Features
Let’s understand what a masterpiece is and how it originated
Text of a lecture conducted by Bhagya Rajapakse.
Venue: Sri Lanka Archive of Contemporary Art, Architecture and Design, Jaffna on November 2025
Tamil Interpreter: Jasmine Nilani Joseph
Special Thanks: Prof.T.Sanathanan and Prof.Sarath Chandrajeewa.
(First part of this article appeared in The Island yesterday)
What constitutes a piece of art, a masterpiece?
There are three common elements that act as crucial in elevating a piece of art to the level of a masterpiece.
1. A Work of Art That Did Not Exist Before.
2. A Work of Art that is Not Bound by Time.
3. A work of art that Establishes a Benchmark for future generations of artists.
Something new and unconventional always catches our attraction.
Exceptional creativity, craftsmanship, and innovativeness
provide impetus for an artist to create something new and unconventional.
This is how originality comes in.
How would we define exceptional creativity, craftsmanship, and innovativeness?
Let’s understand this with a few examples.
On one occasion someone inquired of Michelangelo about how his sculpting process goes.
And the immediate answer of Michelangelo was, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
In the subject of marble sculpting, the meaning of creativity for Michelangelo was to remove the unwanted chunks and pieces from the marble block and save the figure he imagined on it. In his words, it’s liberating the figure from the marble that imprisons it.
Any masterpiece by Michelangelo was a clear and prime example that demonstrates how exceptional creativity, craftsmanship, and innovativeness converge in a single piece of art.
Another example is the 1942 sculpture by Pablo Picasso, ‘Bull’s Head.’
It’s nothing more than a merger of a bicycle seat and a bicycle handlebar. In this sculpture., Picasso converts two ordinary, unrelated objects into a unique and evocative structure within which unrelated objects form a correlated entity. A BULL’S HEAD.
That’s all about Picasso’s exceptional creativity, craftsmanship, and innovativeness.
Let’s move to another example.
What can one do with a few discarded machinery parts found in a scrap metal store, an iron rod, some wood blocks, and some copper strips?
A creative as well as innovative mind could do a lot more.
By bringing all these components into one single unit, sculptor Sarath Chandrajeewa gave life to something extraordinary. That is the 2023 abstract monument titled ‘Motion and Stillness.’
In this monument the artist embodies one of the most profound concepts in the world.
Motion and stillness is a concept found in physics and philosophy as well as spiritual approaches.
The existence of the whole world depends on the dynamic interplay between motion and stillness.
Motion signifies change and transformation, while stillness symbolises ‘rest’ or ‘pause,’ which ensures the continuity of motion.
One hundred years ago, in 1925, English poet Fredegond Shove
wrote a poem bearing the same title, ‘Motion and Stillness,’ as well as the meaning.
“The seashells lie as cold
as death.
Under the sea,
The clouds move in a
wasted wreath.
Eternally;
The cows sleep on the
tranquil slopes.
Above the bay;
The ships are like
evanescent hopes.
Vanish away.”
This is a moment where the same concept is embodied in two different forms of art by two different artists of two different eras and of two different countries. It’s just about being creative and innovative.
The most important thing to be noted here is that Sarath Chandrajeewa was unaware that there is a poem written a hundred years ago that holds the same title and meaning as his abstract monument does.
Art is universal; it manifests in numerous forms, conveying the same meaning and message over the centuries and beyond.
That is the reason why some works of art are considered timeless. The inherent nature of a masterpiece is that it is not bound by time and space. Instead, it transcends the boundaries of time and space. Mediums can be changed, and styles can be changed, but the core essence of any great work of art remains constant.
Works of art that transcend spatial and temporal boundaries have set precedent for aspiring artists throughout history.
All artists follow in the footsteps of the previous masters in any field of art. The masters of early days and their masterpieces act as models of excellence for other artists.
For instance, Paul Cézanne was a monumental figure for Pablo Picasso.
Picasso was greatly influenced by Cézanne’s work.
Picasso deliberately turned human faces into mask-like forms in his paintings. This was quite evident in his 1907 masterpiece, ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.’ He probably got this idea from Cezanne’s 1894-1905 masterpiece ‘Bathers.’ The faces of the human figures seen in ‘Bathers’ were seemingly carved from wood.
“Cezanne is my one and only master. He was like the father of us all.” That was how Picasso admired and respected Cezanne.
Cezanne’s approach of breaking down forms and restructuring them in an abstract manner provided the foundational inspiration for Pablo Picasso and George Braque when co-founding ‘Cubism.’
