Features
ANANDA COOMARASWAMY: HIS CONTRIBUTION TO UNDERSTANDING ART

BY D.B.T. Kappagoda
Dr. Ananda Kentish Coomaaswamy was not an Indian by birth but in his writings he showed more than any scholar of his time that he had a wider understanding of the cultural heritage of India than most. He was the only child of Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy and English mother Elizabeth Clay Beeby, and he was born at Rhineland Place in Kollupitiya, on August 22, 1871.
His father Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy was the first non-Christian to be called to the English Bar and the first Asian Knighted by Queen Victoria, was a popular figure among the socialites in London and he also enjoyed the company of Lord Palmerston, Lord Tennyson and Benjamin Disraeli who portrayed him as Kusinara in one of his novels.
In Sri Lanka he was a leading member of the Legislative Council and he was responsible for the establishment of the Colombo Museum in 1871. He was well versed in Western classics as well as Pali, Sanskrit, Sinhala and Tamil. He translated Dhatavamsa (History of the Sacred Tooth relic of the Buddha) from Pali into English.
When his son Ananda was almost two years old, Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy died. And his son was brought up by his mother in England and sent to school, Wycliff College Stonehouse in Gloucestershire and later he entered University of London and graduated in Natural Sciences, Botany and Geology.
In 1903 he was appointed as the Director of Mineralogical Survey in Sri Lanka and served till 1907. His contribution to geology in Sri Lanka won him the Degree of Science of the London University, and later he was elected a Fellow.
During his official duties, he travelled widely across the country in search of minerals and in 1903 he discovered two minerals Serendibite and Thorianite at Gangapitiya in Gampola. The first discovery Serendibite was a new borosilicate which he described, “It was a beautiful blue colour discovered in narrow contact zones between acid moonstone bearing granulite and limestone which occur in alternating bonds at Gangapitiya.”
Thoriamite, the second mineral he discovered is a cubic mineral of high specific gravity which analysis proved to be a side of Thoriam and Uranium. The cubes were small (2/3 inch) and the colour is dark brown. The importance of this mineral is derived from its radio active properties.
During his travels around Kandy in search of minerals, he had the opportunity of visiting villages known for traditional arts and crafts. The age old arts and crafts practiced by the artisans threw new light on different aspects of Sinhalese culture.
The information he gathered went into his monumental book Medieval Sinhalese Art which he published in England in 1908. He compiled the manuscript with the help of his German wife Ethel Mary and published it at his expense under his supervision at the Essex House Press, Broad Campden Chapel in Gloucestershire.
The first impression of this compendium with 425 copies hand bound began its printing in September and was completed in 1908.The publication of his magnum opus has been hailed by scholars as a landmark for the revival of arts and culture of the Sinhalese.
The success of his maiden effort was due to his ability as a scholar to delve into the source to gather information objectively. Explaining the reason for him to write his book said, “It is a memorial of a period which the Sinhalese people were not willing to understand their cultural heritage.”
And, he added, “It is only to realize the ideals of the past, the possibility of a time recognition and revitalizing the national heritage of the Sinhalese.” According to his assessment the art of the Sinhalese medieval period was religious art and essentially the art of the people whose kings were one with religion and people.
He opined that the Sinhalese art is Indian in Character, hence there is a close affinity between Sri Lankan and Indian art. The studies he made revealed that Sri Lanka as “a perfect window through which to gaze on India’s past than any can find in India itself.”
Ananda Coomaraswamy, two years prior to his writing the Medieval Sinhalese Art said that he had a special interest in Sinhalese art and culture and he found in them a survival of the Aryan past and early Persian artistic traditions. Therefore for the preservation of art lost elsewhere, we owe our artisans much, for otherwise the world would be vastly poor in interest and ideals.
The first essay he wrote ‘Dance of Shiva’ displayed his artistic sensibility and sense of sublime, whereas Rabindranath Tagore pioneered the cultural experiment of Manipuri dancing at Shantiniketan. His creative writings include: History of Indian and Indonesian Painting and Rajput Painting are important for those who study art. His earlier book, Indian Dancing Mirror of Gestures, he wrote with the assistance of D. Gopala Krishnamacharia and his other notable book was Myths of Hindus and Buddhists he wrote in collaboration with Sister Nandita.
In 1943 he published ‘Why exhibit Works of Art’ showing his profound scholarship interpreting the Indian thought on art. Writing on Indian leaders he said, “Our leaders are already degenerated as Macauly could have been, wished them to be a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, morals and intellect because they have yet to discover India….”
