Features

COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF SRI LANKA

Published

3 years ago

2023/05/7

Thilina Walpola

“HISTORY OF SURGICAL SERVICES IN SRI LANKA FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO 2021”

by KAMALIKA PIERIS

In 2022, the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka celebrated its 50th anniversary by publishing, a History of Surgical services in Sri Lanka from the Earliest Times to 2021.” The book examines both schools of surgery known in Sri Lanka, the indigenous system practiced in ancient times and the western one which is practiced today. It offers much new information on the ancient system of surgery and provides definitive information on the western system which replaced it.

The book documents the evolution of modern surgery in Sri Lanka, from its beginnings, when surgeons worked with limited resources and produced good results. The book then goes on to provide a comprehensive, up to date, account of the development of contemporary operative surgery in Sri Lanka, with special emphasis on the individual surgeons who pioneered the sub-disciplines and those who are carrying on the tradition today. It is a definitive work on modern surgery in Sri Lanka

The College of Surgeons said it had several goals in mind when it planned this book. Firstly, to ensure that present day surgeons know about the past, secondly, to show the steady evolution of surgery “amidst odds” to the intelligentsia as well as the doctors, and thirdly, to show the range of sub specialties that are now available island wide and how they were developed. That explains the size of the book.

The book is a large, heavy tome of over 500 pages, profusely illustrated with fine color photographs on quality paper, making it look like a coffee table book, which it is not. It is a very comprehensive, reliable academic work, consisting of texts written by experts, collated and edited by Channa Ratnatunga, a former President of the College of Surgeons. It is a mammoth work and a magnificent achievement.

The section on ancient medicine starts with a comprehensive political history written on invitation by the eminent historian KM de Silva. I found three unique items in this section. Firstly, there is a pie chart of the royal capitals of Sri Lanka, indicating the period of time for each capital, starting with Anuradhapura and ending with Kandy. I have not seen such a pie chart before. It is original and very instructive.

Secondly there are two maps which I have not seen before. One is a map of the route taken by Dutugemunu, when he advanced from Magama to Anuradhapura to oust Elara. The other is a map of Vijayabahu I campaign, to oust the Cholas, illustrating the pincer movement used. Both seem to be original to this book.

The colour photographs in this chapter call for special comment. I have not seen such a profusion of photographs in any history book. They are a varied, interesting collection. They include the earliest potsherd with writing, a pillar edict, a copper plate, a sannasa, a moonstone, the Vatadage, a stone bridge, a map of ancient irrigation works, the ancient sluice discovered at Maduru oya and a beautiful panoramic shot of Kalawewa.

There are other firsts in this section. For the first time ever, scattered references on operative surgery have been gathered together. In addition to the well known documents, the History lists two items which are not well known.

We are told that the Buddhist commentary Kankavitarani refers to 8 kinds of surgical operations and provides a list of instruments for each type. The Historical Manuscripts Commission of 1933 had found dozens of medical manuscripts in personal collections and temples. Purana vihara, Pelmadulla had a manuscript dealing with surgical operations, which had been copied in Sinhala, in 1862.

The compilers have looked for information on the surgical techniques of ancient times. They found one statement on surgical training. In Visuddhimagga, Buddhagosa had made an observation on how surgeons were trained. Pupils are trained in the use of the scalpel by learning to make an incision on a lotus leaf placed in a dish of water, he said. They must make the incision without cutting the leaf in two or pushing the leaf into the water.

The chapter titled, ‘Surgical anecdotes from the Culawamsa’ studies the Mahavamsa data from a surgeon’s point of view. It notes that King Buddhadasa (337-365 AD).has practiced operative surgery. He had treated a snake that had a tumor in its belly. The King had slit open the belly of the snake, taken out the tumor, applied medicine to the wound and cured the snake.

Buddhadasa is also credited with impossible operations, the History said. Buddhadasa had performed an operation for correction of a mal position of a foetus. He had also split the cranium of a patient and removed a toad who had grown inside it, then reconstructed the bisected cranium. Surgeons did not think these operations were likely.