Revolutionary moves taken by artists by radically changing the existing styles are always recorded by history. And their fearless approaches to art elevate their work to the state of masterpiece.
‘Cubism’ was one such revolutionary move that radically changed the landscape of art by challenging traditional perspectives and representations.
‘Cubism’ at the beginning of the 20th century shook the foundation of visual art. It was initially faced with incomprehension and rejection by the public as well as art critics.
The fragmented appearance given to the then conventional depictions by ‘Cubism’ was not well received by many.
French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first ridiculed this new style by Picasso and Braque.
In 1908, after seeing Braque’s exhibition, Vauxcelles dismissed the work by saying, “This style has reduced everything to little cubes.”
This was how this revolutionary style got its name, ‘Cubism.’
Similarly, ‘Impressionism,’ which emerged in France in the second half of the 19th century, left the viewers indifferent towards the new approach.
The first ‘Impressionist’ exhibition was held in Paris in 1874.
Claude Monet is considered a pioneer and father of the Impressionist movement.
In the 1874 exhibition, Monet’s masterpiece ‘Impression, Sunrise’ was among the exhibits.
After visiting the exhibition, French art critic and journalist Louis Leroy referred to Monet’s ‘Impression, Sunrise’ as a mere IMPRESSION rather than a finished work.
Thereafter the entire approach was named ‘The Impressionism.’
At the end of 1940, American artist Jackson Pollock established an unusual and unique abstract art technique.
In this technique he laid a canvas on the floor. Then dripped, poured, and splashed paint onto it using sticks and cans. Sometimes he rode the bicycle on the canvas, which was covered with paint.
Pollock’s revolutionary idea was to get rid of the traditional use of the ‘PAINT BRUSH’ and the role of the ‘LINE.’ He was adamant that the ‘LINE’ should not dominate the canvas any more. So, he said goodbye to the Brush and the Line, and both were given freedom from the task of painting.
But Pollock’s works were not immediately appreciated.
Art critic Harold Rosenberg gave the name ‘The Action Painting’ to this new technique initiated by Jackson Pollock.
The term ‘Drip Painting’ was coined by Time Magazine in 1956, and the magazine gave Pollock the nickname ‘Jack the Dripper.’
However, through ‘Drip Painting,’ Pollock set a precedent that influenced artists for generations.
Masterpieces are not immediately accepted by the public, and in the first run, those were highly criticised by the ‘experts’ in the field.
Because masterpieces challenge the accepted norms in any field of art.
The public as well as the critics are initially shocked by the shapes, techniques, styles, or subject matters set by the radical artistic approaches.
It is common for many works of art to be appreciated after the artist died.
Their work stands as timeless and priceless masterpieces posthumously.
In some cases works of art gain much popularity and continue to last because of the concept they carry as well as the location they are being placed in.
One hundred and eight years ago French artist Marcel Duchamp challenged the established perception of art by bringing a signed urinal into an exhibition space as a work of art titled ‘Fountain.’
Duchamp argued that the artist’s intention, idea, and the context made something art.
The context within which a work of art is placed is capable of changing the value of the work and the way others look at it.
Duchamp’s intention was to challenge the then-existing traditions of art to reconsider the nature of originality, authorship, and the way of defining art.
‘Fountain’ is considered the founding piece, and Duchamp is considered the founder of conceptual art.
The urinal titled ‘Fountain’ was not just a mass-produced commodity but a medium carrying a concept.
A commodity was converted to a work of art just by changing its context.
‘Fountain’ was discarded soon after it was submitted to the Society of Independent Artists’ Exhibition in New York in 1917.
The work known today as ‘Fountain’ is a replica authorised by Duchamp.
But the concept it carried keeps revolutionizing modern art to this day.
Another work of art that faced much controversy, praise, rejection, and ridicule predominantly on social media platforms in the recent past was ‘Comedian,’ a work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan in 2019.
It was all about a fresh yellow banana affixed to a white wall with ash grey duct tape.
The ordinary banana we daily see on the racks of fruit stores became extraordinary after changing its context.
As soon as the banana was placed within a high-profile exhibition space, hundreds of people gathered at the gallery to see this awe-inspiring banana.
It was no longer the banana we see in the market or just a nutritious fruit, but a concept.
According to the artist, ‘Comedian’ was interpreted as a work of art that signifies commodification of contemporary art.
The satirical commentary passed through a banana by Cattelan, in a way, pushes the viewer to re-evaluate their preconceived notion about what constitutes art and how its value is being determined in a consumer society.
