Features

Childhood and Growing Up

Published

3 years ago

2023/03/12

Thilina Walpola

Excerpted from Memories that Linger by Padmani Mendis

(continued from last week)

Published in Sri Lanka by The Jam Fruit Tree Publications and is available as a Kindle eBook.

“For when the One Great Scorer comes
To mark against your name,
He writes not that you won or lost
But how you played the game”
Grantland Rice, 1941

This is what my mother would quote to us at regular intervals, lest we forget the values she wanted us to have.

My first memories are too hazy to share. Running barefoot up and down the never-ending patnas of Bandarawela with seemingly countless cousins. Ice-cold spring-baths at the peella at the foot hills below, every morning as a pre-lunch ritual. We were spending the years of World War II in Bandarawela, where many Colombo families had moved for protection from possible Japanese bombs and attacks.

And then my recall becomes clearer as it continues after we returned to Colombo to live at 11, Sunandarama Road, Kalubowila. This is where I spent a remarkable childhood. What made it so remarkable were the oodles and oodles of love that I was showered with. My mother had told me at some point in my childhood that the more love you are given now, the more you will be able to give later. It is a truism I believe in firmly. It influenced me when I chose to work with disabled people. It influences me now as an aunt and a grand-aunt to many in the next generations. Nalin and I do not have children of our own to shower my love on.

Growing up, I never had many bought toys to stimulate my development. My mother barely managed to feed her large household to be able to afford toys for me. There were always relatives living with us. Friends of Uncle Lyn (more of Uncle Lyn later) and of the siblings dropped in to visit daily, and they were welcomed warmly by my mother to share our meals.

A vivid image I have in my mind is that of a little brother and sister, perhaps of the ages of six and eight years, coming frequently to our home as dusk fell, clinging to each other perhaps with fear and apprehension. They would say something like “Mummy told to ask for a loaf of bread”. They always had a loaf and more – perhaps a couple of eggs to eat with the bread. We had plenty of those because Uncle Lyn also bred poultry on his farm. To help with the feeding of all of us and more. For this also her cousin Uncle Geoff was always there for my mother. The same Uncle Geoff who had registered my birth.

Uncle Geoff brought groceries for my mother from the Marketing Department Wholesale Store in Maradana. He would bring these in his blue Plymouth. Riding on the back seat with his legs stretched out in front to rest on the front seat. Driven by the ever-faithful Lionel. And a practice he would always adhere to was to display the purchases to my mother. He would set out what he had bought for her on the dining table. She would be sitting at the table adding up the costs which he said he had paid.

And we would love to stand by to watch this ritual being enacted. We all knew that Uncle Geoff always, always, understated the costs of the things he had bought, just to help her. She knew it. But through a mutual understanding between them his kindness was never put into words.

Of Santa, Dolls and Books

I got my first doll when I was about six or seven. My older brothers and my oldest sister had, by this time, passed the age of 21 and were entitled to a small monthly allowance from my father’s estate. They contributed to buy me my first doll. They did not disclose this to me at the time. The doll was in the pillow-case I had hung up that Christmas for Santa Claus; and, because my siblings told me, I had been a good girl. To me the doll was a living idol – in dresses that could be changed, she could open and close her eyes – what wonder! The younger of my sisters made dresses for her so I could not only bathe her but also wash her clothes regularly.

The next year that same Santa gave me a silver tea set. Who was to know or care that it was aluminum? I became the perfect hostess making real tea for any and all. With milk and sugar. With never a show of reluctance, all my guests actually drank my tea. Then I had to collect the used items, wash and dry them and have them ready for my next guests. I was eight or nine years old when, sadly, I learned the truth about Santa.

I got my first book when I was six years old. It was the prize I got in the middle kindergarten when Miss Freda Welikala was my class teacher. It was called “Thumper” and was about a rabbit. The next book I had was “The Water Babies” by Charles Kingsley. That too probably came in the annual pillowcase. It was about a chimney-sweep called Tom. I remember another character in it called “Mrs. Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By”. She had a significant impact on me. And only in my youth did I know that this book was a children’s classic written in 1863. I learned much from both. Both books had delightful illustrations, so attractive to a child of that age; both grew my mind with wonder and imagination.

Learning from Nature

But it was not these rare and expensive toys and books that first made my life joyful. Nor were they the toys that I learned my earliest lessons from. My earliest toys were from nature and the toys came free. We lived in a house with a very large garden, well over an acre of it or even two. Someone wise had lived there before us. This person had covered the land with trees – not just any trees, but those that would bear useful produce.