The discriminate imposition of western civilization disturbed him and he wrote. “A single generation of English education succeeded in breaking the thread of tradition and caused nondescript and superficial beings depraved of roots….”
The close affinity of Indian and Sri Lankan cultures he found, “the curved boundary of leaf or stem or scroll has always a peculiar character of life and crispness not often sinking into more roundness or softness.” He also added, “Every stem and leaf of the liya vela ornaments of Ceylon and in details of South Indian architectural decoration is never realistic but based on observations or ideal forms.”
These curved forms of ornamentation were used by the Sinhalese craftsmen to depict energy and growth. According to Ananda Coomaraswamy, Sinhalese art is essentially Indian in outlook and Hindu in character. He found Kandyan art as a branch of Indian and the Kandyan architecture is similar to that of Kerala.
The folk art of the Sinhalese especially practiced by women is related to the motif and ritual of the embroidered Kantha of Bengal and this affinity helped to assess the Indian culture in true perspective.
He urged the Indian students studying overseas not to lose their culture, tradition and also identity and wrote on the political thought on spiritual power in theory of government. He also actively associated with a number of learned bodies in the East and West. He knew English, French, German, Latin, Greek Sanskrit, Pali, Sinhalese and Tamil.
He then abandoned his scientific research and devoted himself to the study of the arts and cultures of India and Sri Lanka, and published two monographs: The aims of Indian art, and Bronzes from Ceylon.
In 1905, he formed the Ceylon Reform Society to stress the great social and national traditions of the Sinhalese people and gave lectures and also wrote articles in the Ceylon National Review, of which he was its first Editor. He was the first to urge the use of National languages Sinhala and Tamil in education, and the preservation of indigenous arts and culture for posterity and modes of living.
He actively supported the agitation of his cousin Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan for the establishment of a Ceylon University. He finally resigned from the post of Director of Mineralogical Survey in 1907 and settled down in England but time and again visited India and Sri Lanka and had a close relationship with Rabindranath Tagore.
In 1910, he founded the Indian Society in London to provide a better appreciation of Greater India in the West. He wanted to have a museum built in Varanasi and donate his collection of artifacts to the government and people. Since there was no such prospects from the Indian government, he left for the USA in 1915 where he was appointed as Research Fellow at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and later he became its curator of the Indian and Eastern section of the museum.
Under his guidance and supervision the Boston Museum acquired some of the finest collection of exhibits and he held this post until his retirement three months prior to his demise on September 9, 1947.
He lived to witness the dawn of Indian independence in 1947. During the last 15 years of the illustrious life he led from 1931 to 1947, he worked unceasingly devoting his time to writings. His publications were voluminous – more than 500 monographs including translations, critical evaluations on art and culture of India. The other writing of his cover a wide range of aspects of historical, sociological, philosophical and in the field of metaphysics.
In spite of his fame and recognition among the literati he remained modest about writing about himself saying “anything personal must not intrude in my work. It would be Aswargya to allow such things…..not I the I that I am but he is the part in me that should interest you.”
After his demise his wife Dona Luisa who edited some of his books he had almost finished, visited India in 1964, like a true Ardhanagi (partner) with his ashes to fulfill his last wish.
(DBT Kappagoda, No.221/3, Pallegunnepana, Polgolla)
Features
A plural society requires plural governance

The local government elections that took place last week saw a consolidation of the democratic system in the country. The government followed the rules of elections to a greater extent than its recent predecessors some of whom continue to be active on the political stage. Particularly noteworthy was the absence of the large-scale abuse of state resources, both media and financial, which had become normalised under successive governments in the past four decades. Reports by independent election monitoring organisations made mention of this improvement in the country’s democratic culture.
In a world where democracy is under siege even in long-established democracies, Sri Lanka’s improvement in electoral integrity is cause for optimism. It also offers a reminder that democracy is always a work in progress, ever vulnerable to erosion and needs to be constantly fought for. The strengthening of faith in democracy as a result of these elections is encouraging. The satisfaction expressed by the political parties that contested the elections is a sign that democracy in Sri Lanka is strong. Most of them saw some improvement in their positions from which they took reassurance about their respective futures.
The local government elections also confirmed that the NPP and its core comprising the JVP are no longer at the fringes of the polity. The NPP has established itself as a mainstream party with an all-island presence, and remarkably so to a greater extent than any other political party. This was seen at the general elections, where the NPP won a majority of seats in 21 of the country’s 22 electoral districts. This was a feat no other political party has ever done. This is also a success that is challenging to replicate. At the present local government elections, the NPP was successful in retaining its all-island presence although not to the same degree.
