Beware the Ides of March

Lionel Wijesiri

HISTORICAL: If you've heard the warning, "Beware the Ides of March," then it's probably from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." In this famous play, an unknown soothsayer tells Caesar, who is already on his way to the Senate, "Beware the ides of March." Caesar replies, "He is a dreamer; let us leave him. Pass." (Incidentally, Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March - March 15, 44 BC.)

According to historical writer C.J.S. Thompson, Ph.D. in "The Mystery and Romance of Astrology", the unidentified soothsayer from Shakespeare's play was a Roman astrologer by the name of Spurinna.

According to Thompson - and confirmed in Plutarch's account of the story written in 75 AD and Suetonius in 110 A.D. - it was sometime prior to the fateful day of March 15 that Spurinna had first given Caesar the famous warning to "beware of the Ides of March."

The astrologer, Spurinna, had previously warned Caesar that on the Ides of March, he would be in great danger. If, however, Julius Caesar took care on that one day - then all would be well.

According to Plutarch's account, Caesar had previously made the wise decision to stay within the safety of his bedroom chambers on the 15th of March. However, Caesar's "friend" Decimus Brutus (not Marcus Brutus) managed to convince him that the astrologer's warnings were nothing more than superstitious foolishness.

So Julius Caesar decided to attend the Senate on the 15th of March. On his way to the Senate, Caesar "accidentally" met up with the astrologer. Upon seeing the Spurinna, Caesar confidently informed the astrologer: "The Ides of March are come."

Spurinna replied, "Yes, they are come, but they are not past."

Later that day Caesar's enemies assassinated him in the Pompey theatre, at the foot of Pompey's statue, where the Roman Senate was meeting that day in the temple of Venus.

The soothsayer's warning has forever imbued that date with a sense of foreboding. But in Roman times the expression "Ides of March" did not necessarily evoke a dark mood - it was simply the standard way of saying "March 15."

The term Ides comes from the earliest Roman calendar, which is said to have been devised by Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome. Whether it was Romulus or not, the inventor of this calendar had a penchant for complexity. The Roman calendar organized its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days:

* Kalends (1st day of the month)

* Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months)

* Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months) The remaining, unnamed days of the month were identified by counting backwards from the Kalends, Nones, or the Ides. For example, March 3 would be V Nones - 5 days before the Nones (the Roman method of counting days was inclusive; in other words, the Nones would be counted as one of the 5 days).

Days in March

March 1 - Kalends; March 2 - VI Nones; March 3 - V Nones; March 4 - IV Nones; March 5 - III Nones; March 6 - Pridie Nones (Latin for "on the day before"); March 7 - Nones; March 15 - Ides Used in the first Roman calendar as well as in the Julian calendar (established by Julius Caesar in 45 BC) the confusing system of Kalends, Nones, and Ides continued to be used to varying degrees throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance.

So, the Ides of March is just one of a dozen Ides that occur every month of the year. Kalends, the word from which calendar is derived, is another exotic-sounding term with a mundane meaning. Kalendrium means account book in Latin: Kalend, the first of the month, was in Roman times as it is now, the date on which bills are due.

However, just four hundred years later, the Ides seems set only to survive as a literary and historical reference - in spite of it being the date by which debts (including Caesar's) were usually settled.

Professor Eileen Barker, of the London School of Economics, said it was a shame but the ides probably only had significance for schoolchildren reading Julius Caesar. "I was thinking about this when I saw what date it was, and I thought no wonder I'm feeling awful," she said.

One significant historical event that fell on the Ides of March is, perhaps, worth noting. It was on 15th March 1933, German leader Adolf Hitler proclaimed the beginning of the Third Reich claiming it will endure for a thousand years.

Remembering Rudolf Nureyev (17.03.1938 to 09.01.1993)

And the legend lives on...

Gwen Herat

"Farewell, thou art too dear for my possessing;
And like enough thou know'st thy estimate.
The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing;
My bonds in thee are all determine."

- William Shakespeare (Sonnet LXXXVII)

BALLET:There are so many episodes in the life and time of Rudolf Nureyev that we all know but the lesser known ones are kept in low profile in Russia of his time, prelude to his defection to the West. From the beginning Nureyev met with resistance but survived because of his early brilliance.