So coconut, that-was-a-plenty; and thambili, always ready to be plucked for guests or to quench a thirst. There were many different varieties of mango, jambu and guava; there was ambarella, lovi, and other fruit trees that many will not see now – huge masang and veralu trees among them. And then there was jak or kos and breadfruit or del. Always seemed to be available cooked for lunch or dinner or boiled or fried as chips at any time to satisfy a hunger.

My brother Shatra would often take me down the garden and show me how the seeds that fell to the ground germinated and grew into trees. He would show me buds burst into blossom from which fruits magically appeared. Always with catapult in hand he would shoot down luscious fruit which we would share. We would collect the bi-coloured red and black olinda seeds.

On a rainy day when we had to be indoors, we would play games using these seeds. They suited the playing of counting games. One game I recall was to throw them up with the palm of one’s hand then see how many one could catch with the back of the hand. With others to help me, I would make garlands and chains and bouquets for guests from flowers we collected from the garden.

Our front garden at No. 11 was covered with neat beds on which my young brothers would grow an array of different kinds of flowers. Seeds were available at not much cost – zenias, marigolds, cosmos, and there had to be the pretty little phlox. At Easter, parts of the back garden would be covered with orange Easter lilies. I would collect some bulbs and plant them in areas that that did not have them so that next year we would have more lilies. This is where my love of flowers blossomed. I have pots of these lilies even now on my balcony.

There was space in this garden of wonder for animals – goats, pigs and a small dairy which Uncle Lyn took care of. Uncle Lyn was more than a relative. My mother had married again and this was her husband “Llewellyn Adolphus Dalrymple Perera Abeyewardene. Although he was married to my mother, to us he was never considered a stepfather. He was always Uncle Lyn. That was our relationship. An amiable but distant uncle – and always there to drive us around and about. Besides, no one could replace our father. My siblings talked often about him and I would listen attentively. We still loved him hugely.

So here in this environment, nature provided my first remembrances of fun and of joy and of sadness, and of my first toys. It promoted my early learning and my early development. I loved especially playing with the baby kid goats of which there was always a steady supply. So much time I spent with them that my sister Nali would call me “Padi the Kid”. And that is how I came to be called “Padi”, then and to this day.

Theva

The dairy cattle were housed in a shed in one corner of the back garden. To care for them, and for the goats and pigs when we had them, was Theva from South India. I don’t recall that we had a bull full-time. I think Uncle Lyn got one down when he felt the cows needed a bull. When Theva required an assistant, he got down his son-in-law from South India. Ranga was a graduate from the University of Madras but had no job back home, and this solved the problem for both father and son-in-law.

Theva and I had a special relationship. I would stand by when I could while he bathed and then fed the cattle with poonac and with grass he cut from the grassland he had tended; while he milked the cows and bottled the milk; while he led the calves to their mothers for their feed. Theva explaining to me what he was doing and why, talking to me about the animals he cared for and about his home in South India and the family he had left behind. Me a keen listener, but full of questions which he had only to answer, helping him with fetching and carrying, and with other little tasks.

A vivid memory I have is of the toys Theva made for me. He would, for example, clean and then cut a dried fallen coconut branch into various sizes. Then he would shape them. The largest part of the branch would be made into a bull and later sections into cows and calves of various ages. Each had their nose and ears as well as a neck round which he would tie coconut string with which I could move them from tree to tree. I had to make sure they were tied firmly so they would not break loose. Then he would help me to tend to my own cattle, while he tended to his.

He also saw to it that I had my own little house. He had not heard of a doll’s house and neither had I. But this was the real thing. Walls and roof made of thatch using fresh coconut leaves. He also made dolls and carts and other toys for me using bits of cloth and paper and empty cans from the house, and sticks and leaves and string and I know not what, except that they were all from the house and garden. Theva, who had never been to school and was not able to read and write, taught me how to be innovative and stimulated creativity within me.

Pets and Other Living Things

In the house we had many dogs – the first I recall is an Alsatian called Marina. She was beautiful and ever so affectionate. I remember Marina allowing me to ride on her back, although when I think of that now, I am angry with myself for having done so.

Then there were the Cocker Spaniels, Chappie and Bessie. Each dog spent a lifetime with us and made us so sad when they left this earth and us. But they were soon replaced with other dogs.

We had two monkeys in the garden. To recall that they were always tied with chains to sturdy posts now makes me wonder how we could have done that. We had, at one end of the verandah, a green parrot who was the same age as my oldest brother, then in his twenties. She was called peththappu. At the other end, we had a white cockatoo Uncle Lyn brought from Anuradhapura where he had inherited paddy lands. Called Polly, she was a very polite cockatoo, and sociable, always ready to greet us in the morning and at other times, and greet also any visitor. She would love to have us sit down in front of her cage and converse with her. Uncle Lyn was a hunter, and on our walls hung leopard and deer skins and antlers of various sizes, and on the floor were bear skins.

