Nanda Abeywickrama Auckland

It is quite by accident that I came to know that my dear friend and colleague  Shyamon  ( Jayasinghe –stage name Saparamadu) had passed away in Melbourne recently. In recent times Shyamon has figured more as a regular Facebook –YouTube commentator than anything else and the appreciations and public comments too seem to be coloured by such ‘political’ rather  than sustentative considerations.

To me and my contemporaries at Peradeniya campus and in the public service Shyamon was a stage artist incomparable, a compassionate public servant of the highest integrity and above all a lovable friend.

Shyamon entered my life and career in mid -1956 with the Maname rehearsals at Dr. Sarachchandra’s residence on Sanghamittha Hill Peradeniya University Campus. He was one year my junior and read a combination related to  Western Philosophy. By the time I joined the Maname crew Shyamon was already selected for the unique and unchartered role of Potheguru in the new experimental drama which later proved to be the breakthrough in the history of Sri Lankan theatre.

For Maname as an art form , similar to opera, human voice that could reach the other end of the hall was crucial and the artists were selected on voice criteria, We had three powerful voices that made Maname unique and successful; Ben Sirimanne as Prince Maname, Trillicia Abeykoon as Princess and Edmund Wijesinghe as Veddah King; and then there was Shyamon as Potheguru, whose role by all accounts was a  more subdued and formal one as distinct from those of the main actors. Hence it was not defined or guided strictly by the dramatist who focused more on the key roles. Shyamon was not very fluent in Sinhala – reading or delivery either. From nearby Ramanathan Hall apart from Shyamon and me , we had quite a crop in the Maname crew;Ben Sirimanne, Kithsiri  Amaratunga  M B Adikaram, Sathischandra, Pastor Peiris, Nawagamuwa, Wimal Diyasena, Hemapala and L B Dissanayake all led by Arthur Silva

It was only on the opening evening of 3 November 1956 that  to everyone’s pleasant surprise that the character Potheguru”  came alive and   became a legend. To my mind it was largely on account of Shyamon’s own unique talent, rich voice and interpretation of the role as he got on to the stage and faced the audience in full regalia that the character blossomed and turned out to be legendary.. From then on, although there were many successors in that role, it is accepted that Shyamon was the quintessential Pothegura and  stands out unrivalled to this day and in to the future.

In one of the reviews Shyamon himself has clarified how he got the inspiration to design and interpret his role, while on his feet as he faced the audience under the flood lights inside a dark auditorium at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. As Shyamon himself recounted, There was something in the air that night”. Reggie Siriwardana in his opening review of Maname   highly commended Shyamon’s histrionic talenst and  his imaginative contribution.

Off-stage like most of us, Shyamon was the easy-going  rebel undergraduate of the 50’s and for the next few years we  had memorable events and occasions to savour  everything good innocent and pleasant on the many Maname tours in all parts of Sri Lanka where we were welcomed by audiences and by patrons of theatre.. And the Potheguru was a star attraction. AS Gunasena Galappatthy quipped later on there was a ‘Niyama Jollythwayak’

My association with Shyamon continued long into the public service where he upheld the highest standards of service and probity and went on to hold the highest possible positions before he migrated to Australia.

Our last event  together, was  at  the first  Maname Re-union  held at my house in mid – 1993(3 decades to the day)  with Dr Sarachchandra participating and where we as veterans re-enacted Maname with Trillicia present but sans Ben and Edmund; Lionel Fernando and I had to apologetically stand in for them.

Today and in to the future n our collective memory of Shyamon  lives on as a creative and inoffensive soul mate.

Nanda Abeywickrama

Auckland