career of one of the great minds of the 20th

century'. The book describes in detail American,

English and Indian first editions of 95 books by

Coomaraswamy, plus descriptions of a further 96

books containing contributions by him and details

of more than 900 contributions by him to periodi-

cals and newspapers. What a prolific writer! No

wonder it took Crouch 20 years to complete the

Bibliography which runs to 430 pages.

It is not surprising that Ananda Coomaras-

wamy has been described as the 'most distinguished

Sri Lankan of our time'. Outlines of two selected

books out of the 95 books by Coomaraswamy are

given below.

Medieval Sinhalese Art

This was Coomaraswamy's first major book

and it was published in 1908. The full title of the

book is "Medieval Sinhalese Art: Being a Mono-

graph on Medieval Sinhalese Arts and Crafts, main-

ly as surviving in the eighteenth century, with an

account of the structure of Society and the status of

Craftsmen". It has 340 pages with 55 plates con-

sisting of multiple photographs and 153 illustra-

tions. The photos were selected from over 1000

relevant photographs taken by his English wife Eth-

el Mary Coomaraswamy (nee Partridge) on glass

plate negatives which was the technology of the

day. To avoid going cap in hand to Publishers beg-

ging them to publish his book, Coomaraswamy

did the next best thing and bought the ailing Essex

House Press. Using his considerable inherited

wealth he bought a small church called Norman

Chapel in Broad Campden in Gloucestershire. He

used part of the premises as his residence and

moved the machinery of Essex House Press to the

rest of the building. Hand printing of the book

started in September 1907 and was completed in

December 1908. The layout of the book, which is

a work of art in its own right, and the printing of

the 425 copies were supervised by him. Copies of

this first edition are quite rare in Australia, only

two copies are traceable in libraries open to the

public and the restricted access copy in the New

South Wales State Library is numbered No. 313 of

425 copies. Coomaraswamy believed that in tra-

ditional societies there was no distinction between

fine arts and other arts nor between religious and

secular arts. He says in the book that rural arts

and crafts are "the only true art discoverable in

Ceylon today. In a few years it may be gone for

ever.

I have tried to make a picture of it, before it is too

late". The reason for its probable disappearance he

says is that " In Ceylon as in India, the direct and

indirect influence of contact with the West has

been fatal to the arts.

Page 4

Fig 2: Bherunda Pakshaya, double headed

eagle flag of the Three Korales

Fig 3: 12th century, 105 cm high, Bronze of Nata-raja found in Siva Devale No.5, Polonnaruva, now in

the Colombo Museum

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 5

The two most direct causes of this adverse influence

have been the destruction of the organisation of state

craftsmen, following British occupation and that this

occupation "has driven the village weaver from his

loom, the craftsmen from his tools, the ploughman

from his songs and has divorced art from labour".

Among the subjects discussed and illustrated in detail

in this 340 page large sized (35 by 27 cm) compre-

hensive study of the subject are: Elements of Sinha-

lese Design and Ornament; Architecture; Wood-

work; Stonework; Figure Sculpture; Painting; Ivo-

ry, Bone, Horn and Shell work; Metal work - Iron,

Brass, Copper and Bronze; Gold and Silver; Jewel-

lery; Lac work; Earthenware; Potter's songs; Weav-

ing; Embroidery; and Mat Weaving and Dyeing.

As a typical example of an illustration from

the book, Fig 2 shows Bherunda Pakshaya, the dou-

ble headed eagle represented in the flag of the Three

Korales. This form also appears in wood and iron-

work, in brass trays and plates, and also in jewellery.

