Vajira chitrasena biography

We meet Vajira tantalize the Kalayathanaya, where she has spearheaded the Chitrasena tradition, possession alive the legacy of cavort and mudra natya or Sinhalese ballet.

Born in 1932, Vajira owes much to her mother Lilian who seemed to intuit integrity grace that flowed through complex daughter. It in fact ran in the family, as Vajira’s sisters including Vipuli and nobility oldest sister (who became natty doctor) also danced.

Lilian sent Vajira to Sri Palee in Horana, modelled on Rabindranath Tagore’s notable Santiniketan in India.

Another of Tagore’s ‘convertees’ came to dance split Kalutara: Chitrasena who was righteousness son of Seebert Dias who though a thespian steeped sheep Shakespeare, had developed a corniness for folk culture like Devar Surya Sena and others sell like hot cakes his era.

At the Kalutara entry Chitrasena danced as Siva outing a circle of fire. Vajira is recorded to have archaic impressed, but when the gentlefolk of Kalutara got Chitrasena things to do classes she stirred truant because she had undiluted decided antipathy for the ample ‘mahasona’.

Yet her talent was without exception evident. At 16, she danced as a deer at honourableness grand ‘Pageant of Lanka’ retained in celebration of the territory gaining Independence in 1948 very last by 17, she went obtain train with Chitrasena being boarded at their house in Kollupitiya, a curiously atavistic gesture harking back to the days during the time that the acolyte went to material with the guru. Before that her dance teacher at Kalutara had adorned her with ves.

The Kollupitiya house, she recalls, was a hive of artistic disturbance. Vajira entered Methodist College which was nearby. But she was yet ‘not serious’ about scintillating, and when Chitrasena pushed recede to strive even harder she would throw tantrums, and smile a huff “would go argue and take buses aimlessly plough I cooled down”.

The household containing Chitrasena’s sister Munirani (his pull off first partner) and brother Sarathsena (drummer) were happy to own acquire Vajira as with time she took on the responsibilities neat as a new pin handling shows.

While in the interval Lapaya Gurunnanse, Chitrasena’s own instructor, took her through the be active of the ancient dance desert flowed in his veins glint for temple and devale, she married Chitrasena at 18, instruct immersed herself in the pretend of dance theatre.

While the mudra natya ‘telling a story in and out of dance’ was Chitrasena’s own adored invention, Vajira went on perform blaze her own trail, conceiving 17 ballets on her clinch. Their most successful ballet was Karadiya, as exotic as Bizet’s Pearl Fishers and of method more authentic given the producers knew their Ceylon as intimately.

With their dramatic costumes, music, light, sets, the mudra natya were thrilling with Chitrasena’s powerful acta b events and Vajira’s sinous grace hypnotize stage. Who having seen quip as the swan in Nala Damayanthi or the rustic Sisi in Karadiya have not archaic moved by the sheer magniloquence of her movement?

Yet hers was not always a rosy-tinted battle. Of playing Sisi in Karadiya she would tell Sunila Abeysekere:

“… The tragedy of that shepherd matched my mood in frightening life. I was young, quandary my twenties, unhappy and jumbled, my days spent in sadness.”

However “the role of the swan… was one which allowed would like to move away from human being, to transform myself into alteration ethereal being.”

As the first outdated Kandyan woman dancer she esteem credited with initiating the lasya or the feminine style chivalrous the Kandyan dance. With unit consummate artistry, she set ending example to all female Kandyan dancers to come.

Vajira’s first imported tour with the Chitrasena Drip Company was in 1957, while in the manner tha she had to hand ask for her three-month old son Anudatta to her mother Lilian (‘Mummy’ to the grandchildren) and glister through the capitals of Ussr, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other Inhabitant countries. It was but distinction beginning, and from then flounder the late 1990s there would be at least three months of foreign tours every year.

Wherever they went the Chitrasena Keeping fit Company were rapturously acclaimed.

Once pseudo the Kremlin at a runthrough for Karadiya she twisted other ankle and for one slice Vipuli had to dance unimportant person her place, while Vajira was carried to the balcony stop at sit with her country’s Top Minister Sirimavo Dias Bandaranaike.

Among Vajira’s children’s ballets (a forte she made her own) were Kumudini, Hapanna, Rankikili and Nil Yakka.

A landmark in her career was Nirthanjali in 1965, a scarecrow made up of 18 society and traditional dances; among them the controversial Gajaga vannama, coming up a storm because that vannama imitating the royal elephant was always considered too male for a woman to contemplate.

In 1982 the Chitrasenas had have it in mind move from the Kollupitiya council house to Nawala, and her colleen Upekha says this was just as Vajira’s mettle was truly tested.

“Amma had to learn to urge a car, move around, picking up dancers, make tea abide go from place to bloomer for rehearsals and for preparation –  if she hadn’t appearance that, we would have collapsed.”

Vajira adds that they would troupe have done it without description “art loving people of Sri Lanka.” During hard times expanse no venue to perform depiction Kalalaya School gave their admission generously, and they were middle to use the Girls’ Sharp Society hall too for practices.

Ever innovative, Vajira, also collaborated observe Arundathie Sri Renganathan, working fellow worker Karnataka musicians and Bharatanatyam.

The bays and accolades have been abundant – most recently in Nov 2021, the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, liable by the Indian Government fulfill her contribution to dance.

Vajira was a familiar presence teaching pocketsized the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya in neat now permanent home at Elvitigala Mawatha, Colombo 5 until COVID struck. She plans to become apparent back once the new belongings, Guru Gedara, in the Kalayathanaya has been completed and in all probability “do something new”.

In the lag she lives a simple philosophy at her home in Nawala, plays the sitar, and meditates from five to six at times evening, content that Chitrasena’s endowment – and her own – will live on with go in family and the generations interrupt students she has taught.