Restless as a kid, awaiting to break the chains that bound him by the authorities and free himself, Nureyev was marking time and learning patience in the process. Volatile even as kid, his nomadic but spectacular career was in a way very prophetic because he was born in a moving Siberian train in which his mother was travelling.

After his first steps at ballet, the youthful Nureyev moved over to the Kirov known as the citadel of ballet around the world. He was the most promising of all students but his revolting attitude and aggressive approach were not meant for the highly disciplined Kirov.

But Kirov found their prodigy, their shining star of the future and inside their cabins the administrators of the Kirov, discussed in whispers what they should do to handle their problem child. He was excellent; he was many steps ahead in his class; his musicality was extraordinary and was a beautiful child; They had to find the means to discipline the 'wild' Nureyev.

He spent his best years at the Kirov. He was such a confident young dancer that indifference became a feature both on and off the footlights. As he prepared for Laurencia, a Nureyev cult was already blossoming. His student performances had generated many followers and admirers who were even willing to put on with his bad behaviour while choreographers were drawn to him like a magnet.

The pack of followers defected from Kolpakova, Zucci and Dudinskaya would wait for Nureyev's arrival. With all attention focused on him, Nureyev was a sad, impatient man because he wanted to free himself from the clutches of Kirov. Prophetically the adulation had not brought out the best in Nureyev.

Yet, the Kirov administration gave the Nureyev fans a lot to see but the great Kirov Director, Sergeyen did not see eye to eye with Nureyev. In his three years with the Kirov, he had danced all the lead roles in every classical ballet which many other dancers had to work a lifetime to achieve.

As he started to dictate to Kirov, the trouble grew from bad to worse. He refused to wear the costumes they gave but instead redesigned and the crowds would go wild with appreciation. Kirov felt they were being humiliated but kept mum.

The defect

After the Kirov's tour of Paris when the troupe was at the Le Bourget airport in Paris, Nureyev became a different man within hours.

He was on the phone talking to Pierre Lacotte, a French dancer with whom he had spent a great deal of time during his tour for the Paris season. He begged his friend to come to the hotel, pick him up and drive to the airport but Lacotte calmed him down because as a European escort would be bad for Nureyev.

Nureyev left the hotel with his troupe and a pair of scissors in his pocket. He was going to kill himself had he to board the aircraft to Russia. He was ordered to leave for Russia while the rest of the group were on their way to London for more performances.

The KGB was put on his trail by the Russian Embassy officials to see that he returns home as they had a prenomination of what was going to happen. It was only at the airport that Nureyev learnt of this change of plan when Sergeyev told him so. In the meantime, Lacotte had arrived at the airport to bid farewell to Nureyev who rushed to him and cried. 'Please help me. I will kill myself'.

There was nothing that Lacotte could do because the KGB was now circling around Nureyev. By 8.30 am Clair Saint was on her way to the airport as she had been called by an Opera dancer to say goodbye to the Kirov dancers.

Saint had been given a slip of paper about Nurevey's predicament and she was willing to help him but had to do it without arousing the suspicion of the KGB. When she walked up to Nureyev, they blocked her. 'I want to kiss him goodbye' she told the burly Russians.

As she kissed him, he said 'Do something'. After sometime when his group had left the Paris airport, he stood crying all by himself. Saint returned after some time and went over to Nureyev. 'Not again', said the KGB. 'Please this last time because I will never never see him again' Saint told him of her plans.

Saint had met up with the French police and told them about Nureyev's attempt to defect. They advised Nureyev to break free and run into their custody the moment they approached him.

The two KGB men unaware what was going to take place, relaxed. Nureyev took the opportunity and bolted into their arms with the KGB on his heels. He was now safe in the arms of the French police but not before a scuffle ensued between the two KGB men and the French police.

The French authorities asked Russian bullies to back off as this was French territory. They gave in and Nureyev was now safe. However, an official from the Russian Embassy arrived and spoke to Nureyev and tried to convince him to return to Russia but Nureyev was not going to change his mind.

It was almost 10 a.m. at the Le Bourget airport and the whole drama was enacted in less than an hour. Nureyev was a free man but with no change of clothes and just 10 dollars in hand.

