When Dinesh Ravindra Gunaratne (otherwise known as DRG), longtime friend, movie maker
and fellow arts-enthusiast invited us for “Stranger in a Sari”, I literally
rubbed my hands together and exclaimed “finally!”
Having known this individual for quite a while as an incredibly gifted
artistic soul with this sense of something (we have always interpreted as) just bursting to come out,
in my head he had always been this ticking time bomb, ripe for bursting forth with
something wonderful. But we knew him mostly as a movie maker with a
flare for the unusual and his never-seen-a-box-in-his-life way of thinking. So when
“Stranger in a Sari” finally came out, Dinesh had more than a few surprises in
store for us.
The venue was laid out tastefully with elegance and
sophistry, one that you would only expect from someone with an eye (kudos to the
awesome deco person Gihan Karunanayake). The program was short and sweet with a
few readings from some intriguing pieces including the fascinating short story
“Stranger in a Sari” which held the audience captive within the short time it
unrolled. The crowd present was comprised of Dinesh’s closest circle and the love was
indeed felt as Dinesh took the microphone in hand to thank the myriad people
who were involved. Judging by the response of the crowd, it was quite plain to
see that the writer and artist is a much loved individual cherished by many.
Let me rewind just a little bit.
So there I was having arrived early, flipping through the
beautiful booklet that was handed to me (classy and intriguing cover, 4 elegant bookmarks n
all) waiting for my other half (who was characteristically late). It didn’t take
long for this unassuming little thing to draw me right in. It was a strange
feeling, sitting there in the midst of the crowd yet hardly even aware of them,
lost within the pages of the book. The crowd did not exist. The Cappuccino in
front of me did not exist. Simply said, the words on those pages wrenched my
heart right out of my rib cage, squeezed it open and left it bleeding, exposed
and vulnerable. All my life’s heartbreaks came tumbling back to me. There was
pain, yes, unbearable, all consuming, pain, but there was also hope. And it was
amazing how he has taken that pain inside him, twisted and twirled it into a
masterful craft, sprinkled it with a bit of hope and unleashed it full blast upon us unsuspecting beings. It was
cruel, beautiful poetry, brought forth by a cruel beautiful world.
Weirdly enough, this hard-hitting phenomenon left me nostalgic for all the heartbreaks
of the past. Hardly something that one would be nostalgic
about. Most importantly, it made me “feel”.
“I woke up
With pain
Gushing through
my veins
Losing you
Made me fear
life”
He says. And
on the next page he is
“kissing the
mirror
To feel the
wetness of
Your lips”
Pungent. Vivid. Resonating. And the reader goes, ‘I know
that deep stabbing pain in the morning just as you wake up. I know exactly how
you feel!’.
My personal favourite has to be the below.
“It’s hard
when
Memories remain
in
Your old
phone’s
Memory card
She took the
exact picture
The same
pose
With her new
husband…..”
Very real,
very true to life. This could be anyone, phones bearing too many memories, exes
taking the same kind of pictures in the same poses as they once posed with you
with their new found lovers – we’ve all faced that pang of deep, deep hurt,
that first moment of discovery when you stumble upon your pictures with them on
Facebook just when you thought you are over them……
“Health tip
Don’t try to
own
A travelling
heart
With the
hope of
Hiding it
Inside your
soul
From the
rest of the world”
How very,
very true.
What is
remarkable about this is that even though it seems like the protagonist has suffered a deep
loss and has been in a dark lonely place, there is no bitterness, no anger nor
hatred detected in any of these pieces. There is a childlike innocence in the protagonist,
an eternal optimism that shines through his words. The woman, the creature that
caused him pain is presented as a sublime, sensual, mysterious creature by whom
the protagonist continues to be very much fascinated. There is respect and awe
of the female creature still and a sense of adoration. This amazes me - in a
world where females are lashed at, insulted and objectified every second of the
day, this is refreshingly new indeed.
Dinesh refers to his collection as “sentimental rants”. And with
that he shows us how easy it is to enjoy and to feel humanity with all its faults,
its sensuality, emotions, sentiments and feelings without the pompous grandeur
or the unnecessary embellishments. The empathy in his work is astounding. It is
honest to goodness emotions turned to words, scattered upon the pages, with
love. Simply, beautiful.
I particularly loved the short stories. If anything, Dinesh
Ravindra Gunaratne is a superb story teller and this is not the first time he
has exhibited it. Unexpected plot twists, incredibly detailed accounts, he
sucks you into these little parallel universes he creates with his stories and
abandons you there, leaving you to your own antics. You simply could not rest
until you’ve read it all. He has this old school style of writing, showcasing I
think, a love for all things vintage and a sort of yearning for the past when
things were lavish and dramatic. This, especially, appeals to me. Things are
much too sterile and minimalist these days, boring in execution and insipid in
design. His prowess as a movie maker sharpens his knack for story writing,
these tales bringing characters to life and engraving them in your mind. These
are memorable stories showcasing rare genius. It’s been a while since I’ve read
a memorable short story, Dinesh’s being the first in perhaps, years.
Speaking about his movie making, I wish I had a few links to
his short movies to back up my claim. But here is the trailer of just one of
his many works called “Mata pissu naha” that I managed to find online after
raking through tons and tons of material. However,
do check out the Mathwada Facebook page managed by Dinesh and his best friend and
partner in crime Naveen Marasinghe. This is bound to capture your attention.
In the meantime I also found this. A short film named Cleopatra’s shoe,
inspired by a story by the great G.B Senanayake, who also happens to be my
favourite Sinhala writer.
Did I mention that they are also the creators of Mathawada? Checkout the site here.
The book feels intensely personal. It is like the publishing
of the book is the final let go of the pain and suffering and I could almost
hear the writer shedding a sigh of relief, finally letting it go. I recognize
this feeling. I can relate to it. It is akin to amassing all the gifts, the
poems, the notes, written by and to a past love, making a huge heap of it in
your front yard, ceremoniously setting it all on fire and watching the flames
consume it all, a little bit of pain disintegrating, freeing you as the fire
disintegrates the paper bit by bit. It feels deeply satiating.
And another thing that really stood out at the event and
further proved that he really is an individual dedicated to the arts – the book
was not for sale. It was distributed among whoever attended and those who
wished could have made a donation, any amount they liked at a cardboard box
placed on a side table. And what’s more, anyone who wished could download the book online free of charge! Generosity, selflessness – never before seen
characteristics in anything in this country, let alone in arts! In this and
many other things Dinesh stands a unique individual and a worthy example.
The book was backed by a series of mesmerizing photographs
by Lakmal Ranasinghe, who was entrusted with the
task of interpreting the work by DRG. I think he has done a marvelous job. The photographs
are haunting and capture the essence of the woman - the root of the protagonist’s
heartbreak. They are sensual, just like the writings themselves. You can checkout some of those photographs here.
A little word on the venue and the staff. Held at the Café
Mocha by Barista right next to Gandara, the venue was charming with its wooden
floors and the old school glamour to it, which I thought suited the event very
well. And the staff was extremely friendly, ever ready to help and I could very
well hand over the “staff of the year” award to these lovely boys and one girl who
manned the place on that day.
Also, everything was 15% off to people who came for the
event! That was definitely the cherry on top of the cake. At least for me :D
All in all, a beautiful, tasteful event, inspiring and
refreshingly different. A wonderful booklet brimming with flavoursome things which
for me was also emotions bound in paper Download the free PDF if you wish (and
I strongly recommend that you do) and savour the loveliness. In the meantime,
do enjoy the reading below.
