Informative guide to Sri Lanka's wildlife

Reviewed by Dr. Devaka WEERAKOON

Even though Sri Lanka is a small island, the diversity of its wildlife is significantly important both in a regional and global scale. Sri Lanka has the highest species density (number of species present per 10,000 sq. km) of flowering plants, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals in the Asian region.

“The Diversity of Sri Lankan wildlife” Jayantha Jayawardane Price: 4,500

Furthermore, the wet zone of Sri Lanka is designated as one of the "biodiversity hotspots" of the world. Different people interpret wildlife in many different ways.

For most people wildlife means large charismatic species such as elephants, leopards and sloth bear. However, we must bear in mind that wildlife transcends beyond these large charismatic species and encompasses all undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species.

Perhaps this misconception stems from the fact that most people are unaware of the wealth of wildlife found in Sri Lanka. Therefore, I feel that "The diversity of Sri Lankan Wildlife" by Jayantha Jayewardane is a timely addition to the steadily growing literature on Sri Lanka's biodiversity.

Jayantha himself has captured the very essence of this book as he states in the prologue, "It is no way comprehensive and does not pretend to be so, It is only an 'aperitif' if you may, of the whole 'buffet' of wildlife, in its different forms, spread across the country.

The dessert is the spectrum of knowledge that is available on our natural environments."

However, it will, I am sure, whet the appetite of those interested in wildlife and also somewhat enhance their knowledge".

Having read the book I think that the book goes way beyond Jayantha's expectations. The book not only provides an 'aperitif' but lots of food for thought to any wildlife enthusiast and arms them with a wealth of knowledge on a number of very important aspects of Sri Lanka's wildlife. It not only manages to whet the appetite of a wildlife enthusiast who craves for information but provides a bellyful of facts about a variety of topics ranging from butterflies to elephants, invasive species to endemic species, and the diverse ecosystems found in Sri Lanka.

The book carries detailed descriptions of mammals, and birds of Sri Lanka, the most visible part of wildlife one is bound to encounter when visiting natural areas of Sri Lanka. I would have appreciated a more detailed treatment of lower vertebrates and invertebrates which the author has failed to elaborate at length or the plants that have been ignored at large.

But then again it is a major challenge to capture the diversity of wildlife of Sri Lanka in a single book. This is the very reason why I think that he should follow this up with another book focusing on the aspects that have not been dealt at length in this book and I cannot think of any better person who could achieve this feat.

Jayantha Jayewardane is one of the most experienced and dedicated naturalists I have come across in Sri Lanka.

He has readily shared his pearls of wisdom with the rest of the wildlife lovers of this country through a series of literary works, especially on Asian elephant of Sri Lanka. Jayantha has a gift of blending his personal experiences with scientific facts and present it to the reader in a clear and simple fashion.

This book too measures up to the high standard he has maintained in the past. In short, I find this book provides a wealth of information on Sri Lanka's wildlife in a simple and understandable manner. I am sure any wildlife lover would find it interesting and informative as I found it.

A showcase of local medicinal plants

Reviewed by Padma EDIRISINGHE

To introduce a topic negatively is more or less counter to a writer's "etiquette". Yet for the purpose of shielding the reviewer from the criticism that "the reviewer is dabbling in an area foreign to her" it will be done rather apologetically. The book is not a "professional dissertation" on the subject. According to the Chairman's message (Chairman of Nature's Beauty Creations who is running an expansive park of medicinal plants off Horana) this heavily and beautifully illustrated work of massive proportions is predominantly a showcase of a selected group of medicinal plants.

A Collection of Medicinal Plants In Sri Lanka Published by Nature’s Beauty Creations Compiled by Lakmi Abeywardena and Gayan Kularatne Price: - 4500

There are 3-4 coloured photographs allotted to each plant sullpemented by a skeleton of a text that gives the botanical name of each plant followed by its names in Sinhala, English, Sanskrit and Tamil. Then the plant's medicinal uses are listed very concisely. Very easy reading. The backstage work of this very ambitious book - project reveals a marriage between figures foremost in Eastern and Western spheres connected to the world of medicinal plants in Sri Lanka.

In fact Pramuditha and Gayan have done their intensive and very useful homework in collaboration with a don in the Faculty of Science in the University of Colombo, Dr. Hashendra Kathriarachchi while Associate Prof. Piyal Marasinghe, has acted as the Consultant. According to the "Acknowledgement" it has been Prof. Marasinghe, Medicinal Plant Scientist of the Dept. of Ayurveda who has identified the plants presented in the book and provided the technical information on them that has been reinforced by a few others equipped with this knowledge. Prof. Siril Wijesundara, Director General of the Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya has been another notable backstage performer.