Of Songs and Relatives

My mother had a beautiful voice and she had many favourite songs. Some that had been taught to her by her English Governess. My fondest memories of her are when she was relaxing on a sofa, singing. Equally happy singing when we would be traveling in a car with many of the children jostling together on the back seat. I would often be sitting on her lap in the front seat. No seat belt requirements then.

A routine weekly trip would be to Moratuwa because that is where my aunt Violet, my mother’s oldest sister, lived with her brood of eight. My mother had to see each of her sisters at least weekly. I recall those songs she sang often – “One day when we were young” and “After the Ball is over”. The favourite of all was however “Jerusalem”. I can sing those to this day even in my now ageing and crackling voice.

My mother also used to visit her surviving aunts and uncles regularly. So almost always, on the return trip from Moratuwa we would stop by to visit Eddie Seeya. This was her father’s brother, her uncle E.L.F. who lived in a “cottage” on his coconut plantation, situated in what is now Ratmalana. As we drove up the long straight drive, the cottage under the tall coconut trees came into view. It was painted in colours of green and gold.

E.L.F was a well-known horse-racing enthusiast – for several consecutive years, the winner of the Governor’s Cup with his horse called Orange William. His racing colours were green and gold. These are the colours worn by the jockeys who rode his horses. But it seemed to us children that to E.L.F., everything he owned had to be in green and gold. I recall clearly those green and gold flower pots at the end of the drive and surrounding the cottage.

One day Eddie Seeya gifted to me a toy Daschund pup. He told me I could call it Gypsy. She was my loving companion at Kalubowila for many long years.

With me hanging on to her sari pota there would be visits to Mary Archchi and to Willie Seeya in Colombo. There were also regular visits to other relatives in Moratuwa and Angulana where many of them still lived on their large coconut properties.

Anura, Summa and Shatra

The younger of my six brothers, Anura, Summa and Shatra, I came to know better than I did the older three who had already embarked on their post-secondary studies. And those three did tease me with tall stories. A favourite was that my mother had found me in the “kaanuwa” or drain at Kadugannawa, felt sorry for me and brought me home. They even had a rhyme that went with that story – “kalu, katha, kota ape nangee, Kadugannawa kaanuwen gedara genawe ape ammi”.

To the extent that sometimes I believed stories like this and that would have me in tears. But there were always loving sisters to admonish them and send them off to do something more productive. And comfort me with stories of me as a baby and of my father, and action songs I liked to hear. These would end with tickles and hugs and kisses.

One thing that I have not forgiven those three brothers for is that even after plea after plea, none of them ever taught me to ride a bike. And after that I could never do so, in spite of trying over and over again. It must have been a mental block.

Anura was the one who had the most number of interests and hobbies, was always looking for something creative to do. At one time, he produced a family newspaper, a replica of the real thing with current news of family members and sketches of their activities. At another time, he was an amateur photographer. He started with a Kodak box camera and then, when he saved up enough from the allowance he got as an accountancy apprentice, bought a real fancy one which had to be focused each time before taking a photograph. He developed his own films in a dark room he made, sectioning off a corner of the front room with dark curtains.

,I would love to join him there, smell the chemicals and watch his photographs as they came to life. With this he introduced me to elementary science, which I learned later was physics and chemistry.Anura and Summa were boxers at school. Shatra still has his trophies earned in his childhood from his prowess in athletics. They played rugger at school and later for the Havelock’s Sports Club. I had no interest in sports and, come to it, in any physical activity. At school, I would be standing at the back of the class when we had physical education hoping I would not be seen.

(To be continued)

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Features

Building a sustainable future for Sri Lanka’s construction industry

Published

1 day ago

2026/05/8

Thilina Walpola

Sri Lanka’s construction industry has long been a central pillar of sustainable development. From roads and bridges to homes, schools, and hospitals, construction shapes the country’s physical landscape and supports economic progress. As the nation continues to rebuild and modernise, the demand for construction materials and infrastructure keeps rising. However, this growth also brings a significant environmental cost. Cement, steel, bricks, aggregates, and timber all require energy, resources, and transportation, contributing to carbon emissions and environmental damage. If Sri Lanka continues with traditional construction practices, the long-term impact on the environment will be severe.

