R.R SAMARAKOON’S

                                     “ KELANI PALAMA”

“ Kelani palama” by the veteran dramatist R. R Samarakoon was produced in 1978. It can be called a unique masterpiece that is directed within the frame work of realistic art form which created a turning point in the history of Sinhala stage dramas.

            The play is about a group of underprivileged people who live in shanties under Kelani bridge. In rainy seasons the river overflows causing flood which drives the shanty folk on to the bridge. This leads to arguments with the authorities who are thoroughly unsympathetic to the miseries of these poor people. The play increases the curiosity of the audience when a son of this shanty folk becomes a police officer and turn against his own people. Thus the play signifies their battle for the right to live from which they are deprived of. However, most critics introduce this play as one of the successful play that won the hearts of the audience besides the other Sinhala stage dramas of that time.

            A good play must possess universality; that is it must be relevant for the audience of any time. Though in 1978 R. R Samarakoon directed and produced this drama to talk about problems of the poor people who lived in shanties under Kelani bridge the issues he touched through this play are relevant and can be experienced even in the prevailing society.

            One major issue that he discussed in this is poverty. It is because of this reason that these people live in the shanties. Most of them make their living by selling ‘keera’. Their clothes are old and torn. Chutte one of the main characters in the play once says to Martin who is his neighbor that his family has lived in the previous week by mortgaging the earrings of Matilda, his wife. Similarly when the bread van comes everyone run towards it in the hope of having something to quench their hunger. When the rainy season comes their shanties are certain to be destroyed by flood and they do not have means to build them again. Unfortunately, sometimes these floods victimize the lives of these innocent people. For example we hear about such kind of death of a man and how that causes to make his whole family helpless. Thus all these incidents in the play emphasize the poverty of such people to the audience.

            Through this marvelous play the playwright ironically highlights the issue of social injustice and the corruption of the authorities which we can see even in the prevailing society. When the bread van comes instead of solving the problems of these poor people and giving them bread the officers are busy in asking Gabiriel how he has maintained his body. This shows the negligence of the officers towards their duties. Later when the Member Mahaththaya and the officer come to discuss with these people about their problems through the dialogues we realize that they are cheating the poor people. At this moment Chutte asks from them about the amount of money that government has decided to give for the people who have lost everything because of flood. The two cunning men try to change the topic by hiding the truth because if they reveal it all their corruptions will be revealed. Being afraid of losing votes  of these people Member Mahaththaya falsely promises to give solutions to their problems showing the typical falsehood of the politicians. At the end of the play the police come and warn these people to get away from the pavement of the bridge. This emphasizes the indifference of the authorities towards these underprivileged people.