Transcript

Hi and welcome to Etv Power Women. Now you’ve heard the introduction to our next guest. She’s much loved. Incredibly talented. And it’s an absolute joy to have her on the show today. Hi Sybil. Welcome to Etv Power Women.

Hi Minoli.

How are you?

Oh fine. Thank you very much.

Great. Now our audience at home must be wondering why we have changed location. But since it’s a very special program, we decided to shift location for this show. Sybil, I was going to ask you, I mean you have since the age of 18, been illustrating and writing books. And you have this incredible body of work. How did you get into it? What sort of made you start?

I really don’t know the beginning. But even as a child, I used to love to just keep scribbling and writing odd things. Really at the age of 15, I seriously illustrated a book which was very well accepted. Even the famous Mr Martin Wickramasinghe mentioned that the illustrator of this book will be a wonderful artist and illustrator in the future. And much to my mother’s discouraging words you know, she didn’t like me to be scribbling because she had dreams of making me an Architect and I didn’t like to be an architect although designing was one thing I liked. But then the Quantity surveying and things like that was not for me. So really at the age of 15, I came across a very interesting couple called H D Sugathapala and his wife. Mr Sugathapala was the head master of Royal Primary, but a great lover of Art and his wife. They saw some pictures my father exhibited at the Colombo Art Gallery and they came in search of our house and asked my mother whether to get a book they were compiling to be illustrated by me. And she vehemently refused to let me do it. But they didn’t give up. They kept on encouraging her to agree to this. And in the end my mother said, just one only and that is all. That 1 has now gone to 200.

Over 200 is amazing!

It’s amazing because, I think I am born to illustrate than write. Then one little thing, when I was brought away from my village, I was really enjoying my village life with my grand mother. Visiting the forest and bathing in the river and things like that. I think I left my childhood there. And I really think I belong there and not anywhere else. So the child in me is what I always think about. And if I illustrate I illustrate my village folk and all that I knew as a child.

So you keep that life alive really through your illustrations.

I keep thinking of my self only as a child. So I do these books for children and greatest thing is I truly enjoy every bit of the work I do. Writing and then creating the pictures for it. And then the great appreciation I get nowadays from children. They are really better than the awards that you get.

And you have win several awards as well.

Yes I have won hundreds of awards but then these are really more valuable coming from the mouth of a child that they like it. It’s not influenced. Si they tell me about each and every book I write. And the language I use and the colours I use. So this is something that keeps me truly alive and helps me to go on.

And that sort of inspires you to come up with.

Greatly inspiring. Yes, of course.

And you said earlier on when we were having a chat that some of these children come up with wonderful ideas for story lines and you kind of take and develop them into something.

Yes. Now lot of people teach children art. I am quite against it. Because children are born with a talent to produce and they don’t paint what they see. They paint what they imagine. Coming right out of their imagination. So they live in a truly beautiful fantasy world of their own which is also mine. Then when I talk to children I find, here are children, here are my friends. These are the children who give me the inspiration to go on. And when I prolong the conversation, they come out with wonderful ideas which our built up into my stories. And when I read it back to them they are thrilled that I have made us if what they have told me.

Which is amazing. Actually Sybil I wanted to ask you about your first book. This is really what, you had so much success with umbrella thief translated into 13 different languages. And tell us a little bit of how you came up with that story.

You are going to touch on some romance.

Oh wonderful!

When I went to work in Lake House. First I joined Lanka Deepa in 1948, about just after my 18th year. Then moved onto Lake House, where they were going to start a new newspaper a tabloid paper. And more space to draw and write. So there I used to be employed as an artist only. But I found that there was somebody who was more interested in my work than the others. Who always use to come and comment on my work and give me tips on my illustrations, how beautiful they are, the lines are wonderful. And he happens to be the chief sub editor of this paper. And once he told me, why don’t you write a story. So I said, I don’t write stories, there was somebody else to write stories. But then he said No no, I think you can write. So on his invitation, I wrote a story that I always had in my mind and that was this Umbrella Thief. I did an illustration and published it. The chief editor appeared the next morning at my desk and he said “I want a story like that every day”. So this was kind of a punishment but I loved that idea. Because my head was full of stories and I waited for someone to ask me to do it. So this umbrella thief was first published in the Janatha. Then of course we got married in 1955 and then we produced this book, the story as their first supplement in the Leader. And it happened to be the very first book with pictures and stories blending together. And it was so well accepted. There were good reviews written by the late Rigi Siriwardene. All children should read and it was featured in the papers and this book made a mark and that was in 1956. Then later on in 1982, I participated in an International Illustrator’s Competition that was organize din Japan for professional book illustrators and I did some illustrations umbrella thief and sent it. I got the 3rd price. And then it was a very interesting publisher in Japan said these are fantastic illustrations, we wanted to produce the book. So they took my permission and they produced the book. That was in 1986. And I got the best foreign book award published in Japan. And the following year the Library association, children had to caste a vote for the most popular book. And that was also the ‘Umbrella Thief’. These things sort of made me think that there is no other way. This is what I want to do. And this is something that I really enjoy doing. Creating these pictures. And then 2 years later, I think in 1990, this book was published in Norway and Sweden Denmark and then Korea and China, then States.