The encouraging news is that Sri Lanka has many opportunities to adopt more sustainable construction practices while still maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety. Sustainable construction does not mean weaker buildings or lower standards. It means using sustainable materials, reducing waste, improving design, and choosing methods that protect the environment. Many countries have already moved in this direction, and Sri Lanka has the potential to follow the same path with solutions that are practical, affordable, and suitable for local conditions.

A promising option

One promising option is the use of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB), which are different from the concrete blocks commonly used in Sri Lanka for the past 25 years. CEBs are made from soil mixed with a small amount of stabiliser and pressed using machines. Unlike traditional fired clay bricks, CEBs do not require high-temperature kilns, which consume large amounts of firewood or fossil fuels. This makes CEBs a low-carbon alternative with a much smaller environmental footprint. In Sri Lanka, CEBs are already used in eco-resorts, community housing projects, and environmentally focused developments. They offer good strength, durability, and thermal comfort, making them suitable for many types of buildings. By expanding the use of CEBs, Sri Lanka can reduce energy consumption, lower emissions, and promote locally sourced materials.

Recycled aggregates also offer significant potential for sustainable construction. These materials are produced by crushing concrete, demolition waste, and construction debris. In Sri Lanka, recycled aggregates are already used in road construction, particularly for base and sub-base layers. They are suitable for non-structural building work such as pathways, garden paving, drainage layers, landscaping, and backfilling. Using recycled aggregates reduces the need for newly quarried rock and aggregates, decreases landfill waste, and lowers transportation emissions. With proper quality control and standards, recycled aggregates can become a reliable and widely accepted material in the construction industry.

Timber and sustainability

Timber is another important area where sustainability can be improved. In the past, timber for construction was often taken from natural forests, leading to deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Today, this approach is no longer sustainable. Instead, the focus must shift to legally sourced timber from managed plantations. Sri Lanka’s plantation-grown teak, jak, and kubuk can provide high-quality, legally sourced timber for construction while protecting natural forests and supporting rural economies. Using plantation timber ensures that harvesting is controlled, trees are replanted, and the supply chain remains legal and ethical.

Beyond materials, sustainable construction also involves better design and planning. Buildings that are designed to maximise natural ventilation, daylight, and energy efficiency can significantly reduce long-term operating costs. Simple design improvements such as proper orientation, shading devices, roof insulation, and efficient window placement can reduce the need for artificial cooling and lighting. These measures not only lower energy consumption but also improve indoor comfort for occupants. Sri Lanka’s tropical climate offers many opportunities to incorporate passive design strategies that reduce environmental impact without increasing construction costs.

Waste reduction is another key component of sustainable construction. Construction sites often generate large amounts of waste, including concrete, timber offcuts, packaging, and soil. By adopting better site management practices, recycling materials, and planning construction sequences more efficiently, contractors can reduce waste and save money. Proper waste segregation and recycling can also reduce the burden on landfills and minimise environmental pollution.

Promoting sustainable construction

Public projects such as schools, hospitals, and government buildings can play a leading role in promoting sustainable construction. When government projects adopt greener materials and designs, the private sector follows. This creates a positive cycle where environmentally responsible choices become the industry standard. Public sector leadership can also encourage local manufacturers to produce sustainable materials, improve quality standards, and invest in new technologies.

Sri Lanka also carries a proud and remarkable history in construction, with achievements that continue to inspire the world. The engineering brilliance behind Sigiriya, the advanced urban planning of Polonnaruwa, the precision of the Aukana Buddha statue, and the sophisticated water management systems of ancient tanks and reservoirs all demonstrate the deep knowledge our ancestors possessed. These historic accomplishments show that innovation is not new to Sri Lanka; it is part of our identity. As the world moves toward 2050 with increasing sustainability challenges, Sri Lanka can draw strength from this heritage while embracing modern technologies and sustainable practices. With the combined efforts of skilled professionals, industry experts, academic researchers, and strong government support, the country can introduce new systems that improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and strengthen resilience. By working together with determination and sharing knowledge across generations, Sri Lanka’s construction industry can build a future that honours its past while leading the way in sustainable development.

Foundation of sustainable development

Sri Lanka’s construction industry has always been a foundation of sustainable development. Today, it also has the chance to take a leading role in sustainability. By choosing sustainable materials, reducing waste, improving design, and supporting responsible sourcing, the country can build a future that is both modern and environmentally responsible. Sustainability is essential for Sri Lanka’s long-term goals of reducing carbon emissions and limiting the impacts of global warming. As Sri Lanka moves forward, the construction industry must embrace sustainability not only as an environmental responsibility but also as an opportunity to create stronger, smarter, and more resilient buildings for future generations. Sri Lanka has the talent, the heritage, and the technical capacity to shape a more sustainable future, and with the right national direction, the construction industry can become a model for the region. If professionals, policymakers, and communities work together with a shared vision, the country can transform its construction sector into one that protects the environment while supporting long-term progress.