Bronzes from Ceylon, chiefly in the Colombo Museum

This book was first published in 1914 by the

Colombo Museum as the first in a series of Memoirs

of the Colombo Museum. It has 31 pages of text fol-

lowed by 189 photographic reproductions of bronze

sculptures, including a few from Coomaraswamy's

private collection. Some of these sculptures he says

are 'of spiritual and aesthetic rank nowhere sur-

passed'. Among the Buddhist Bronzes, eleven images

of Buddha are illustrated. The largest of them is a 55

cm high sedentary statue and Coomaraswamy dates

this as 5th or 6th century. It was found in Badulla and

was presented to the Museum by G FK Horsfall, pos-

sibly a Government Agent. Coomaraswamy says that

'The existence of a Mahayana cult in Ceylon is abun-

dantly supported by the discovery of many images of

Bodhisatvas and Mahayana feminine divinities in

Ceylon'.

By far the largest of the Bodhisatva images is the 46

cm high bronze, probably of Maitreya, discovered in

1898 near the Thuparama Dagoba in Anuradhapura.

Also illustrated are four small images of Ava-

lokitesvara. The largest of the Hindu bronzes are the

eight images of Siva as Nataraja, all were found in

Polonnaruva. The largest of these is nearly a metre

high and is shown in Fig. 3.

However, Coomaraswamy does not rate these too

highly and says that 'they are inferior as works of

art to the best of the Buddhist images, the best

images of Saiva Saints in Ceylon and the two

splendid Natarajas in the Madras Museum'.

There are also eight smaller size images of Parva-

ti, Siva's consort. There are seven images of Sai-

va Saints and Coomaraswamy describes the im-

age of Sundara Murti Swami as having 'a touch-

ing quality of suddenly arrested movement and

breathless wonder, and is one of the most remark-

able works of all Indian art'.

Also illustrated is the stunning bronze of

the Goddess Pattini, nearly five feet (1.5m) tall.

Coomaraswamy dates this as 7th or 8th century.

It was found in the east coast of Ceylon and pre-

sented by Governor Brownrigg in 1830 to the

British Museum in London where it is a prized

exhibit. Coomaraswamy says that it 'is a most

striking work; the face strong and thoughtful, and

the modelling of the body and limbs most admira-

ble'. Since it has spent nearly 200 years in Lon-

don, it is about time that it is returned to its coun-

try of origin.

EMBRACE THE PINK SARI PROJECT

By Ajith Karunaratne

Breast Cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer with 38 females diagnosed per

day. Research shows that Sri Lankan and Indian women in NSW aged 50 – 74 have one of the

lowest rates of participation in the Breast Screen NSW program which is run by the Department of

Health.

The Pink Sari Project is a means of bringing everyone together to support a common cause – in-

creasing breast screening (and thus breast cancer survival) in women from the Indian and Sri

Lankan groups. Communities play a major part in the implementation of all the strategic ap-

proaches to ensure their members benefit and lives are saved.

Visit the website: www.pinksariproject.org.

Join in the conversation on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thepinksariproject.

Listen to a presentation by Nirmala Pathvanathan, Associate Professor, Westmead Breast Cancer

Institute: http://youtu.be/Lf5lAd3bOVI

Dr Palu Malaowalla, GP in Rosehill and Breast Cancer Survivor - see link to watch her story

Indian and Sri Lankan community members and Pink Sari Project organisers at the Breast Screen Information Forum

Did you know these facts about Sri Lankan Migrants?

Following information sheet was compiled By Hema Perera (Editor), using “Country Profile Re-

port – Sri Lanka” published by

The Economic Analysis Unit

Department of Immigration and Border Protection

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2013

Fact 1 - Despite having a relative high educated and literate population, Sri Lanka’s gross domes-

tic product per capita is less than a seventh of Australia’s.

Fact 2 - Around 1.8 million Sri Lankans are working abroad and remittances from Sri Lanka’s

international diaspora account for 7 per cent of its gross domestic product.

Fact 3 - A summary measure of wellbeing is the Human Development Index (HDI).

Sri Lanka rates well relative to the rest of South East Asia with a HDI of 0.72 compared to the

regional average of 0.56. Internationally, Sri Lanka currently ranks 92 out of 186 countries.

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 6

Fact 5 - In August 2013, 63000 Sri Lankan-born people were working in Australia—32 per cent profes-

sionals, and 20 per cent clerical and administrative workers.

