Aristotle

Aristotle (/ˈærɪˌstɒtəl/; Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης [aristotélɛːs], Aristotélēs; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian At eighteen, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven (c. 347 BC). His writings cover many subjects – including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics and government – and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great starting from 343 BC.^[4] According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, "Aristotle was the first genuine scientist in history ... [and] every scientist is in his debt.
Teaching Alexander the Great gave Aristotle many opportunities and an abundance of supplies. He established a library in the Lyceum which aided in the production of many of his hundreds of books. The fact that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato contributed to his former views of Platonism, but, following Plato's death, Aristotle immersed himself in empirical studies and shifted from Platonism to empiricism^. He believed all peoples' concepts and all of their knowledge was ultimately based on perception. Aristotle's views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works.
Aristotle's views on physical science profoundly shaped medieval scholarship. Their influence extended into the Renaissance and were not replaced systematically until the Enlightenment and theories such as classical mechanics. Some of Aristotle's zoological observations, such as on the hectocotyl (reproductive) arm of the octopus, were not confirmed or refuted until the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic.
In metaphysics, Aristotelianism profoundly influenced Judeo-Islamic philosophical and theological thought during the Middle Ages and continues to influence Christian theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. Aristotle was well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals and revered as "The First Teacher" (Arabic: المعلم الأول‎).
His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle's philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues – Cicero described his literary style as "a river of gold" – it is thought that only around a third of his original output has survived.

 

 

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Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (Italian: [mikeˈlandʒelo]; March 1475 – 18 February 1564), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development ofWestern art.^[1] Considered to be the greatest living artist during his lifetime, he has since also been described as one of the greatest artists of all time.^[1] Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci.

A number of Michelangelo's works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence.^[1] His output in every field of interest was prodigious; given the sheer volume of surviving correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century.

Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before the age of thirty. Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and The Last Judgment on its altar wall. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library. At the age of 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peter's Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan, the western end being finished to Michelangelo's design, the dome being completed after his death with some modification.

In a demonstration of Michelangelo's unique standing, he was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive.^[2] Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime; one of them, by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all artistic achievement since the beginning of the Renaissance, a viewpoint that continued to have currency in art history for centuries.

In his lifetime he was also often called Il Divino ("the divine one").^[3] One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was histerribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and it was the attempts of subsequent artists to imitate^[4] Michelangelo's impassioned and highly personal style that resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance.

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Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly Leonardo da Vinci ( was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of paleontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank,his genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal.
Many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the "Universal Genius" or "Renaissance Man", an individual of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination". According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent in recorded history, and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, while the man himself mysterious and remote". Marco Rosci, however, notes that while there is much speculation regarding his life and personality, his view of the world was logical rather than mysterious, and that the empirical methods he employed were unorthodox for his time.
Born out of wedlock to a notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman, Caterina, in Vinci in the region of Florence, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter Andrea del Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded to him by Francis I.
Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time, with their fame approached only by Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro coin, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings have survived.Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, compose a contribution to later generations of artists rivalled only by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.
Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine,and the double hull, also outlining a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime,but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics, but he did not publish his findings and they had no direct influence on later science.

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Rabindranath tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was Asia’s first Nobel Prize winner. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 for his book Gitanjali. Although most famed for his poetry, Tagore was a creative genius who played a crucial role in the cultural renaissance of India and Bengal in the 19th and early 20th Century. As well as being a Seer poet Tagore’s achievements included notable contributions in the fields of music, literature, plays, art and education reformer.
Tagore was born in 1861, the youngest son of Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. Debendranath Tagore was himself an influential Bengali and member of the Brahmo Samaj. Although very wealthy he had an underlying spirituality, qualities which to a large extent were inherited by his youngest son Rabindranath. As a young boy Rabindranath Tagore was asked to sing by his father. Debendranath was so impressed with the soulfulness of his singing that he credited his son with a valuable gift.
Rabindranath wrote his first poem at the age of 6 and as a young boy studied the classical poetry of Kalidasa. He also studied the Upanishads, languages and modern sciences. In 1878 he travelled to England in the hope of becoming a barrister. However in 1880 he left University College London and returned to India because his father had arranged his marriage to Mrinalini Devi. Thus Tagore returned home to get married and look after his family’s estates. This enabled a productive period of writing poetry, plays and short stories. In 1901 Tagore moved to Santiniketan (West Bengal) where he found an ashram, dedicated to returning educational traditions of ancient India. Later this school was to be expanded and given the name of Shriniketan ‘ “Abode of Peace” This project was dear to Tagore’s heart throughout his life.
In 1913 Tagore was informed that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Nobel Committed gave Tagore the prize:
“because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West” (1)
This prestigious award brought Tagore into the public eye in both the East and West. He now often travelled to the U.S and Europe to share his poetry and raise funds for his own ashram.