Pretty much the entire world.

I couldn’t believe it. Then, children use to ask this publisher to get more stories from me. So he wrote and told me to send more stories and sent a book I had written called ‘The Runaway Beard’. Oh a funny story. I was really criticized for writing that story. Really a mad story, where does the beard run, and these are the elder’s point of view. But still it is loved by the children. It was published in Japan and then of course now I have been publishing about 8 books for Japan and because children keep writing to me ask and the publishers are very interested. Because it is a different style of illustrations they tell me.

Yes, Absolutely! And like you were saying, where you get to sort of take our culture and show people how we live.

Yes, this is what they like. 3 of those books have been given awards in Japan. And when I inquired they said this is a new culture introduced to their children in Japan.

It must give you a real sense of Pride as well when you see children reading your book. When they speak to you and say this book has had an impact on me or influenced me in some way. I mean how does that make you feel?

I feel very encouraged. And then I very often I see children reading my book I am with them. I feel I’m also a child with them. And about 10 years ago, I didn’t want to forget my childhood which was the most interesting and the loveliest time of my life was my childhood. In my village. I wrote a book called ‘The Child in Me’. Which won the Gratian award in 1995. And I wrote it in Sinhala also called ‘Vaniyang Kal Vaniyang’. And children loved that book. So many children phone and ask me whether it’s the tale that I spun. It’s a fairy story because the things those are included in this book. They can’t believe that a child has experienced it. So this is why I wrote it. For children to know that there was a childhood like this, for somebody like me. And they had the tendency to visit the village sometimes. And some children tell their mothers to make a village kitchen like what I have drawn in my book. So these things are good that you feel happy.

And what it is like being a woman in the 50’s and working in a news paper environment. Was it predominantly a male dominated sort of environment? Or were their lots of women working?

No no. I was the only woman working when I joined the news paper in 1948. And of course lots of people encouraged me. Like the we had W.A.Silva, the great author and Mr Manave Singha who was great Poet. And Mr Sunil Shantha who was a great singer. They used to always visit the office for something or other and when they this, I was always in Pig tails and pinafore. They come to me and say, stay on. Don’t go, because you are the only woman here. And they really encouraged me. So I was very bold you know. I only did strip for this tabloid paper with 4 poems. And it was well appreciated. Lots of people liked it. And the funniest thing was I used to sign Sybil. And Sybil was kind of a foreign name for lot people, Sinhala people. They used to think it’s a man. They use to come and peep into the office. Those days there was quite a lot of freedom of movement to come and go for anybody. Then they realize it’s a woman they think they though it’s a young man writing this. Anyway, that went on for a long time. They didn’t think that a woman was capable of doing this kind of work and it always has to be a man.

Well I think your work definitely speaks for its self. And also I mean the fact that you have won so many awards, not only in Sri Lanka international awards which is what I think really speaks a lot about your body of work. Which is as you were saying earlier over 200 published books.

Yes. English, Sinhala and now a days I get my books translated into Tamil as well. The other languages, Norwegian, Indonesian, Swedish and then once in 2003 I got an invitation to participate in a book festival in Norway. So I thought I should go. The girl who was guiding me, she took me to a children’s library and they were told that the author of this book will be visiting and they all had a copy of this umbrella thief. And it was so exciting.

I would have imagined such a rush.

Unbelievable. Because I mean with all these books around the world and why is Umbrella thief so well accepted and much loved and still it is.

I think it has touched a cord in both children and adults.