Consolidating Support
Much attention has been given to the relative decline in the ruling party’s vote share from the 61 percent it secured in December’s general election to 43 percent in the local elections. This slippage has been interpreted by some as a sign of waning popularity. However, such a reading overlooks the broader trajectory of political change. Just three years ago, the NPP and its allied parties polled less than five percent nationally. That they now command over 40 percent of the vote represents a profound transformation in voter preferences and political culture. What is even more significant is the stability of this support base, which now surpasses that of any rival. The votes obtained by the NPP at these elections were double those of its nearest rival.
The electoral outcomes in the north and east, which were largely won by parties representing the Tamil and Muslim communities, is a warning signal that ethnic conflict lurks beneath the surface. The success of the minority parties signals the different needs and aspirations of the ethnic and religious minority electorates, and the need for the government to engage more fully with them. Apart from the problems of poverty, lack of development, inadequate access to economic resources and antipathy to excessive corruption that people of the north and east share in common with those in other parts of the country, they also have special problems that other sections of the population do not have. These would include problems of military takeover of their lands, missing persons and persons incarcerated for long periods either without trial or convictions under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (which permits confessions made to security forces to be made admissible for purposes of conviction) and the long time quest for self-rule in the areas of their predominance
The government’s failure to address these longstanding issues with urgency appears to have caused disaffection in electorate in the north and east. While structural change is necessarily complex and slow, delays can be misinterpreted as disinterest or disregard, especially by minorities already accustomed to marginalisation. The lack of visible progress on issues central to minority communities fosters a sense of exclusion and deepens political divides. Even so, it is worth noting that the NPP’s vote in the north and east was not insignificant. It came despite the NPP not tailoring its message to ethnic grievances. The NPP has presented a vision of national reform grounded in shared values of justice, accountability, development, and equality.
Translating electoral gains into meaningful governance will require more than slogans. The failure to swiftly address matters deemed to be important by the people of those areas appears to have cost the NPP votes amongst the ethnic and religious minorities, but even here it is necessary to keep matters in perspective. The NPP came first in terms of seats won in two of the seven electoral districts of the north and east. They came second in five others. The fact that the NPP continued to win significant support indicates that its approach of equity in development and equal rights for all has resonance. This was despite the Tamil and Muslim parties making appeals to the electorate on nationalist or ethnic grounds.
Slow Change
Whether in the north and east or outside it, the government is perceived to be slow in delivering on its promises. In the context of the promise of system change, it can be appreciated that such a change will be resisted tooth and nail by those with vested interests in the continuation of the old system. System change will invariably be resisted at multiple levels. The problem is that the slow pace of change may be seen by ethnic and religious minorities as being due to the disregard of their interests. However, the system change is coming slow not only in the north and east, but also in the entire country.
At the general election in December last year, the NPP won an unprecedented number of parliamentary seats in both the country as well as in the north and east. But it has still to make use of its 2/3 majority to make the changes that its super majority permits it to do. With control of 267 out of 339 local councils, but without outright majorities in most, it must now engage in coalition-building and consensus-seeking if it wishes to govern at the local level. This will be a challenge for a party whose identity has long been built on principled opposition to elite patronage, corruption and abuse of power rather than to governance. General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva, has signaled a reluctance to form alliances with discredited parties but has expressed openness to working with independent candidates who share the party’s values. This position can and should be extended, especially in the north and east, to include political formations that represent minority communities and have remained outside the tainted mainstream.
In a plural and multi-ethnic society like Sri Lanka, democratic legitimacy and effective governance requires coalition-building. By engaging with locally legitimate minority parties, especially in the north and east, the NPP can engage in principled governance without compromising its core values. This needs to be extended to the local government authorities in the rest of the country as well. As the 19th century English political philosopher John Stuart Mill observed, “The worth of a state in the long run is the worth of the individuals composing it,” and in plural societies, that worth can only be realised through inclusive decision-making.
by Jehan Perera
Features
Commercialising research in Sri Lanka – not really the healthiest thing for research

In the early 2000s, a colleague, returning to Sri Lanka after a decade in a research-heavy first world university, complained to me that ‘there is no research culture in Sri Lanka’. But what exactly does having a ‘research culture’ mean? Is a lot of funding enough? What else has stopped us from working towards a productive and meaningful research culture? A concerted effort has been made to improve the research culture of state universities, though there are debates about how healthy such practices are (there is not much consideration of the same in private ‘universities’ in Sri Lanka but that is a discussion for another time). So, in the 25 years since my colleague bemoaned our situation, what has been happening?