Political Views

Tagore was held in high regard by fellow Bengalis and Indians and In 1950 his song Jana Gana mana was adopted as India’s national anthem. In many respects he was one of India’s foremost cultural figures but he rarely intervened in politics directly although he did share his view at certain times. Tagore had a complex relationship with Mahatma Gandhi. On the one hand he supported India’s Independence movement and shared Gandhi’s vehement opposition to the treatment of the ‘untouchables’. Tagore also famously renounced his knighthood in protest over the massacre at Amritsar. However Tagore did not always share Gandhi’s methods and opinions. For example Tagore publicly criticised Gandhi’s ‘Swaraj’ protest movement he called it the ‘cult of the chakra’ However the two remained close and it was Tagore who was able to persuade Gandhi to give up a ‘fast unto death’ over the treatment of the untouchables.

Tagore’s poetry

Tagore’s poetry was influenced by traditional Indian poetry. For example, his early poetry was especially influenced by the devotional Indian poets of Ramprasad and Kabir. Later he was influenced by the Baoul tradition, which is a tradition of traditional Bengali folk music, known for its simple ballads and invocation to union with the beloved. Throughout Tagore’s work there is strong mystical element. Although it is worth noting Tagore rarely refered to God directly
“When the voice of the Silent touches my words
I know him and therefore know myself.”

“Love is an endless mystery,
for it has nothing else to explain it.”

However Tagore also infused his poetry with his own unique creative spirit. In particular he sought to bring the unity of nature into his poetry.

‘He longed to be the wind and blow through your rustling branches,
to be your shadow and legthen with the day on the water,
to be a bird and perch on your topmost twig,
and to float like those ducks among the weeds and shadows.’

From: The Crescent Moon
For Tagore beauty and beauty’s appreciation was an important part of his life and sadhana and this was reflected in his poetry.

‘Beauty is in the ideal of perfect harmony
which is in the universal being;
truth the perfect comprehension of the universal mind.’

Tagore kept writing poetry throughout his life. In the evening of his life when he suffered various illness, he became concerned with the theme of death and man’s immortality.

The night is black and the forest has no end;
a million people thread it in a million ways.
We have trysts to keep in the darkness, but where
or with whom – of that we are unaware.
But we have this faith – that a lifetime’s bliss
will appear any minute, with a smile upon its lips.

- R.Tagore, On the Nature of Love
In 1940 Oxford University arranged a special ceremony in Santiniketan to honor the poet with Doctorate Of Literature. Tagore passed away on 7th August, 1941 in his ancestral home in Calcutta, the house where he was born.
Tagore influence many poets and literary figures. Early admirers included W.B.Yeats and Romain Rolland. His poetry was also appreciated by Spanish poets such as nobel Laureates: Gabriella Mistral, Pablo Neruda and Octavio Paz.

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polonnaruwa kingdom

Poḷonnaruwa (Sinhalese Poḷonnaruwa or Puḷattipura, Tamil Polaṉṉaṟuvai or Puḷatti nakaram) is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Kaduruwela area is the Polonnaruwa New Town and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated Chola invaders in 1070 to reunite the country once more under a local leader.
The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site.
Currently the new Polonnaruwa is under going a major development project known as the "Awakening of Polonnaruwa" under the concept of President Maithripala Sirisena. It envisions the development of all sectors in Polonnaruwa including roads, electricity, agriculture, education, health and environment will be developed comprehensively.

History

While Vijayabahu's victory and shifting of kingdoms to the more strategic Polonnaruwa is considered significant, the real "Hero of Polonnaruwa" of the history books is actually Parakramabahu I. It was his reign that is considered the Golden Age of Polonnaruwa. Trade and agriculture flourished under the patronage of the king, who was so adamant that no drop of water falling from the heavens was to be wasted and each was to be used toward the development of the land. Hence, irrigation systems that are far superior to those of the Anuradhapura Age were constructed during Parakramabahu's reign - systems which to this day supply the water necessary for paddy cultivation during the scorching dry season in the east of the country. The greatest of these systems is the Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama. It is of such a width that it is impossible to stand upon one shore and view the other side. It also encircles the main city like a ribbon, being both a moat against intruders and the lifeline of the people in times of peace. The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was completely self-sufficient during King Parakramabahu's reign.
With the exception of his immediate successor, Nissankamalla I, all other monarchs of Polonnaruwa were slightly weak-willed and rather prone to picking fights within their own court.^{[citation needed]} They also went on to form more intimate matrimonial alliances with stronger South Indian kingdoms until these matrimonial links superseded the local royal lineage. This prompted an invasion by the Aryacakravarti dynasty King Kalinga Magha in 1214, who founded the Jaffna kingdom (1215-1624 CE). Local power passed into the hands of a Pandyan dynasty king following the Jaffna kingdom invasion of Lanka in 1284, who moved their capital to Dambadeniya. Polonnaruwa was also called Jananathamangalam during this brief period under the Pandya.