There is a museum in Japan called Shiro Art Museum. They make a survey every four years to find out how many accepted book illustrators are there in the whole world. Because in other countries like Japan, Czechoslovakia and those countries, book illustrating is a fine art. And they respect a lot the book illustrator. So on this survey, 1990 survey report they sent me with pictures and then when I was turning around I saw my picture and Umbrella Thief. And oh my god there were only 60 illustrators accepted in the world over. Plus when they sent the second report that also they had retained ‘Umbrella Thief’ still as the most popular book. So I don’t know, its like a dream to me. And sometimes, dreams really don’t come true but here it has come true.

I think it has touched a cord in both children and adults.

There is a museum in Japan called Shiro Art Museum. They make a survey every four years to find out how many accepted book illustrators are there in the whole world. Because in other countries like Japan, Czechoslovakia and those countries, book illustrating is a fine art. And they respect a lot the book illustrator. So on this survey, 1990 survey report they sent me with pictures and then when I was turning around I saw my picture and Umbrella Thief. And oh my god there were only 60 illustrators accepted in the world over. Plus when they sent the second report that also they had retained ‘Umbrella Thief’ still as the most popular book. So I don’t know, its like a dream to me. And sometimes, dreams really don’t come true but here it has come true.

Its so wonderful to meet you actually and its nice to see how much passion you have. And your career has gone over 60 years now. And you still have this kind of passion and when we were talking actually you were saying that there is still so much work that you have yet to do. So where to you get the inspiration for this?

I thought you will ask that. I think in my life, morning till evening as the day dawns as I drop off to sleep, my head is always trying to think of something to amuse children and amuse me. So I think it’s my beginning, it’s a fantastic place my village and specially my grand mother. She used to tell me lots of believable and unbelievable stories all ghost stories, Yaka’s and all kinds of things really enliven my imagination to write. So I think on those lines, my head is not accustomed to think of anything else. My husband is no more. But when he was there he used to say. You’re not serious about anything. And even my children say now that I am not serious enough about anything that I want. But they are wrong. Because my head is full of inspirational ideas, what’s next to write and how well it’s accepted. I take tips from children a lot. So I build up some things and it’s most interesting to talk to children. They give me novelty ideas and they live in a magical world. People don’t realize that giving children the freedom of speech how much you can learn from them. So now I have my grand son and grand daughter living at home with me. One or two words they talk that’s enough for me to think.

It takes you somewhere else.

They are at a stage to criticize my work. They tell me something about my colour ways, how to write and what to write. So they are sort of like consultants. Lots of other children also are.

That’s wonderful. Cybil I’m gonna ask you now a bit about your personal life. You kind of spoke about your husband earlier in and you said that he’s been a huge influence in getting you to where you are today. Tell us a bit. We know how you met, tell us a little bit after that. He encouraged you with Umbrella Thief.

If not for him. His name was Don Dharmapala Weththasinghe. He was an Editor at lake house. And if not for him I don’t think there would have been anybody called Sybil Wethasinghe. Because he built up my career. And he was very interested in my art and always read my copies that I wrote and corrected them. With all the work he had as a man who was involved in politics. But he never allowed me to get involved in politics. This is not your field. He would never talk. And one very interesting episode I still remember. We were living in Thimbirigasyaya then we moved on to Nugegoda. Because he liked to live in an urban atmosphere. And there when we went to live, a good resident there who was also interested in our type of work came visit us. Then he sat and talked to my husband and I went and served him tea and he didn’t take much notice of me. So I went in and was listening to what they were talking. Oh they talked about politics. But he was talking more about children’s writing and illustrating and books. This person who was not really a writer of children’s books kept on talking about all the things that appear on the news paper and while getting up to go, yes Sybil, we’ll meet again. He thought that he was Sybil. It was great laugh. So once he vanished out of the gate. I said why didn’t you tell him that you are not Sybil? He said No no let him carry on thinking like that. This is a real practical joke of my husband. They must have found out later who the real Sybil is. And so he was so interested in my work. When I was about 24 years old, I got a visitor ship to go to a training work shop to be held in Rangoon, Burma. And 4 others were going. Two other women and two other men. And I was to go as a illustrator. It was organized by UNESCO and the workshop was in Rangoon. So when I got this invitation, I was pregnant. I was carrying my third child. But he said “What, you’re going to stay back? “ But then I said how can I go. No no no nothing is going to keep you back. So we went to the Doctor. He said it was best to ask the Doctor. Our doctor was Mrs Augest aAbeyratne at that time. He said, Dr she has an invitation to go to Burma for 5 weeks. Now Mrs Abeyratne would look at me, I was just 24. “What do you think?”. Then I said I like to go. Then go men it’s all right. So this brass of a man, who’s my husband he packed me off to Burma for 5 weeks. And my mother-in-law was furious. My mother was very angry. Why are sending her? What if anything happens? No nothing is going to happen.