Nureyev picked up his dream from there. Many were ready to help him. KGB knew what they were seeing in Nureyev's 'de facto cohabitation along with his brilliance and how he down played his personal sexual life, keeping it for himself. As he danced his way up, he got the opportunity he was waiting for. He became the principal dancer with the International Ballet of the Marquis de Cueves.

Later an unexpected telephone call changed Nureyev's professional life when on tour at Copenhagen. Copenhagen Ballet's Vera Volkova got a call from Margot Fonteyn who had planned a benefit performance at the Royal Ballet.

She asked Vera 'Do you know where I can find that Russian boy. 'He is right here' she answered, opening the most sensational chapter in the history of twentieth century ballet. The phenomenal icon had arrived.

Life and work of Lester James Peries

LAUNCH: 'Lester James Peries - Life and Work - LJP authored by late Professor A. J. Gunawardena will be launched on Saturday March 18 at 5.30 pm in the Committee Room 'B' of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the patronage of Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs Dr. Sarath Amunugama.

The Asian Film Centre is organising the launch.

A romantic evening

Anjana Gamage

PERFORMANCE: Sujeewa Niranjani Rathnayake, who has excelled in writing poems, short-stories, novels and translations in Sinhalese for many years is busy these days to present a novel experience to the readers with a performance art event through her writings during this week.

"Romantic Evening", a performing event mix of all Sujeewa's sort of writings will be presented as a dialogue and songs at this event to be held on March 16 at the auditorium of the Mahaweli Centre.

In an interview with the 'Daily News', Sujeewa says: "This will be a unique experience for the readers who have already gone through my work.

"Thama Varadasa Nodisne" (short story), "Premaya Nohoth Maranaya" (poems), "Yuddaya Hamaraya" (translated short story) and "Avapasa Sanda" (novel) are the previous books that I have done.

"Titanic Charikawa" (Titanic Journey) is the latest youth novel translation that will be launched on that day. Some parts from this book will be presented by Malintha Deshapriya and Dinithi Jayasekera.

"The ceremony will include several dialogues of my books, presented by Palitha Silva and Gayani Gisanthika and the poems written by me will come out as songs through the voices of veteran singers including Rohan Shantha Bulegoda, Nelu Adikari, Lakshman Hewawitharana, Erosha Manori and Nanda Pathirana. Music is directed by Navaratne Gamage and Kapila Meddegoda," Sujeewa said.

Dr. Praneeth Abhayasundara, Sumana Saparamadu and K. K. Saman Kumara are lined up to come out with their views on Sujeewa's works on that day and the event will be presented by Vipul Darmapriya Jayasekera, Sithara Pavithrani and Danushka Abeywickrema.

Bandu brings out DVD

NEW RELEASE: Comedian of the Sinhala screen Bandu Samarasinghe comes out in his true form while performing and mimicking to his own voice doing popular Sinhala hits of yesteryear in the new DVD/VCD put out by Torana Music Box.

Titled Bandu Samarasinghe Live In Concert his performance is accentuated by the spectacular dancers of Channa and Upuli dance ensemble together with the simple setting.

The DVD/VCD released recently accommodates the full performance comprehensively, especially the audio, while the expressions of the performers too have been captured skilfully.

To Sir With Love - at the Russian Centre

MOVIE: St. Sylvester's College OBA Colombo branch will be screening To Sir With Love at the Russian Centre, Colombo 7 on March 18 at 6.00. p.m. This benefit show is screened to raise funds to award scholarships to students.

This movie, starring Sir Sidney Poitier, Christian Roberts and Judy Geeson portrays the man's ability to adapt, to change the way of thinking and to treat others with respect - an entertaining movie for the entire family.

For inquiries, contact: Kosala - 2576757, 0712 735 994

Wasantha Kumara's 'Susanwedhi'

EXHIBITION: Wasantha Kumara's 22nd exhibition of paintings titled 'Susanwedhi' sponsored by the Commissioner of Urban Council Badulla and "Manama Kala Sansadaya" will be held from March 18 to 21 at Old Library Hall, Badulla (Senarath Paranavithana Library).