Business

Vinodh Wickremeratne’s Jottings as Memoirs on the Past

Published

2 years ago

2025/02/13

by Royston Ellis

Vinodh L. J. Wickremeratne describes himself as a Colombologist, a word he has invented to explain his fascination not just with Colombo’s recent history, but also with the prominent people who have contributed so much to the development of Colombo and Sri Lanka. He is not a historian, although he conducts research for people into Ceylon’s colonial past under the apt heading “Colonial Cousins.”

This self-published book of 173 (A4-size) pages and 93,000 words in large type is not so much a memoir as notes for a memoir. It seems Vinodh is pioneering a new form of reminiscences since there is no narrative, few anecdotes but hundreds of fascinating snippets of information about Sri Lanka’s recent past. It is amazing what Vinodh remembers or has discovered through research. As such, this volume is a huge source of accurate detail for anyone interested in “yesteryears” – either to refresh memories or to use the material for biographies or historical novels.

Although I and many others know Vinodh as a model railway and steam train enthusiast and co-author of Ceylon Railway Heritage, readers will learn from this book that he wears many hats. He mentions his work as a vintage car restorer, designer of precision working models of aircraft, boats, cars, bikes and doll’s houses, and consultant on the development of railways, tramways, motor roads, canals, aerodromes, mercantile , industrial and social lifestyles, telegraphs, gas lighting, rest houses and genealogy.

We learn also that while he was awaiting A- Level results, he gained tea plantation experience before becoming a junior auditor learning about accountancy, bookkeeping, taxation, incorporations, shareholders’ reports and investigations. Born in 1958, he describes himself as a “born again bachelor” after his divorce in 1995.

In his introduction, Vinodh writes that his memoirs are “more suitable for Ceylonese gents over the age of 50” before pointing out that “the recent past gets easily forgotten” as the reason for compiling this collection of details of remembered events, people, shops, products, companies, motor vehicles, popular cafés, club life, religious and sporting personalities, banks, patent medicines, fashions, music and musicians, horse racing, hoteliers and more, in preparation for a narrative. As can be expected, there is a lot of information about railways.

He states as his reason for writing: “No one will have such information which will ‘go down’ with him, never ever to be recovered.” He records such forgotten detail as “Before 1971 it was usual to go to a good hardware shop to buy shotgun cartridges for a ‘shoot’ as hunting trips were known.” He remembers that, in contrast to today, [in the 1960s and 1970s] children were kept occupied with Snakes & Ladders, jigsaw puzzles or Ludo, toys and kites were home-made and ballroom dancing was popular.

Vinodh experienced at first hand the transformation of colonial Ceylon into modern Sri Lanka, because of a privileged start to life. His father (Mahee L.J. Wickremeratne) was a government civil servant becoming in 1962, Government Agent for Ampara (said to be the youngest at the time). He retired prematurely in 1976 from Government Service as Chairman of the Ceylon Sugar Corporation, to become a leading figure in private sector companies.

His father’s career and Vinodh’s childhood (one of curiosity about everything happening around him) gives authority to this memoir. What could be a boring collection of names, events and places becomes an entertaining read due to Vinodh’s amusing asides and startling puns.

The result is a wonderful cornucopia of arcane titbits adding unexpected footnotes to the history of Sri Lanka’s recent past.

(thuppahis.com)

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Business

India-Sri Lanka Foundation’s 41st meeting signals a new era of integration

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

High Commissioners Santosh Jha and Mahishini Colonne chaired the 41st India-Sri Lanka Foundation meeting in New Delhi, highlighting ongoing bilateral cooperation across cultural, economic, and infrastructure sectors.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

On the surface, the 41st Board Meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation (ISLF) in New Delhi on August 28, 2026, was structured as a routine diplomatic engagement. Co-chaired by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha and Sri Lankan High Commissioner Mahishini Colonne, the session formally approved a standard slate of cultural and educational projects.

However, looking closer at the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape, the meeting underscored a much deeper structural alignment between the two nations. Against a backdrop of ongoing economic recovery, bilateral discussions increasingly touch upon critical areas of regional integration, investment, and infrastructure.

