The Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts is a school of fine art and a division of the

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

in northern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

History

The Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts (RAFA) was founded by

S. Natesan Subaiya Natesan ( ta, சுப்பையா நடேசன்; also known as Subbaiya Nadesapillai; 21 May 1895 – 15 January 1965) was a Demographics of Sri Lanka, Ceylonese politician, Member of State Council, Member of Parliament and ...

, son-in-law of Sir

P. Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, King's Counsel, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 19 ...

. The academy was located at Maruthanarmadam near

Chunnakam Chunnakam ( ta, சுன்னாகம், translit=Cuṉṉākam; si, චුන්නාකම්, translit=Chunnakam) is a town, located north of Jaffna. It is one of the important commercial centres in Jaffna. The original name of the tow ...

and its purpose was to promote the education of Tamil classical music and

Bharata Natyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

. RAFA was taken over by the

University of Sri Lanka The University of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, இலங்கைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978. Est ...

in December 1975 and placed under the Jaffna Campus'

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

. RAFA was part of the faculty's Department of Fine Arts. The Jaffna Campus was elevated to university status on 1 January 1979 with the creation of the University of Jaffna. In 1992 RAFA was separated from the Department of Fine Arts. RAFA has two departments - Dance and Music - and an Art and Design Unit.

References

External links

* {{authority control Art schools in Sri Lanka University of Jaffna