‘Comedian’ was sold to three buyers on three separate occasions, and four editions of this art piece have been exhibited in 4 different locations: Florida, South Korea, New York, and France.
In 2019 the first two editions were sold at a price of $120,000, and in 2024 another edition exhibited in Sotheby’s Collection in NY was sold at $6.2 million.
When a banana rots or when someone has eaten the banana while it’s being exhibited, the artist simply replaces it again and again, and then it continues to be an original piece of art. But the concept it carries goes on to last for ages.
Speaking about bananas, this ordinary fruit has been a medium of carrying concepts in many countries, in many contexts, by many artists.
In 1967 American visual artist Andy Warhol launches a banana design screen printed on laminated plastic. This was featured on the pop album cover ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico.
Reviews say that this famous banana design by Warhol reflects his fascination with consumer culture and showcases how a primary object, such as a banana, symbolizes the rise of mass production and distribution.
In 2004 English artist Agnus Fairhurst creates a massive installation of peeled bananas. This nine-foot-long bronze peeled banana carried the concept that “Bananas are sensual, but they quickly decay.”
In the same year, 2004, Sri Lankan artist Sanath Kalubadana, through his installation ‘Dinner Table,’ expresses his disagreement over the horrors and destruction of the war in the medium of a table of food with bananas burnt to cinders.
In 2008, Austrian graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister creates a gigantic installation, ‘Banana Wall,’ with the phrase ‘Self-Confidence Produces Fine Results’ spelled out in green bananas placed among yellow ones.
Nearly ten thousand bananas are said to have been used in this installation. I quote a fascinating Facebook post by content creator ‘Ivan’ here to read out what he has said about this Banana Wall.
“It wasn’t just about shock value; it was about time, change, and transformation. Over the days and weeks, the banana slowly ripened, turning from bright yellow to spotted brown, and eventually to deep black. The scent of the room shifted too, from sweet tropical to something far less pleasant. Visitors returned again and again to see how the wall evolved, turning the space into a breathing piece of art.
If a work of art is to last for ages, it must be received by the public constructively.
Any extraordinary piece of art or a masterpiece has its unique way of initiating a silent dialogue with the viewer.
The masterpiece transmits the message of who they are, using an iconic visual language enriched with artistic elements.
The rhythm of the visual language of a masterpiece is complex. But not complicated.
No masterpiece is easy to understand and is full of complexities. But it never confuses the viewer.
Complexity is intriguing, and complication leads to confusion.
If a work of art confuses the viewer, he or she will no longer be in favor of it. That’s exactly where the silent dialogue between the masterpiece and the viewer comes to an end.
One of the most complex masterpieces in the world is Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica.’
Its powerful symbolism is not everyone’s cup of tea.
So, there were many arguments among the public as well as experts about what some symbols really mean.
Responding to this discourse, Picasso said, “It isn’t up to the painter to define the symbols; otherwise, it would be better if he wrote them out in so many words. The public who look at the picture must interpret the symbols as they understand them.”
Despite all the underlying complexities, people from all over the world spend millions to go to faraway countries to see the great pieces of art with their bare eyes.
Why?
Because every extraordinary piece of art has its own charisma and aura, which no replica of the same work can possess. It is the charisma and aura of Mona Lisa, David, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Guernica, and many more that draw millions of people to their countries to see them firsthand.
They are not just paint patches on canvases or stone figures. They are living beings. They have their own rhythm of breathing, they never die, and they remain immortal, as do the extraordinary masters who made them.-
Features
Citizenship, Devolution, Land and Language: The Vicarious Legacies of SJV Chelvanayakam
SJV Chelvanayakam, the founder leader of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi, aka Ceylon Tamil Federal Party, passed away 49 years ago on 26 April 1977. There were events in Sri Lanka and other parts of the world where Tamils live, to commemorate his memory and his contributions to Tamil society and politics. His legacy is most remembered for his espousal of the cause of federalism and his commitment to pursuing it solely through non-violent politics. Chelvanayakam’s political life spanned a full 30 years from his first election as MP for Kankesanthurai in 1947 until his death in 1977.
Under the rubric of federalism, Chelvanayakam formulated what he called the four basic demands of the Tamil speaking people, a political appellation he coined to encompass – the Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Muslims and the hill country Tamils (Malaiyaka Tamils). The four demands included the restoration of the citizenship rights of the hill country Tamils; cessation of state sponsored land colonisation in the North and East; parity of status for the Sinhala and Tamil languages; and a system of regional autonomy to devolve power to the northern and eastern provinces.