Fact 6 -A total of 5390 Sri Lankan nationals were granted a permanent visa through Australia’s Migra-

tion Programme and Humanitarian Programme in 2012−13, with the Skill Stream accounting for 76 per

cent of the visas granted.

Fact 7 - In 2012-2013, 3228 Points Tested Skilled Migration visas were issued to Sri Lankans. The main

occupations of those granted a Points Tested Skilled Migration visa were accountants, software and ap-

plications programmers, and ICT business and systems analysts.

Fact 8- In family Migration category, Sri Lankan nationals accounts for 1.5 per cent (883 grants) of the

total grants. This was 11 per cent higher than the 794 visas granted the previous year, but it represented a

12 per cent fall since 2009–10.

Fact 9 – In Student Visas category, Australia is the second most popular tertiary study destination, be-

hind the United Kingdom, for international students originating from Sri Lanka. In 2010, 20 per cent of

all Sri Lankan international tertiary students chose Australia.

As at 30 June 2013, 4170 Sri Lankan Student visa holders were in Australia, representing 1.4 per cent of

all international students in Australia.

Fact 10 - Visitors Visa - In 2012–13, the number of Sri Lankan nationals visiting Australia continued to

increase. A total of 16 421 Visitor visas were granted, up by 12 per cent on 2011–12 and 34 per cent

higher than the number granted (12 253) in 2009–10. Tourists accounted for 92 per cent of all Sri Lankan

visitors.

Fact11 - Permanent residents departing-

In 2012–13, 321 Sri Lanka-born permanent residents indicated at departure that they were leaving Aus-

tralia permanently, with around 17 per cent indicating that they intend on returning to Sri Lanka. Of these

emigrants:

around a third (35 per cent) were professionals, with managers accounting for another 21 per cent, the

largest proportion were emigrating from New South Wales and Victoria – 41 per cent and 35 per cent

respectively

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 7

OBITUARY ANNOUNCEMENT

Titus Dias Gunasekara (1933 - 2015)

Titus Dias Gunasekara, Past President of Sri Lanka Association of N.S.W.Australia

(1981/1982), passed away in Colombo Sri Lanka on 31st January 2015.

He studied at Ananda College Colombo, and later pursued tertiary studies in Engineering.

Titus served as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the State Engineering Corporation of Sri

Lanka from its inception until 1974. Thereafter he migrated to Sydney Australia with his

family. He was a popular personality, a devout Buddhist. He provided excellent services as

a teacher at the Sydney Technical Institute and to the Sri Lankan community in Sydney.

He will be very much missed by his beloved wife Janaki, his two daughters Saroja, Dupika,

four grand children Jess, Tom, Ethan and Giaan,sons-in-law Andy Goldi and Phillip

Campbell ( all of Australia) and many friends and associates.

Janaki has requested not to send flowers, instead if you wish, you may make a donation to

Alzheimers Australia in his memory.

May he attain Nibbana !!!

Sri Lanks Association of New South Wales

INDEPENDENCE 1948 – AND THE COLONIAL HANGOVER

By Hugh Karunanayake

February 4 1948 was the date on which Sri

Lanka (then Ceylon) was granted “dominion sta-

tus "by its Colonial overlord Great Britain. Till

then Ceylon was a colony of the British. What

was described as “independence’ was a change in

status vis-a vis the metropolitan power Great

Britain. Officially it was called the grant of

“dominion status” .to Ceylon.– It is important to

remember that “dominion status ” did not confer

sovereign power to the island. Neither did the

change of status denote a transfer of power. In

fact by 1950 (two years later) His Majesty the

King of England was still the King of Ceylon, the

Governor General of Ceylon continued to be

appointed by the King and had the power to ap-

point. or remove the Prime Minister .of the coun-

try, the national anthem was “God save the King”

the official language was English, and the national

flag was the Union Jack! A Parliament consisting

of a House of Representatives and a Senate exist-

ed from 1947 with its legislative powers subject

to concurrence and tacit approval by His Majesty.