About the Author: P.G.R.A.C. Gamlath Menike,

BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying (University of Reading, UK), MSc Quantity Surveying (University College of Estate Management, UK), MCIArb, Doctoral Student, Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, is a Senior Quantity Surveyor: Last Project (2022 -2025) Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 Construction Project, Gammon Engineering Construction (Main Contractor).

By P.G. R. A. C. Gamlath Menike

Features

Palm leaf manuscripts of Sri Lanka – 1

Published

1 day ago

2026/05/8

Thilina Walpola

Palm leaf manuscripts

Palm leaf manuscripts have been in existence in Sri Lanka since ancient times. The two oldest palm-leaf manuscripts found in Sri Lanka today are the Cullavagga Pâli manuscript of the H. C. P. Bell collection, which is held at the Library of the National Museum, Colombo, and the Mahavagga Pâli manuscript in the University of Kelaniya collection. Photocopies of both are available at the Library of the University of Peradeniya. Both are dated to 13 century. Cullavagga manuscript has wooden covers richly decorated in lac with a design of flowers and foliage.

Karmmavibhâga

However, the oldest known Sinhala palm leaf manuscript in the world is the Karmmavibhâga which was found in a Tibet monastery in 1936 by the Indian scholar Rahul Sankrityayan. Rahul Sankrityayan, (1893–1963) former Kedarnath Pandey, was an Indian polymath, who searched out rare Buddhist manuscripts on his travels abroad. Sankrityayan visited Sri Lanka as well. Vidyalankara Pirivena is mentioned.

Sankrityayan visited Tibet several times to collect manuscripts from the Buddhist monasteries there. In May 1936 on his second visit to Tibet, Sankrityayan visited the Sa-skya monastery. The Chag-pe-lha-khang Library in this monastery was specially opened for Sankrityayan.

He stated in his autobiography that when the clouds of dust which greeted this rare opening of its doors had subsided, they beheld rows of open racks where volume on volume of manuscripts were kept. “After rummaging around, I came across palm-leaf manuscripts. They were not wrapped in cloth, but were tied between two wooden planks with holes through them.” Sankrityayan found several important manuscripts he had been looking for, in that collection.

Sankrityayan catalogued fifty-seven manuscripts bound in thirty-eight volumes. The thirty-seventh volume was written in the Sinhala script. Sankrityayan records that this volume contained ninety-seven palm- leaves each of which measured 18 1/4 by 1 1/4 in. (46 x 3 cm.) and that there were seven lines of writing on each folio.

According to Sankrityayan, these Sinhala texts originally belonged to a Sri Lankan monk called Anantaśrî who had come to Tibet in the time of ŚSrî Kîrttidhvaja (Kirti Sri Rajasinha). Analysts noted that Sankrityayan does not give the source of this information and the manuscript makes no mention of Anantaśrî.

Sankrityayan had taken with him to Tibet, one Abeyasinghe, (Abhayasimha) to help him with copying manuscripts. They made hand-copies of the important manuscripts. Abhayasimha had copied about 250 to 350 strophes each day. But he fell ill due to the extreme cold and was sent home in June. Abeyasinghe had written letters home during his stay in Tibet.

Photographs of the manuscripts found during Sankrityayan’s expeditions in Tibet are preserved at the National Archives in Colombo. There is also a copy in Vidyalankara pirivena library The Historical Manuscripts Commission In its 1960/1961 report, drew attention to this manuscript, known as Sa-skya Codex, describing it as “a unique document.” (Annual Report of the Government Archivist 1960/61, 1963)

Sinhala scholar P.E.E. Fernando examined photographs of the Sa-skya Codex at the request of the Historical Manuscripts Commission and assigned it to the 13th century. The Historical Manuscripts Commission, dated it to either twelfth or the thirteenth century.

The Historical Manuscripts Commission observed that this manuscript was of great value for the study of the development of the Sinhala script. Ven. Meda Uyangoda Vimalakîrtti and Nähinne Sominda in their edition of the Karmmavibhâga published in 1961 agreed that the Sa-skya Codex represented an early stage in the evolution of the Sinhala language.

Mahavamsa

The Mahavamsa is considered a unique historical document. There is nothing like it in South Asia, and probably all Asia, with the exception of China. Mahavamsa provides a historical account of events, with emphasis on chronology and dating. This, it appears, was rare at the time.

