Poet empress!

Receiving the award at the World Poetry Commemoration Festival 2019

Poetry is intrinsic to Shirani Lekamge’s identity. The gifted improvised poetess had won many accolades for her talent including the All Island Best Poetess Award at the World Poetry Commemoration Festival 2019.

“Every poem gives me strength. If everything else fails, my words will remain to give me strength. It is like a huge wall protecting me from external forces. If everyone else is being unreasonable, my poetry will give me strength and justice. I will be able to release my emotions and regain my composure and move ahead,” Lekamge unfurled her thoughts on her ability to recite orally improvised poetry.

The gifted improvised poet has inherited her unique talent of reciting improvised poetry from her father, Ariyadasa Lekamge, who was a well known poet in Ratnapura. His mother, Punchi Menika, too had been a gifted poetess.

Lekamge was the only member of her family of three children to inherit her father’s talent.

“We used to exchange our ideas through improvised poetry when I was around 9 years. Therefore people used to look forward to the times that we got on stage ton recite our improvised poetry sessions,” she recalled some memories from childhood.

Shirani Lekamge with her awards. Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage

Hailing from Parakaduwa, Lekamge says that both her parents have been under her care till they passed away. Her father’s final wish had been that she should take her gift of being able to recite improvised poetry forward. Therefore he requested her husband, Indika Lasantha Kaluarachchi to help her in preserving her gift as she would have to get up on stage before an audience to keep this tradition alive.

Lekamge had moved to Kegalle after marriage. Her husband is the OIC of Adampan, Mannar. She had been training many budding poets and poetesses for the past few years in Kegalle.

The Headman in this district had formed a poetry society on October 7, 1973 but that society was hardly functioning because the law was that the Headman will always be the president of the society. Since the Headman was busy with other matters the Cultural Officer was left in charge.

“The present officer is a female and she looks at all our achievements as a nuisance and something which burdens them with more work as they will have to organize pereharas and functions to felicitate us if we win. This is unfortunate as we are the ones who feel for this field. We always try to encourage or heal others through our poetry rather than hurt their feelings,” Lekamge added with emotion.

Though she had tried to get an application to send her team for the World Poetry Commemoration Festival 2019, she had not been given the application as they said that they wished to send two novice poets of their own for the event. However the Cultural Affairs Department had kept inquiring about her applications. Due to this encouragement she filled her team’s applications in Colombo and handed over a print of the application to the Cultural Officer’s Department in Kegalle. However she had not even been informed of the date that the competition will be taking place.

“We were only informed about it through the Colombo Head Office. Once we arrived at the premises they were irritated to see us but could not prevent us from taking part in the event.

“My team which consisted of four young poets: Aruthgammana Hemantha Kumara, Indika Hapugoda, Wasantha Sri Ambuwakka and Ranjith Senadeera, is naturally talented but they needed to be taught the basics of reciting poetry to come on top with their talents. When our Chief Incumbent, Ven Somananda, got to know that I possessed the gift of reciting improvised poetry, he took me to his temple and provided me with the knowledge about Sinhala poetry and its techniques. I got many invitations from poetry societies to recite improvised poetry in their hall of poetry. I accepted these invitations and my opponent at such events was always someone who is many years elder than me. Though I was a novice and many years their junior they always stepped on stage determined to do their best to defeat me. I have recited improvised poetry with many veteran and renowned poets in the country. They were all quite friendly with me and treated me as their equal,” she said adding that all the members of her family came to see her reciting improvised poetry at such events.

Her team was selected as the winner from the Kegalle district and was able to compete with 16 districts and around 900 poets. They came into the final 10 along with a team from the Hambantota district. The final competition was held at the Independence Square on March 21 and the team faced a much older and more experienced team from the Hambantota district.

“My team have never sung in poetry halls outside Kegalle but I have seen some of the poets in the Hambantota team taking part in many improvised poetry events,” she said.

“Some people want to own us and keep us like a part of their property. They were mostly those who were heads of poetry societies. Their attitude was that if we were a member of their poetry society we are not allowed to take part in any poetry related activities organized by another poetry society. That is why I decided not to be a part of any of these poetry societies but work as an individual,” she explained.

She notes that the arts scene is not a safe place for a woman. There are many external forces which are looking for opportunities to capture them and use them for their worn gain. Lekamge says that she is fortunate to be given security by her family in the first stages of her journey and later through her husband.

She says that some of the elder poetesses did not like her entrance to the scene as she not only surpassed them in talent but also in age and liveliness.

“They refused to sing on the same stage as people like me because they believed that people are not interested in listening to their poetry after they have listened to mine. I was not discouraged by their words but have always shown my respect towards elder poets and poetesses,” she noted.

For her improvised poetry is not a means of earning money. Rather it is something she wishes to preserve. Therefore she does not mind spending bucks on this process.

“I am a professional ayurvedic practitioner and beautician. I have been trained in the profession in countries like Thailand, India and Singapore. I have my own practice named ‘Hela Vedakama’ in Pinnawela,” she said.

Lekamge says that Cultural Affairs Department Director Anusha Gokula spearheads many projects which give strength to the budding poets and poetesses in the country. She is thankful to all those who have been with her in her path to success.