Ruwini Jayawardana

Tharindu Weerasinghe, the engineering scholar with an artistic streak, had come out with yet another mind provoking creation. The youth who became the first engineering undergraduate to launch an anthology in English in Sri Lanka had composed an equally enrapturing book comprising Sinhala verses.

Titled ‘Liyavunu Sithuvili’, Tharindu had included around a hundred verses he had scrawled during his creative spells. The book vividly mirrors the fact that the young man is equally capable in describing his inner thoughts in English as well as in Sinhala.

The old boy of Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala, has displayed skills compereing, cricket, acting and as a public speaker. A member of the Art Circle during his stint at campus, Tharindu had bagged several awards and trophies for his contribution in diverse fields.

In addition to these triumphs he had compered the popular educational program `Sanda Nimnaya’ which was telecast on Rupavahini on Friday afternoons. The channel still requests him to present `Adyapana Sathkaraya’, an educational program series aimed at upgrading the knowledge of G.C.E. O/L students.

“My talent for compereing came to light after I won the title of the best announcer at the university. The news appeared in the papers and caught the eye of the Program Director at SLRC.

I never dreamt that I would get the opportunity to join their team,” he expressed on how he came across the chance to compere a program on the mini screen.

He is an Associate Member of the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) and the Computer Society of Sri Lanka. He had also been a Web Master at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Sri Lanka Section in 2008. He expects to complete his MSc.Eng in Information and Communication Engineering at the University of Peradeniya this year.

“I wish to compile a book with a series of English poems relating the experiences of a child from the moment he or she enters the world till the age he or she becomes an adolescent. I’ll probably work on that towards 2010,” noted the youth who is currently employed as a software engineer for IFS R&D International. He adds that his next step is to write a book based on the technical aspects related to computers.

Tharindu’s first literary publication ‘Candlelight’, a compilation of poems on diverse topics, is available at leading bookstores along with his second creation Liyavunu Sithuvili. He clinched the Editor’s Choice Award 2007 presented by the International Library of Poems for his creation `A Tale of Two Ears’. Only 12 per cent of the poems entered by budding poets from all over the world have received the prestigious award. With this achievement in his grasp he had also been invited to become a member of the International Society of Poets.

“Those who had gone through the works liked the verses a lot. There is a lot of positive response and encouragement,” he said.

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