Parakramabahu I (1153-1186) knew medicine, a fact which is rarely mentioned in accounts of this king. Mahavamsa says Parakramabahu I had done a ‘ward round’ surrounded by physicians. He had checked on the medicine given to patients, instructed on mistakes made and by his own hand skillfully showed the use of instruments. “To skilful physicians who were quick at identifying illness and were well versed in textbooks of medicine Parakrama Bahu gave a stipend according to their expertise and made them practice their art day and night,” said the Mahavamsa.

The History of Surgery has an extensive section on surgery during the British administration. it gives the names of the surgeons of this period and the work they did. A. M de Silva, who belonged to a later generation of this group, had removed a foreign body from the trachea of a patient using a magnet tied to a piece of string lowered into the trachea through a tracheotomy.

Surgeons who came after him had interesting observations to relate. When Milroy Paul was stationed in Jaffna in 1931, he found that the brass oil lamp in the operating theatre was not to be used for operations. It must be kept intact for the annual audit. So no operations were performed at night.

ATS Paul recalled that in the 1930s and 1940s surgeons wore waistcoats in Colombo, despite the hot weather. Each week a day was set apart for operations of paying patients in an operating theatre specially reserved for them. It had marble flooring imported from Italy.

The first surgeons were “General Surgeons” who were expected to deal with all surgical cases that came their way. They were sent to the provincial hospitals as well as the General Hospital, Colombo. The book features, one by one, province by province, all the hospitals that offered general surgery. There is a descriptive note on each hospital and photographs of all the surgeons who are currently working there and those who were there in the past.

In the early period, when there were no specialist surgeons, the general surgeons had voluntarily engaged in specialist surgery. They did this as a service. This is not well known. The pediatric surgical service at Lady Ridgway Children’s Hospital in Colombo was for a long time run by general surgeons who agreed to operate there.

General surgery eventually gave way to surgical specialties. The book allocates a separate chapter to each specialty, written by specialists in that subject. The chapters follow a set pattern. How the specialty started, its entrenchment in Colombo and its development in each of the provinces. This is given in great detail, with much description, and includes a table which shows the expansion of the specialty in each province, by number of beds and number of surgeons. Every chapter carries biographical information on each of the surgeons, past and present, who practiced that specialty.

Each chapter ends dramatically with an eye catching map showing the surgeons available in this specialty in the island as at 2021. This is presented in a novel manner, with photographs of the surgeons, neatly blocked with arrows linking them to the province they are working in. This is original and very effective.

History of Surgery

records that surgical specialties were introduced to the state health sector in the late 1950s. Specialist surgeons did not find it easy to establish their specialties in a hospital. The Ministry of Health sent them for training, appointed them as specialists on their return, got them the surgical instruments they asked for and then forget about them. The rest was up to the personal initiative of the surgeon. Urology is a good example.

Urology was established as a specialty in Sri Lanka in 1954 in the General Hospital, Colombo. Dr G.N. Perera was the sole urologist for the whole country at that time. He had just 10 beds, no house officers and had to share operating time with other surgeons.

Decades later, In Kurunegala the urologist only had a single afternoon operating session a week but with the support of the anesthetist and nurses, he operated from 2 pm to 7 pm. The Inner Wheel club had helped to develop the urology ward and clinic in Kurunegala.

Dr. AML Beligaswatte, in Kandy, was asked to treat a VVIP with a urological condition. Dr.Beligaswatte had explained that he could not carry out the necessary surgery as he did not have the facilities. Within two months he had all the equipment he needed.

One of the earliest surgical specialties available in Sri Lanka was heart surgery. Between 1954 and 1975 625 cases of hole in the heart, were corrected. Heart surgery in Sri Lanka has received much praise.

In 2008 US Cardiac Surgeon Dr J.R.Torstveit stated in an interview with the Daily News that Sri Lanka was on par with the best when it came to open heart surgery on children. The success rate at Lady Ridgway Hospital had gone beyond 95 % which places it on par with the very best in countries like US and UK. This was attributed to the selfless dedication and commitment by both local doctors and authorities.

India did a survey of heart surgery in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and this was reported in Indian Heart Journal in 2017. The number of cardiac operations done in Sri Lanka, compared to its population was far superior to that of any other South Asian nation, including India, it said.