In fact the British approved Constitution of Cey-

lon required the appointment of six Members of

Parliament in addition to those elected by the peo-

ple. Two of the appointed members in the House

of Representatives in 1947 were appointed to rep-

resent British interests. Although the island had a

Supreme Court that name was a misnomer and

the Court not really Supreme, the Privy Council in

England had the power of revision of any decision

of the Supreme Court. In fact in 1964 sixteen

years after the country was granted

“independence” the Privy Council in England

overruled a decision of the Supreme Court of

Ceylon by which the Supreme Court had deter-

mined the guilt of persons charged with conspir-

ing to overthrow by force a lawfully elected gov-

ernment. There were an Imperial Light House

Service and Military bases in Katunayake and

Trincomalee outside the control of the govern-

ment and subject to direction by the United King-

dom.

Imperial Honours by which the Queen granted

Knighthoods and other honours to her “loyal sub-

jects” also continued until such vestiges of coloni-

al rule were removed by the 1956 government of

SWRD Bandaranaike. Thus in essence the coun-

try did not enjoy sovereignty till the fetters re-

stricting its independence were removed .

This occurred through a process culminating in

the Constituent Assembly of 1972 which made a

self declaration of independence through the for-

mal establishment of an independent republic.

This process which led to the achievement of

total political independence was marked by events

that formed the “process’ such as the adoption of

national flag in 1950, the adoption of a National

anthem in 1951,becoming a member of the UN in

1955, the adoption of National languages in 1956

and the national acquisition of the military bases

in 1958.

The creation of a Republic in 1972 and the

change from the anglicised name of Ceylon to a

more indigenous name Sri Lanka completed the

process.

It is also important to remember that in 1948 the

country was a plantation economy, dualistic in

character with a surplus creating urban sector

and a rural sector functioning below subsistence

level . The economy largely driven by the output

from plantations were largely in the hands of Brit-

ish companies and so were the major Agency

Houses which managed the production, and ex-

port of plantation produce. What were described

as “the commanding heights of the economy”

were therefore mainly British owned and con-

trolled for many years after independence. The

administration of the country before and after

1948 was through the Ceylon Civil Service estab-

lished by the British in the 19th Century which

was replaced by the Ceylon Administrative Ser-

vice fifteen years after independence in 1963.

One of the major criticisms of the Ceylon Civil

Service was that its structure and traditions stood

in the way of the transfer of real political power

to the people. of the country. In fact India with its

Indian Civil Service was such a hindrance to the

modernisation of India that it prompted Ja-

warhalal Nehru to foresee in 1934 that “no new

order can be built in India so long as the spirit of

the Indian Civil Service pervades our administra-

tion and our public services”.

Thirty years later when he was asked what his

greatest failure was he replied by saying “I could

not change the administration; it is still a colonial

administration”. Although it could be said that

the Ceylon Civil Service did not have the same all

pervasive influence over the body politic,

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 8

The Inspector General of Police Sir Richard Aluvi-hare saluting the Governor General Sir Henry Monck Mason Moore

it could be surmised that the Ceylon Civil Ser-

vice did have a stifling effect on the emergence

of a political culture that could lead to a more ef-

fective political transformation .

The grant of independence occurred 67 years ago

and in retrospect could be difficult for people of

today’s generation to understand the nuances of

the anglicised culture which pervaded the country

at the time. Perhaps the accompanying photo-

graph taken at the main function associated with

the grant of independence in 1948 may capture to

some extent part of the essence of the colonial

hangover of the time. It shows the Inspector

General of Police Sir Richard Aluvihare standing

smartly to attention and saluting the Governor

General on his entry. Such a spectacle would be

impossible to imagine in modern Sri Lanka.

While the grant of “dominion status” was a sig-

nificant step towards the achievement of mean-

ingful political independence, it also commenced

the “process” through which a new political

consciousness was created. .It well could be

claimed that the new, confident, modern Sri

Lanka was in fact conceived in 1948.

