Arts

Emotional kaleidoscope in an Indian crucible

A new book by Christine Wilson, even if it is a reprint of a novel written in 1958, is always a treat. An accomplished story-teller, Christine has that kind of 'inner eye' to make each of her characters carry his or her story with them and burst upon the scene in the way his or her emotional being, and be, in the art-fed gathering together of it all, wholly natural. This is in itself, a rare artistry and Christine possesses it in full measure.

If I must justify what I say, allow me to let you in on a secret. Any book by Christine is seized upon and avidly read by my wife! That tells me a thing or two. My wife is picky. I put one of my own novels before her and she sniffs. No, she won't be party to it. It gives her, I think, indigestion. I suggest Arthur Conan Doyle and Jules Verne, even Mark Twain, and I get what do you call it? - Yes, 'looks.'

But Christine Wilson seems to reach out to her and she to the book and ah, domestic bliss. This is what is so special. Christine has this knack - I think it uncanny to hold her readers and give them what they want.

The Mountain Road, like her other novels, is extremely human, full of flaring emotions, family ties strained to breaking point, danger, loss, near-death and reconciliation.

Containing three movements, the second binds the first and last together, delineating causes and effects, answering the causes of the first and moving into the third with graceful ease. It makes the novel masterful in approach and treatment, but then, this is only to be expected.

Part One takes us on the road to Kashmir. Mother Lydia and daughter Eve. a mother-daughter antagonism that spills out unbidden; and at home, a father complication that had to be distanced, even if it only meant catching one's breath, realising oneself and thinking of the pitfalls of marriage that had endured despite the many omissions and commissions. Lydia and Eve take a flight that turns back because of the ruinous weather over the mountain pass.

Frustration increases the bickering that borders on sheer dislikes and anger in a loose-lid bottle. Lydia is also tormented by her own thoughts, her passionate past, the way her beautiful self responded to the men in her life and now, wishing to shield her daughter from becoming the mirror-image of herself. What sort of mother was she?

Christine draws up the threads of her many characters with seeming ease, and what marks Part One is the smoldering hostility that bubbles within and plops in conversation like small globules of ill tempered gas.

Larsen, a compotator supervisor is in conversion with Eve. He nods towards Lydia. ".. And your sisters?"

Eve's face frightened, her dark eyebrows lifted. "Mother," she said sharply before Lydia could speak. "I'm getting tired of everyone taking us for sisters and telling me she's the beautiful one, and so-oo sweet.."

"Eve," protested Lydia. "Please, darling."

"Oh, for goodness sake, mummy don't put on that painted and charming act. It's too hot."

There was a moment's silence. Lydia felt the colour drain from her cheeks. Then Chris Larsen shrugged and the corners of his mouth turned down in a rueful smile.

Lydia and Eve stared at each other. For the first time the girl's hostility was there, plain to see.

Yes, whether consciously or unconsciously, mother and daughter were in competition and to Eve it was a point, a triumph, to disagree. They fought over men, clothes, make-up and always Eve's verdict: "It's all her fault. Everything is." Lydia and Eve on a journey to Kashmir. Lydia thinking of divorcing Colin, taking along a maverick daughter because Colin had insisted.

With no air transport, they take the rickety station wagon, the road lifting into the foothills of the Himalayas - fog, rain skidding wheels and the wild cry of Carnath Singh: Faster! Faster!, then keeling over the crumbling road edge, tumbling down the hillside.

Part Two cuts back adroitly to Lydia and Colin, as if it all becomes a mind storm of memory as Lydia lies, broken shouldered in the clutches of a broken wagon. Everything rushes remorselessly - bitter sweet life and love, the many who danced their hours upon her stage and always Eve, standing defiant, just being the perimeter of their closeness.

Partings, returning, Colin going to rain bomb-death for his country, then Adam Crane. Such an entanglement. The trick is that Christine must be read very carefully. I believe she plots every chapter, makes her own mental chart, then subtly connects her characters both in space and time. When there is a positive welter of characters, each heroic in his or her space, each must contribute to the overall atmosphere of the tale.

