Homage to Dr. Senarath Paranavithana

"No really great man ever thought himself so."

(William Hazlitt 1178-1830)

He gave our nation pith and substance.

As a minor colony of the British Empire, we seemed bereft of a worthwhile stature of our own.

He built potent conduits to our rich and mostly unsung past and linked the arid present to perennial reservoirs of an unprecedented cultural heritage.

He made us marvel at the riveting legacy we were heir to.

The world marvelled.

He unearthed structures, that were witness to our technological mastery over land and water. He indicated massive and minute features of the edifices of the past, revealing a refinement and sophistication, that the moderns could not help but envy.

He read the hoary texts (lithic - copper gold silver) coming down from the far past, with the effortless ease of a man going through his morning newspaper, at breakfast. He interpreted these age-old records, exhibiting an amazing versatility, to disclose the quintessence of the way of life of our ancestors who inhabited this island citadel.

He excavated the edifices and structures. He elucidated the vision and the philosophy that made such achievements possible. His capacity and acumen to re-create and re-structure the past was nothing short of the phenomenal.

Dr. Senarath Paranavithana

And, this 'He' is of course Dr. Senarath Paranavithana absolutely one of a kind.

His crowning glory is the adding of an enthralling chapter to the global chronide of aesthetics by presenting to the world Sigiriya - its Frescoed Apsaras and the graffiti. These graffiti represent, some of the finest public writings in the world.

Generally speaking, Archaeology is a highly specialised profession, the achievements of which usually have only an exclusive impact. But, Dr. Senerath Paranavithana, changed all that. He transformed the findings and the research outcomes of Archaeology into a living segment of the country's folklore.

Incidentally, this made Prof. Senarath Paranavithana a folk-hero, commanding popular adoration.

Dr. Senerath Paranavithana, who transited eventually into the region of legend, throughout Sri Lanka, emerged from rural origins, 114 years ago.

He was born in the village of Metaamba- incidentally, in the immediate neighbourhood of my own village Unawatuna.

From childhood on, he displayed a marked inclination towards studies and scholarship.

Without any doubt whatsoever, it is this sustained interest in scholarly pursuits, that eventually won him global reputation. He acquired his formal Sinhala education, at Annasi Hettigoda Government Sinhala School. His additional learning of Pali and Sanskrit took place at Ranwadagoda Pirivena - educational institute associated with a Buddhist Monastery.

Ranjith Amarakeerthi Palihapitiya who has earned a considerable reputation as an absorbing biographer of outstanding personalities, narrates a highly diverting episode from the early life of Senerath Paranavithana.

Young Senerath, walked along a narrow ridge between paddy patches, totally concentrated on the book he was reading. Unable to see where he was going, he stepped right into a water-hole, where water buffaloes usually gather. He walked into the temple for his studies, soaked through and through.

The high priest seeing the pathetic state young Senerath was in, was nevertheless impressed by his earnestness to study.

On later reasons if young Senerath was late for studies the priest would ask his fellow-students, to see if Senerath was in a buffalo-hole.

For his English, he went to Buona Vista College at Unawatuna.

His devotion and unswerving dedication to studies, paid dividends.

He started his professional life as a school teacher. His entry into the field of Archaeology, was determined by his appointment as a Temporary Assistant Epigraphist, by the then Commissioner of Archaeology A. M. Hocart.

Early in his career, he received a scholarship to pursue epigraphical studies in India. This ushered him into the orbit of some of the celebrated archaeologists practising in India at the time.

Among them was Sir John Marshall - a legend in his own right.

From then on, he was unerringly on course to dominate the field of archaeology as a colossus.

After acting in that post on several occasions, as the Commissioner of Archaeology, he was appointed the firstever Sri Lankan Commissioner of Archaeology in Sri Lanka way back in October 1940.

Some of the stalwarts of the calibre of H. C. P. Bell and A. M. Hocart, who preceded him in that post were profoundly impressed by the awesome stature of the indigenous Sri Lankan culture they came upon. As things were, they could not help but, bring an outsider's view-point to their task.

But, as for Commissioner Senerath Paranavithana, it was all inside him. He lived and breathed Sri Lankan culture and its aesthetic heritage.

He plunged headlong into a voyage of discovery regardless of the challenges posed by hunger, occasional bouts of ill-health, vagaries of weather and the thick jungles that concealed invaluable national treasures.

Once, while he was supervising the 'dig' at Kanthaka Cetiya, a severe attack of fever overwhelmed him. With his folded coat serving as a temporary pillow, he lay down close to the site, instructing the officers to put him up, if anything interesting turned up.

He wrote profusely; contributed extensively to publications both here and abroad. He set an example in logical deduction, to unlock the secrets held by archaeological finds.

He would have trekked a countless number of times, up the flight of steps at Sigiriya, leading to the Mirror Wall. His findings stirred the world of scholarship. He made culture and archaeology areas of wonder and amazement. He made the nation repossess a legacy of national culture, instilling a sense of proud ownership of global treasures, into the minds of even the ordinary folk of this land. His legendary contribution to Sri Lanka's national image, still remains pathetically unrecognized.

He never yearned for glory or fame - though they came to him in amazing profusion.

I was in the habit of visiting him, whenever I could. Once, when a spectacular celebration was being held at Anuradhapura, to highlight a restoration effected by Dr. Paranavithana, I went to his office in Colombo - never even dreaming to meet him there. But, there he was, busy at his desk.

Taken aback, I asked him, "Sir, why are you not at the celebrations in Anuradhapura. Pat came his response; "You know, elephants are more important than archaeologists, at that kind of celebrations."

His residence never echoed with the laughter of children. The quietness of his house was never punctuated by the pitter-patter of small feet running around.

He had no personal legatees. But, all Sri Lankans have inherited the cultural legacy he endowed upon this wondrous land.

But, have we repaid this privilege, he has so timelessly and memorably gifted to us?

It is high time we pondered this, as we fondly remember him on his birthday.