However, Mahavamsa is not a political history, though that is the popular perception of it. It is a religious history. It was written to record the introduction and entrenchment of Buddhism in the country. Other Buddhist countries, such as Cambodia, Burma and Thailand value the Mahavamsa for this reason. They held copies of the Mahavamsa and used events from it in their temple frescoes.

But Mahavamsa is also an important reference source for reconstructing the political history of Sri Lanka. Political and social facts are included in the Mahavamsa narrative when describing religious events, and this makes the Mahavamsa important for historians. This tradition of history writing, beginning with the earlier Sihala Attakatha and Dipawamsa, it is suggested, started in Sri Lanka in 2^nd or 3^rd BC.

Today, the Mahavamsa has become a major source of historical information, not only for dating kings, temples and reservoirs, but also for reconstructing ancient Sinhala society. The fact that Kuveni was seated beside a pond, spinning thread has been used to indicate that there was water management and textiles long before Vijaya arrived. Dutugemunu (161-137 BC) paid a salary to the workers building the Maha Thupa. This shows that money was used at the time.

Copies of the Mahavamsa have been treasured and looked after in Sri Lanka for centuries. They have been copied over and over again. The manuscripts were held in temple libraries because the subject of the Mahavamsa was the entrenchment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

The Mahavamsa manuscripts did not pop up suddenly during British rule as people seem to think. The British did not ‘discover’ the Mahavamsa. It was there. When the British administration started to take interest in the history of the island, the sangha would have directed them to the Mahavamsa, in the same way that they directed HCP Bell to the ruins in Anuradhapura and the Sigiriya frescoes. HCP Bell did not discover those either.

The British administrators saw the value of the Mahavamsa and copies were sent to libraries abroad. The Bodleian library, Oxford has a well preserved Mahavamsa manuscript, taken from Mulkirigala, which Turner used for his translation. Cambridge has two Mahavamsa manuscripts. The two copies at India Office library, and the copy in East India Library are probably in the British Library today. The Royal Library, Copenhagen, has a copy, consisting of 129 sheets, 12 lines to a leaf, written in good handwriting.

In Sri Lanka there are several copies of the Mahavamsa in the Colombo Museum Library. One copy, known as the ‘Cambodian Mahavamsa ‘is in Cambodian script. University of Peradeniya has at least three copies.

It is interesting to note that the Mahavamsa was known to the Sinhala elite and some had copies in their private libraries. The Historical Manuscripts Commission of the 1930s said in its first report that five copies of the Mahavamsa and a 19^th century copy of the Dipawamsa were found in private collections.

The temple libraries had many copies of the Mahavamsa. Some were of very high quality. Wilhelm Geiger had looked at the copies held at Mahamanthinda Pirivena, Matara and Mulkirigala vihara. Asgiriya, Nagolla Vihara and Watagedera Sudarmarama Potgul vihara, Matara, are three of the many libraries that held copies of the Mahavamsa.

Sirancee Gunawardene examined the copy at Mahamanthinda Pirivena, Matara, very closely. She says that it is a very old manuscript. According to its colophon, the manuscript was first copied 400 years ago. It is in a very good state of preservation. It has 232 folios. Each 50 cm long 6.25 wide. Nine lines on each side, in Pali metric verse.

The writer of the manuscripts said that his version was an improvement on the copy. He wrote, “I will recite the Mahavamsa which was compiled by ancient sages. [their version] was too long and had many repetitions. This version is free from such faults, easy to understand and remember. It is handed down from tradition, for arousing serene joy and emotion’ .

The Mahamanthinda manuscript records the continuous history of 23 dynasties from 543 BC to 1758 AD. It refers to the principle of hereditary monarchy as 39 eldest sons of reigning monarch succeeded their fathers to the throne. It highlights the fact that fifteen reigned only for one year, 34 for less than four years, 22 kings were murdered by their successors, 6 were killed during battles, 4 committed suicide, 11 were dethroned.

Mahawansa as a World Heritage document

An ola manuscript of the Mahavamsa, held in the Main Library of the University of Peradeniya has been recognised by UNESCO as a part of World Heritage. UNESCO announced In 2023 that it has included the Mahavamsa as one of the 64 items of documentary heritage inscribed in the UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register for 2023. The manuscript is dated to the early 19 century.

The certificate declaring the Mahawansa as a world heritage document was handed to the Chancellor of Peradeniya University by UNESCO Director General, who visited the University in 2024 specially to do so. She also unveiled a plaque marking the declaration.