The book comes as a supplement to carrying out a worthwhile and highly ambitious project of growing medicinal plants on a large scale to enable present and future generations to appreciate the natural medicinal plants that Sri Lanka has been endowed with. The successful executors of the project then realized that a documentation of these rare plants, with proper authentication and endorsement from the professionals in the field, would be a salutary follow-up.

That explains the birth of the book. Dr. D. S. A. Wijesundara, Director General, National Botanical Gardens writing a preface to the book again explains the background that necessitated a book of this nature. According to him, among the native flora of the island are over 500 species used in traditional medicine besides which are over 900 non-indigenous medicinal plants used in native medicine. More than 10% of all medicinal plants used here are endemic to the island and sadly about 80 species are already threatened. Hence conservation of these is imperative. He lists causes that have adversely affected populations of medicinal plants and goes on to enumerate factors that hinder the compilation of comprehensive and authoritative information on medicinal plants.

"At present, either the sources of knowledge are contradictory (eg. Several plants are identified under different names and used by practitioners of traditional medicine) or this knowledge is scattered and fragmentary. Dearth of skills on ethnobotany has also hindered effective conservation strategies."

A very cogent factor blocking maintenance of knowledge has been focused on. That is that the demise of a practitioner signifies a net loss to the pool of this corpus of information. Hence the necessity for a record of plants used by practitioners of indigenous medicine so that vital information on plant uses, their characteristics and even their habitats will not be lost. This would in turn lead to store effectively the rich reserve of indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants, the island owns. The awareness is envisioned to create new skills too that will help in conservation, biodiversity and sustainable utilization etc.

Apart from scholarly opinions the value of this work is almost obvious, This small land of 65,610 sq.kms. contains the most unique biodiverse eco-systems found anywhere in the world. For example a reserve such as the Sinharaja forest is considered a veritable treasure trove of plant and animal life and now has been declared a world heritage site. Thus the untapped genetic potential of the island is almost out of proportion to the country's size.

Broadcasting this potential would be generally salutary to the human population increasingly getting disillusioned with synthetic drugs and modern forms of medical treatment. Hence this documentation could provide much scope for a new type of research and development based on traditional medicinal lore.

This book is also a thing of Beauty, profuse with colour photographs of 275 plants including plants that are endemic to Sri Lanka. The plates have been photographed between December 2008 and February 2009. The introduction informs that though the herbal garden that spawned this text includes more than 350 varieties of medicinal and other important herbs that this work is limited to properly authenticated 300 plants. The sky being the limit the writers hope to include the rest of the collection in a forthcoming enlarged edition. One only wishes that the cost of the book was not so prohibitive.

Along a Winding Path:

Not merely a personal biography

Reviewed by Henry JAYASENA

Biography of Rohana Weerasinghe - Translated by Delicia Tillekaratne Published by Fastpublishing (Pvt) Ltd.

Rohana Weerasinghe, one of our foremost and most popular musicians has put out his biography which to me is much more than a personal biography. Rohana who is the most prolific contributor to the stage, cinema and television (mostly television) has written a book entitled 'Gaman Magak' which covers not only his work, his musical creations and his contribution to contemporary music, but it also covers a long period of activity. I have already said that it is much more than a biography. It is a story of many people in the field of music, whom he has encountered during his life time. We read of prestigious people such as Amaradeva, Nanda Malaini, Victor Rathnayake, Saddananda Pattiarachchi, D.R. Peiris and also Sunil Edirisinghe, Somapala Rathnayake, Bandula Wijeweera, Lakshman Wijesekera and a host of others.

His association with top rung lyricists such as Rev. Rambukana Siddhartha, Sunil Ariyaratne, Kularathne Ariyawansa, Wasantha Kumara Kobawaka, Rathnasri Wijesinghe, Bandara Ehaliyagoda, Bandula Nanayakkarawasam and a whole lot of others. Actually the book could also be considered as a tribute to all the musical people, composers, lyricists, musicians, instrumentalists and lots of other who have worked with him over the last 35 years or so.

He pays a special tribute to maestro Premasiri Khemadasa which is of special interest due to the graphic description of a little verbal battle he has had with the Maestro at the Ladies College Hall.

I cannot express my pleasure sufficiently enough for this wonderful narration by Rohana Weerasinghe.

The book 'Gaman Magak' has been quite cleverly and faithfully translated into English by Delicia Tillekeratne with the title 'Along a Winding Path' a very apt title. Delicia, I believe is a great fan of Rohana. Actually it reads more like an original written in English than a translation.