And you have a number of grand children as well.

5 grand children

So tell us a little bit about your children.

My son, used to be an architectural draftsman. Now he is retired he is over 55. So he’s helping me with some book illustrations. I have no time to do some books you know. He draws them very well. He has had training of being a draftsman. He has fine lines and his colour ways are good. Then it’s quite nice. Then my elder daughter who lives in Aberdeen, she has thins bringing up her children and she had a lot of work to do. Now the children are grown and she has also taken to writing and illustrating of books. Yes, she is as teacher. And my third daughter, use to be a good illustrator. She draws beautifully. But then her vocation in life was not drawing and she has taken off to something else and she’s very hard at work. But if you insist she will draw something. Very very beautiful things she draws. She would have been a better illustrator and author than my self if she continued. I think I believe it. But she won’t hear of it. One person is enough she says. So any day I am dead and gone she will regret. And my Son is a graphic designer attached to local TV channel. Just for the fun of it sometimes he draw. I think they are too shy to do something. Because their mother is a gran. But the two kids here, they are very good at drawing but they too are very shy about projecting themselves. May be it’s not a right thing to have a famous person in the library but other all go into the shade, which is not a nice thing. If they can bring out their own talents in other ways. But I know that they are capable of doing something in their own.

They all seem to have your artistic talent.

Yes. They have they have. And the biggest joke is, my husband used to say. You know in my days I was also an artist. But then I had no match for you. Though I just forgot about it. That may be the reason why he was drawn to me because he wanted to develop my talent more than his and he’s a serious writer.

Sybil, so what do you do to relax? You just kind of take time out. What relaxes you?

Oh relaxation is my work.

You\rte probably one of the few people who can say that.

I really relax thinking f ideas and lots to write. That is my kind of recreation. And of course there are some few authors I read. Quite often. I am very happy reading. I read and then I walk sometimes in the mornings because it is necessary for my health. And otherwise I think time is more valuable than money. So I am a person who makes the most of my time, and I don’t think relaxation is something I have got used to it because my work as I said before is my form of relaxation. I am a vey happy person. Nobody sort of tampers me with anything. I am just left alone to do my work. And if I am ill or something they attend to me. But nobody seriously sort of barges into my life and dictates terms to me and say don’t do this or don’t do that. Of course they keep track of where I am going and that’s why I have to carry my phone all the time. But I love travelling and those days also I travel a lot out of the country. Because I got many invitations on my field of work. And these Japanese people always call me to be judges in their art competitions. Then I was sent to countries like Fiji islands to writer’s workshops. It was a very frightening trip to the Fiji Island. The Fijian’s used to like me a lot. The second time also they invited me. But I dared not go because it was very difficult journey across there. Then I went to Laos they sent me. Also to do a training workshop for book illustrators and writers.

So, you have travelled.

Yes, I have travelled a lot. And I did a six months course in the International Youth Library in Munich. Munich is a beautiful place. And on that trip I went to Bologna Children’s book fair. So I have travelled a lot. Then I have travelled to east Berlin it was lovely. So those travels have made me then Yorkshire. Now my daughter live s in Aberdeen so sometime I go there. So these travels makes me very happy. I get really broad minded about my work and then I present it in a way I want. Then I make a lot of friends in those places. So I think life is so worth while when you move out like this give out what you can and take what you can from others.

That’s a lovely sort of sentiment.
Cybil I understand that you have got your Biography coming out next month.

Yes, it is written by Mrs Vijitha Fernando in English. And Piyavathi Jayasooriya wrote it in Singhala. Published by Sarasavi publishers. It will be out on the 18th of November. That’s from my beginning to my up to date.