Present day

Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archaeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers. Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to filmed scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Near the ancient city, there is a small town with several hotels (especially for tourists) and some glossy shops, and places to fulfill day-to-day needs. There are government institutions in a newly built area called “new town,” about 6 km away from the town and the main road. The largest school in the district, Polonnaruwa Royal Central College is situated at new town.
Polonnaruwa is the second largest city in North Central Province, but it is known as one of the cleanest and more beautiful cities in the country. The green environment, amazing ancient constructions, Parakrama Samudra (a huge lake built in 1200), and attractive tourist hotels and hospitable people, attract tourists.
Another draw for tourists is the city's population of toque macaques. The monkeys have been living in the ruins since human occupation and continue to thrive here long after the humans left.

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ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නර්තනයන්

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නර්තන සම්ප්‍රදායන්ගේ සම්භවය හා ඉතිහාසය

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නර්තන සම්ප්‍රදායන්ගේ සම්භවය එහි ස්වදේශී ජනයා (වැදි ජනයා සහ යක්ෂ ගෝත්‍රික (යකඩ වැඩ වල නිරත වුවත්)) මත රදා පවතී. තෙල්මේ නර්තනයෙහි ඉතිහාස කථාව රාවණ රජු සමය තෙක් එනම් මීට අවුරුදු 5000 තරම් ඈතට දිවෙයි.සිංහල පුරාවෘත්තයන්ට අනුව මහනුවර උඩරට නර්තනකරුවන්ගේ සම්භවය අවුරුදු 2500 කට ඉහත දී විසූ රජවරයකුගේ ඉන්ද්‍රජාල චාරිත්‍රයක් තුළින් ගොඩ නගා ඇත. ඉපැරණි පුරාවෘත්තයක් වන "මහාවංශය" සදහන් පරිදි විජය රජතුමන් වර්ෂ 543 ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට පා තැබු විට ඔහුට මංගල උත්සවයක සංගීත හා නර්තන ශබ්දය ඇසි ඇත. ( මෙම විජය උතුර ඉන්දියාවෙන් පැමිණි සංක්‍රමණිකයෙක් වන අතර ඔහු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ තම්මැන්නා නම් ප්‍රදේශය යටත් කර ගන්නා ලදී. නමුත් පසු කාලීනව මෙම ප්‍රදේශය රටේ පාලකයා බවට පත්වූ පණ්ඩුකාභය රජ විසින් නැවත අත්පත් කර ගන්නා ලදී.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නර්තන සම්ප්‍රදායන්ගේ පසුබිම

උඩරට බෙර වාදකයෙක්

සම්භාව්‍ය නර්තනය විවිධ චාරිත්‍ර හා උත්සව වලදී භාවිතා කෙරේ. මේවා ශතවර්ෂ ගණනාවක් පැරණි අතර, ග්‍රාමීය විශ්වාසය හා ඇඳහිලි මත පදනම් වී ඇත.මෙම නර්තන සම්ප්‍රදායන් බුද්ධාගමේ සම්ප්‍රාප්තියට පෙර සිට පැවැත එන අතර එය සිංහලයින් විසින් ශතවර්ෂ 3 දි පිළිගෙන ඇත. මෙම චරිත හා සැනකෙළි තුළින් කෘෂිකර්මාන්ත ජනාවාසවල අගයයන්, විශ්වාස හා චාරිත්‍ර පිළිඹිබු කෙරේ. බුදුදහමට පෙර පැවැති ඇදහිලි හා විශ්වාස අනුව යක්ෂයින් හා අද්භූත බලවේගවලින් විවිධ ප්‍රයෝජන හා ආශිර්වාද ලබාගැනීමට හැකිබවට සිංහලයින් තුළ බලවත් විශ්වාසයක් පැවතිණ.එමෙන්ම මෙම යක්ෂයින් හා අද්භූත බලවේගවල බලපෑම නිසා විවිධ රෝගාබාධ ද ඇති කෙරෙතියිද සිංහලයින් විශ්වාස කළහ. එම බලපෑමෙන් මිඳීමට ඔවුන් විවිධ උත්සව හා චාරිත්‍ර ක්‍රම පැවැත් වුහ.එය උඩරට නර්තන සම්ප්‍රදායේ විකාශනයේ වදැගත් චාරිත්‍රයක් වන කොහොඹා කංකාරිය දක්වා විහිදී යයි. මෙම චාරිත්‍ර ක්‍රමය මෑත යුගයේ සුලබව දක්නට නැතිමුත්, නුවර දළදා පෙරහැරෙහි දි ප්‍රදර්ශනය කෙරේ. රුහුණු නර්තනයේ ආරම්භය වන්නේ දෙවොල් යක්ෂයින් සදහා චාරිත්‍ ඉටුකිරීම උදෙසා කරන දෙවොල් මඩුවයි. කට්ටඩියන් විසින් මෙහෙය වනු ලබන රට යකුම හා සන්නි යකුමසන්නි යකුම පවත්වන්නේ විවිධ සුව නොවන රෝගාබාධ හා වගා බිම් සඳහාය. සබරගමුව නර්තනයේ චාරිත්‍රයක් වන්නේ ගම් මඩුවයි. මෙය පන්තිනි දෙවියන් උදෙසා කරන අතර සරුසාර අස්වැන්නක් හා රෝගාබාධ වලින් දුරු වීම උදෙසා පවත්වයි.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ශාස්ත්‍රීය නැටුම්

ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ශ්‍රාස්ත්‍රීය නැටුම් ශෛලීන් තුනක් පවතී. ඒවා නම්,

1. උඩරට නැටුම් - ප්‍රචලිතව පවනින්නේ කන්ද උඩරට ප්‍රදේශයේය.
2. පහත රට නැටුම් - ප්‍රචලිතව පවතින්නේ දකුණු පළාත්වලය.
3. සබරගමු නැටුම් - ප්‍රචලිතව පවතින්නේ සබරගමු ප්‍රදේශයේය.

