Sunday Punch 2

she became his partner when, at the Independence Day Pageant, titled the Pageant of Lanka in 1948, they performed together in public for the first time.

It was not to be their last. Chitrasena played Ravana at this public dance outing with Irangani Serasinghe playing Sita and Vajira as the deer. Irangani would later recall ‘ Vajira: “… Chitrasena was very hard on her. She used to get mad with him when he whacked her and she would go off saying that she would not come back.”

Such was the tempestuous love they had, a love born of dance. A love that held them together. In 1951, their dance of love led them to marriage. But neither wedlock nor moth

erhood dampened Vajira’s passion to dance and the fire continues to burn even in her 90th year.

Take a twirl Vajira. You’ve done Lanka – and Chitrasena – proud.

NOTE: The late Prof. Indra Dassanayake was also conferred the Padma Shri’ for her distinguished contributions in the field of Literature.