Kulasinghe Duke de Lanerolle:

A glimpse into his illustrious and multi-faceted personality

By Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. - William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night)

February is significant for Sri Lankans on many counts; it was the month in which the newly independent nation, Sri Lanka came into being in 1948. It is also an important month in the history of post-colonial education in Sri Lanka as February marks the birth and the death anniversary of illustrious educationist, author, poet, journalist and master bilingual K.D de Lanerolle.

In conferring K.D de Lanerolle, the Degree of Master of Arts honoris causa, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Prof. M.P Perera epitomised the illustrious lineage of de Lanerolles and their singular contribution to the field of Education in Sri Lanka as;

“It is not often that one finds among genealogical records of a family, a spontaneous and unbroken attachment to teaching and academic pursuits running through several generations. Historical records and family traditions of the de Lanerolles do indicate in unmistakable terms, strong link with the world of letters and learning.

Progenitor

It was during the reign of Wimaladharmasuriya II, that Sieur Nanclaar de la Nerolle, the progenitor of the de Lanerolles in Sri Lanka, married the daughter of the then Rajaguru Pandita Mudiyanse of Udakottemulla, in the Satkorales in the kingdom of Kandy. The descedants of his great- grandsons, Don Samuel de Lanerolle and Pedro de Lanerolle who was the student at the Dutch Seminary at Wolvendaal were by their very nature inclined towards religious and academic activity.

To James Duke de Lanerolle, a landed proprietor and his wife Luciana de Lanerolle, retired Head Teacher, Department of Education was born on February 18,1902, a son, Kulasinghe Duke de Lanerolle, who with his three brothers –Victor, Julius and Samuel continued the literary tradition of the de Lanerolle lineage; Victor de Lanerolle as a journalist, poet and writer; Dr. Julius de Lanerolle D.Litt. as a lexicographer, and Samuel de Lanerolle as a writer. ”

Contribution to children’s literature

Although K.D de Lanerolle’s contribution to education and fledging literature of the nation spread over many arenas including translations of both Sinhalese books, novels into English and English ones into Sinhalese, one of the important areas that he left his literary footprints is children’s literature and education.

Childrens' journal

It was during his tenure at Ananda College, his alma mater where he served over 32 years as the Head Master of Primary and Middle School that he commenced Sinhala Daruwa , a Children’s journal in 1937. Ven. Kalukodiyave Pragnasekara thero in his monumental series of books entitled Sinhala Puvathpath Sagara Ethihasaya (History of Sinhalese Newspapers and Magazines) states, “…It was at Ananda College that attempts were made to teach in Sinhala medium at the Primary section. The children’s journal Sinhala Daruwa edited by K.D de Lanerolle was a major step in that endeavour. The magazine consisted of children’s articles and drawings. Well-established writers of the day contributed articles to the magazine. The poem Sinhala Daruwa by Ven. Palade Vagiragnana thero and Kumaratunga Munidasa’s poem Dorata Vadyma and Ha, ha, hari hava were published for the first time in the magazine”.

K.D de Lanerolle was instrumental in introducing Sinhala popular fiction as text books, thought without the permission of the Department of Education to the students at Ananda College. Some of such books he introduced were Rohini, Ape Gama, Madolduwa, Piyasirige Pasalsamaya, Sudo Sudu, Vadula and Rasayanaya.

Childrens' play

One of his noteworthy contributions to children's features particularly in the Sinhala language is to the children’s page of Lankadeepa which he edited for a considerable period of time; he edited the children’s page as Bindu ( mind of the universal child), Bakusumama (the philosopher) and Peththappu (inquirer).

He edited the Katha Perahera and the Sadaham Maga and wrote Ramya Katha, a series of books for children and Natyapaha with Dr. Nandadeva Wijesekara.

Bilingual par excellence

Lanerolle was a gifted translator and bilingual who wrote in Sinhala and English. His corpus of translations includes ‘The Portrait of the Buddha’ by Jayasena Jayakody, “Origin of Sinhala Culture’ and ‘River in the Jungle’ by his brother Samuel D de Lanerolle. He also translated two Sinhala books by former President Ranasinghe Premadasa; ‘Pigeon on the Wing’ and ‘Pratap the Elephant’. Some of the books he originally wrote in English are ‘The Life of the Buddha’ and ‘ Kularatne of Ananda’.

The lessons that the posterity may learn from K.D de Lanerolle’s colourful and illustrious personality are many spreading over diverse disciplines. But the greatest lesson among them is that he achieved greatness by building the nation through moulding the young minds as an exceptionally gifted teacher and being an object lesson.