The fading of a dazzling light of gargantuan versatility.

[Tissa Ananda Abeysekera Guneratne de Fonseka - May 7, 1936 to April 18, 2009]

" Our duty shall remain to shield, dispense, share and bestow his invaluable works, thus enlighten the generations that may lack awareness of an irreplaceable personality such as Tissa Abeysekera."

by Sunalie Ratnayake

(April 18, California , Sri Lanka Guardian) Today (April 18, 2011) falls the second death anniversary of a much legendary man of unparalleled faculty, that encompassed sheer and rich versatility, in aspects of each and every borough that bore fruit, even by his slightest stroke. The world of Sri Lankan screenplays, movie directions, performing / acting, political activism, writing and analysis was undeniably enriched beyond mind’s eye, by this startling human being, that encompassed a knowledge in each of the aforesaid features, and much more, in a manner that surpassed a routine intellectual.

Tissa Abeysekera

The man who was fearless to dream of even the most impossible, and remained zealous in turning the same impossible dream into reality was non other than Tissa Ananda Abeysekera Guneratne de Fonseka, more often than not known as Tissa Abeysekera.

The Tissa Abeysekera Family

Born in a railroad town, twelve miles southeast of Colombo, namely Maharagama, to parents sir Arthur Solomn de Fonseka and lady Agnus de Fonseka, Tissa stepped into a career in the field of “Art,” using his gifted aptitude, to initiate a vocation as a Short Story Writer in Sinhala medium. Though highly connected to Mudliars to the order of Ceylon, as well as Gate Mudliars to the order of the Queen of England, Tissa’s parents remained middle class citizens. He was only a teenage school boy, at the time his initial short stories saw it’s way through, to be featured in renowned national publications of the day such as “Dinamina” and “Janatha” broadsheets.

Ashoka Pieris, Tissa Abeysekera & Upali Attanayake

Being a child of a father, that, in the year 1949 had even declared bankruptcy due to immense loss of wealth, Tissa once proclaimed that, due to deprived health, he had been tutored at home, having not seen a school until the age of eleven. Subsequently, as a result of the family being unable to afford, to have Tissa to be further tutored at their abode in Maharagama, he had been admitted to, and educated at the Pannipitiya Dharmapala College, where young Tissa excelled as a stupendous marksman, in the dais of both a junior and senior cadet.

Tisaa on location

Furthermore, a brilliant soccer player all the way to first fifteen, the boy who had never seen the colours of a portal of learning, prior to entering Dharmapala College, had also been capable of carrying out duties as Head Prefect in college. However, though most members of Tissa’s father’s family were drawn into the practice of Law, Tissa too, almost about to enter university to obtain an L.L.B. diverted from the path of becoming a practicing lawyer, due to his ceaseless curiosity, and undying penchant towards “Cinema,” where fate made him a “Critic,” rather than an “Attorney.”

Tissa with some of his awards

Sometimes in life, it’s that gut feeling that draws you away from a path, if had been taken, that may have been healthier in terms of material wealth, personal gain and perhaps even reputation in certain given orthodox societies. Yet, in the long run, it’s that same gut feeling that shall guide you towards a path, poles apart, that may not only reward you with the perpetual pleasure of fulfillment in your desires in this life itself, but also shall fulfill and quench the yearnings of even an unborn mass, who will be equally, if not more, benefited from the entities you may have left behind, following your departure from this world.

Entities in the form of immense contributions that enrich life in it‘s matchless, splendid facets, that are indeed invaluable in a broader mindset, as opposed to personal wealth, gain and/or reputation, that would have otherwise been experienced and been accessible only to a limited throng, such as thyself, and following thy departure from life, to only family members and close comrades.

Apart from elevating myself from his works left behind, the aforesaid feature is one inimitable veracity, and an unmatched lesson I have beheld, grasped and cherished by studying the life and times of this unfathomable human being named Tissa Abeysekera.

Tissa was an artist, indeed atypical in calibre, who saw the society through an artistic lense, yet equally felt the distress that humans did undergo in this riddle called life. He had a deep concern on the ongoing grievances, as society served unjustly, by segregating the deprived and garlanding the affluent, in extreme horrendousness. He was a man who was born to sense sight as well as sound, and yet was able to uniquely distinguish their margins. He clutched these every day attributes in life, and transformed them into a work of everlasting art, either in the form of literature that carried great weight in printed form, or images in motion that unfolded tales through the magical cinematic reel.

At the launch of his book "In my kingdom of the sun and the holy peak"

Being an unswerving socialist, as well as a noteworthy member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), he stood above insignificant characteristics of division in society such as language, religion, social status, race, cast and creed, thereby giving absolute meaning to the unparalleled teachings of the Buddha.

This cinematic luminary of our times indisputably dwell in the hearts and minds of a myriad, as the best script writer that Sri Lanka may have ever produced. By saying so, my thoughts instantly yank me over to a segment of one of his works, in which he marks in print, a recollection of one of his cinematic creations. The title is “Ayale Giya Sithaka Satahan,” a reminiscence of memories spanning over a few decades of his astounding life, and in one of it’s chapters, Tissa describes the hard time he and music composer of the movie "Mahagedera," Mr. Sarath Fernando underwent in selecting a piano piece to highlight the one & only happy moment of the Malwinna family, around whom the plot is woven, and finally how they came up with "Nil Ahas Thale Ageh."

It indeed is a book worthwhile reading, amongst his many others, including “Bringing Tony Home,” which won the 1996 Gratiaen Prize for the Most Outstanding Piece of Creative Fiction by a Sri Lankan resident for his Novella, as well as "In My Kingdom of the Sun and the Holy Peak,” to name a few.

Tissa Abeysekera

“Keti-Kathawa,” the initial screenplay written by Tissa and directed by Dr. D.B. Nihalsinghe unveiled the magical journey, in which Tissa engrossed in materializing the screenplays of three of the best ten movies in Sri Lanka - Gamperaliya, Nidhanaya and Viragaya. The other screenplays of noteworthy movies generated by Tissa are Welikathara, Akkara Paha, Kalu Diya Dahara, Weera Puran Appu, Ganga Addara, Ahasin Polowata, Podi Malli, Karumakkarayo, Mahagedera, Kulageya, Guru Gedara, Loku Duwa and several others. He also directed award winning movies, also named above, such as Karumakkarayo, Mahagedera and Viragaya, as well as teledramas such as Dolos Mahe Gangawa, Wanasarana and Pitagamkarayo.

I was not amongst those providential few, who may have had the opportunity to have lingered in his close association, and attained inspiration to life in many an aspect through such priceless relationships. Nevertheless, I still feel fairly fortunate, as I reminisce that ten-minute gracious chat with Tissa, at the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute (SLTTI) back in 2004, during a media hype, a succinct moment which shall be treasured evermore, in a special corner of my heart, along with gratitude for his benevolence to have granted acquiescence to carry out my required episode, at a situate where he had assumed duties as Director in July 2004, and remained in the post until December 2006.

Tissa’s contributions to the modern local cinema & literature is undoubtedly mammoth beyond the expression of mere words. He shall remain a soul that proudly, yet humbly march into history as one of the “greatest intellectuals of our times,” and his distinctive ability to excel in both Sinhala and English undoubtedly further decorated his accomplishments, that he left behind for many a generation, including the yet unborn, to profit.

Our duty shall remain to shield, dispense, share and bestow his invaluable works, thus enlighten the generations that may lack awareness of an irreplaceable personality such as Tissa Abeysekera.

May his journey through samsara be concise !