So here is an opportunity to read some very interesting episodes, not only about Rohana, but about a host of his compatriots, friends and admirers in either language. The books contain a number of very interesting pictures with an appendix of Rohana's compositions, awards, his travels and other achievements.

(The review was written by the veteran dramatist, actor and journalist Henry Jayasena a few days before his death)

Book News

Lankans in Impac Dublin Prize Longlist

Two Sri Lankan writers from Vijitha Yapa Publications have made it to the longlist of the Impac Dublin award 2010, the richest literary prize in the world with a prize of 1 million Euros. The winner will be announced next year.

The Prince

The story of one man who sacrificed all to discover all for the everlasting good of all.

Set in ancient India; the book relates the story of a young man, an Indian Prince of the realm, who finds the monotony of life meaningless.In the prime of youth, ensconced in the lap of luxury and dwelling in endless pleasures, he renounces all to go in search of a mystic treasure. He embarks upon an unknown path, on an unknown journey, in an unknown quest to find an unknown treasure.

This is the story of his amazing search for the ultimate treasure: The Stoic Stone, the story of how he discovered it and how the omens showed him the way.

Author Manu Gunasena, 47, is a law graduate of the London School of Economics, University of London and is a Barrister-at-Law of the Inner Temple, England and Wales. He was also the Editor of the national English Sunday newspaper the WEEKEND and the daily English newspaper the SUN and the Editorial Director of Independent Newspapers Ltd until its closure in 1990. He is the grandson of M.D.Gunasena.

The Garland of Fate

The story is based on an incident from the Kanevera Jataka and characters and incidents have been added to evoke a complex society that appreciated beauty, poetry and philosophy, while also knowing poverty, banditry and superstition. Many characters and incidents have been added so as to take in a broad sweep of ancient Indian society from Benares to Taxila.Economic circumstances cause the two daughters of a small-time farmer to be assigned two very different roles: the elder being given in marriage to an ambitious, social climbing merchant, while the younger girl is sold as an apprentice to a wealthy city courtesan, whose role she eventually inherits. Meanwhile a young man from a good family falls in with a gang of bandits, is captured, and paraded through the streets of the city prior to execution. The younger of the two sisters decides to save him....... and thereby sets in motion a chain of events that dramatically impacts on the lives of all the characters.At one level the book is a tale of adventure, love, betrayal and mistrust, while at another level, it examines social attitudes towards the two contrasting faces of woman, portrayed by the courtesan on the one hand, and the wife and eventual widow of the man whose death she causes. There is added poignancy because the two women are sisters, whose respective roles in life were chosen for them by their parents.Other issues that feature in the book include the role of astrology and superstition in shaping people's lives, and the way society treats those who deviate from the roles expected of them.Author, Ruana Rajepakse is a lawyer by profession and the author of two professional books, An Introduction to Law in Sri Lanka and A Guide to Current Constitutional Issues in Sri Lanka. Her previous forays into creative writing were focused on the stage and included a "Colombo" version of R.B. Sheridan's School for Scandal, and the one-act play All in a Day's Work which won the prize for the English Association of Sri Lanka Creative Writing Competition for 1997.

Book on project planning and appraisal

Principles of Project

Planning and Appraisal

Author:

H.M.W.A. Herath

Price: Rs. 400

Printed by Nethwin Print

Centre, Peradeniya

The book provides a fine introduction to the principles of project planning and the socio-economic appraisal of investment projects.

It is written in two parts. Part 1 gives a comprehensive discussion of project identification and preparation which are the first two phases of project cycle. Part 2 - Project Appraisal is on Cost-Benefit analysis which is the most commonly used technique in project appraisal.

The book which is written by a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Peradeniya is suitable for students both at graduate and undergraduate levels.

Book launch

Ink of Lanka

Ink of Lanka, a retrospective of line drawings by Tilak Samarawickrema will be launched at No. 20, Ascot Avenue, Colombo 5 on November 22 at 6.00 p.m. The Guest of Honour will be Pio Mariani Ambassador for Italy.

Magam Soli

Sumith Nanayakkara's latest Sinhala novel Magam Soli will be launched at Dayawansa Jayakody Book Exhibition Hall, Ven S. Mahinda Mawatha, Colombo 10 on November 17 at 10 a.m.The cash award of Rs. 50,000 for the novel will be handed over to him at a ceremony to be held at the Mahaweli Centre auditorium, Colombo 7 on November 24 at 3 p.m. Magam Soli is a Dayawansa Jayakody publication.