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 9

Independence Day - 2015

Sri Lanka Association of NSW - Celebrating Inde-pendence Day and Recognising HSC high achievers

Date: Sunday 22nd February 2015

Venue: Fox Valley Community Centre, Wahroonga

(Near SAN Hospital)

Time: 6pm onwards

**Please send your details to us before 12th Feb 2015

Details

If you have achieved an ATAR of 90 or more at the HSC 2014, please let us know by providing the following details to the secretary of the Sri Lanka Association.

1. A copy of your ATAR notification 2. Your contact details, Name, address and Phone num-

bers. Email of Secretary SLA: slanswsecretary2015@gmail.com

If you need to contact us over the phone, please contact Iranthie Gunaratne, Secretary, SLA NSW, Mob: 0409783728 OR

Hema Perera , Event organiser email: sydlink@gmail.com , Mob: 0401700721.

SLA NSW assures that the information you provide to us will be confidential.

Senior’s Day - 2015

Sri Lanka Association of NSW Inc – Celebrating Sen-ior Citizens’ Day

Date: Sunday, 15 March 2015

Venue: Thornleigh Community Centre

(Cnr. Phyllis and Central Avenue, Thornleigh 2120

Time: 11am to 4pm

Details

Please RSVP by 10 March 2015

Ruwan Walpola on 0421 334 370, Gnani Thenabadu on 0433 114 055,

Devika De Fonseka on 0437 700 102

**Please note: Seniors 65 yrs and above are free and others will be charged a nominal amount of $10.00 **

months and months of hard work, interspersed

with private performances in the same shed to

test the ideas, to the stage of the York Theatre

at the Seymour Centre in Sydney and the Play-

house at Canberra Theatre Centre, I saw

Heshma take on the mantle of a slave driver. But the slaves were willing ones. In fact, they

seemed to love it. Her seven dancers, led by

her cousin Thaji and accompanied by 4 mag-

nificent drummers, responded wonderfully.

Her other cousin Umi worked frantically to put

together all the materials required for the tour.

The result was that 43 years since their last

visit to Australia, the Company was again

warmly welcomed by Australian audiences

and critics with rave reviews. To provide some

flavour of these:

Deborah Jones of The Australian said: If there

is a more immediately captivating dancer than

Thaji Dias, I have yet to see her, or him…In

the first solo, Dias reeled her audience in ef-

fortlessly with divinely articulated wrists, rip-

pling shoulders, jaunty strides around the

stage, the deepest and plushest plies and her

warm, direct gaze. She is an artist of excep-

tional individuality.

Bill Stephens of Canberra Critics Circle while

also commenting on Thaji, then went on to

commend the whole troupe: Her beautiful face

serene and smiling, completely in the moment,

and dancing with all the grace, skill, security

and showmanship of a classical ballerina,

Thaji Dias was truly mesmerising…. Each

dancer is superbly trained, each step so pre-

cisely polished and executed, that it’s possible

for even the most uninitiated observer to soon

recognise and admire the movement and its

execution, and even variations to the original,

as dancer and drummer challenge each other in

later sections The Company has been working on expanding

its number of dancers, using scholarship pro-

grams largely funded by HSBC in Sri Lanka

as well as by individuals. Akila Palipana is the

youngest and newest member of the troupe

under this program and it was gratifying that

the experienced eye of dance critic Michelle

Potter of The Canberra Times observed of

him:

Chitrasena Dance Company through the eyes of Sydney Audience – By Arun Abey

My final wrap-up on the third Chitrasena

Dance Co tour to Australia, which was short

but very successful. Dancing for the Gods as

Arts Hub’s Lynne Lancaster said was: A vi-

brant, energetic and exotically colourful way

to open this year’s Sydney Festival. But to

understand how remarkable this success was,

it’s worth providing some background to the

tour.

