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| Sunday, 18 July 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Personality Plus: Lalith de Silva's keys to success Dedication, determination and not accepting 'no' for an answer are the keys to the success of the chairman and Managing Director of Asian International Hotel School, Nugegoda, A.B. Lalith de Silva.
Born to a family of four children in Colombo, his father was one of the first editors of the Dinamina (italics) Sinhala daily published by ANCL, while his mother was a housewife. 'Our family was politically victimised since my father was a Trade Union leader and as a result I have been educated at 16 schools including Ananda and Nalanda Colleges," de Silva said. "We have been through immense hardships due to my fathers trade union activities, but all this has given us the courage to stand above the rest and also understand the feelings of people," he said. After the Advanced Level examination he registered for an External degree and while studying he conducted Zoology classes as well. "I started the Hotel School in 1984 as a Vocational Training Centre. After some time we started hotel management courses targetting unemployed youth. At present we take about 3000 students per year and the students get on-the-job training at five-star hotels. The hotel school is established on a four-storeyed building, equipped with all the modern equipment to train the students to meet the needs of the industry. He said the hospitality trade creates a lot of opportunities here and abroad. De Silva said that prior to 1980 we had a society full of readers but with the introduction of the electronic media our society is full of viewers. The intention of the new generation is to fill their stomachs while their minds are starving due to lack of food for the brain. Therefore to cater to the needs of the present generation, hotels are opening in every nook and corner while bookshops are closing their doors due to low sales. There is a cultural erosion in society due to the advent of the Electronic media and I am contributing in my own way to stop this erosion De Silva, said. Two years ago I started writing songs and I have written about 20 songs to date most of which are sung by popular artistes. On an earlier occasion he had contested the Provincial Councils from Colombo. He has written a book targetting the youth of the country while he also contributes to some of the country's newspapers. Among his future plans are moving into active politics and improving the values of society through his writing. |
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He is a journalist, businessman, politician, songwriter all bundled
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