The story began much earlier. The National Library of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Buddha Sasana had jointly appointed a 6-member committee headed by Prof Malani Endagamage, to find the best preserved copy of the Mahavamsa in Sri Lanka. This would have been in 2000 or so. For two years, this team had examined copies from over 100 temples nationwide.

Temples around the country yielded copies, crumbling to well-preserved, reported Sunday Times. There was one from the Ridi Vihara that almost made the cut, but four other copies were shortlisted. One from the Dalada Maligawa, Kandy and three manuscripts from the Main Library of the University of Peradeniya. Three academics from the University’s History Department, Professors K.M. Rohitha Dasanayaka, Mahinda Somathilake and U.S.Y. Sahan Mahesh examined the three Peradeniya manuscripts

Dasanayaka said, “We poured over the copies together, and it became clear that one copy stood out. While the other two had numerous inconsistencies, this one, written in a curvy hand, was neat and beautiful. After more than two centuries, the manuscript was still very attractive, with a ‘flaming cinnamon orange’ cover and elegant lettering.

The first section of the manuscript ends with Mahasen (274–301 AD), written by the monk Mahanama. The second part ends at 1815. The author is given as Ven. Thibbotuwawe Buddharakkhita but he was dead by 1815. The final part was probably done by an acolyte. He has done a very neat job, seamlessly adding his bit, concluded Dasanayake.

This manuscript was acquired by the Library of University of Peradeniya when K. D. Somadasa, was the Librarian (1964 – 1970). It is held in the Main Library and its Accession Number is 277587.

National Library & Documentation Services Board of Sri Lanka, which administers the National Library of Sri Lanka submitted a nomination to UNESCO on behalf of this manuscript. UNESCO responded positively to the application.

UNESCO said the Mahavamsa was recognized as one of the world’s longest unbroken historical accounts, presenting Sri Lanka’s history in a chronological order from the 6th century BCE. The authenticity of the facts provided in the document has been confirmed through archaeological research conducted in Sri Lanka and India.

It is an important historical source in South Asia, said UNESCO. It was the first of its kind in South Asia, initiating a mature historiographical tradition. It has contributed singularly to the identity of Emperor Asoka in Indian history. The existence of a number of manuscripts of the Mahavamsa in several countries as well as the transliteration and translation of the text to several Southeast Asian and European languages stand testimony to its immense historical, cultural, literal, linguistic and scholarly values, .” UNESCO press release said.

Further, UNESCO found that this manuscript was correctly conserved at the University Library. The university and its library maintained high standards in safeguarding the palm-leaf manuscripts, preventing deterioration, declared UNESCO. (Continued)

REFERENCES

https://archives1.dailynews.lk/2021/02/25/local/242520/ola-leaf-mahavamsa-be-declared-world-heritage

Sirancee Gunawardana Palm leaf manuscripts of Sri Lanka . 1977 p 41,44-47 , 253 290 292, ,

N. E. I. Wijerathne Methods, Techniques and Challenges in Deciphering the Sa-skaya Codex. Vidyodaya Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (2025), Vol. 10 (01) https://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/vjhss/article/view/8571/6001

First report of the Historical Manuscripts Commision.1933 SP 9 of 1933. p . 53, 95, 96

https://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/vjhss/article/view/8571/6001https://www.austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572%200x00314cc3.pdf

https://leftword.com/creator/rahul-sankrityayan/

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianHistory/comments/1oc5tc2/in_his_autobiography_meri_jeevan_yatra_rahul/

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230910/plus/in-search-of-the-perfect-mahavamsa-531513.html

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Mahawansa-declared-a-world-heritage/108-287528

https://mfa.gov.lk/en/visit-of-unesco-dg/

https://sundaytimes.lk/online/education/UNESCO-ready-to-support-digitalisation-of-Ola-leaf-books/290-1146314

https://media.unesco.org/sites/default/files/webform/mow001/53_131%252B.pdf

by KAMALIKA PIERIS

Features

A new Sherlock Holmes novel

Published

1 day ago

2026/05/8

Thilina Walpola

Tales of Mystery and Suspense – 1

“The House of Silk” is set in a grim Victorian winter, and moves from Baker Street to a luxurious suburban villa, from dingy pubs to elegant London clubs, from a correction school for boys high on a hill to Dr Silkin’s House of Wonders, which provided noisy low life entertainment. Holmes and Watson went there in search of the House of Silk, a name they had heard when looking into the death of one of Holmes’ Baker Street irregulars (slum children who ferreted out information for him) .