Imagine being a choreographer where your studio

is like an old-fashioned shearing shed – a simple

floor with a tin roof and no sides. And that you are

working in one of the hotter, more humid climates

in the world. Well, that is the workplace that

Heshma Wignaraja voluntarily returned to after a

decade of studying and working in dance in the

USA. Despite the many financial and material

comforts of life in the USA, being away from her

famous dance family, founded by her grandpar-

ents Chitrasena and Vajira, caused Heshma to

realise how much she loved and missed the world

of Sri Lankan dance to which she had been born

So she and her husband Arjuna returned

home to take on the challenge of continuing

the family legacy, with limited financial and

human resources. The company was and is

still recovering from the devastating loss of

its headquarters which combined the family

home and dance studios a few decades ago,

following the death of its then major patron.

In 2013 we embarked on the idea of a return

trip to Australia and after a lot of work, last

July, Heshma learned that the Company had

been chosen to perform in the prestigious

Sydney Festival 2015. While she had a pro-

duction Dancing for the Gods, that had been

performed in Sri Lanka to great acclaim,

Heshma wanted to polish what she saw as

still a rough diamond. The end result was a

reworking of the entire program, that had its

international premiere in Sydney. Through

about a dozen trips to Colombo over the past

couple of years, I had the privilege of watch-

ing the production evolve. I perform my day

job with people with whom I share a strong

work ethic. But our work ethic pales com-

pared to what I saw in Colombo.

From the initial choreography in the incredibly

hot and humid ‘shearing shed’, to frenzied

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 10

I found his stage presence powerful, I loved

his sense of rhythm and his clean precise

technique and my eye was particularly taken

with the way his whole body was involved

at every moment, whether in stillness or ac-

tion.

The Guardian’s Madhvi Pankhania felt: The

choreography is both enchanting and mysti-

fying in other places within Dancing for the

Gods...... The poise that shapes the company

and the way they dance reveals an impres-

sive discipline – as engaging to watch as

these narratives are to work out.

Jill Sykes of the Sydney Morning Herald

said: Their commitment to the traditions of

their country and their craft shines through

their performance and invests it with

warmth and integrity.

Heshma’s overall success in continuing her

family’s ability to link an ancient tradition to

the contemporary stage was best summed up

by Michelle Potter’s comment: Dance in Sri

Lanka dates back thousands of years and has

its roots in ritual. In its current manifestation

by Chitrasena Dance Co, it is a contempo-

rary performing art that continues to honour

that past. It has lost none of the ritualistic

feeling, but through energetic choreography,

compelling performances, evocative lighting

and beautifully designed and made cos-

tumes, it becomes an exciting 21st century

art.

For those of you who want to learn more, I

have either attached or at the bottom of this

provided links to some of the full reviews.

One of the most gratifying events during the

tour was the Lecture-Demonstration Work-

shop, which was followed by a Master

Class. The event was quickly sold out, caus-

ing the Company to put on a second Master

Class. The range of participants was diverse

including students of Sydney Dance Compa-

ny, led by teacher Ian Castenetto as well as

Australians of Sri Lankan origin, belonging

to Dinesh Perera’s Sankha Ridma Dance

Ensemble. The cultural interchange and the

enjoyment that the participants gained from

this was wonderful to witness first hand.

And truly in keeping with the spirit of the

Sydney Festival.Bringing the Company out

here for such a successful tour, after the long

gap of 43 years involved a lot of support

from a number of people to whom the Com-

pany and I will always be grateful.

The list is too long to name individuals, but the

role of the Sydney Festival, with its a magnifi-

cent team, was of course paramount.

The Canberra Theatre Centre also did a re-

markable job in supporting the one night per-

formance there. The Sri Lanka Association,

HSBC Sri Lanka, ozlanka, the Dilip Kumar

Group, the Cinnamon Hotels Group, Barefoot

Sri Lanka, the Canberra Committee, and the

Nilgiris and Blue Elephant Restaurants respec-

tively are all owed many thanks. And much

gratitude as well is owed to my personal

friends and father who sacrificed a lot of time

and effort in supporting this project.

