• Karu Heenatigala and son, Srimarl capture
  Nature's beauty 'thru the lenses
• FORGOTTEN HERITAGE
  The romantic Rantembe gorge

by Namini Wijedasa
Nature... nothing so perfect and terrifying. Life... nothing so wondrous. Together, they form the very essence of this tortured earth. They struggle against the destruction that is brought about, ironically, by man’s search for advancement.

Amazingly, they manage to survive. To preserve some of that raw beauty, against the odds. And, once in a while, they allow man a glimpse into their world, to share and to preserve, to rejoice in and marvel at.

Karu Heenatigala was ready when it happened. Armed with a camera, he captured Life and Nature at its best, and considered himself lucky to have done it. The result was a collection of photographs that would give today’s tired, world-weary man some hope, some enjoyment in what is important but what he no longer sees.

"Nature and Life", an exhibition of photographs by Karu Heenatigala and his son, Srimarl, was held at the Art Gallery from July 21 and 22. The snapshots of fauna and flora, casually captured through their lenses, were not the results of years of photographic training. Instead, they were the efforts of two men in love with nature. An expert photographer may have angled it better but Karu and Srimarl channelled their feelings into their work and expertise didn’t matter anymore. That is what gave each photograph on display its uniqueness.

Karu doesn’t talk much about himself. When questioned by ‘The Island’ about his background, he was concise and accurate. He commenced his professional career as a banker. Joining The People’s Bank in 1964, he continued to work there till 1984. After quitting that line of work, he commenced operations in the arena of garment export and fared exceptionally well. His company, Heenatigala Garments, is the recipient of several Sri Lanka Export Development Board awards. It is also internationally recognised for export performance of garments and employs about 3,000 workers. Srimarl is a director in the same firm.

Photography was his hobby, as it was his son’s. But the maiden exhibition held last week was also a project aimed at proving a point. Throughout his life, Karu tired of businessmen being stereotyped as "dull and boring". They were thought of as never seeing beyond their back gardens or front lawns, their noses perpetually stuck in matters of money and enterprise. Karu wanted to show that "they were not only money-makers". There were some who loved art and literature and enjoyed beauty for beauty’s sake and not for the sake of how much revenue it could earn. He wanted to prove that he was one of those.

And so began his expeditions in search of unspoilt beauty and nature. He and his son toured the country and then made tracks for wild Africa. Patience and perseverance paid dividends in the end and the collection of photographs on display enthralled the viewers. Especially commendable was the large selection of elephant portraits. Karu and Srimarl succeeded in achieving something many modern-day pho-tographers aspire at. Their photographs had character and throbbed with feeling. The little elephant wallowing in the mud actually looked as if it was laughing. The herd of wild buffalo showed all the signs of bustling activity centering around filling their stomachs with as much lush grass as was possible. The flowers were perfumed and the air is fresh. The glossy pictures were reverberating with noise of nature.

The leaflet sent by Karu to the press promoting his maiden exhibition held an interesting reflection on life. Life, it notes, "is the active principal peculiar to animals and plants and common to them all..." Karu and Srimarl through their work brought home the facts of life with the gentle reminder that all is not business and money. Life and Nature, too, crave attention and offer more in terms of mental satisfaction.

By Zanita Careem
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga will take on the stewardship of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on July 29.

Sri Lanka has played an important role in promoting regional cooperation and international relations.

In 1957 late Premier S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike supported India and other Third World countries to promote the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Sri Lanka became the first country to hold a Non-Aligned Summit in the Asian region in 1976, presided by Mrs. R. D. Bandaranaike, the first woman Prime Minister of the world.

Sri Lanka also played an important role in the formation of the SAARC in 1985.

This month the daughter of two Prime Ministers the late S. W. R. D. Bandarnaiake and Sirima R. D. Bandaranaike will take over the leadership of SAARC.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s charismatic leadership will no doubt help SAARC to bring harmony, peace and prosperity to the region.

The South Asian region already has had seven women heads of State Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh), Indira Gandhi (India), Benazir Bhuto (Pakistan), Cerium R. D. Bandaranaike and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (Sri Lanka).

South Asia is the home of one-fourth of the world’s population. The women in South Asia comprise close to one-fourth of the world’s female population.

Only a handful of women in the region have achieved fame, particularly as political leaders.

by Gamini G. Punchihewa
After Randenigala the next most romantic gorge is the Rantembe now submerged by the Rantembe reservoir.

Rantembe was located at a scenic riverine spot down stream at the confluence of Uma Oya with Mahaweli ganga, about three kilo meters downstream of Randenigala and 2.5 kilometres upstream of the Minipe anicut.

Prince Rajasinghe of the 17^th century, A.D., is reported to have crossed the Rantembe gorge on a horse.

‘Once upon a time indulging in youthful sports Prince Rajasinghe, riding with a companion mounted on another horse, ran along the street, and sank in a marsh;y place but the courageous, prince sprang aloft swung himself on to the horse and rode on further. At the dangerous ford of the Ganga (Mahaweli), which is called Suvannattambha, he sprang from the rock on this side and reached the rock on the opposite bank," so records the Culawamsa (Part I).

Suwannattambha is referred to at a foot note of Culavamsa as ‘Rantet-tota ford over Mahaweli ganga’ which name was transformed into present day Rantembe. The other legend women around Rantembe is that when ancient princes and kings rode on horseback across this perilous but narrow strip of gorge, there was planted a golden-thambe a post or pillar) on its opposite bank which helped the rider to get a well balanced hold on the ground vaulting on his horse to its opposite bank.

From the bungalow of Randenigala, scenic views could be observed of the Randenigala-Rantembe reservoirs.

Way back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, I visited the many Mahaweli Systems, mostly connected with history, archaeology and legend and was present at the commissioning of the Rantembe-hydro project and the opening of the Rantembe reservoir graced by the then Ambassador of the former Federal Republic of Germany on 26.5.90. His immortal words in his speech ran thus: "Rantembe gorge where ancient kings rode across on horse-back was a scenic spot, though it is now gone forever, it would still linger in the hearts of today’s generations, while for posterity, it would remain a household name only, but its benefits would last forever."