Among the key areas attracting attention are post-civil war reconciliation efforts and administrative milestones in the Northern Province.

Discussions in diplomatic circles continue to focus on the progressive release of state-held lands back to civilian inhabitants, alongside the anticipated finalization of provincial council elections to support local governance frameworks.

In the economic sphere, commercial integration remains a central theme as Sri Lanka stabilizes its foreign exchange reserves.

Recent financial dialogues in Colombo were seen exploring mechanisms such as transacting in Indian Rupees (INR), aligning with wider regional efforts to facilitate bilateral trade settlements and mitigate foreign currency pressures. Financial institutions, including the State Bank of India, continue to support these bilateral trade facilitation mechanisms.

Cooperation in the energy sector is also progressing through key joint ventures aimed at harnessing renewable resources. Proposals such as the 200MW solar power project in Sampur, developed via a partnership between NTPC and the Ceylon Electricity Board, highlight ongoing efforts to diversify national power generation. Discussions concerning cross-border grid interconnections further reflect strategies to enhance regional energy security and optimize renewable capacity.

At the same time, ongoing reviews of project tariffs – such as those involving renewable initiatives by firms like Adani Green Energy – demonstrate the government’s focus on balancing capital investments with domestic economic interests.

As the ISLF marks decades of supporting bilateral cultural exchanges through hundreds of initiatives, the overarching partnership between New Delhi and Colombo continues to evolve. Navigating these complex frameworks of trade, energy, and development remains essential as Sri Lanka charts its economic future within the South Asian region.

Business

Sysco LABS named one of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women-Friendly Workplaces for 2026

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

At the far left and far right, respectively: Ruchini Weerawardena, Senior Manager – Talent Management and Development, and Tashiya Jayatilaka, Team Lead – People Operations accepting the award on behalf of Sysco LABS.

Sysco LABS, the Global Innovation Center of Sysco, has been named one of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women-Friendly Workplaces at the Women-Friendly Workplace Awards 2026, marking its highest recognition at the awards to date.

The recognition represents an important milestone in Sysco LABS’ ongoing journey to build a workplace where women are supported not only to enter and participate in the technology industry, but to develop, progress and build meaningful long-term careers.

Held recently, the 2026 awards organized by Satynmag continued a six-year journey of recognizing and encouraging organizations to move beyond intention towards meaningful and measurable progress for women at work. This year’s awards placed particular emphasis on a defining question for women-friendly workplaces: beyond representation, how far are women able to go?

This win also reflects a progression in the company’s recognition journey at the Women Friendly Workplaces Awards. Following an “Honorable Mention” in the 2023 edition of the ceremony while winning a special award for “Best Women in STEM Project” in 2025, 2026 marks the first time Sysco LABS has been recognized as one of Sri Lanka’s Most Outstanding Women-Friendly Workplaces.

Business

CCPI-based headline inflation accelerates in August 2026

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100) based headline inflation (year-on-year, Y-o-Y) increased to 8.0% in August 2026 from 7.3% in July 2026, primarily due to the statistical base effect in food inflation. Meanwhile, food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 8.5% in August 2026 from 6.3% in July 2026, contributing mainly to the increase in headline inflation, while non-food inflation (Y-o-Y) decelerated to 7.7% in August 2026 from 7.8% in July 2026.

On a month-on-month basis, the CCPI increased by 0.28% in August 2026. This increase was mainly driven by the food category, which contributed 0.20 percentage point, largely owing to the increase in prices of Milk Powder, while the non-food category contributed a marginal 0.07 percentage point.

Meanwhile, core inflation (Y-o-Y) accelerated to 5.1% in August 2026 from 4.4% in July 2026.

According to the inflation projections made at the monetary policy round in July 2026, headline inflation is expected to remain above the target of 5% in the near term, before easing and stabilising around the target over the medium term, supported by appropriate policy measures. These projections are conditional, among other assumptions, on the expectation that the effects of the tensions in the Middle East and their spillovers will be temporary and gradually dissipate.