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| Monday, 4 August 2003 |
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Mizo folk dance group to perform here A 10-member folk dance troupe from Mizoram, India will be visiting Sri Lanka from August 11-17, 2003 at the invitation of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Cultural Affairs to celebrate the 56th anniversary of India's independence. The visit of the troupe is sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations under the Cultural Exchange Programme.
Folk dances have a special significance in the lives of the Mizo people. While some are performed to celebrate a bumper harvest or success in hunting, others are performed during marriage ceremonies and festivals. The dances are extremely lively and energetic. Attired in traditionally woven, bright and colourful costumes, the dancers move with gusto to the rhythm of drums, gongs and cymbals. The cheerful and spirited dances give a glimpse of the culture and traditions of the people of Mizoram. The performances, jointly organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Indian High Commission can be seen in Colombo, Matale and Galle. The group will be performing in Colombo on August 14 at the Elphinstone Theatre. Minister of Shipping of India and well known film star, Hon. Shatrughan
Sinha will be the guest of honour. The other performances will be held at
Matale on August 12 and Galle on August 16. Sing-along with the Gypsies A great musical evening for the entire family will be held on Sunday 31
August, 2003 at the Liberty Ballroom of the Holiday Inn at 7 p.m. The Gypsies together with Corrine, Ginger and Ronnie will enliven the show, which will be hosted by Clifford Richard. The ticket prices are inclusive of refreshments. All funds from this show will be directed towards the setting up of the
MLSC Vocational Training Centre for the needy and the completion of the
first and second floor of the headquarters at D. R. Wijewardena Mawatha,
Colombo 10. Vasantha's "Nirapeksha" opens on Aug 23
The 14th exhibition of paintings by Vasantha Kumara is scheduled to open on august 23 at the Public Library, Colombo. it is named 'Nirapeksha' ('Absence of Hope') and would continue up to the 25th.Occasions come to pass when one feels intolerably lonely, and he is soon overcome with a burden of diverse hopes. He would easily be disillusioned and meet his end. If, however, he would free himself of such expectations for the future, at least for a moment, he would certainly begin to feel the pulsation of life within him. Of Cabbages, Kings and Things : The French revolution and the Countess of Paris by Padma Edirisinghe Since our school days we have got attuned to the idea that the French Revolution was a major upheaval that was orchestrated in the long forgotten past ie. more than two centuries ago. Figures like Louis the 14th and Marie Antonette are almost ghost-like spectres who have receded in to the World of the Dead countless years ago. But this major event in the world's political history where a suffering mass of people overthrew and massacred a whole royal family that lorded over them with arrogant injustice has again been almost brought to our doorstep by a singular figure according to a Daily Telegraph obituary. The central figure here (the grand dame subject to the obituary) has been described as the "Most beautiful princess alive". Later elevated to the position of "the Countess of Paris" she was baptized Isabel Marie Amelie Louise Victoire Therese Jeanne! Thus even by name the princess, later Countess who passed away only last year after a long life of 91 years was identified with the ignominious character of Marie Antoinette who appeared on the balcony before a rioting hungry crowd seething with fury and kindly' requested them to eat cake if they don't have bread. By kinship too the princess was allied to the deposed and exiled Royal House of France, both from her husband's connection and in her own right. She herself was a direct descendent of the royal family of Brazil who was again deposed and exiled. The shadows of the famous French Revolution staged during the last minutes before the midnight clang of the vanishing 18th Century rang had followed the Countess's life's events of the 20th Century. Her husband was a desendent of King Louis Phillippe of France to whom even Princess Isabel too was again connected. Falling in love they planned to marry in France where their roots were planted. But in 1886 a Law of Exile had been passed prohibiting descendents of the French royal family to live in France or visit France. Compare this to our compassionate situation where the descendents of our last king Sri Wickrema not only came here and but earned their bread and butter or their thosai and Masala at Lakehouse, the premier newspaper institution in the island where they opted to work as journalists. Back to unkindly France or Europe. denied entry to France they married in Sicily to which venue loyalists of the French royal family, numbering 60,000 had flocked to join in the festivities. Their joyous cries "Long live the king of France" had reverberated across the Mediterenean island. A favourite piece of jewellery of the Countess had been a fabulous sapphire and diamond tiara that had belonged to queen Marie Antoinette. It could have been stored away in safe custody before the scaffold fell on the queen's beautiful neck in "The name of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity", catchwords that were a few years later to fire the Revolution of the new American States, leading to the birth of the United States. Having given birth to 11 children and surviving two of them the Countess had taken to writing in her advanced years. In 1950 the French Govt. turning more compassionate had revoked the Law of Exile of royal descendents after which the Countess and the Count, also called Henri the 6th by French Royal loyalists, returned to Paris. The Count took to politics and began a monthly bulletin on political matters. The Countess began writing her memories. Late in her life, almost in her 70s, she added a third volume to it and began writing historical works based on her family that were to include biographies too. Born in the 20th Century and staging the final exit in the 21st Century, Isabel Maries Amelie Loiuse Victoire Therese Jeanne, later dubbed the Countess of Paris had her life shadowed by an unprecedented political upheaval that shook Europe in the 18th Century. Who says that Time passed is Time deceased? (Source: Daily Telegraph Service) |
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The group will present a spectacular display of traditional folk dances
from the state of Mizoram for the first time in Sri Lanka. Dr. H.
Lalnunmawii, who has a number of performances to her credit will lead the
group of young and talented artistes.Situated in the north east of India,
Mizoram is a land of rolling hills, rivers and lakes. It is home to
several tribes of Mongoloid origin.
