Receiving the coveted ‘Sahithyaratne,’ the Lifetime Award of State Literary Awards 2020 at 87, will not slow down the literary pace of Namel Weeramuni. The playwright, translator, author, dramatist, thespian and promoter of the arts, ensconced in his ‘Namel Malini Punchi Theatre,’ the monument he built to satisfy his insatiable passion for the arts, was dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s in his latest works when we spoke to him on literature. 

The excerpts:
Q What do you feel about winning the Sahithyaratne, the Lifetime Award?
It is important to me; besides winning a prestigious award emboldens any writer’s ego. I have won four Lifetime Awards but I consider this as the most satisfying. 

Q What drives you to write?
Writing is a refinement of a habit such as female’s charm for jewellery. It’s the best fodder for the mind. I wish that I am pushed to carry on writing until my death. It is when that I am engaged in writing and reading, I derive pleasure. At my age, I suffer terribly from body aches. But when I am with a book or when I am before a computer, pains diminish. I have a few more books to be sent to the printers. The delay was due to the pandemic.   

Q What are your comments on the present state of literature?
(Weeramuni has already completed his autobiography - ‘Sailed I on life, like a Lark in the Sky’ and made Sinhala translations of playwrights such as Jean Anouilh, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekov, Jean Paul Satre and Howard Purdie. He had translated into English Prof. E.R. Sarachchandra’s iconic ‘Sinhabahu’ and Henry Jayasena’s ‘Kuveni.’ Ready to be sent to the printers are ‘Peaceana, the Mirror’s Edge’ - a novel and ‘Random Thoughts on Drama and Theatre’) Serious literature is very rare. It can be of world class classicism which reaches the standards of Russian, German and other elite world literature. It has literary value even in translation. We however, do have a few serious literature of our own.

Children, mostly of urban families are very much used to it and are fast on this mechanism. What is needed is guidance to prevent children from misusing the system

Q What are your views on contemporary and stylized theatrical formats?  Which is more appropriate for serious themes?
Both formats can be used to bring out seriousness and depth. Stylized drama had been successful in both categories. The best examples are ‘Sinhabahu’ and ‘Prematho Jayathi Soko.’ In fact, most of Professor Sarachchandra’s dramas have been successful on both stages. I consider ‘Sinhabahu’ and ‘Prematho Jayathi Soko’ as modern classics which are world class. ‘Sinhabahu’ in content, has reached greater heights than Sophocle’s ‘Oedipus’ though the latter is evaluated as the best because of its dramatic structure. And Hamlet precisely for its dynamism.

At home, Gunasena Galappaththi’s ‘Muhundhu Yanno’ is yet another great play. Although it is adapted, it is a combination of stylization and surrealism and gushes humanity. Humbly I would like to add to this category my production of ‘Ravana Sithabhilashaya’ jointly scriptd by Prof. J.B. Dissanayake and me.

Q Have dramatists abused the stylized format? 
Yes, to a great extent due to following only the format without chisselling depth.

Q You were the first to stage a Sinhala drama on a foreign stage. 
Yes, I took Prof. Sarachchandra’s ‘Maname’ to England with its original cast and staged it at the Mermaid Theatre at the West End and at the Commonwealth Institute, Kingston. Its huge success inspired me to take my own production of ‘Ginnai Aadarayai’ and ‘Gahaniyak’ - an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s ‘Hedda Gabbler’ to Lahore, Pakistan for Ibsen’s Centenary Theatre Festival. This was done with the blessings of the famous novelist Sumitra Rahubadda. At this Festival, out of eight nations, I was chosen for the Award for the ‘Best Production.’

Q How important was your stable partnership with Malini in your literary work?
She was the mighty pillar of my life, my work and in everything since I came to know her - first as my fiancé and as my wife for the last 59 years.

Q How far has TV impacted on reading habits on Lankans?
The reading habit has been crushed of most by watching worthless TV programmes. But then, there are the programmes of value which have enabled readers to gather knowledge and as a source for reference work via the web.

Q How can writers induce the younger generation to read amidst modern day distractions?
Perhaps there should be compulsion in schools by holding reading classes? Teachers can make it enjoyable by selecting interesting reading material and discussing them in an attractive manner. This may implant in children the thirst for reading and motivate them to be selective. Prof. Sarachchandra did this through ‘Nirmana Panthiya’ which he held when we were at the University. These were voluntary classes held after lectures on Fridays with no syllabus.

Q What about online reading? 
Children, mostly of urban families are very much used to it and are fast on this mechanism. What is needed is guidance to prevent children from misusing the system.

Q Finally, does politics impact on literature?
Yes, this is seen in Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekere’s literary work which he had used humanely, soundly and seriously.