High-minded Politics
Although the four basic demands that Chelvanayakam articulated were not directly delivered upon during his lifetime, they became part of the country’s political discourse and dynamic to such an extent that they had to be dealt with, one way or another, even after his death. So, we can call these posthumous developments as Chelvanayakam’s vicarious legacies. There is more to his legacy. He belonged to a category of Sri Lankans, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims, who took to politics, public life, public service, and even private business with a measure of high-mindedness that was almost temperamental and not at all contrived. Chelvanayakam personified high-minded politics. But he was not the only one. There were quite a few others in the 20th century. There have not been many since.
Born on 31 March 1898, Chelvanayakam was 49 years old when he entered parliament. He was not an upstart school dropout dashing into politics or coming straight out of the university, or even a hereditary claimant, but a self-made man, an accomplished lawyer, a King’s Counsel, later Queen’s Counsel, and was widely regarded as one of the finest civil lawyers of his generation. He was a serious man who took to politics seriously. Howard Wriggins, in his classic 1960 book, “Ceylon: Dilemmas of a New Nation”, called Chelvanayakam “the earnest Christian lawyer.”
Chelvanayakam’s professional standing, calm demeanour, his personal qualities of sincerity and honesty, and his friendships with men of the calibre of Sir Edward Jayatilleke KC (Chief Justice, 1950-52), H.V. Perera QC, P. Navaratnarajah, QC, and K.C. Thangarajah, were integral to his politics. The four of them were also mutual friends of Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike and they played a part in the celebrated consociational achievement in 1957, called the B-C Pact.
Chelvanayakam effortlessly combined elite consociationalism with grass roots politics and mass movements. He led the Federal Party both as a democratic organization and an open movement. Chelvanayakam and the Federal Party used parliament as their forum to present their case, the courts to fight for their rights, and took to organizing non-violent protests, political pilgrimages and satyagraha campaigns. He was imprisoned in Batticaloa, detained in Panagoda, and was placed under house arrest several times. His Alfred House Gardens neighbours in Colombo used to wonder why the government and the police were after him, of all people, and why wouldn’t they do something about his four boisterous, but studious, sons!
He was a rare politician who filed his own election petition when he was defeated in the 1952 election, his first as the leader of the Federal Party, and was rewarded with punitive damages by an exacting judge. He had to borrow money from Sir Edward Jayatilleke to pay damages. The common practice for losing candidates was to file vexatious petitions in the name of one of their supporters with no asset to pay legal costs. Chelvanayakam was too much of a principled man for that. As a matter of a different principle, the two old Left parties never challenged election losses in court, but Dr. Colvin R de Silva singled out Chelvanayakam’s uniqueness for praise in parliament, in the course of a debate on amendments to the country’s election laws in 1968.
Disenfranchisement & Disintegration
Although he became an MP in 1947, Chelvanayakam had been associated with GG Ponnambalam and the Tamil Congress Party for a number of years. GG was the flamboyant frontliner, SJV the quiet mainstay behind. Tamil politics at that time was all about representation. In fact, all politics in Sri Lanka has been all about representation all the time. It started when British colonial rulers began nominating local (Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim) representatives to quasi legislative bodies, and it became a contentious political matter after the introduction of universal franchise in 1931.
Communal representation was conveniently made to look ugly by those who themselves were politically communal. Indeed, under colonial rule, if not later too, Sri Lankans were a schizophrenic society where most Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims were socially friendly, but politically communal. The underlying premise to the fight over representation was that British colonialists were not leaving in a hurry and they were there to stay and rule for a long time. Hence the jostling for positions under a foreign master. It was in this context that Ponnambalam made his celebrated 50-50 pitch for balanced representation between the Sinhalese, on the one hand, and all the others – Tamils, Muslims, Indian Tamils – combined on the other. It was a perfectly rational proposition, but it was also perfectly poor politics.
But independence came far sooner than expected. The Soulbury Constitution was set up not for a continuing colonial state, but as the constitution for an independent new Ceylon. So, the argument for balanced representation became irrelevant in the new circumstances. The new Soulbury Constitution was enacted in 1945, general elections were held in 1947, a new parliament was elected, and Ceylon became independent in 1948. SJV Chelvanayakam was among the seven Tamil Congress MPs elected to the first parliament led by GG Ponnambalam.