උඩරට නැටුම්හි “උඩරට” යන නාමය ලැබී ඇත්තේ සිරිලක අවසාන රාජ්‍ය අගනුවර වූද, කොළඹින් කිලෝමීටර් 120 කට ඈතින් පිහිටි නුවර පුරවරයෙනි. මේ වන විට උඩරට නැටුම් ශෛලිය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ශ්‍රාස්ත්‍රීය නැටුම් අතරින් ප්‍රධාන ස්ථානයකට පත්වී හමාරය.
සංස්කෘත භාෂාවේ හැඳින්වෙන තෘන නම් වූ කොටසට,එනම් කාල (රිද්මය) පදනම් කොටගත් රිද්මයානුකූල නර්තන ශෛලියක් ලෙස උඩරට නැටුම් හැඳින්විය හැක. මෙම රිද්මයානුකූල චලනය සඳහා තාල දැමීමට “තාලම්පට” නම් වූ වාදන භාණ්ඩයක් උපයෝගී කර ගනී. උඩරට නැටුමෙහි ප්‍රධාන විනෝදාංශයක් ලෙස වෙස්, නෛඅධි, උඩැක්කි, පන්තේරු සහ වන්නම් හැඳින්විය හැක.
උඩරට පහතරට හා සබරගමු නර්තන ශෛලින් එකිනෙකින්‍වෙනස් වන ප්‍රධාන කරුණු කීපයකි. ඒවා අතර නැටුම් අංග චලන, දේහ චලන, රංග වස්ත්‍රාභරණ සහ එක් එක් ශෛලීන්ට අනුකූල කාල රටා මැවීමට භාවිතා කරන්නා වූ විවිධ මාදිලියේ බෙර වර්ග ප්‍රධාන වේ. මේ අතරින් විශේෂිත වූ තවත් කරුණක් නම් පහත රට නැටුම්හි භාවිතා වන වෙස් මුහුණ පළඳනා උඩරට හෝ සබරගමු නැටුම්වලදී භාවිතා නොවීමයි.
තවද උඩරට නැටුම් සඳහා ගැට බෙරය ද, පහත රට නැටුම් සඳහා යක් බෙරයද, සබරගමු නැටුම් සඳහා දවුල් බෙරය ද භාවිතා වේ. ගැට බෙරය හා යක් බෙරය බෙර වාදකයාගේ දෙඅත් භාවිත‍ා කර වාදනය කරන අතර, දවුල් බෙර වාදකයා එක් අතකින් කඩිප්පුව (කෝටුවකි) ගෙන අනෙක් අතින් දවුල වාදනය කරයි. යක් බෙර හා දවුල් බෙරයෙහි බද සිලිණ්ඩරාකාර වන අතර උඩරට බදයෙහි බඳ දෙපසට ක්‍රමයෙන් අඩුවී යන ආකාරයේ හැඩයෙන් යුක්ත වේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නර්තන සම්ප්‍රදායන්

උඩරට නැටුම

වෙස් නැටුම

වෙස් නැටුම පැවත එන්නේ පුරාණ පිරිසිදු කිරීමේ පුද චාරිත්‍රයක් ලෙසය. මෙය කොහොඹ යැකුම හෝ කොහොඹා කංකාරිය වේ. මෙම නර්තනය පුරුෂ පක්ෂය විසින් පමණක් භාවිතා කෙරේ. මෙහි අනර්ඝ ඇදුම් කට්ටලය, විශේෂයෙන් හිස් ආවරණය ‍කොහොඹා දෙවියන් වෙනුවෙන් වන පූජනීය එකක් ලෙස සැලකේ. කංකාරියෙන් පිටත නර්තනයේ යෙදීමට නර්තන ශිල්පීන්ට අවසර ලැබුනේ 19 වන ශතවර්ෂයේ දී දළඳා පෙරහැර කාලයේ කංකාරිය පන්සලේ දීය. වර්තමානයේ මෙම අගනා ඇදුම් කට්ටලය උඩරට නර්තන ශිල්පීන්ගේ ප්‍රතිමූර්තියයි.

