Death of Prof. Senake Bandaranayake

Prof. Senake Bandaranayake, considered Sri Lanka's greatest archaeologist and history scholar in recent times, passed away last Monday in Colombo. His funeral was held on Wednesday after his body lay in state at the Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology (PGIAR) of the University of Kelaniya.

Prof. Bandaranayake graduated from Bristol University, UK and later obtained his PhD from the University of Oxford. Subsequently, he obtained a post graduate degree from the Institute of Archaeology, University of London. He served as a faculty member at the University of Kelaniya since 1975 and was Head of the Department of Archaeology from 1993-1995.

Prof Bandaranayake served as Vice Chancellor of the same university from 1996 to 1999. He was also the founder director of the Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology (PGIAR) affiliated to the University of Kelaniya.

He was born in 1938, and educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.

In 1974, Senake and his wife Manel set out for Sri Lanka, on a six month, 7,000 mile overland journey in his Volkswagen Beetle, visiting sites of architectural and archaeological interest, and accompanied by the economist Faiz Mohideen and his wife Shobha.

In mid-1975, Senake joined the Department of Archaeology in the University of Kelaniya, while supervising final year dissertations in the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Moratuwa.

In 1982, Senake became Archaeological Director of the Cultural Triangle Projects at Sigiriya and Dambulla.

He formed the University of Kelaniya archaeological team, where graduates did field work while doing research. In his 18 years at Sigiriya, Senake built on the monumental work of his predecessors H.C.P. Bell and S. Paranavitana.

He was Sri Lanka's nominee for the post of Director General of UNESCO; whereby he brought honour to Sri Lanka by becoming one of the three final candidates.

He was Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in India and Ambassador to Bhutan, from 2000 till 2002. Prof. Bandaranayake was also one of the judges of the inaugural Geoffrey Bawa Awards for Excellence in Architecture, in July 2008.

In 1976, to coincide with the Non-Aligned Summit, Senake wrote "The Historical Architecture of Sri Lanka" in Viskam - Creativity.

This was followed by "Form and Technique in Traditional Rural Housing" (1977); as well as "Sri Lanka and Monsoon Asia: Patterns of Local and Regional Architecture and the Problem of the Traditional Roof", for the Senarat Paranavitana Felicitation Volume (1978).

In 1977, he published Arkeologi Och Imperialism in Sweden, with a foreword by Jan Myrdal. In 1978, Senake wrote "The External Factor in Sri Lanka's Historical Formation" and also edited the 25th Volume of The Ceylon Historical Journal, in which it appeared.

This was followed in 1981 by "The Recovery of a Lost Architectural Style: Some Roof Forms from the Ajanta Murals and Related Material".(in Madhu: F.N. Despande Festschrift)

In 1984, soon after the ethnic violence of July 1983, Senake wrote on "The Peopling of Sri Lanka: The National Question and Some Problems of History and Ethnicity"; in Ethnicity and Social Change; for the Social Scientists' Association.

In 1986, with photographer Gamini Jayasinghe, Senake brought out his second magnum opus: The Rock and Wall Paintings of Sri Lanka.

Senaka was a co-editor of Sri Lanka and the Silk Road of the Sea in 1990, as a part of the UNESCO Maritime Silk Route Expedition.

In 1993, he was also co-editor of Heritage of Asia and Oceania for the 10th General Assembly of ICOMOS in Colombo.

In 1996, with his wife Manel Fonseka, Senake published a detailed monograph on his friend Ivan Peries Paintings 1938-88.

In 2007, Senake wrote a concise summary of the "Architecture of the Anuradhapura Period", in The Art and Archaeology of Sri Lanka.

In 2007, he also wrote an excellent overview of "Ancient and Early Maps" for the 2nd edition of the National Atlas of Sri Lanka, published by the Survey Department.

In 2009, with Albert Dharmasiri, he published Sri Lankan Painting in the 20th Century, for the National Trust, an overview of contemporary painting.

In 2011, Senake surprised his friends with a book of poetry Travellers Have Eyes, illustrated by his protégé and acclaimed artist Jagath Weerasinghe.

In 2012, he collaborated in an architectural and socio-historical publication about his mother's ancestral house Atapattu Walawwa, Galle, edited by Janaka Goonetilleke.

Also in 2012, Senake brought out an anthology of his writings in an affordable paperback, titled Continuities and Transformations: Studies in Sri Lankan Archaeology and History.