'Work has been our passion'

Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama talks of life with Dr. Kumara Hirimburegama:

"When you work genuinely, you'll have a hundred enemies, but there'll be one powerful person allowing you to do the good work," was her father's theory in life for his five daughters whom he was proud of. The five girls who are equally educated, and outstanding personalities have made history with their exceptional and rewarding services rendered to the country. The Colombo Vice Chancellor, Prof.Kshanika Hirimburegama is the fourth out of the five good `Little Women'.

"My father is a unique person who maintained five files for each of us. He was the best methodical person I've ever seen, who was very conscious that he was a father of five girls. My father, Dr. Punchi Bandara Sannasgala was an academic researcher on Sinhala Language, Sinhala literature, Pali and Sanskrit.. He is the author of `Sinhala Saahithya Wanshaya' in 1960s," says Prof.Kshanika.

Sannas Mudiyanselage Kshanika Kumari Sannasgala was born in 1958 to Dr.Sannasgala of Haputale and Nalini Ratnayaka of Katugastota, Kandy. Nirupamal, Maheshika, Manori, Kshanika and Thushani are the five girls. "Both Nirupamal and Maheshika are in the legal profession and Manori and Thushani have chosen the Medical field for their professions. Maheshika is in Canada and both Manori and Thushani are in the UK now," says Kshanika.

The five were all Visakhians right throughout, and were born and bred at their residence at Lake Crescent, Colombo 2, near Gangarama Temple. Their mother was a housewife who devoted her whole life to providing a secure background for the five daughters. Their father valued all his daughters equally and decided to give his valuable house to all of them. While letting the main mansion remained as the base, he put up two storeys dividing them into four apartments so that all his five daughters could reside with their families.

Kshanika's family history runs far back in the Lankan history line which comprises many prominent personalities who rendered their intellectual services to the betterment of the country. The last President of the Senate of Ceylon, A.Ratnayaka who was among the first Cabinet members before Independence, was her maternal grandpa.

Though in the category of 'highly intellectual,' Dr. Sannasgala, was an extremely modest and simple man who loved his village a lot. "We spent every school holiday at Haputale with our father and his relatives. My father let us be around with the villagers, and we really enjoyed breathing the fresh village breeze running and walking across the muddy `Helmalu' paddy fields and green tea estates. Out of the five, Maheshika and Manori were twins. It was both of them and I who were together always, more than with the eldest who paid little interest to all mischievousness, and the youngest who was seven years younger to me was too small for our company," she smiles. "But even out of the three, it is I who enjoyed the village food most,"recalls Kshanika.

The Sannasgala girls rarely got the chance to go out for a party. The secured background provided for them however made them to get attached more to books. "More than anything else we had all the newspapers and books at home. We read a lot. It was our father's passion too, and it was he who geared us towards reading. He used to get up at 4 O'clock in the morning, get his tea ready by himself and then started reading and writing. It was he who took us to school and dropped us back. I went by bus for the first time when I was in grade 8," she smiles.

Kshanika entered the Colombo University in 1977, and Specialised in Botany. She then entered the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture (PGIA), Peradeniya and passed out in 1985 with her Masters in Agricultural Sciences. The studious Kshanika who had very little time to think over `falling in love' which was common among campus students, received Cupids arrow during this period. So whilst attending to her higher studies, Kshanika decided to let romance too enter into her life.

Dr. Wijaya Kumara Hirimburegama was born on November 4, 1952 to Simon Hirimburegama, Village Headman of Hirimbure, a village in Galle, and Mrs.T.Amarasinghe Hirimbure, the eldest to two sisters and two brothers. His two brothers are today, a Bank Manager in Galle and a District Judge respectively, while one sister lives in Australia and the other is in Kandy.

Dr. Hirimburegama though the eldest in the family was the most mischievous out of the lot. He had his education at Richmond College, Galle.

Question: What are the special extra curricular activities and sports events you got involved in when you were schooling?

Dr. Hirimburegama: We are from the village. From the time we returned from school, we had enough and more `sports' to do. We worked hard in our paddy fields and so on. We never stayed at home, and could be seen all over the village. Unlike today's children who've got stuck with tuition, we had a carefree life throughout, which later helped me immensely in my career. Still my parents are there, in the village. We were exposed for free thinking, be independent and take up risks. My father was strict, and it was my mother who encouraged us to try out everything, including plucking a fruit or coconut from a tree, chopping fire wood and so on. She always used to tell `Kollek unama hema dema dana ganna ona' (a boy should know to handle anything). All this childhood experiences moulded me to be a man who loves the field and research work. I'm an independent body who also believes in the independence of others as well.

Question: Even of your wife?

Dr. Hirimburegama: Yes, of course! We operate at the same university as two independent bodies. I don't interfere with her work nor she does with mine. But, in case if we need assistance we are there for each other. I think the Asian woman has a bigger say in society than the woman in the Western World however much they say they fight for gender equality. We got the first lady Prime Minister in this country. Aren't our mothers have a say which goes along with respect towards her in our family units? They do. Problems arise between the husband and wife due to lack of understanding cum inferiority compelled and jealousy. We see this even among the educated. But it's all about how you look at life. Both should share equally the responsibilities as well as the leadership in the family unit. Sometimes, both my wife and I too have different flow of opinions, and through that we learn from each other. We have to take things in such a spirit, and should not develop them to an emotional crisis between the spouses.

