The friendship between iconic artist of Jaffna Asai Rasiah and South artists

Asai Rasiah (centre) with other artists

Asai Rasiah, was a senior Sri Lankan artist born in Atchuvely, Jaffna in 1946. He was till July 1983 the arts teacher at Royal College in Colombo. He left Colombo after being affected by the July riots and set up his base in Jaffna, unable to find permanent employment in the realm of art but pursued relentlessly his artistic life with much hardship. 

The 30-year violent saga in Sri Lanka that ended in 2009 created many artists who used it to showcase only the misery of war and at times covered up a lack of artistic talent and finesse merely by the themes they chose. But Asai Rasiah did not belong to this category. He was a consummate artist who did not choose either opportunism or rancour as his artistic tools. 

Although directly affected by the anti-Tamil riots that made him leave Colombo and his job, he never portrayed even a vestige of ill will by generalising the Sinhalese community in either his paintings or his conduct or opinions. It is significant that his body was not lifted at his funeral until the team of South artists who had worked closely with him and promoted his work, arrived. 

“Our bus was delayed and Asai Rasiah’s daughter Gayathri and his wife waited for us to arrive to continue,” say senior artists Sarath Perera and Anil Atapattu, affiliated with the University of Visual and Performing Arts.

Gayathri recalls, “My father could cook very well and he used to personally make a special biryani for Sarath and Anil uncle and the rest of the South based artists who used to be close to him. When he was very ill in hospital he could hardly speak or move about but the moment he was brought home at his request and Sarath and Anil uncle telephoned that they were arriving, he went to the kitchen and made biryani as usual. That day for the first time in the months that he was sick I saw him laughing and talking.”

Also very close to Asai Rasiah was Prof. Sarath Chandrajeewa, former Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Visual and Performance Arts. A sculpture of Asai Rasiah by Prof. Chandrajeewa is to be unveiled at a special tribute commencing from 19th to 20th in Jaffna at the Thanthai Chelva auditorium, organised by his daughter, Bharatha Natyam specialist and Jaffna Cultural Department Officer, Gayathri Rasiah.

The Harmony page as the South based collaborator for the event would be publishing our 12th and 19th edition dedicated to youth, art and humanitarianism, featuring elements of the art and work of Asai Rasiah and the message of peace he stood for. 

A unique aspect of Asai Rasiah’s paintings is that it brings to life the Jaffna that especially the local and diaspora Sinhala and Tamil youth do not know about – the Jaffna that is not war scarred but thriving in humanity and connection with the rest of the country.

A wide range of intellectuals and artists as well as ordinary folk of Jaffna have been sketched or painted by him and it is time that we had a proper discourse on promoting tourism through the authentic representation of artists such as Rasiah whose paintings teache any visitor to Sri Lanka about the personalities of the North that made an impact on society. The main subject matter of the paintings of Asai Rasiah was the people, landscape and the Hindu culture of Jaffna. 

Where art as a technique is concerned his paintings reflect the institutional discipline maintained by veterans of the art world such as J.D.A. Perera, David Paynter and Stanely Abeysinghe. 

In celebrating the concept of friendship it is only fit that we champion those such as Asai Rasiah.

We also pay tribute to the initiative of the former Governor of the Northern Province Jeevan Thiagarajah under whose direction and support the re-launch of the book on the life and work of Asai Rasiah, titled Vimbham (Reflection) was held in February 2022 as part of a North-South interaction organised by peacebuilding practitioner Frances Bulathsinghala. 

The event was held at the Northern Governor Secretariat officiated by the then Northern Governor Thiagarajah and with the participation of seven cultural and traditional knowledge practitioners, focusing on Intangible Cultural Heritage for harmony and supported by the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).

Readers can access below the Harmony page interview of February 2022, with South artist and art academic Sarath Perera on Asai Asiah as we celebrate the human spirit of friendship and oneness with the universe as well as our inner heart.

(https://www.ft.lk/Harmony-Page/Genius-painter-of-the-north-and-his-life/10523-730755)