Inspiring life stories of eminent Lankans

Reviewed by R.S. Karunaratne

Writing biographies and biographical sketches has become an art in itself. Usually biographical sketches are written about leading people in different fields of activities. They may be politicians, musicians, teachers, lawyers, doctors and what not. When writing about them we have to collect much information as we possibly can, from his or her birth-date to the most relevant facts of their lives through letters, journals, newspaper clippings, pictures, and most importantly, through conversations with elder family members or their friends.

The next step is to organise the material and write that part of the person's life, the writer would like to highlight. Some useful questions would be: Who? What? Where? Why? and How? When you try to find answers to these questions, a well-balanced, readable and entertaining piece of writing comes out. In a biographical sketch we have to describe our subject's appearance, habits, features, and the way of talking. We also have to highlight only those aspects of the subject's life that will be useful to the reader. If we begin to write irrelevant material, we fail to impress the reader and the whole writing process becomes a sheer waste of time.

The compilers of Pipi Thambarana seem to have understood the basics of writing biographical sketches as they have given the reader only what is necessary and entertaining leaving out extraneous details. The book has been carefully edited in such a way that any reader would be enticed to read the biographical sketches with absorbing interest.

Facets

Pipi Thambarana has been published to mark the World Children's Day 2011. It is essentially a gift to the younger generation. The editor has taken care to record some of the hitherto unknown facets in the lives of leading men and women of the country. The selection includes politicians, authors, lawyers, doctors and others who contributed immensely to the welfare of society.

The book opens with an account of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's life. Born at Medamulana, Weeraketiya in the Hambantota district, he was brought up in a political environment. His father was a Member of Parliament who had harnessed the people's power in many segments of society. Even as a child he understood the problems of poor people and his close association with the downtrodden paved the way for him to be a political leader who felt the heartbeat of the nation. The President's biographical sketch gives the reader much needed inspiration. Especially, children will read it and emulate the example of his colourful life.

Writing about Bandula Padmakumara, Chairman, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, the book says that he is a cross between wisdom and aesthetics. He spent his childhood in the rural surroundings in Mapalana a few miles off Matara. After attending the village school, he completed his secondary education at Rahula Vidyalaya, Matara, Richmond College, Galle and Ananda College, Colombo.

Literature

Even as a child he showed a keen interest in reading and writing. While he was a student he wrote a short story and sent it to the Aththa newspaper. When it was published, it marked a turning point in his life. Later he worked as the Assistant Director of a Sinhala film Nim Walalla , produced by his school mates at Ananda College. Later he finehoned his journalistic and administrative skills to become what he is today. The account of Vijitha Yapa who was the founder editor of three national newspapers - The Island, The Sunday Island and The Sunday Times is interesting and educative. Today he heads a chain of bookshops and a flourishing publishing company. As a child, however, he had to stand outside the classroom as he could not speak English!

Born in the village called Varallava in Akuressa, Yapa first attended the village school before moving on to St. Thomas' College, Bandarawela. He says he had to learn English from scrap as there were no facilities to learn it at the village school. With grim determination he has overcome all the obstacles and mastered the language.

Novelist

The write-up on K. Jayatillaka is timely because he passed away recently having led a fruitful life as a novelist. He was born in Kannimahara in the Gampaha district and had his preliminary education at the village school. After listening to folk tales and poems recited by his mother he was drawn towards literature. He was a voracious reader who did not like to play with other children of his age. He learned English on his own and started reading English novels and classical literature.

The life story of Dr Lester James Peries has added lustre to the volume. He was born into an English-speaking Roman Catholic family. When he turned 17 he suddenly left school with the idea of becoming a journalist. However, after passing the London Matriculation examination he changed his direction in life and went to England and worked as a reporter of the Times newspaper. He wrote 'Ceylon in London' and continued to work as a reporter. Later in life he worked at the Government Film Unit (GFU) and produced a number of documentaries. After leaving the GFU he began to direct many Sinhala films starting with Rekava . Today Lester James Peries is a household name in Sri Lanka.

Pipi Thambarana has highlighted the life stories of 41 Sri Lankans who deserve a place in the sun. The life sketches of personalities such as Eva Wanasundara, Somaweera Senanayake, Prof Sunil Ariyaratne, Soma Kotakadeniya, Prasanna Vithanage, Fr. Ernest Porutota and Prof J.B. Disanayaka not only inspire the younger generation but also remain social icons of Sri Lanka.