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Twenty-six years have gone by since the death of Mahagama Sekara, the lyric writer, poet, painter, broadcaster, short story writer and cinematographer. Sekara is remembered as a person who had left an indelible mark in each of the fields he had engaged in.

He started his career as a trained Sinhala teacher who with his own devotion to higher learning in several languages like English, Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit proceeded as an independent scholar. But the difference lay in his deviation from narrow learning transcending into experimental stages in creativity.

These experimentations are clearly visualized in most of his poetical works commencing from his maiden collection of poems titled Sakvalihini, where he recreates an age old myth to suit modern conscience. Followed by the collection he experimented more and more on the structure or the forms suited for modern Sinhala poetry in such works as Heta Irak Payai, where some poems resembled the e-e cummings type of poetry in form.

The more conventional type of newspaper critics of the day (early sixties) ridiculed him as a spoilt and good for nothing versifier who is a hindrance to the development of poetry. But in reality Mahagama Sekara knew the conventional art of poetics and rhetorics.

He excelled in the art to the extent that most of the sensitive and melodious songs sung by Maestro Amaradeva, have been penned by Sekara. The blend of Amaradeva and Sekara towards the mid sixties and culminated in early seventies with the Madhuwanti music programs is ample testimony to this fact.

Sekara was a dedicated lyric writer, who utilized all the possible skills in the classical and the colloquial use of Sinhala languages while writing such classical lines as Ate kandukara Himav Arane for Nala Damayanthi ballet he also wrote lines like ganna ganna mage rupe man photo genic for such films as Saravita.

Having gathered experience with fellow creators in several fields, the remarkable factor about Sekara, is that he wanted to liberate himself from all of them. Once he told me that he wishes to remain silent to create and harmonize himself with the nature. This way of life to my mind was never achieved by Sekara, for he was one generating power house with abundance of energy to put out.

To his credit he brought out two novels, about six collections of poems inclusive of three works with longer poetical works with a single theme (they are Nomiyemi, Maknisada yath and Prabuddha). Sekara was a hero among the young poets of the day, and the trend is seen even today.

Being engaged himself as the principal of the then Heywood or the College of Fine Arts had severe limitations for his artistic carrier. Then he shifted his academic career to perhaps in ascending order to the position of a lecturer in a Teacher Training College and a visiting lecturer at University level.

Then his interest kindled on deviating to the stage of the researcher. His basic research problem as I perceived it was the nature and meaning of 'rhythm', about which he wrote a thesis, for which he posthumously, obtained the PhD degree. He once told me that it was a problem of the supervisor and a mission misunderstood, as there were conventional teachers of literature who failed to peep into the subject area.

As such there was as usual a long delay in the scrutiny, and assessment. In his creative process Sekara, attempted to embrace, all possible knowledge and wisdom from all cultures and quarters. While embarked in the attempt to translate Omar Khyyam's Rubaiyyat he also translated Conan Doyle. He tried to transform and share the poetic thoughts of Kahlil Gibran, Tagore and Sarojini Naidu.

He was also influenced by Japanese Haiku, and English and French Free verse. In his lesser-known short stories the Kafkian thought was dominant. Within his hefty physique resembling a full masculine personality, there lay a sensitive and mild heart and soul which melted giving vent to several ailments, but had a creative philosophy of mutability and transience.

This creative philosophy, he transformed into his poetic thoughts. Sekara to my best of knowledge, struggled hard to keep off from parochial literary circled, to which some of his literary politician friends dragged him. He just cast a smile, which I remember so well and to this day I recall one of his remarks recreated as follows, "I am so poor and sad. But I read Haiku and Zen to keep off this grief that enters my mind. But my learned fellows who go to Japan to study it, make money and live in luxury."

He loved people, but he preferred to live in solitude, devoid of cliqueism, in order to devote more time for thought and creativity.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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