නයියන්ඩි නර්තනය

මෙම නර්තන ශිල්පීන් රංගනයේ යෙදෙන්නේ කොහොඹා කංකාරියේ මුලික අවස්ථාවේ දීය. පහන් දල්වන අවස්ථාව හා යකුන් වෙනුවෙන් ආහාර පිළියෙල කරන අවස්ථාව වලදී ය. නර්තන ශිල්පීන් පබළු වලින් සකසන ලද සුදු ඇඳුමක් ඔවුන්ගේ උඩුක‍යේ පළඳින අතර, බඳ පටියක්, බෙල්ලේ පබළු දැමු මාලයක්, රිදී මාල, පිත්තල උරහිස් පලඳනා හා වලලුකර පලඳනා භාවිතා කරයි. කතරගම දේවාලයේ විෂ්ණු දෙවියන් වෙනුවෙන් පැවැත්වෙන පුජා උත්සව වලදී මෙම නර්තනය දැකගත හැකිය.

උඩැක්කි නර්තනය

මෙම නර්තනය ගෞරවනීය වෙයි. එහි නම වන උඩැක්කි සෑදි ඇත්තේ කුඩා අත්බෙරයක් වන හෝරා යතුරක ආකාරයෙන් යුතු අඟල් 7 ½ පමණ උස දෙවියන් විසින් දෙන ලදැයි විශ්වාස කරන බෙරයකිනි. උඩැක්කිය වයන කුඩා ලී කැබලි දෙක ඊශ්වර දෙවියන් විසින් දෙන ලදැයි විශ්වාස කරති. සංගීතය විෂ්ණු දෙවියන් දෙන ලදැයි කියති. මෙය නිර්මාණය කර ඇතැයි කියන්නේ ශක්‍ර දෙවියන්ගේ උපදෙස් මතය. වාදනය කර ඇත්තේ දෙවි විමාන වලය. උඩැක්කිය වාදනය කිරීමට අපහසු භාණ්ඩයක් වන අතර, නර්තන ශිල්පීයා මෙය වාදනය කරන අතරේ ගායනයෙහිද යෙදේ.

පන්තේරු නැටුම

පන්තේරු පත්තිනි දෙවියන් උදෙසා තැනුණ එකකි. මෙය කුඩා දිග බෙරයක් ආකාරයෙන් තැනුණු එකක් වෙයි. එහි වටප්‍රමාණයට අතරින් පතර කුඩා සිම්බල් අල්ලා ඇත. මෙහි නර්තනය සිද්ධාර්ථ කුමාරයාගේ දවස පටන් පැවත එතැයි කියති. දෙවියන් මෙය යුද්ධ ජයග්‍රහණ සැමරීමට යොදා ගෙන ඇත. සිංහල රජවරුන් පන්තේරුකරුවන් යුධ බිමෙහි ජයග්‍රහණය සඳහා යොදා ගෙන ඇත.

වන්නම්

ප්‍රධාන ලිපිය: වන්නම්

වන්නම් පුරාතන සිංහල ලේඛනවල සටහන් වී ඇත්තේ ගායනයට පමණක්ය. පසුව එය තනි පුද්ගල නර්තනයට ද ඇතුලත් විය. පුරාතනයේ ශ්‍රී වීරපරාක්‍රම නරේන්ද්‍රසිංහ රජු නර්තනයට හා සංගීතයට නොමද සහයක් ලබා දී ඇත. ඒ කාලයේ කවිකාර මඩු වලදී ගීත හා කවි ගායනා කර ඇත. වන්නම් හි අඩංගු සිද්ධාන්ත 18 පුරාණ ගණිතාලංකාරයෙන් පැවත එන බැව් කියති. වන්නම් පැවත එන්නේ ඉතිහාසය, පරිසරය, පුරාවෘත්ත, ගැමි ඇඳහිලි, ගැමි කලාව, පුරාණ දැනුම ආශ්‍රයෙනි. ප්‍රසිද්ධ වන්නම් 18 කි. එනම් ගජගා, තුරඟා, මයුර, ගහක , උරගා, මුසලාඩි, උකුස්සා, වෛරෝඩි, හනුමා, සැවුලා, සිංහරාජ, නාග, කිරල, නෛයඩි, සුරපති, ගනපති, උඩුහර සහ අසර්දෘශ්‍ය වේ. මෙයට අමතරව සමනල බෝ සහ හංස වන්නම ඊ‍ට පසුව එකතු කරන ලදී. වන්නම් නර්තනයට කොටස් 7 ක් අඩංගු වේ.

කෝලම්

ප්‍රධාන ලිපිය: කෝළම්

"කෝලම් " පහතරට ඇති නර්තන නාට්‍යයකි. මෙහිදී රඟදක්වන්නා සත්ව හෝ රජවරැන් උසස් නිලධාරීන් වැනි පුද්ගලයින් විස්තර කිරීම සඳහා වෙස්මුහුණු පැළඳ විනෝදාත්මක හා හාස්‍ය රංගනයන් හි යෙ‍දේ. ශාස්ත්‍රඥයන් පවසා ඇති අන්දමට කෝලම් "සන්නි යැකුම "නැමැති ශාන්ති කර්මයෙන් නිර්මාණය වු අතර එය පසු කලෙක ශාන්ති කර්ම අංගයන්ගෙන් නේ වු නර්තන නාට්‍යයක් බවට පත්ව ඇත.