Basically she is a very fun loving person. She is full of humor even in her day to0 day interaction. When she goes out she come s back with lots of stories about you know little things that amuse her. And I think that’s what also gets into her illustrations. If you look at her illustrations there are mixture of partly even in a very serious situation if she is drawing something like that. There is at least a small item that gives out that humor. So that is her. Basically a very fun loving person. And as she tells herself, she basically she looks at the world through a child’s eye. So sometimes it’s good. Sometimes also I think, probably it’s also a bit difficult because not all adult experience could be taken form a child’s point of view. But she manages. And what I also find at times very surprising is that she is extremely hard working. From morning till late in the night she will work. But now during the day she takes a break. Other than that she can just you know sit down and work work without any disruption. Without being troubled about anything that happens outside. She can just dwell into work like that. I don’t know whether she considers her work as a burden. Its not I think. She enjoys her work. So that why she able to do it even at her age. And she’s also very careful about her. She looks after herself. So looking after her is not a problem for us as her children because she is very careful about her. She like going out meeting friends, all those things are a part of her life. And she likes to read. In the sense she doesn’t do much these days because it strains her eyes. But she specially likes Drama things like that. And talking to children. She has a stream of you know, young fans who call her off and on and tell her things. Of how they like her book, what they don’t lime about her books. And my nieces and nephews they are always around her, talking with her. They are good friends also. So partly her life is full of work, children, fun. I wouldn’t say that there aren’t any downsides. There are moments where she is you know things go wrong but she definitely takes it on the bounce. Because she is able to look at the world in a very positive way.

One thing as a person I have a lot of respect for her. And a lot of admiration. And then as an artist, and as a woman I think she’s made some really really revolutionary changes. I’ll tell you a little bit about the artistic side., Because that’s how that I met her. From my experience, Aunty Sybil you know drew without training. Without going top art school or getting a formal education. What she did was SHE DREW HER MEMORIES. And that was very natural, very organic and not forced at all. And its really interesting because at this time where lot of people are trying to draw the authentic Sri Lanka or the authentic villages, life and society. But she didn’t need to. And so what she expressed I think people, received in many many ways because it was unforced and they could relate to it.

I met her because I was writing her biography for an exhibition we were organizing of her work. So the interaction I had with her was that she was very open to me and very open to hearing my perspective of her life. Even when sometimes she dint agree with it. So there was a rich dialog and a sincere dialog that I really appreciated. There was humanity in her that I really appreciate. And an ability to relate to many many people. Regardless of the fact that you know that she has prestigious awards known well here and yet she can talk to anyone without thinking twice about it.

Lots of lovely stuff said about you. Its always nice to get other peoples perspective on what they really feel and how they think about you.

I didn’t think that my daughter would say all those things.

Oh really?

Yes. Good to know what they think. And this child Sunethra the one who organized this exhibition Red Dot Gallery.

It’s wonderful actually and I am glad that you got to see that.
So 10 rapid questions I am gonna ask you and your first answer that comes into your head. Of course the dreaded 10 is brought to us by the lovely people at Ponds Age Miracle. So are you ready Sybil?

I am ready.

What is your favorite colour?

Blue.

Where do you go to find absolute peace?

In within me. No other place.

What would you do first if you were the ruler of the nation?

Weave fantastic stories for children.

What is the best thing of being an artist?

You live in a fantast world all your life. And that is very nice to be.

What annoys you the most?

Oh what annoys me! Noise noise!

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

To be what I am today.

Is the glass half empty or half full?

Full.

And what do you despise most in people?

Envy. The point is I don’t envy anything or anybody. Because I am a very contented person and I don’t need to envy anyone.

What would you want to do most, like before you die?

Float in the cloud world. Which I always imagine. Free as a bird or imaginary angelic being. I love thinking like that.

Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond.

Anything small is beautiful to me. Small fish in a big pond.

That was it. That was the dreaded 10. I hope you found it ok.

Yes. I found it ok. Wonderful really. I am a very, I love small things. I still remain a villager at heart. Mu home is in Gintota, Galle. And I belong there where ever. I have travelled the world over but the best place for me is that beautiful little rustic village, my home.

Wonderful. Sybil it has been an absolute pleasure and a real joy actually having you her on the show. And thank you so much for coming in and having a chat with us. I’m sure everyone at home found it as fascinating.

Lovely to talk to a young person like you. Who really appreciates my work and thank you for inviting me.

It’s been a real pleasure actually.