EDWIN ARIYADASA LEFT A LEGACY THAT IS AS NOBLE AS THE LIFE HE LED

BY LAKSHMAN WICKRAMASINGHE

Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa, the gentleman journalist, is no more. He has left us with a legacy that is as noble as the life he led.

He was a Buddhist who knew by realization that the greatest man who ever lived was the Supreme Buddha . Ariyadasa edited a book with that title. But also being a good Buddhist, he believed and acted in ways that displayed the thinking that every other religionist had the right to practice his or her own religion and also should be respected as such.

He accepted the truism that Sri Lanka’s culture and civilization has been vitally formed and shaped for thousands of years by the central tenets of Buddhism and principles of irrigated agriculture symbolised by the conceptual but simple words “wewai dagobai-gamai pansalai”- the concept of the Tank , the Temple and Village. However, Ariyadasa also believed that if Sri Lanka is to take her place among the Community of Nations, we cannot practice the ‘frog in a well’ approach to the world. He perhaps is the leading journalist who brought ‘ happennings in the international arena’ to the door-step of the Sinhala readership, indeed with such clarity and a deep knowledge of concepts underlying such events and trends. And he did that with authority and aplomb as he had a deep knowledge of both Sinhala and English. I do not know whether he had such a role in view when he opted to read for a BA degree offering both Sinhala and English as subjects, I believe in 1945.

He was an ‘informal teacher’ to innumerable Sinhala journalists who apprenticed at or began their career at Lake House in the sixties and the seventies. I was one such informal pupil. But as time went on and I gained knowledge and skills and became chief sub-editor of ‘Sarasaviya,’ the Film and Cultural weekly at Lake House, he would bring articles on internationally acclaimed films and film personalities, with the words such as ‘ if you think it worthwhile and useful to your readers, please consider publishing this.’ Ariyadasa was unassuming to a fault. He was a non-pompous and egoless Journalist; nevertheless he strode the stage of journalism as a Colossus for over 50 years.

Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa had a deep knowledge of theories and concepts of media and communication. He did this by self- study. I know that he read books on media and communication by illustrious authors such as Schramm, Everett Rogers etc and also encouraged me to do so. He was the catalyst for promoting the study of Journalism and Communication at undergraduate level in our Universities. He started the process by planning and delivering the first journalism course at the Dehiwela Junior University. He took me as a discussant for some of the tutorials.

As electronic media came to occupy centre stage in Sri Lanka he was one of the few journalists who was able to make the switch to television almost effortlessly. It was not because of a physically attractive figure (pardon me for saying so) or physical attraction that TV personalities are known for. He was respected and looked forward to be engaged by the viewer purely due to his encyclopedic knowledge on the subjects that he spoke on; and above all for his sincerity of purpose. He spoke on areas he knew and kept silent on issues that he was not well-versed in. Over the last few years, Ariyadasa occupied a niche identity in disseminating knowledge on Buddhism to TV audience as a lay discussant in panel discussions on Buddhism. In the evening of his life to have had the opportunity to do so with such clarity of mind and sincerity could perhaps be said to be due to samsaric practice.

May Mr. Edwin Ariyadasa attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana

Lakshman Wickramasinghe