A ‘ Brief’ encounter
It was a day out in the domain of the Green Man stirring memories of the old days when Bevis Bawa – the ‘tallest man in Ceylon’ – held sway in his timeless garden ‘Brief ’ in Beruwala, an artistic watering hole long before Geoffrey, his younger brother, created his own arcadia at Lunuganga.
When the Artra Magazine hosted a Saturday at Brief as part of their Art Experiential Festival and the launch of the magazine’s new edition, it was a celebration of so many things: the two larger-than-life Bawa brothers; the cartoons and lives of Bevis Bawa, Aubrey Collette and Gihan de Chickera (the three to whom the new edition is dedicated); but also stories of black magic and devilry. The latter included stories of the ‘possession’ of actress Vivienne Leigh and there were many intriguing nuggets that glittered and winked like a glass mosaic on one of the Brief bungalow’s walls, or the myriad silvery ripples of Bentota Lake…
At dawn, we wound past the cheeky, moss covered imps that guard the entrance to Brief and entered this quaint world full of lush dark green foliage.
The group was led on a morning tour of the dewy garden – from the mossy stone statue of the pissing boy, the murals featuring a Roman Green Man resembling Bevis, and a strange outdoor lavatory and the garden with so many elements, niches and alcoves – Spanish, Italian, Japanese and French all mingling with the greenery. The house itself is more of a bachelor planter’s bungalow than the one at Lunuganga.
The second event toasted that evergreen cartoonist of Ceylon, the late Aubrey Collette, the discussion with his tapestry artist daughter Cresside and Rohan de Soysa, Chairman of the Sapumal Foundation, moderated by the Artra’s magazine’s Azara Jaleel. Tales were dug out including of how Aubrey, because of his audacious caricatures, was ousted from Royal College where he was art master, only to be recruited by the Times of Ceylon (shifting from 200 Rupees a month to 1500 Rupees a week!).
Herman Gunaratne, planter and author of God’s Secret Agent: A Battle against Dark Forces, raised more than a few goose bumps with his encounters with black magic and the demonic world. He was brimming with tales -- of J.R. Jayawardene and the curse on our first executive president, and the story of the legendary actress Vivienne Leigh – here to shoot the film Elephant Walk being demonically possessed (what has gone down more formal annals as bipolar disorder) while attending an exorcism in rural Anuradhapura.
The connection between Brief and Vivienne was that Bevis was hopelessly romantically obsessed with the celebrated actress (despite his orientations) so she used to stay there – as a friend.
Herman had stories galore but some (like the JR anecdote), as they would be spoilers for readers of his books, were just teasers.
After a lunch rustled up entirely from the garden’s bounty, on the lawn overlooking the Trojan Horse, the gathering sat down to tea while listening to Dooland de Silva, current owner of the garden and sometime assistant to Bevis, reminisce on his mentor’s colourful escapades.
It was a day to savour. More events followed as part of the festival programme on Sunday with a round-up of culture-vulture delights at Cinnamon Bentota Beach.