Transplant surgery started in Sri Lanka on the initiative of three doctors, H. Sheriffdeen, Rizvi Sherif and Geri Jayasekera. These three have not, in my view, received the recognition due to them for their successful introduction of transplant surgery in Sri Lanka.

In 1978, these three doctors, observed that patients were going to India for renal transplants. They discussed the possibility of setting up a renal transplantation programme in Sri Lanka. This first venture into transplant surgery was carefully planned over a period of time. Sheriffdeen used his sabbatical leave to undergo training in renal transplantation in the UK and USA. Rizvi Sheriff set up the necessary dialysis unit in 1980-1985, first in the private sector at Lanka Medicare hospital t and later in the National Hospital, Colombo.

Sheriffdeen returned after training in 1981 and preparatory work for kidney transplant started. .A high level team was assembled for the first operation. This consisted not only of the operating theatre team, but also specialists from other subjects such as pathology and physiology. Nurses were specially trained. A specialist on dialysis and technicians from a private lab were brought in. The team also had an adviser on medico- legal issues.

In 1985 the first living donor kidney transplant operation was successfully carried out by this team at Rutnams Private Hospital, Colombo as permission to carry out this operation in the National Hospital was denied.

Two years later, National Hospital had its first kidney transplantation operation, done by the same team. First pediatric transplantation was also done there in 1987 by them. in 1997 the first transplant using organs from brain dead person (cadaveric) took place at the same hospital.

There were legal issues involved in transplant surgery. The Sheriffdeen team lobbied the Minster of Health and obtained the Transplantation of Human tissues Act no 48 of 1987. With the development of transplant surgery, there was also the need to find donors, and doctors Island wide were alerted about the need to obtain organs from brain dead persons.

The first pediatric renal transplant program in the island was developed at Peradeniya Teaching Hospital in 2004. Peradeniya teaching Hospital is recognized today as the only unit that provides Pediatric kidney transplant service in Sri Lanka. The Medical Faculty at Peradeniya greatly supported this venture and is very proud of its achievement in pediatric transplant surgery.

Initially local doctors had to go to UK to quality as surgeons. Apart from the expense, this had two other disadvantages, said History of Surgery . The surgical illnesses in the west were different to those in Sri Lanka and the operation theatre facilities were far superior. on their return doctors found it difficult to work using the limited facilities in the provincial hospitals. Doctors should be trained in the environment in which they will be working and there is a clear need for local Post graduate medical training”, said the senior surgeons in Sri Lanka.

In 1973, the Advisory Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education recommended to the government that it should start to train medical specialists locally. The Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) was set up for this purpose at the University of Colombo. In 1980 the government decided that the degree of Master of Surgery given by the PGIM would be the only qualification recognized in the state health sector.

That was the end of the foreign qualification but the foreign link was retained. The examinations were conducted at the Medical Faculty, Colombo jointly with examiners from the Royal College of Surgeons, London. The written papers for the first MS Part 1 was held, under police guard at a neutral venue, the Agrarian Research and Training Institute, in Colombo, as the GMOA was opposed to local post graduate qualifications.

The ready support given by the medical profession to this sudden transfer of qualifications from London to Colombo has not, in my view, received the appreciation it deserves. This venture, would not have succeeded if not for the whole hearted support of the specialists who were already in service in Sri Lanka.

Local postgraduate training in surgery was an important factor in the development of surgery in Sri Lanka said the History of Surgery. The general and specialized services expanded over the last four decades specifically due to the PGIM. The PGIM training in surgery is much in demand in the region and there are more than a dozen foreign students in the progamme. The PGIM could be an important regional center in the future, it added.

History of surgery is a gold mine of medical biography. The biographies are presented in three clusters, 1860-1910, 1911-1948 and 1949-1975. These biographies are neat and well written. The biographies focus on the professional career of the surgeon, not his personal life. They record the hospitals the surgeon worked in, appointments held and contributions made to surgery. Anecdotes and reminiscences from fellow surgeons, seamlessly woven together by the Editor, make these biographies come alive. Each biography has a pleasing photograph beside it.

There is a clever double use of the biographies. The development of general surgery in Sri Lanka during this period is shown through these biographies. We learn that it was R.L.Spittel who had introduced masks and gloves for the surgeons. Nicholas Attygalle was the first to train his assistants and registrars to conduct operations directly under his supervision. They went on to do major operations on their own.

