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| Sunday, 10 October 2004 |
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Writing poetry and engineering are two different entities, but to Asanka Nuwanpriya they complement one another enabling him to balance life with equanimity by Lakmal Welabada Asanka Nuwanpriya is a sociable, youngster who taks his responsibilities very seriously.
The Grade five scholarship gave him the entry to Ananda College. The pre-school English medium education in Fiji, had encouraged him to take up more English language based extracurricular activities. He was the Treasurer of the English Literary Union when he was in year 12 and 13, and took part in many English dramas including Shakespeare's 'Othelo' and 'Macbeth' staged for the school English Day. Being the executive committee member of the English debating society, Asanka represented Ananda College in many debating competitions. He was also an executive member of the Chemistry Club. The College Quality Circle is was one of the main activitis in Asanka's memory. He represented Ananda at the 4th International Convention in the Students' Quality Control Circle held in Lucknow, India in December 2001. Around 750 students, both international and Indian participated at the convention,. It was the most remarkable event I have ever taken part in my life so far. Though it was an intellectual gathering we had such fun. And we really stood out in the crowd with our white blazers and school ties'' he says adding that Tharindu Premathilaka, one of my best friends won Best Speaker and Ananda won three team awards including the Best Turn-Out which was awarded to the team. Asanka also captained the College Quality Circle Quiz team which won the Championship at the Inter-school Quality Quiz tournament organised by the Sri Lanka Association for Advancement of Quality and Productivity held at the BMICH in 2002. The debating team which he represented at the same event won the Runner-up award. Asanka handles all his extracurricular activities well, while excelling in his studies. The prodigy who became second best in College with outstanding O/L results, won the Jayantha Mallimarachchi Memorial Scholarship in 2002. The A and two Bs he got at the A/Level examination was not to his satisfaction. Teachers, relatives and friends expressed dissapoinment making him more discontent. Words of his understanding parents however, encouraged him. He sat for the exam for the second time got through with three As, determining his future career as an engineer. The prospective engineer will study computer or electronic engineering at the University of Moratuwa from next year. Asanka likes maths, but his passion is poetry. "I used to scribble a verse when I wanted to relieve the pressure at school" he says showing a few laminated paper cuttings of poetry published in the Daily News and the Sunday Observer Magazine, which he says have been a great source of encouragement to his writing talent. "It inspired me a lot. I have been piling up the verses in my computer for a number of years. So, I thought of publishing a few of them,". The first of Asanka's enchanting yet explicit collection of poetry titled 'The Conscious Dream' was published early this year. The experience he gained by socialising and through his foreign trips made to Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, India, Germany, Austria and UK gave him a vast knowledge as well as raw material for his poetic thoughts. Among all his trips abroad, the most heart rendering and shocking experience the youngster has got, was at his visit to the Nazi Concentration Camp in Germany. Asanka loves music though he did not bother to study to play any instrument. He sings, and is fond of listening to western classics sung by Brian Adams, Richard Marks, Michael Bolton while enjoying Sinhala songs of Amaradeva, T.M. Jayaratne and Victor Ratnayaka. Oscar Wild, Ernest Hemmingway, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Frost, Emmilie Dickinson, Michael Crichton and Agatha Christie are among his famous authors. He still remembers how he finished reading the whole series of Enid Blyton books when he was in year 5 and 6. "I love Literature a lot. I did English Lit for O/Ls. That is something that I want to continue as a sideline in my life," he says. Being sensitive to issues is a weak point, Asanka sees in himself. However, the young poet says he is a great follower of Buddhist philosophy, and believes that the world exists on kindness and thoughtfulness. The charity lover enthusiastically states the huge donation he and his friends collected for the Children's ward at the Cancer Hospital, Maharagama a couple of months ago. When asked about his love life, Asanka says he has not met his 'Miss right' yet, though he mingles around with many female friends. |
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A product of Ananda College, Colombo, Asanka learnt to read the
alphabet at a pre-school in Suva, the capital of the Fiji Islands as his
parents worked as accountants at the South Pacific University from 1988
and 1989. Asanka had his primary education at Lalith Athulathmudali
Vidyalaya, Mt. Lavinia and Mahanama College, Colombo where he attended
many English Day activities and athletics which enabled him to be a
prefect in the primary school.