What is a ‘research culture’?
A good research culture would be one where we – academics and students – have the resources to engage productively in research. This would mean infrastructure, training, wholesome mentoring, and that abstract thing called headspace. In a previous Kuppi column, I explained at length some of the issues we face as researchers in Sri Lankan universities, including outdated administrative regulations, poor financial resources, and such aspects. My perspective is from the social sciences, and might be different to other disciplines. Still, I feel that there are at least a few major problems that we all face.
Number one: Money is important.
Take the example American universities. Harvard University, according to Harvard Magazine, “received $686.5 million in federally sponsored research grants” for the fiscal year of 2024 but suddenly find themselves in a bind because of such funds being held back. Research funds in these universities typically goes towards building and maintenance of research labs and institutions, costs of equipment, material and other resources and stipends for graduate and other research assistants, conferences, etc. Without such an infusion of money towards research, the USA would not have been able to attracts (and keeps) the talent and brains of other countries. Without a large amount of money dedicated for research, Sri Lankan state universities, too, will not have the research culture it yearns for. Given the country’s austere economic situation, in the last several years, research funds have come mainly from self-generated funds and treasury funds. Yet, even when research funds are available (they are usually inadequate), we still have some additional problems.
Number two: Unending spools of red tape
In Sri Lankan universities red tape is endless. An MoU with a foreign research institution takes at least a year. Financial regulations surrounding the award and spending of research grants is frustrating.
Here’s a personal anecdote. In 2018, I applied for a small research grant from my university. Several months later, I was told I had been awarded it. It comes to me in installments of not more than Rs 100,000. To receive this installment, I must submit a voucher and wait a few weeks until it passes through various offices and gains various approvals. For mysterious financial reasons, asking for reimbursements is discouraged. Obviously then, if I were working on a time-sensitive study or if I needed a larger amount of money for equipment or research material, I would not be able to use this grant. MY research assistants, transcribers, etc., must be willing to wait for their payments until I receive this advance. In 2022, when I received a second advance, the red tape was even tighter. I was asked to spend the funds and settle accounts – within three weeks. ‘Should I ask my research assistants to do the work and wait a few weeks or months for payment? Or should I ask them not to do work until I get the advance and then finish it within three weeks so I can settle this advance?’ I asked in frustration.
Colleagues, who regularly use university grants, frustratedly go along with it; others may opt to work with organisations outside the university. At a university meeting, a few years ago, set up specifically to discuss how young researchers could be encouraged to do research, a group of senior researchers ended the meeting with a list of administrative and financial problems that need to be resolved if we want to foster ‘a research culture’. These are still unresolved. Here is where academic unions can intervene, though they seem to be more focused on salaries, permits and school quotas. If research is part of an academic’s role and responsibility, a research-friendly academic environment is not a privilege, but a labour issue and also impinges on academic freedom to generate new knowledge.
Number three: Instrumentalist research – a global epidemic
The quality of research is a growing concern, in Sri Lanka and globally. The competitiveness of the global research environment has produced seriously problematic phenomena, such as siphoning funding to ‘trendy’ topics, the predatory publications, predatory conferences, journal paper mills, publications with fake data, etc. Plagiarism, ghost writing and the unethical use of AI products are additional contemporary problems. In Sri Lanka, too, we can observe researchers publishing very fast – doing short studies, trying to publish quickly by sending articles to predatory journals, sending the same article to multiple journals at the same time, etc. Universities want more conferences rather than better conferences. Many universities in Sri Lanka have mandated that their doctoral candidates must publish journal articles before their thesis submission. As a consequence, novice researchers frequently fall prey to predatory journals. Universities have also encouraged faculties or departments to establish journals, which frequently have sub-par peer review.
Alongside this are short-sighted institutional changes. University Business Liankage cells, for instance, were established as part of the last World Bank loan cycle to universities. They are expected to help ‘commercialise’ research and focuses on research that can produce patents, and things that can be sold. Such narrow vision means that the broad swathe of research that is undertaken in universities are unseen and ignored, especially in the humanities and social sciences. A much larger vision could have undertaken the promotion of research rather than commercialisation of it, which can then extend to other types of research.