Biographies are also woven into the rest of the book. The sections on surgical specialties carry biographical information on each surgeon who worked in that specialty, in the early days and today. The section on provincial and teaching hospitals provide at least a mention of each of the surgeons who had worked there, at one time or another.

One of the striking features of this book, is the enormous number of photographs included in it .It is most unusual for a work of this type to have so many photographs of such clarity and good quality. The majority of the photographs are photos of surgeons. They are part of the biographical slant in the book .But they are also cleverly used to function as lists. For instance, instead of an inanimate list of names we have photographs of all the doctors who had worked in a specific hospital. In History of Surgery the editors have used not only photographs, but lists, tables and maps, very cleverly as a substitute for text. .This must be applauded.

This History has been well researched and each chapter has a long list of references at the end. It is printed on high quality paper, well bound and at the grossly under priced rate of Rs. 7,500 a very worthwhile purchase. The book ends with the hope that “in the future we will be able to both innovate and lead the world in the management of the common surgical disorders we see in Sri Lanka “.

“History of Surgery” published by the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, priced at Rs 7,500. is available at the College of Surgeons office , No 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7.

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Features

New mediation law for smarter dispute resolution of civil and commercial disputes – I

Published

11 hours ago

2026/06/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

The Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Bill was passed by the Parliament on Thursday, June 11, 2026. Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Justice and National Integration, introduced the Bill, and explained its provisions and value for Sri Lanka and global developments in the use of mediation. Encouragingly, it was passed unanimously.

Sri Lanka’s commitment to provide legislative support for the use of mediation is timely and most welcome. Given that the backlog of cases pending before courts is over a staggering 1.1 million, it is clear that Sri Lanka is yet another country that remains challenged to find responses to make dispute resolution more efficient. The impact of laws delays is serious and damaging not only to the disputants personally, but also for businesses and the economic development of the country. The delays in concluding cases impacts the economy adversely, both directly and indirectly, but are often seen only as an access to Justice concern. This is unfortunate. In many jurisdictions across the globe, alternative dispute resolution processes (ADR), such as mediation, have been introduced to alleviate laws delays. While Sri Lanka enacted legislation (1988) to provide for mediation in respect of minor community disputes of a low monetary threshold, the enactment of the new law heralds a commitment to provide for the recognition of a disciplined regime for its use for higher value civil and commercial disputes.

The new law provides for the recognition of mediation as a dispute resolution option that can be voluntarily selected by parties, and for a governance regime to ensure that mediations are conducted in compliance with certain standards which are globally accepted. It provides statutory recognition to the principle that a mediated settlement agreement that has been signed by the disputants, is valid in law. It does not provide for any management control by government or establish entities. In addition to the voluntary reference by parties, a court can also refer a dispute in an action before it, to mediation, at its discretion, after considering all circumstances and if considered appropriate. The voluntary nature of the process is not affected because, while the court can refer the dispute to mediation and the parties must then engage in the mediation, there is no compulsion for the parties to settle against their will.

The law sets out the obligations of Mediators, disputants and the Service Provider. Certain categories of disputes cannot be referred to mediation. These are disputes the settlement of which requires the inclusion of terms that can be given effect to, only on a decree of court, such as the termination of a marriage or a declaration of nullity of marriage or the adoption of a child or the partition of land to obtain rights in rem. A schedule sets out eleven (11) categories of actions that cannot be settled by mediation. However, matters relevant to such disputes may be mediated for the purpose of submitting terms of settlement to court for consideration of incorporation in a judgement, decree or order in compliance with applicable law.

The new law also provides that in a mediation, certain key principles of the process must be complied with. These include the confidentiality and the without prejudice rule in respect of matters discussed at the mediation; the rule that Mediators must be neutral and impartial; the party centric nature of the process that provides primacy to the wishes of the disputants including that it is they that determine the outcome and that a settlement is reached only if all disputants agree to the terms; the noncoercive role of the mediator whose duty is to facilitate and manage the process using mediation specific skills and techniques, but is debarred from imposing a decision. Although a settlement agreement is valid in law, provision is included to obtain a decree of court, based on the terms of the settlement. A mediated settlement agreement can be set aside on an application made to court, on specific limited grounds which are provided for, including that it is offensive to the public policy of the country. If the parties are unable to agree on a settlement, a certificate of non-settlement is issued. The provisions of the law are based on international best practices and principles articulated in the 1988 UN Mediation Convention (the Singapore Convention) and the UNCITRAL model law.

