There hasn’t been any country in the world other than Sri Lanka that has belittled Visual & Performing Arts. A politician in Sri Lanka had asked what can a person do with Visual & Performing Arts and had said it cannot even be eaten. This is how they see it. Children do not have a world of their own. What exists for them is a world of robots and their lives are ruled by such robots. Bridges and Expressways could be constructed in this country but a man who can travel on them cannot be built.
Look at Nelum Pokuna Theater. It has been constructed with the highest technology. But where is aesthetic value? Aesthetic value comes with human feelings. There are actors and technicians but there are no artistes. There are people to perform but there is no one for a good creation.
We see a person with a pistol in a picture. He says it is a toy pistol. When a policeman is assaulted on the Highway and his vehicle is torched a deputy minister say he is a vegetarian. There is no connection between the incident and the statement. It is like radish and oil cake. Politics and Visual & Performing Arts in our country are like that.
Many students in our country fail in Mathematics. What do politicians say when students get low marks for Mathematics? The students would be passed with low marks. If students had to get 30 marks to pass the exam they would get a pass with 20 marks now. Is this system correct? This is what has happened – There is a Parliament but there is no democracy. People’s heads are like that – despite attempts to perform there is no creation