I do not think highly of sequels to books written by highly regarded writers, though I must admit that this dislike is based on just a few samples. But while in England I was given by my former Dean, with a forceful recommendation, a book about a Sherlock Holmes mystery, supposedly written by Dr Watson. I began on it soon after I got back home, and found it difficult to put down, so I suppose I will not look on Anthony Horowitz as an exception to my rule. I may even look out for his efforts at continuing the adventures of James Bond, though I suspect Fleming’s laconic style will be less easy to emulate.

“The House of Silk” is set in a grim Victorian winter, and moves from Baker Street to a luxurious suburban villa, from dingy pubs to elegant London clubs, from a correction school for boys high on a hill to Dr Silkin’s House of Wonders, which provided noisy low life entertainment. Holmes and Watson went there in search of the House of Silk, a name they had heard when looking into the death of one of Holmes’ Baker Street irregulars (slum children who ferreted out information for him). They had asked Holmes’ brother Mycroft for help in finding what and where this was, but he had warned them off, having been himself told by someone very senior in government that it might involve those in very high positions, and further inquiries might prove dangerous.

Needless to say, Holmes does seek further, and is lured to an opium den where he is drugged, to be found outside with a gun in his hand and the body of a girl beside him, the sister of the murdered boy Ross. A passer-by swears he had seen Holmes fire the shot, and the owner of the opium den and a customer swear that Holmes had taken too much opium and left the den in a demented condition. A police inspector who had been passing promptly arrests Holmes and Watson, and even their old acquaintance Inspector Lestrade finds it difficult to get access to him.

Watson eventually gets to see him when he is in the infirmary, after he has been told by a mysterious man that Holmes was going to be murdered before his case could be taken up. The man said he had earlier tried to get Holmes to investigate the House of Silk by sending him a white silk ribbon, such as had later been found tied round the hand of the murdered boy. But, as a criminal himself, he said, he could not reveal more, though he himself was horrified by the business of the House of Silk, which gave criminality a bad name, which is why he wanted it all stopped.

Holmes escapes from the infirmary, with a little help from the doctor whom he had once assisted earlier, right under the nose of the nasty Inspector Harriman. He then joins up with Watson, and having with the help of Lestrade overcome the men designed to kill him at Dr Silkin’s House of Wonders, he sets off, with an even large posse of policemen, to the House of Silk.

After much suspense, the habitues of the House of Silk are arrested, the Inspector having broken his neck in the course of a chase downhill, having fled when his misdeeds were exposed. The mastermind claims that he will not face a trial because of the important people involved, but instead falls down a staircase while in prison and breaks his neck. One of the noblemen involved commits suicide, but another, and the medical man who had sworn he saw Holmes kill the young lady, get off without charge.

But then we revert to the original story, which had involved an art dealer who came to Holmes because he was being followed by someone he thought was an American gangster out for revenge. This was because he had shipped some pictures to an American buyer, and these had been destroyed when a train was held up by an Irish gang and the coach with the safe in it dynamited. The buyer and the dealer had got a private agency to investigate, and this had ended with the gang being killed in a shootout, though one of the twins who led it had escaped. The buyer had subsequently been killed, and Mr Carstairs feared that the twin who survived had followed him to England.

Holmes and Watson went to Carstairs’ house, where they met his wife, whom he had met on the boat back from America, and his sister. Their mother had died some months earlier, when gas had filled her room after the flame had gone out. It transpired that there had been a break in, and some money and a necklace stolen from a safe, and it was in tracing these, through a pawnbroker, that Holmes and Watson had found the American murdered in the hotel where he had been staying.

The leader of the irregulars had come to tell Holmes that they had traced the man to the hotel, and Ross had been left on guard. He seemed terrified when Holmes and Watson and Carstairs turned up, but said he had seen nothing. When the boys had been dismissed, and the room opened up, the man was found dead, the murderer obviously having gained entrance through a window.

Holmes assumed the boy had seen someone he recognized, but he could not be traced, until he was found dead, horribly tortured. The silk band around his wrist then led Holmes to pursue the House of Silk. One of the boys at the school where Ross had been mentioned that he had a sister at a pub, and she, when confronted, asked in fear if they were from the House of Silk and then, having lunged at Watson with a knife, ran off – herself only to be found dead outside the opium den, which prompted the arrest of Holmes.

After the drama at the House of Silk, Holmes and Watson go to the Carstairs household, where he explains exactly what had taken place, identifying the murdered man as not a member of the gang but the head of the private agency which had investigated them. As my Dean told me, Horowitz then ties up all the loose ends with consummate skill, connecting with a fine thread all the malefactors, of various kinds.