යක් නැටුම්

යක් නැටුම් මිනිසුන් තුල පවතින පොදු විශ්වාසයක් වන, නොපෙනන විවිධ බලවේග හේතුවෙන් ලෙඩරෝග වලට ගොදුරු වන රෝගීන්ට ප්‍රතිකර්ම පිණිස භාවිතා කරයි. පුද්ගලයෙක් හෝ පවුලක පැවැත්ම අඩාල වේ නම්, ගම් වැසියන්ගේ විශ්වාසයන් වන නොපෙනන බලවේගයන් විසින් මෙම අඩාල වීම සිදු කරනා ලදැයි අදහසින් 'තොවිල්' කර්මයක් කරනු ලබයි.
තොවිල් සාමාන්‍ය චාරිත්‍ර ක්‍රමයක් වන අතර, එය ගෙයකට හෝ පවුලේ හා ඥාතීන්ගේ සහභාගිත්වයෙන් කරන අතර,ගමේම සහභාගිත්වයෙන් ගම් මඩුව හෝ දෙවොල් මඩුව ශාන්තිකර්ම කරනු ලැබේ. මහසොහොන් සමයම හා ගරා යැකුම ශාන්ති කර්මයේදී වෙස් මුහුණු නැට්ටුවන් සහභාගි වේ.මහසොහොන් රංගන ශිල්පියා වලසෙකු පිළිබිඹු කරනා වෙස් මුහුණකින් හා ඇඳුම් කට්ටලයකින් සැරසි සිටී.බොහෝවිට මෙහි සන්නි නැටුම්වලින් ද වෙස් මුහුණු පැලඳ මෙයට සහභාගි වේ. දහ අට සන්නිය අසනීප 16 ක් පිළිබිඹු කරනා අතර එය යක්ෂයෙක් විසින් ඇති කරන්නක් යැයි විශ්වාස කෙරේ. මෙම චාරිත්‍ර‍ ක්‍රමයෙන් සමහර අවස්ථා වල නර්තන ශිල්පින් වෙස් මුහුණ පැලඳ පෙරහැරක් ආකාරයෙන් සහභාගි වන අතර සමහර අවස්ථාවල විවිධ චරිත වර්ග වෙස් මුහුණු තුලින් විදහාපායි. පසු කාලයේ ළමුන් විසින් ද වෙසක් සමයේ වෙස් මුහුණු පැලඳ ගන්නා අතර, විශාල වෙස් මුහුණු වන ඔලුබක්කෝ නැටුම් බාල මහලු සැමගේ විනෝදාස්වාදයට හේතු විය.

ජන නැටුම්

සම්භාවනීය නර්තනයන් හැරුණු කොට ජන නැටුම්, ක්‍රියාකාරකම් හා සැණකෙලි ඇසුරෙන් පවතී. ලී කෙලි, කළ ගෙඩි, රබන් සහ ජන නැටුම් බහුල වශයෙන් වර්තමානයේ දක්නට පුළුවන.

C.M Tharindu bandara

Photoshop

A Comprehensive Introduction to Photoshop Selection Techniques

 

 

Have you ever had difficulties making selections and thought there was a better way? Let's review both quick solutions, and on the other side, comprehensive and details techniques for making selections. Each approach has it's place in your workflow. The more methods you know how to use, the faster and more effectively you'll move in Photoshop.

Selection in Photoshop

Photoshop selects pixels based one of the three properties, as shown in the image below:

1. Chroma: is the color of the pixel. Color of a pixel is the level of RGB values and color based select tools like the
   Magic Wand. Select by color uses the RGB% as a criteria to group pixels based on the set tolerance values.
2. Luma: is a selection based on Illumination levels. Illumination levels are whiteness of the image, which is nothing but higher values for all the three R, G and B channels. Photoshop doesn't have a native interface for a Luma based selection, but many existing tools can be hacked to get a similar result.
3. Masks: are based on spatial position. Pixels are selected and discarded or masked by a parallel layer bound to corresponding image layer. Masks are grayscale and brightness of the mask is called an Alpha level, which is the degree of opaqueness of the corresponding layer pixel. It's also called the Transparency/Opacity channel as in RGBA etc.

A Note on Masks

In this article, words like Masks and Alpha will be used interchangeably. The process of transferring images to layer masks will be shown once and then used repeatedly without explicitly mentioning thereafter.

Step 1

Open a new image that you want to use as a mask. Double-click the background layer and create a new layer, which is "Layer 0." Make a new layer, which is "Layer 1," on top of it and fill with a uniform color, then hide "Layer 1."

Step 2

Go to "Layer 0" and click Select > Select All (Command + A) to select all pixels. Next, click Edit > Copy (Command + C) to copy all pixels to the clipboard.

Step 3

Go to "Layer 1" and create an empty Layer Mask. Initially an all transparent Layer Mask will be created. Alt-click the layer mask to see it in the canvas.

Step 4

With the Layer Mask visible, paste onto the canvas by clicking Edit > Paste (Command + V). A grayscale version of the copied image will be pasted in as the layer mask.