Going forward the Dance Co faces challenges

and opportunities in continuing its proud tradi-

tion. Funding, particularly of dance students

and productions is one, which needs to expand

to provide the company with more depth. If

you are interested in sponsoring a dancer or

supporting the Company in other ways, do let

me know. Do also follow the Company’s pro-

gress via its Facebook Page. Artistically

Heshma’s goal is to continue to evolve Sri

Lankan dancing into a classical dance form,

while remaining true to its traditional

roots. Jill Sykes alluded to this potential when

she contrasted Sri Lankan dancing to what she

sees as the richer classical dance forms of In-

dia. I am not sure that Jill’s comparison to a

different dance genre is entirely valid. But the

underlying opportunity to continue to innovate

while remaining true to the tradition will be an

exciting artistic challenge which will provide

ongoing stimulation for the current generation

and beyond.

But these are for the future. For the present, I

feel grateful for the chance to develop a close

relationship with such warm, extraordinarily

committed, talented, yet humble, artists, who

have become part of our extended family. And

whose motivation is to produce something that

inspires for both the gods and humans a sense

of universal beauty and joy. The love, skill and

sacred respect in which they hold their dance

form meant that they succeeded in this goal.

The joy of seeing it will live with us for a long

time, but hopefully we will not have to wait

another 43 years to experience it again.

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 11

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015

Page 12

Stars of the Chitrasena Dance Company

A vibrant, energetic and exotically col-

ourful way to open this year’s Sydney

Festival.

Lynne Lancaster

Arts Hub, Dance critic

On the left– Heshma & Arjuna Wignarajah

Principal Dancer Thaji Dias (Right)

Grand daughter of Chitrasena & Vajira

Upeka Chitrasena—Managing Director(left)

Upeka is the daughter of late Dr Chitrasena

President (slansw) Ruwan Walpola with some

performers of the Chitrasena Dance Company.

Read more about this performance in pages 10

& 11

As a new feature of THORATHURU , committee decided to publish

our financial position quarterly. Here is a snapshot as at 31st Dec

2014

Primary Business Address

President:Ruwan Walpola

P. O. Box 3120

Sydney 2001

T: 0421334370

SRI LANKA ASSOCIAT I ON OF NSW

Q & A

Why should I join SLA NSW?

SLA represents all Sri Lankans, living in New

South Wales. Being the foremost organization of

this stature, you have the opportunity to partici-

pate and contribute to the wellbeing of all Sri

Lankans.

What is the relevance of SLA to Sri Lankan

Community in NSW today ?

SLA operates within the constitutional framework

and objectives set out in there. As an evolving

organization, we are in the process of revisiting

the constitution to make it more relevant to the

present day Sri Lankans living in NSW.

Are you an organization serving the Australi-

ans of Sri Lankan heritage only?

No, We serve all people of Sri Lankan origin, liv-

ing in NSW, irrespective of their citizenship sta-

tus.

Member’s corner

Fax

E-mail:secrtarysla2015@gmail.com

We are on the web

Slansw.org.au

SNAP SHOT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DEC 2014

(A) INCOME & EXPENDITURE

Total Income 4,439

Total Expenditure 2,730

SURPLUS (DEFICIT) 1,709

(B) FINANCIAL POSITION

Business Bank A/C 15,582

Term Deposits 55,183

TOTAL ASSETS 70,765

LIABILITIES NIL

What is the place of youth in your organisa-

tion?

SLA is an organisation established 41 years

ago. Involvement of youth has not been great in

the past years. We want to encourage our youth

to participate in SLA activities more often and

be a part of the organisation

Composition of SLA Membership as at

30 Jan 2015

All members –Current 541

Family category 182

Life members 184

Single member category 100

Seniors Category 84

Other– Students etc 1

ISS U E 1 – QT R. 1 - 2015 Page 13

Invitation for contributions

Dear Reader

I wish to extend this invitation to you , to contribute to the next issue of

THORATHURU .

Sri Lanka Association of NSW, hopes to improve the quality and the con-

tent of this publication and establish a set of standards in the design in the

coming issues.

Editor