'Nidhanaya's' tragic fate

One of Sri Lanka's greatest films, 'Nidhanaya', is lost to posterity on account of this country lacking a film archive. This tragic account was given to the public by none other than the illustrious Director of the film himself; Lester James Peries.

How much lacking in foresight could a country be? Since 1948 it has not occurred to those concerned that our films, whether great or small, should be preserved at least for the purposes of the record if not for their intrinsic value. This rule should be extended to all our arts and crafts.

As our front page comment said yesterday, the 'negative' of 'Nidhanaya' was consigned to the flames because it was in the process of deteriorating. Such deteriorating material, after all, is injurious to human health.

However, a mere air-conditioned room to preserve such material is no substitute for an archive and this should have occurred to successive administrations. Unfortunately, it has not occurred to these entities that great works of art should not only be preserved for future Lankan generations but for the whole of humanity as well.

So, 'Nidhanaya' is lost to mankind on account of our endemic bureaucratic myopia. We hope that swift action would be taken, since the matter has been brought to the notice of no less a person than President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to establish a film archive. Very urgent action should be taken in this regard, lest the rest of our film treasures are allowed to go up in smoke.

The sad fate which was visited on 'Nidhanaya' should awaken the conscience of the country to the need to perpetuate our artistic heritage whatever form they may take.

At first glance it is apparent that insufficient funds are being allocated for the protection and perpetuation of our artistic heritage. There are temple murals and treasured statues, for instance, which are allowed to deteriorate. Even important areas in the Cultural Triangle are suffering some neglect.

On the one hand, this is due to a devaluation of the arts and crafts of our people in general. Could this carelessness be traced to a greed for material possessions and money and a downgrading of things that lift the spirit?

We call for thorough soul-searching on the part of all on these questions. As a first step towards arresting this blight, we call for a higher budgetary allocation for the preservation of local arts and crafts and culture in general.

It cannot be emphasized enough that archives and other relevant structures are important for all our valuable arts and crafts.

Such structures, once established, should not be allowed to degenerate to the condition of funeral parlours, as has happened in the case of the National Art Gallery at Greenpath. It need hardly be said that we are debasing our artistic heritage by converting the Art Gallery into a funeral parlour.

The dead need to be respected but the National Art Gallery is simply not the place to deposit their bodies.

Our artistic heritage defines our essence as a people. 'Nidhanaya' was a rare mirror to the life of the local people. It deserved to be handled with the utmost care. We hope "Nidhanaya's" fate would be a wake-up call to all concerned.