On Remembrance Day, a large and enthusiastic crowd attended a “song writing” workshop at the Toongabbie Community Centre, organised by the Writers’ Guild of the Sinhalese Cultural Forum (SCF) .
The Media Vice President, Deepal De Silva welcomed the invited guests and the attendees. Dr. Palitha Ganewatta and Rasika Sooriyaarachchi presided over the proceedings.
Nimal Ratnayake, President of SCF acknowledged the tremendous work that the Writers’ Guild had done over the past three years since its formation in 2009: organising two Sinhalese book exhibitions; launching of a CD of Sinhalese songs commemorating the SCF’s twentieth anniversary and conducting three literary workshops. By these activities, the SCF has fulfilled its pledge which states ‘We undertake to provide opportunities to those living outside the land of our birth to appreciate the intrinsic values depicted in literature and all forms of art’.
The chief guest, well known and well respected Sinhala poet and song writer, Maithri Panagoda, provided valuable advice for prospective song writers explaining clearly what a song should contain. He related a story of how the then editor in chief of ‘Lankadeepa,’ the late Mr Mahanama Dissanayke, praised his work and encouraged him to contribute to ‘Pedi Nadiya’ in ‘Sri Lankadeepa,’ a page dedicated to poetry, when he was only a 15 year old school boy.
Article – Ozlanka
