'In the shadows of the giant trees'

by Husna Inayathullah

Books written by 14 writers were launched at a ceremony at the Sri Lanka Foundation (SLFI) auditorium, Colombo 7 recently. It was a unique event where the young writers launched their maiden books in English and Sinhala.

They had written on renowned personalities describing their achievements and challenges. The personalities are Bob Marley, Roald Dahl, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Margaret Thatcher, Muhammad Ali, Mandela, Elvis Presley, Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Einstein.

The SLFI chairman, Prof. Ranjith Bandara said it was the first time that such a large number of bilingual books were launched at a single event.

The well-known Sinhala scholar, Upul Shantha Sannasgala has encouraged the writers to write the bilingual books.

Value

The books will be of inspirational value to the younger generation. They can learn the lifestyles and achievements of the great personalities and try to follow them.

One of the young writers Pansilu Sannasgala, an undergraduate at the University of Melbourne has written a book on Che Guevara titled Guerrilla Syndrome. He said Che Guevara died for a cause. He believed that proactive action was needed to change the world.

"While I believe that the pen is mightier than the sword, I respect Guevara's stand on the matter," he said. Hiranyada Dewasiri, an Advanced Level student of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo said, "My dream was to become a writer one day. I did not focus much on it giving priority to my studies and school activities. However, completing my book on Karl Marx motivated me to start writing again."

Naduni Dasanthi, a 15-year-old student of St. Paul's Girls' School, Milagiriya was the youngest writer among the 14 writers. Her book is on Charles Darwin. She said she is interested in exploring natural sciences such as biology, geology and ecology.

Youngest writer

Naduni said that this is her first book and her stay in Longton, Staffordshire, UK inspired her to write. Her first-hand memories gained about Charles Darwin during her stay and visit to the English villages where he was born and lived motivated her to write a book on him.

The other writers were Geemi Wellawatte, Kaumadi Punsaradevi Jayaweera, Chathupama Abeywickrama, Bhagya Wickremasinghe, Sonala Gunawardana, Daupadhi Jayaweera, Buddhi Prasadini, Gangulali de Silva, Chamodhya Lakshani, Savi Sathyani Wickramarachchi and Gallage Dona Rasangi Kalpana.