Step 5

Click on the fill layer thumbnail (not mask) to see the result. Any image can be applied as a Layer Mask to another layer. The opacity of the layer will be controlled by grayscale level of the mask.

More on Masks

The easiest way of creating a Layer Mask is to click the Add Layer Mask button with something selected on the canvas. The selection will be saved as a layer mask attached to the current layer and everything outside the selection marquee will be masked and hidden.

Activate Layer Masks

Alt-clicking on the Layer Mask makes it active for editing. Only activated layer masks can be edited which are represented by a thin white outline around them.

Add Shapes to Layer Masks

Dragging any shape onto the canvas while a layer mask has been activated will draw it on the Mask instead of the layer itself. To draw it again on the layer we need to deactivate the Mask by clicking on the layer thumbnail.

Add Brush Strokes to Layer Masks

The same is true for brush strokes. Anything painted on the canvas with a Layer Mask selected will draw it on the Mask instead of the Layer. We can use this property to select objects with irregular boundaries from backgrounds, by painting everything else black on the Layer Mask. White brush strokes will reveal and blacks will conceal.

Copying a Layer Mask to Another Layer

Finally, we can transfer the Layer Mask to another layers by simply loading it as a selection (Command-click) and unloading as we did in the first step by clicking the Add Layer Mask button. Or by Alt-dragging the mask to another Layer (Not Shown).

Boolean Operations with Selections

This example shows how to Load, Add, Subtract, and Intersect selections between overlapping layers just with quick thumbnail clicks.

Load Pixels to Selections

In "Layer 2" Command-click to load a fill as a selection. Any pixel which is not transparent in "Layer 2" will be loaded as a selection. This is not the same as copying the layer, only its outline. The green fill shows the selected region although you will get only the surrounding Marquee. Let's call this state (with "Layer 2" selected) the initial state.

Addition

With the "Layer 2" loaded as a selection, Command + Shift-click on "Layer 1" to add it to the selection. Now non-transparent pixels of both "Layer 1" and "Layer 2" are combined as the new selection. Notice the small plus sign in the Command-Click box.

Subtraction

Revert to the initial state and Command + Alt-click on "Layer 1." This will subtract any overlapping pixel of "Layer 1" from the current selection of "Layer 2." Notice the minus sign.

Intersection

Revert to initial state and Command + Alt + Shift-click on "Layer 1" to keep only the overlapping pixels as a selection. Notice the X sign. If the layers are not overlapping this action will deselect all.

Garbage Masks

Garbage Masks are created to roughly isolate the 'region of interest' from rest of the image.

Further trimming is carried out inside the Garbage Mask with precision.

Vector and Raster Selections

Draw an outline around the region of interest in the image with any of the Lasso Tools and double-click to complete the selection. A Garbage Mask needs to be saved for further refining, which can be done both as a Layer or Vector Mask. We must choose it depending on complexity of the outline and how we are planning to trim it later on. With the Lasso selection click Add Layer Mask to save it as a Layer Mask.

Alternatively, we can also save the selection as a Vector Mask which can be later refined by working on the shape spline that defines its outline. With the Lasso selection still intact (2), go to the Paths tab (3b) and click Make Working Path from the Selection button at the bottom. This will save the selection outline as a Shape Working Path.

Now load the selection again, and return to Layers tab. Click Add Layer Mask once to create a Layer Mask (Command-click to load again) then click the same button( 6b) once more to Add Vector Mask. Saving selections as Vector Masks or Shapes saves memory.

Selecting with Vector Mask

Click on the Vector Mask to activate it. Or selecting any of the Shape tools will make it active. Vector Masks are modified by adjusting the spline positions (Control Points) and curvature (Tangents). You can disable, delete, or save the Layer Mask with another Layer. The Convert Point tool is most suitable for altering Vector shapes and Paths. Click and drag on the handles, then Command-click on control points to move them.

Once a acceptable outline has been achieved use the Add Points tool to refine and further match the outlines. Delete points when necessary. Dragging handles with Command + Shift will lock their relative slopes. Drag directly on the Control Point to reset handles. Regular curvy shapes are best to be extracted with this process.

This method is also best in situations where boundaries are not clearly visible.

Select by Color Range

Selecting by color is the fastest way to Chroma select. Click Select > Color Range and select a color with the Eyedropper Tool available. Once selected certain shades can be removed selectively with the Minus (-) Eyedropper or again added with the Plus (+) Eyedropper. There is also a preview window that displays the selected region or the original image.

This tool can be used to setup Garbage Masks around the subject and later refine it with editing the Mask. Select by color is not a one-click solution, but does a great job in minimizing manual work.

Chroma from Channels

Color information of each type are stored in as separate channels, which can be viewed in the Channels Tab. We can use the channel wise variations in color intensities for selecting objects in the image. This process is helpful only when background and foreground have separate color distribution in at least one channel.

Advanced Chroma

In the Histogram we can see that the blue channel is predominant in the image and it extends up to the highlights where other channels are very weak. Our subject here is the patch of vegetation in foreground.