The popularity of mediation has grown for its value in being time efficient, cost effective and party centric. Parties have control over the outcome and have the space to discuss their concerns, fears and interests and need never agree to settle unless fully satisfied that settlement terms address their interests. Disputants are free to walk out of a mediation process at any time, if dissatisfied with the progress. The discussions are confidential and a valuable feature is that the process offers an opportunity to reduce acrimony which is prevalent in most disputes, and to restore fractured relationships which is very important in family and business related disputes. This benefit and the prospects for governments to reduce the cost of the administration of justice, by using mediation, is articulated in the preamble to the 2018 UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (2018) which states that the use of mediation results in significant benefits.

Pursuant to the interest generated within the country regarding the value of using Mediation for commercial dispute resolution, and heralding what we like to see as the initial steps of a Mediation boom in the country, several positive advancements have taken place –

* Parties have opted to include mediation in the dispute resolution clause in contracts;

* Given that mediating disputes requires very specialised techniques and skills, many professionals, including predominantly Lawyers, have engaged in training programmes offered by international training bodies that offer accreditation;

* Trained Mediators are engaged in an effort to form themselves as a professional Organisation;

* Mediation Advocacy training programmes have been held to train Lawyers on their niche role in the mediation process. That role is distinctly different to that of a court Lawyer who’s obligations are centred on an adversarial approach where the dispute is adjudicated in terms of the law alone. Hence lawyers need training to be useful within a non-adversarial process which is party centric and has a focus on reaching a settlement, based on the interests of disputants.

* Sri Lanka enacted the Recognition and Enforcement of International Mediated Settlement Agreements Act No. 5 of 2024 (the UN Mediation Convention Act) and ratified the Convention becoming the 14th country to do so. Sri Lanka will be seen as an investor friendly country in respect of dispute resolution where mediation is used, since it offers an enforcement regime which is recognised universally.

* The landmark determination of the Supreme Court (SC SD 22 of 2025) in the challenge by the Bar Association to the constitutionality of the Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Bill, found that none of the provisions of the Bill were unconstitutional and gave a judicial sign off to statutory provisions that seek to ensure that mediation services are provided in this country, in a disciplined manner in compliance with universally accepted standards.

* Perhaps, inspired by the statutory obligation imposed on judges to attempt pretrial settlement of disputes, in terms of the Small Claims Court Act and the Small Claims Court Procedure Act (both of 2022) and the Civil Procedure Code provisions on Pretrial Conference and Pretrial Orders, 125 District Judges were recently trained (with support from the ADB) in Mediation. The training provided a dual benefit – it provided training in skills that are required to settle disputes and equally importantly, provided a comprehensive understanding of how mediation will function when judges themselves refer disputes for settlement by private mediators.

* Trained Mediators are already conducting mediations with success.

* A not-for-profit guarantee company, the International ADR Centre – www.iadrc.lk ) was established in 2018 as a joint venture of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for the Development of Commercial Law & Practice (ICLP) to promote ADR and is actively engaged in promoting mediation through training, disseminating information and creating awareness among stakeholders, including the business sector. In addition to the International ADR Centre, “Udecide” is a project that promotes training of mediators and other activities that enrich the mediation culture.

* Commercial Mediation has been included in the Masters level programme at the Colombo University;

* The Sri Lanka Law College offers a component on Mediation in the Post Attorney Diploma programme, which commenced recently.

The private sector was actively engaged in the drafting of the Mediation Bill under the leadership of the International ADR Centre, which held many stakeholder consultations to obtain feedback from those that were conversant with the subject. The Centre had previously assisted the government to draft the UN Mediation Convention Act (Act No. 5 of 2024).