This brings us to the issue of what types of research is seen as ‘relevant’ or ‘useful’. This is a question that has significant repercussions. In one sense, research is an elitist endeavour. We assume that the public should trust us that public funds assigned for research will be spent on worth-while projects. Yet, not all research has an outcome that shows its worth or timeliness in the short term. Some research may not be understood other than by specialists. Therefore, funds, or time spent on some research projects, are not valued, and might seem a waste, or a privilege, until and unless a need for that knowledge suddenly arises.
A short example suffices. Since the 1970s, research on the structures of Sinhala and Sri Lankan Tamil languages (sound patterns, sentence structures of the spoken versions, etc.) have been nearly at a standstill. The interest in these topics are less, and expertise in these areas were not prioritised in the last 30 years. After all, it is not an area that can produce lucrative patents or obvious contributions to the nation’s development. But with digital technology and AI upon us, the need for systematic knowledge of these languages is sorely evident – digital technologies must be able to work in local languages to become useful to whole populations. Without a knowledge of the structures and sounds of local languages – especially the spoken varieties – people who cannot use English cannot use those devices and platforms. While providing impetus to research such structures, this need also validates utilitarian research.
This then is the problem with espousing instrumental ideologies of research. World Bank policies encourage a tying up between research and the country’s development goals. However, in a country like ours, where state policies are tied to election manifestos, the result is a set of research outputs that are tied to election cycles. If in 2019, the priority was national security, in 2025, it can be ‘Clean Sri Lanka’. Prioritising research linked to short-sighted visions of national development gains us little in the longer-term. At the same time, applying for competitive research grants internationally, which may have research agendas that are not nationally relevant, is problematic. These are issues of research ethics as well.
Concluding thoughts
In moving towards a ‘good research culture’, Sri Lankan state universities have fallen into the trap of adopting some of the problematic trends that have swept through the first world. Yet, since we are behind the times anyway, it is possible for us to see the damaging consequences of those issues, and to adopt the more fruitful processes. A slower, considerate approach to research priorities would be useful for Sri Lanka at this point. It is also a time for collective action to build a better research environment, looking at new relationships and collaborations, and mentoring in caring ways.
(Dr. Kaushalya Perera teaches at the Department of English, University of Colombo)
Kuppi is a politics and pedagogy happening on the margins of the lecture hall that parodies, subverts, and simultaneously reaffirms social hierarchies.
By Kaushalya Perera
Features
Melantha …in the spotlight

Melantha Perera, who has been associated with many top bands in the past, due to his versatility as a musician, is now enjoying his solo career, as well … as a singer.
He was invited to perform at the first ever ‘Noon2Moon’ event, held in Dubai, at The Huddle, CityMax Hotel, on Saturday, 3rd May.
It was 15 hours of non-stop music, featuring several artistes, with Melantha (the only Sri Lankan on the show), doing two sets.
According to reports coming my way, ‘Noon2Moon’ turned out to be the party of the year, with guests staying back till well past 3.00 am, although it was a 12.00 noon to 3.00 am event.

Having Arabic food
Melantha says he enjoyed every minute he spent on stage as the crowd, made up mostly of Indians, loved the setup.
“I included a few Sinhala songs as there were some Sri Lankans, as well, in the scene.”
Allwyn H. Stephen, who is based in the UAE, was overjoyed with the success of ‘Noon2Moon’.
Says Allwyn: “The 1st ever Noon2Moon event in Dubai … yes, we delivered as promised. Thank you to the artistes for the fab entertainment, the staff of The Huddle UAE , the sound engineers, our sponsors, my supporters for sharing and supporting and, most importantly, all those who attended and stayed back till way past 3.00 am.”

Melantha:
Dubai and
then Oman
Allwyn, by the way, came into the showbiz scene, in a big way, when he featured artistes, live on social media, in a programme called TNGlive, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
After his performance in Dubai, Melantha went over to Oman and was involved in a workshop – ‘Workshop with Melantha Perera’, organised by Clifford De Silva, CEO of Music Connection.
The Workshop included guitar, keyboard and singing/vocal training, with hands-on guidance from the legendary Melantha Perera, as stated by the sponsors, Music Connection.
Back in Colombo, Melantha will team up with his band Black Jackets for their regular dates at the Hilton, on Fridays and Sundays, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Warehouse, Vauxhall Street.
Melantha also mentioned that Bright Light, Sri Lanka’s first musical band formed entirely by visually impaired youngsters, will give their maiden public performance on 7th June at the MJF Centre Auditorium in Katubadda, Moratuwa.
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