New Arrivals

Ananda Rajakaruna - Aprakata Kavya Prabanda

Ananda Rajakaruna's Aprakata Kavya Prabanda, edited by P.M. Senaratne was launched in Colombo recently as a Sooriya publication.

Ananda Rajakaruna was a Colombo era poet who died about 50 years ago. As a journalist he served three Sinhala newspapers such as the Sinhala Samaya, ‘Sarasavi Sandaresa’ and Sinhala Bauddhaya.

The Sinhala poems in the book have not been published earlier.

Zionist Jews, Godfathers of Terrorism

Latheef Farook's latest book Zionist Jews, Godfathers of Terrorism was launched recently by the South Asian News Agency.

The books is about Palestine located in the heart of the Middle East and Jerusalem where Masjid Al Aqsa, Islam's first Qibla is located.

Farook, a senior journalist is also the author of War on Terrorism: The untold Truths published by Malaysia based Strategic Information and Research Development.

Charulatha

Senaratne Weerasinghe's latest book Charulatha was launched recently as a Prabha publication.

Charulatha is the authentic Sinhala translation of Rabindranath Tagore's eternal love story The Broken Nest. Tagore, while discussing the cultural conflict has a profound insight into the three major characters and the socio-cultural matrix in which they are entrapped.

Senaratne Weerasinghe is a well-known writer who has translated a large number of novels, short stories, children's stories and film scripts.

Vasi Genena Kotas Velandapola

K. Nihal de Silva's Vasi Genena Kotas Velandapola was launched recently as an author publication. The book is on the stock market and anyone could profit from it. The author explains stocks, central deposit system, how to invest, political stability, economic principles, interest rates with a host of other information.

Arthur C Clarke Chinthana Charika

Nalaka Gunawardene's Arthur C Clarke Chinthana Charika published by Wijesooriya Grantha Kendraya will be launched at the National Library Services and Documentation Board, Auditorium, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7 on December 18 at 3 p.m.

Prof Rohan Samarajiva, Chairman and CEO of LIRNEasia will deliver the keynote address.In a literary career spanning over six decades, Sir Arthur C Clarke (1917 - 2008) wrote 100 books and more than 1,000 short stories and essays. He was the first to propose geostationary communications satellites, and inspired the World Wide Web.

To mark his 95th birth anniversary which falls this month, science writer Nalaka Gunawardene is releasing a new Sinhala book offering a quick tour of Clarke’s imagination, analyses and extrapolations on the world’s current challenges and our choice of futures.

Titled ‘Arthur C Clarke Chintana Charika’ (Mind Journeys with Arthur C Clarke), the book is a collection of Nalaka’s articles, media columns and interviews based on the late author and visionary’s formidable intellectual output. Some have appeared in Lankan newspapers or magazines during the past 25 years, while others are coming out in print for the first time. “These are not translations, and most are not even adaptations. Instead, I have distilled Sir Arthur’s ideas and imagination and presented them in simple Sinhala,” says Nalaka, who worked with Clarke for 21 years as research associate at his personal office in Colombo. Indicative of Clarke’s diverse career and interests, the book is divided into five sections: highlights of his illustrious life; astronomy and space travel; information and communications technology; futuristic visions; and his long association with Sri Lanka.“Sir Arthur cheered and promoted Sri Lanka for half a century - in both good times and bad. The section on Sri Lanka captures his visions and hopes for his adopted homeland: on how we may overcome the burdens of evolution and history to create a truly peaceful and prosperous island for all,” says Nalaka.

The book contains Clarke’s advice on rebuilding Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami, the story of the first Sinhala feature film in colour (Ran Muthu Duwa, 1962) that Clarke financed, and the text of his 90th birthday video, which eventually became his public farewell. Other essays focus on Clarke’s cautious optimism for information society and the future of artificial intelligence, his hopes of developing clean energy sources to end humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, and his advocacy of a world free of nuclear weapons.