Christine tossed little clues. They may seem, at first, bewildering, but they suddenly take shape and form in the times to come. This is no easy task, but is done to perfection and is so evident as the story unreels and brings to the reader those sudden rushes of realisation.

What threatens Lydia is the thought of what she is becoming. She does not really realise how well she can turn the emotional screws of the men who are drawn to her. Eventually, she had to get away, collect, even run away to Ceylon, put her life back into perspective. Colin, shot down over France, taken prisoner, helped to safety by the resistance, was not "missing in action" as she had believed. Colin was coming back to her - her one true love.

With the crash of the wagon, with the angel of death, wings crooked like some strange water bird, comes the balm of reconciliation. Eve suddenly knows what Lydia means to her. The accident brings them together as, believe it or not, they had always been. Eve has to ask: ". what are you going to do about daddy? Please don't leave him."

Lydia says quietly: ". Never again will I run away from anything. We'll send him a cable. Ask him to join us."

The ghosts are all laid to rest. Adam Crane, Foster, Moria Cairns, Robert. the pocketer of her life, now empty. Suddenly, and with a slow drum roll, awareness and understanding shines in the eyes of mother and daughter. The supplementary players have left the stage. Only Lydia and Eve remain, waiting for the husband and father who would come to them and make meaning of the future.

The story is superb and, as I said, needs careful reading. It is Part Three that sorts out everything so well and with startling precision. Christine Wilson has given us something that hold us spellbound, and for that she deserves fullest praise. She makes no demands on the analytical mind - only asks that we absorb the story and all its emotional entanglements and then consider our own emotional make up. How many Lydias live and love among us? What past dreams do they conjure? What strange fantasies do they cherish and how powerfully do they react or wish to react?

Life is a puzzle isn't it? It takes the good story-teller that Christine is, to unravel it all for us, show us that out of the deepest, darkest moments, comes relief, love, warmth and true realisation.

- Carl Muller

Famous duo in concert 

"Technical competence and pure expression characterise the performance of the young Dutch performers," the press wrote about the concert in San Jose (Costa Rica) given by Tjeerd Top on violin and Mariken Zandvliet on the piano.

"Anybody capable of rendering every note with such clarity may rightfully call himself a full fledged soloist," were the words used by the Dutch press to describe Tjeerd Top's playing. Tjeerd Top started playing the violin at the age of eight.

In 2000, he graduated with honours from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Netherlands) after studying with Qui van Woerdekom and Jaring Walta. For his Masters Degree he continued his studies with Alexander Kerr at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where he graduated for the second time with honours.

Tjeerd Top was first prize winner of the Dutch National Violin Competition 'Oskar Back' 2001. As a soloist, Tjeerd Top has performed with several of the leading orchestras and conductors (Hans Vonk, Vassily Sinaisky and Peter Oundjian among them) in the key concert-halls of Europe.

French born Mariken Zandvliet made her debut as a soloist at the age of 14 with the Gewestelijk Orkest of South Holland. In Utrecht, Mariken studied with Herman Ulhorn and obtained with honours her diploma of "performing musician." Later she studied chamber music and lieder-accompanying with Norman Shetler at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Besides appearances as a soloist, she has performed with various orchestras and chamber music ensembles and has toured Scandinavia, France, England, Germany, Morocco and China. She is also a member of the Bonnard Trio, the Trio Damase and the Basho Ensemble. Mariken Zandvliet teaches at the conservatories of Utrecht and Amsterdam.

Tjeerd Top and Mariken Zandvliet made successful tours to Indonesia, Costa Rica, The Netherlands Antilles and Argentina. The duo's repertoire varies from classical to contemporary music. The duo won a prize for their interpretation of a contemporary work written by the Dutch/Argentinean Composer, Carlos Michans. In February 2002 a CD was released with music of Carlos Michans, performed by Tjeerd Top and Mariken Zandvliet. Tjeerd Top and Mariken Zandvliet will perform on October 10 at 7 p.m. at The Golden Ballroom of The Colombo Plaza.