Picking the Best Channel

A simple observation of the three channels tell us that the blue channel has the highest contrast between the Sky and Grass. We are going to exploit this property to separate the two. Duplicate (Command + J) the Layer and go to the Blue channel of the Copied layer. Click Image > Adjustments > Curves or Press Command + M to apply curves modification on the current channel.

Applying Curves

Select the point closer to the dark grays of the channel and drag it (2) forward in the x-axis (horizontally) keeping y-axis at 0 (shown by the small circle). This will make the darker pixels uniformly more darker. It shouldn't affect the background, drag it a little back to left if it does.

Next, select another point closer to the White Point, drag it (3) back towards the midtones keeping the y-axis(vertical) at maximum (shown by the small circle). What we are doing is saturating the dragged range of blue up to 100%. Make sure the whole background turns white or almost so, and there is a very high contrast between the Grass and Sky.

Channel as Mask

Command-click on the channel thumbnail to load the channel into the selection. Areas which are predominantly blue will be selected totally and the rest according to respective degrees. Areas which have no blue (the black parts) will be left from the selection. With the selection in place go to the Layers tab and click Add Layer Mask to save the selection as a Mask.

Inverting the Mask

Press Command + I to invert the Layer Mask.

Selecting by Brushing on Masks

Brush based selection is used to extract foregrounds with complex outlines with accuracy. It is also used to refine selections made with other techniques. And it also support transparency (softness).

Erasing is probably the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about brush based selection. But it is not a recommended process at all. Erasing is a destructive process and can permanently damage the original image as recovery is limited only to a number of undo levels we have set.

Brushing with Layer Masks

Here too Layer Masks can be used, to preserve the workflow of Eraser and additional possibility of recovering removed portions if they are needed. Painting on the Layer Mask with a White or Black will reveal or hide the contents respectively. We can brush out backgrounds in the same way as in using the Eraser tool and get it back by painting with White.

No Feedback

When brushing the mask we may sometimes trim off relevant parts accidently and keep focusing on the wrong silhouette only to be discovered later. This is highly probable when foreground background have similar hues and there is no immediate visual feedback.

Immediate Feedback

This problem can be averted by following a simple rule of keeping a multiplied duplicate of the current layer in the background as a guide layer. Multiplied gradient maps will show-up as high contrast versions of the subject outlines if violated.

Luma Select

As already mentioned Luma is the illumination levels of an image. Luma can be used to extract components from the image which have a considerable brightness difference than others.

Simplest Luma Hack

Unlock the background and make a duplicate of it, then hide the original Layer.

Apply Threshold

Apply a Threshold Adjustment Layer on top. You will notice that some parts of the image have been turned instantly black and rest are pure white, and there are no intermediate grayscale levels.

Adjust Threshold

Adjust the Threshold Slider and try to enclose the subject or background (whichever is darker) in black. Hide the Threshold layer and look at the original image for guidance when required.

Merge Layers

Command-click to select the top two layers and Merge them into one. Select the bottom layer, make it visible and create a blank Layer Mask.

Add Layer Mask

Copy the merged image and paste to the Layer Mask, following the process discussed above. We have our Layer Mask ready, but in most cases there will be holes and parts of our background visible. Use the Mask Painting technique discussed above to make it tidy. Invert if necessary.

Luma Select with Transparency

The Threshold technique discussed above is very fast to implement, but is only useful for extracting solid objects as it lacks transparency. The following method can be useful in situations where we need Luma extraction with transparency. Here we are going to remove the ice-water from the rest of the rocks.

Using Luma to Mask with Transparency

Unlock and Create a layer from the background (1). Apply an Adjustment Layer Black and White on top and then a Brightness-Contrast Adjustment Layer above it.

Reduce Brightness

Select Use Legacy mode and slowly move the Brightness slider to left, try to get as many black areas from the rocks as possible. This process will reduce the brightness of the Water too so don't overdo it.

Increase Contrast

Now slowly increase the Contrast slider to the right. With each increase dark-grays will turn to black and lighter grays will glow more brightly. We are going to get the whites as opaque and grays as semi-transparent. Try to get both Whites and Grays where necessary. Over increasing the contrast will make it look like a Threshold Layer, if so there will be no translucency left.

.

Merge the Layers

When satisfied with the results Merge the top three Layers. Go to the background layer and Add a Layer Mask and copy the merged Layer into the Layer Mask.

Yet Another Possibility

Other than the above two procedures there is also another way of Luma based extraction using the Lab color method.

Lab Color Technique

Open an image and turn it to Lab Color mode by clicking Image> Mode> Lab Color.

Goto Channels Tab and find the lightness channel or press Ctrl+1 to directly select it. This is where the illumination levels of all pixels are indexed in the Lab Color mode. You can play with that channel and try to isolate some element from the background. Don't forget to duplicate the Layer or the Channel before you alter any channel.

And filters that doesn't work on the image in Lab Color mode works on the Lightness channel, and yield almost similar results.

Conclusion

Photoshop has quite a few options when it comes to selection techniques. Try applying some of these solutions in your workflow to increase your productivity and effectiveness.

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