Sunethra Aluthdunne
සෑම අන්දරයක්ම ඇරබෙනුයේ ඉසියුම් කෙදිරිල්ලකින්, සිතුවිල්ලකින් සහ දැල්වෙන්නට පෙරමග බලන ගිනි අඟුරකින්ය
Every tale begins with a whisper, a thought and an ember waiting to ignite.
මුතුන් මිත්තන්, ජනප්‍රවාද සහ එදිනෙදා වීරයන් ගේ කතා වලට නිරන්තරයෙන් ඇලුම් කල ඇයගේ ළමා කාලය ගෙවුනේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මනරම් භූ දර්ශන සහ සංස්කෘතික කැලිඩෝස්කෝප් මධ්‍යයේ ය. මෙම කතන්දර ඇගේ ලෝක දැක්ම හැඩගස්වා, කුතුහලයේ බීජ වපුරා, සම්ප්රදායික ක්ෂිතිජයන්ගෙන් ඔබ්බට ගවේෂණය කිරීමට ආශාවක්ද ඇති කළහ.
Growing up amidst Sri Lanka’s picturesque landscapes and cultural kaleidoscope, she was constantly surrounded by tales – of ancestors, mythical legends, and everyday heroes. These stories didn’t just entertain; they shaped her worldview, sowing seeds of curiosity and a yearning to explore beyond the horizons.
කතන්දර කීම යනු වචන පමණක් නොවේ. එය නොයෙකුත් ජන කොටස් අතර ඇති හිඩැස් හරහා පාලම් බැදීමට සහ දෙබස් ආරම්භ වීමටද උදව් වේ. ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය හවුල් උරුමයන් පිළිබිඹු කරමින් විවිධ හඬවල් සමරන අවකාශයක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම ඇයගේ සිහිනයක් විය
The storytelling is not just about the written or spoken word. It’s about bridging gaps, creating dialogues, and forging connections. It was her dream to craft a space that celebrates the diverse voices of Sri Lanka.
මගේම ජීවිතයේ හෘද චක්‍ර චාරිකාව හරහා අසංඛ්‍යාත කලාකරුවන්, කතුවරුන්, සිසුන්, සුභ පතන්නන් සහ ආදරණීයන් සමඟ සහයෝගයෙන් වැඩ කිරීමේ වරප්‍රසාදය මට ලැබී ඇත. සෑම අන්තර්ක්‍රියාවක්ම, සෑම බෙදාගත් මොහොතක්ම, මෙම ගමන පොහොසත් කළේය. කතන්දර යනු අප සියල්ලන්ම එකට ගෙතූ නූල් බව මට සිතේ
Through the Heart Chakra Voyage of my life, I’ve had the privilege of interacting with countless artists, authors, students and enthusiasts. Each interaction, each shared tale, enriches this journey, reminding me that stories are the threads that weave us all together.
Heart Chakra (2018), page 270)
Rohan adjusts the front passenger seat position to the most comfortable one. Then he regulates the AC, also to the most comfortable setting. This would have made Deepa proud! He keeps on changing the radio channel. He wants to listen to the most relaxing music. Finally, a romantic melody by Brian Adams fills the air.
When you love a woman, you tell her that she’s the one…
“I love Brian Adams too.”
Heart Chakra (2018), page 205
The long fringes of their garments are flowing rhythmically, suspended in air for a moment, and then settling down. Their shirts are painted with brightly colored eagles and buffaloes. Their hands are raised and clenched. As they unclench the fingers in unison, the dust they are holding flies with the wind, making the air hazy.
He sees Nimal dancing with a very short person. He doesn’t know the dwarf, except he remembers him from another life. He is surprised to see Wovoka dancing with Ajmal. His beard has grown long, and he is wearing a turban. He wishes Sara was there too. They could have joined the dance together. Rohan is too shy to dance alone.
Then he witnesses a miracle.
A tall man with a strong body does some unusual dance moves on the opposite side, away from Nimal and Gune. Yes. Now he remembers the little person’s name. But it is not Gune dancing with head and arms raised high toward the sky that catches his attention. It is his father, wearing a red and yellow shirt with an eagle’s picture on the front, dancing with both arms extended forward, like he is about to hold somebody.
He wants to rush forward and accept the embrace—he knows that he is not allowed that hug anymore.
Sampath (Sam) Dissanayake
Sampath obtained his Bachelor of Science from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and master of Arts in Buddhist Studies from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka before continuing his education at the University of Toronto. Currently he is working as a unionized actor in Los Angeles and Toronto. He is a member of Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Alliance of Canadian Cinema, television and Radio Arts (ACTRA).
As a writer, he has contributed to an introductory article to “Discovering Meditation” (2009) by British writer Jeanne Mynette, Also he Co-edited a book titled “Remembering Godwin (A beautiful Way of Living)” (2010) with British writer Dennis Candy based on the life and teachings of late Godwin Samararathne, a Buddhist Meditation Master from Sri Lanka.
He is the Co-author of the novel Heart Chakra (2010, 2018) recently translated to Sinhala as හද සක් චාරිකා
His memories of Nilambe Meditation Center and the late Godwin Samararathne was the inspiration for the Chapter 7 of Heart Chakra (The Calm, සන්සුන් බව).
Read the beautiful tribute he wrote for the second death anniversary of Godwin here.