The other day, when I watched super star Dileepa Dinush’s chilling feats on TV what came to my mind was the old saying, ‘indomitable faith in human courage can move mountains’. Similarly, Dileepa, who hails from the backwoods of Diyakaduwa, a remote hamlet, defied his fate and changed the course of his life with sheer grit and determination. Beating 53,657 contestants, ‘Circus Dileepa’ won the prestigious award at the recent ITN Youth with Talent show.
He is of very humble origin, whose paramount duty is to look after his parents, being the only child in the family. Recollecting the red letter day of his life, and overwhelmed with joy he said: “It was a moment of exultation. I have no words to explain my feelings. Greetings flowed from my fans. At first, there were 3,000 in the friends’ list which doubled after my performance”. I did not dare defy risks, as some were life threatening. It was sheer curiosity that drove me to volunteer, without a whiff of fear. Fortune dawned on me because I risked life and limb for the sake of sport, he said.
Aged 28, Dileepa still remains a bachelor. ‘My father supported the family by doing odd jobs. As a youth in my teens, I relieved my father of his burden of supporting the family by joining a group of circus entertainers. At present, I am working with ‘Seeduwa Sakura’, he recounted his past.
To the question, what attracted him to circus, he said, as a boy of 15 years he was absorbed in the dazzling performance of acrobats in a circus group in his village, Egaloya. It was the true turning point in his life. After much pleading, he got the consent of his parents to join a circus group, Circus Pacipia, where he learnt many gymnastic feats. Dileepa was a mischievous boy as a child. He fell from a tree and broke his leg and arm and was immobilized for over five months. ‘It was an unforgettable misadventure in my circus performance when my leg slipped while climbing a pole in the daring act of ‘pole balancing’ and fell onto my mother’s lap. However, I did not suffer any serious injuries during practices, he said.
Dileepa is honest and humble to the core, when he says, ‘I don’t have circus programs regularly. So, I do odd jobs to eke out a living to support my parents’. I am grateful to the National Youth Services Council and the ITN for organizing this event which has enabled me to display my feats, if not for which I wouldn’t have received such publicity. It was my friends in Warakagoda, Nahalla, Saddangoda and my native village Diyakaduwa, who bore the expense in providing publicity for me and extended their support to make my performance a success. Finally, I would like to convey my gratitude to Sakura Circus Chief, Lal Fernando and Aunty Rani for the numerous support they extended to me, he said.
Pix by Rasika Sanjeewa
(Translated by Michael Kittanpahuwa)