Several international Organisations that previously provided for resolution of disputes by arbitration, have provided for institutional rules to provide mediation services. These include WIPO and the ICC. Specifically, in relation to Investor State dispute resolution (ISDR), the International Bar Association (IBA) adopted its Mediation Rules in 2012 and ICSID (of the World Bank group) adopted its Mediation Rules in 2022. UNCITRAL, which is currently working on reforming ISDR, promotes mediation, observing that the use of mediation could reduce the costs of ISDS and also preserve relationships between the investor and the State. UNCITRAL has formulated provisions on and Guidelines for, Mediation for investor state dispute resolution.

(To be continued)

by Dhara Wijayatilake
Attorney-at-Law; Former Secretary to the Ministry of Justice; Director and Secretary General of the International ADR Centre.

Features

A Testament to the Sri Lankan family

Published

12 hours ago

2026/06/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

The passing of Dr. Devanesan Nesiah a few days ago brought back memories that spanned more than four decades. Devanesan signed the witness register at my marriage in 2002. It was a year of hope. The Ceasefire Agreement between the government and the LTTE had brought a respite from a war that had devastated the country for nearly two decades. The possibility of peace seemed real. It was fitting that Devanesan should be present on that occasion because his entire life was dedicated to building bridges across divides and seeking rational and humane solutions to conflict. He was a friend, mentor, and guide whose life embodied values that Sri Lanka, indeed the world, needs today.

In reflecting on Dr. Nesiah’s life, we need to be reminded that the forces that unite us as a people in Sri Lanka are stronger than those that divide us, and that the bonds of human affection can transcend even the deepest divisions of ethnicity, history and politics. I first met him in 1984. I had just had my very first newspaper article published in the Jaffna-based Saturday Review. The editor was Gamini Navaratne, a Sinhalese. This was a reminder that even during the darkest period of ethnic conflict, the bonds between communities remained strong. The article I had written was based on my encounters with the anti-Tamil violence of July 1983.

At that time, Dr Nesiah was the Government Agent of Jaffna. Tens of thousands of Tamil people who had fled violence in the south had been transported to the north by a government that had failed to protect them. He came up to me at an event, introduced himself, and told me that he liked what I had written. He also said that he would soon be leaving for Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and that we could meet there. Over the next three years, Devanesan and his wife Anita adopted me into their family. I used to visit them two or three times a week, not only to be given meals by Anita but to discuss matters with Devanesan. These included the academic papers and newspaper articles that were written. Later, Anita earned her PhD in religion and served on the boards of many civic organisations, including the National Peace Council.

Practical Solution

In 1992, we had both returned to work in Sri Lanka when Devanesan invited me to accompany him to Jaffna to celebrate the eightieth birthday of his father, K Nesiah, the distinguished educationist affectionately known as Professor Nesiah. The older Nesiah had been a leading member of the Jaffna Youth Congress. This remarkable movement championed complete independence from British rule, national unity, and the eradication of social inequalities based on caste and communal identity.

At a time when many feared that independence would lead to majoritarian domination, the leaders of the Youth Congress chose instead to place their faith in a shared Sri Lankan future. They believed that people from different communities could build a common nation while preserving their distinctive identities. So did Devanesan. This vision remains relevant today. It needs to be actualized.

The tragedy of Sri Lanka’s post-independence history is not that diversity exists. Diversity exists in every society. The tragedy is that we often allow diversity to become a source of fear, though we share many of the same values of family, hospitality, respect for elders and compassion towards others. During our visit to Jaffna in 1992, we met representatives of the LTTE administration, including Raheem. The discussion turned to the controversial issue of merging the Northern and Eastern Provinces. Dr Nesiah argued that if the merger could not be achieved due to political opposition, it might be more rational to seek greater powers for provincial councils instead. Raheem disagreed. Devanesan was interested in finding practical ways to achieve justice and coexistence. That was characteristic of him.

Devanesan Nesiah was a student of conflict and strategy. He became a doctoral student of Professor Thomas Schelling, who would later receive the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work on conflict and cooperation. Schelling’s insight was that even in the midst of conflict, there are usually common interests that adversaries share. Even adversaries locked in a struggle usually depend on each other for the outcome they each want. The challenge is to identify those common interests and build upon them. Conflict is not simply a contest between enemies. It is also a search for ways to coexist. Together as students and peace practitioners, we applied those theories to the Sri Lankan context to understand what was going on and to share that understanding with the Sri Lankan people.