Dr. Hirimburegama entered the University of Peradeniya for his BSc in 1973. His post graduate study was a mixture of Micro-biology, Agronomy and Soil-biology. He assisted his supervisor Prof. S.A. Kulasuriya, and spent nearly seven years on his PhD, attending the researches at Maha-iluppallama, Ambalantota and Bombugala on several projects on paddy and other food crops, and obtained his PhD from Peradeniya in 1987. He stayed in Vienna, Austria nearly one and half years on a study programme of International Atomic Energy, and his PhD.

Dr. Hirimburegama who has been rendering his untiring services through his research work, claims he is a person who doesn't care about seniorities and promotions. He too joined the Botany Department of Colombo University, and has been in the process of continuing his research work, specialising in Microbial-and Agro Biotechnology, Coil Microbiology and fertility, Nuclear techniques in Agriculture and Biology, Agro-Biotechnology, Plant Virology, Industrial Biotechnology, Academic Management including Bioethics and human Resource Advancement. Since

December, 2005, he has been the Director of the Institute of Human Resource Advancement of University of Colombo. If I have to note down all the designations and the tasks and work he is involved with, I (the writer) might have to hire one whole newspaper! The service oriented gentleman has this to say as his message to the younger generation, "We have been working hard, not in Air Conditioned offices, but in the field, doing researches and so on. We've been doing all that as a service and not money oriented. Work hard with love and not for money. Also study and do something new something not done by others. Our country needs more and more of ardent research workers if we are to reach the target to develop this country."

Question: Give a brief account of the work done by the Institute of Human Resource Advancement?

Prof. Hirimburegama: We offer the Bachelor of Labour Education, a university level education for working people.

When you think `labour', you may get a wrong idea. Not only the `coolies', but the professionals too are `labourers' labouring some task. The new concept for this is `Knowledge Workers'. As an example, the labourers we had at Port are now Crane-Operators as the merchandise is being moved by cranes. So they should have the `knowledge' to operate the cranes.

Question: (Zooming back to Prof.Kshanika) How did your marriage get finalised?

Prof. Kshanika: We both were at Peradeniya doing our Post Graduates courses. We had met once. He went to Vienna after that. Once he came back that he came out with the proposal through his parents to mine. I wanted it to happen like that as my father was very particular about every little detail. We got the consent of both parties, but the very week after they came to see me I had to leave to Belgium for my PhD, at Catholic University in Leuven. Only after one year I came back for two weeks for my wedding in 1986. We got married, and both went back to Belgium. And we never went on wedding visits we are yet to do it and we still look for time for that (laughs).

Question: Life in Belgium?

Prof. Kshanika: We both were in the same university, but two different laboratories. We worked all seven days. Since my Professor was researching on the Banana, I got the exposure to all aspects of this fruit. There was a huge Green House with different types of bananas, in which I felt like I was in Sri Lanka. I loved that place. It was I who watered the plants during the weekends and holidays.

Question: Both of you are a lot into your careers, aren't you?

Prof. Kshanika: We both are career oriented and service oriented couple. My husband is a sober character, but has a different aspect in his thinking. Like my father, his passion is also reading. He is very rational, very co-operative, tolerant, but very tough. If he takes a decision, very rarely would he change it and I never try to do so. He is totally involved in his work. I too got adjusted to this. However, work is my passion as well. As a message I can tell you this, however much you are big in your position, your husband is the `Boss' at home. Generally, a man does not like to be commanded. I'm handling 10,000 students in the Colombo University. I'm the VC only at the University, and not at home (smiles). The simplicity I adopted from my father, has been inculcated in me. We are parents of two sons. Both are Royalists. The oldest is doing A/Ls, and is into Chess. The second is in the O/Ls and is a good Scout. They'll be also very dutiful, but don't know whether they'll be workaholics like us (smiles). They value our work and rarely complain about their parents' busy lives. Though I'm away, I know where they are and what they are up to, may be not totally but mainly...(smiles). They both are School Prefects.

Question: After coming back to Sri Lanka in 1989, how has your life flowed through?

Prof. Kshanika: I joined the Botany Department in Colombo campus as a Senior Lecturer in January, 1990, immediately started the research on Tissue Culture, especially on Bananas. We've managed to develop the Tissue Culture technology for Banana and transferred the technology to the rural sector. I'm happy to work with the farming community and to see them being benefitted by it. We have the potential of importing bananas, and have done experiments at an institution at Weligatta, Hambantota, where the opportunities are given to the young enthusiastic farmers to gain knowledge. They can pursue their higher studies on this following the certificate and diploma courses that we conduct on-line and multi-mode delivery systems. I should mention about General Anuruddha Ratwatte and the present Minister of Irrigation, Water Management and Port and Aviation, Chamal Rajapaksa for their initiation and constant co-operation.

My personal opinion is that this is a country which has intellectual, natural resources and all the other potential which is needed for the development; especially of the agriculture and agro based industry. What we need is good leadership, which I think is in the right direction now. Prof. Kshanika is the fourth lady Vice Chancellor (VC) in Sri Lanka. Prof. Savithri Gunesekara was the VC-Colombo Campus, and both Prof. Uma Kumaraswamy and Prof. Nandani de Silva were the VC at the Open University of Sri Lanka. Prof. Kshanika became the VC, Colombo Campus on January 2, 2008.