Their selection for the evening will include Beethoven's Spring Sonata, works of Fritz Kreisler, Tchaikowsky, Mozart, and Schubert as well as some contemporary pieces.

Tickets are priced at Rs. 750 inclusive of refreshments and are available at the Sunera Foundation Office, 65 Rosmead Place, Colombo 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Main sponsors are: The Royal Netherlands Embassy and The Colombo Plaza. Electronic media sponsors include MTV, Yes, FM and Classic Radio. Proceeds will be in aid of Sunera Foundation.

The art of dwarfing nature

By Risidra Mendis

A little bit of skill and creativity and an eye for beauty is all you need  to shape a large tree into a cut down size. This specialised art better  known as 'bonsai' has today become popular in Sri Lanka and the world over and is rapidly becoming a hobby to some, and a full time job to others.

"There is no age barrier when it comes to creating a bonsai. All you need is patience, commitment and a love of the art. The rest will follow," says former President, Sri Lanka Bonsai Association (SLBA), Manel Gunewardene.

According to Gunewardene, the SLBA is around 14 yeas old. "When we first started the SLBA we had only seven members. But today the membership has increased to round 80," explained Gunewardene.

The SLBA when it first started was confined to only English speaking members. "As members we felt that everybody should be given the opportunity of learning this interesting and fascinating craft. Bonsai members started giving lectures in English and Tamil thereby resulting in a mixed membership," explained Gunewardene.

According to Gunewardene, the origins of bonsai came from China. "However, this art was developed to a greater extent in Japan. The people of Japan are nature lovers. But many Japanese have a small garden space or no garden. With no other alternative left, the Japanese took to designing bonsai," Gunewardene added.

According to Gunewardene, the advantage of having a bonsai is that you can keep it even on a small space in your garden or balcony like the Japanese have done. "It was the Japanese who developed this art to such an extent," explained Gunewardene.

The art of bonsai is pure relaxation and is known to have cured people with illnesses. According to Gunewardene, President, SLBA, M. A. Pemasiri was instrumental in working closely with the committee and developing the art of bonsai to its present standard.

"Our bonsai far exceeds the standards of Indian bonsai," says Gunewardene. "The Japanese Embassy has always given us their support and encouragement to make bonsai a successful art in Sri Lanka. Embassy officials have given us a Japanese trophy to be presented to the best exhibitor at this year's annual exhibition," said Gunewardene.

The SLBA will hold their annual exhibition Reflections 2004 - Living Images where members will compete in three categories namely the novices, beginners and seniors. "Senior members, treasurers and secretaries have always encouraged and guided the juniors to improve their standard of work and given them the confidence to exhibit their work in Reflections 2004 - Living Images," says Gunewardene.

Judges at the exhibition will be Gunewardene, Ramani Liyanage and Druki Martenstyn. The awards ceremony will be held on October 8 at 11 a.m. Japanese Ambassador, Akio Suda and Madam Suda will be the chief guests for the occasion. The

exhibition will be held on October 7, 8, 9 and 10 at the Jayawardena Cultural Center, Colombo 7 from

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Malay cultural festival

The Kandy Malay Association is organising a cultural pageant and a variety entertainment show in aid of a Cultural Hall building on Saturday, October 9 at the Kingswood College Hall, Kandy. The items that are included in the programme are singing, dancing, a short drama, a Malay mock wedding, a fashion parade and a modeling event.

In addition to the various events to be presented by the Kandy Malays, a presentation of cultural displays from the Sri Lanka Malay Association, Mabole, Malay Association and Nawalapitiya Malay Associations are also included to add glamour and elegance to the show. There will also be a Malay food outlet, with different Malay sweets and pastries for sale. Malay cookery books will also be on display for sale.

The Mayor of Kandy will be chief guest for the show, in addition to various distinguished persons, as guests of honour. The organising committee is going all out to make this event a success.

Tickets for the show are priced at Rs. 300, Rs. 200, Rs. 100 and Rs. 50. Tickets could be reserved in advance by contacting the Secretary, Tony J. Hassan on 081-2215274. Part of the proceeds will also be donated to the Kandy Branch of the Sri Lanka Cancer Society.