Rational Empathy

Dr Nesiah spoke his mind, truth to power. He was a man of logic, rationality, and principle. His integrity came at a cost. His public service career experienced many ups and downs because he refused to accommodate irrational or corrupt demands. There were periods when he was sidelined into that administrative limbo known as the “pool” and assigned no substantive responsibilities for refusing to give in to political demands. Like the rest of his larger family, most notably the Hoole family of Jaffna, he would not abandon his principles. In 2018, to protest the action of President Maithripala Sirisena in sacking the then government he returned his Deshamanya Award (Pride of the Nation) national civil honourn which was soon thereafter overturned by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional. His commitment was not to personal advancement, but to what he believed was right.

My wife Sumadhu recalls a story he told her. One day, while travelling on official duty, he told her how he had seen a thalagoya, a monitor lizard, trussed up and being taken away for slaughter. The sight of the creature’s suffering affected him deeply. He said he saw tears in its eyes and described the moment of awakening. From that day onwards, he gave up eating meat.

The story brings to mind the biblical story of the conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus and the Buddhist exhortation, “May all living beings be well and happy.” But the deeper significance lies not in religious comparison. It lies in the awakening of empathy.

That was the essence of Dr Devanesan Nesiah’s worldview. The prejudices that society often imposes through ethnicity, religion, caste, or gender had little hold on him. He saw them as human constructs that often served to privilege some while excluding others. Such were his values that made him an extraordinary human being. Dr. Nesiah lived according to that understanding. He showed that integrity can survive amidst conflict. He reminded us that reason and compassion are not opposites but partners, that what unites us as Sri Lankans inhabiting our common island home has always been greater than what divides us, and we need to build our institutions accordingly.

I am proud that he was my friend. I am grateful that he was my mentor.

by Jehan Perera

Features

City of Dreams …Heartbeat of Colombo

Published

12 hours ago

2026/06/16

Sahan Weerasooriya

Enroute

If Colombo’s nightlife had a pulse, you’d find it 23 floors up, at Gatz, City of Dreams, Cinnamon Life.

The entertainment lounge has shed its old skin and stepped out supper-club style — think dim lights, clinking glasses, and live music that doesn’t ask you to choose between dinner and a show. You get both.

What’s more, at the new look Gatz the music never stops and it’s all happening seven nights a week … with live entertainment, and this is the scene, beat by beat:

Monday and Tuesday: Top Hats with Daniella/Naomi, from 7.00 pm onwards.

Sohan, Kamal Munasinghe (GM, Cinnamon Life) and Imran of
Funtime Entertainments

One of Colombo’s most sought-after bands is now a Monday-Tuesday ritual.

With a super repertoire, Top Hats can swing from lounge jazz to dancefloor fire. Big venues love them. Now Gatz gets to claim them.

Wednesday: Enroute with Gananath & Debbie – from 7.00 pm onwards.

Want New York at sunset? This is it. Gananath & Debbie transport you straight to the heady days of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Ray Charles …old-school cool, live and unfiltered.

Thursday to Sunday: Terry & the Big Spenders – from 8.00 pm onwards.

Terry & The Big Spenders

The crowd favourite. A super big band sound that owns the 70s, 80s and 90s.

If you’ve been waiting for horns, harmonies, and nostalgia with volume, Terry & the Big Spenders deliver it nightly. No wonder they’re a huge hit.

Gatz is now an entertainment lounge, in Supper Club style, with Happy Hour very day, from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm because the night, they say, should start with a toast.

And, from July, weekends at the Gatz go global. Local and foreign guest stars will be around to entertain you. Gatz is certainly booking big.

Wow! That would be another exciting experience for those patronising the most talked about venue in town.

In charge of the new setup is our legendary entertainer/singer Sohan Weerasinghe, along with Imran of Funtime Entertainment.

The twosome, with invaluable assistance from the General Manager, Kamal Munasinghe, and the entire team at Cinnamon Life, have built Gatz into more than a venue. They have turned it into the “Heartbeat of the City.”

So come for happy hour. Stay for Terry’s horns, Sing-along with Enroute and Dance with Top Hats, all on the 23rd floor, and while Colombo sparkles below the bands will take you higher.

Remember, the heartbeat is loudest at Gatz.