The Tamil Congress campaigned in the 1947 election against accepting the Soulbury Constitution and for a vaguely formulated mandate “to cooperate with any progressive Sinhalese party which would grant the Tamil their due rights.” But what these rights are was not specified. In a Feb. 5, 1946 speech in Jaffna, Ponnambalam specifically proposed “responsive cooperation between the communities” – not parties – and advocated “a social welfare policy” to benefit not only the poor masses of Tamils but also the large masses of the Sinhalese.
So, when Ponnambalam and four of the seven Tamil Congress MPs decided to join the government of DS Senanayake with Ponnambalam accepting the portfolio of the Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries, they were opposed by Chelvanayakam and two other Tamil Congress MPs. The immediate context for this split was the Citizenship question that arose soon after independence when DS Senanayake’s UNP government introduced the Ceylon Citizenship Bill in parliament. The purpose and effect of the bill was to deprive the estate Tamils of Indian origin (then numbering about 780,000) of their citizenship. Previously the government had got parliament to enact the Elections Act to stipulate that only citizens can vote in national elections. In one stroke, the whole working population of the plantations was disenfranchised.
GG Ponnambalam and all seven Tamil Congress MPs voted against the two bills. Joining them in opposition were the six MPs from the Ceylon Indian Congress representing the Malaiyaka Tamils and 18 Sinhalese MPs from the Left Parties. The Citizenship Bill was passed in Parliament on 20 August 1948. Ponnambalam called it a dark day for Ceylon and accused Senanayake of racism. But less than a month later, on September 3, 1948, he joined the Senanayake cabinet as a prominent minister and the government’s principal defender in parliamentary debates. Dr. NM Perera once called Ponnambalam “the devil’s advocate from Jaffna.”
Chelvanayakam remained in the opposition with two of his Congress colleagues. A little over an year later, on December 18, 1949, Chelvanayakam founded the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi, Federal Party in English. Not long after, joining Chelvanayakam in the opposition was SWRD Bandaranaike, who broke away from the UNP government over succession differences and went on to form another new political party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. As was his wont as a Marxist to see trends and patterns in politics, Hector Abhayavardhana saw the breakaways of Chelvanayakam and Bandaranaike, as well as the emergence of Thondaman as the leader of the disenfranchised hill country Tamils, as symptoms of a disintegrating society as it was transitioning from colonial rule to independence.
Abhayavardhana saw the Citizenship Act as the political trigger of this disintegration in the course of which “what was set up for the purpose of a future nation ended in caricature as a Sinhalese state.” Chelvanayakam may have agreed with this assessment even though he was located at the right end of the ideological continuum. “Ideologically, SJV is to the right of JR,” was part of political gossip in the old days. He saw “seeds of communism” in Philip Gunawardena’s Paddy Lands Act. For all their differences, Chelvanayakam and Ponnambalam were united in one respect – as unrepentant opponents of Marxism.
The Four Demands
Chelvanayakam had his work cut out as the leader of a new political party and pitting himself against a formidable political foe like Ponnambalam with all the ministerial resources at his disposal. Chelvanayakam may not have quite seen it that way. Rather, he saw his role as a matter of moral duty to fill the vacuum created by what he believed to be Ponnambalam’s betrayal, and to provide new leadership to a people who were at the crossroads of uncertainty after the unexpectedly early arrival of independence.
He set about his work by expanding his political constituency to include not only the island’s indigenous Tamils, but also the Muslims and the Tamil plantation workers from South India – as the island’s Tamil speaking people. It was he who vigorously introduced the disenfranchised Indian Tamils as hill country Tamils. In the aftermath of the Citizenship Act and disenfranchisement, restoring their citizenship rights became an obvious first demand for the new Party.
Having learnt the lesson from Ponnambalam’s failed 50-50 demand, Chelvanayakam territorialized the representation question by identifying the northern and eastern provinces as “traditional Tamil homelands,” and adding a measure regional autonomy to make up for the shortfall in representation at the national level in Colombo. To territorialization and autonomy, he added the cessation of state sponsored land colonization especially in the eastern province. Chelvanayakam and the Federal Party painstakingly explained that they were by no means opposed to Sinhalese voluntarily living in Tamil areas, either as a matter of choice, pursuing business or as government and private sector employees, but the nuancing was quite easily lost in the political shouting match.
The fourth demand, after citizenship, regional autonomy, and land, was about language. Language was not an issue when Chelvanayakam started the Federal Party. But he pessimistically predicted that sooner or later the then prevailing consensus, based on a State Council resolution, over equality between the two languages would be broken. He was proved right, sooner than later, and language became the explosive question in the 1956 election. As it turned out, the UNP government was thrown out, SWRD Bandaranaike led a coalition of parties to victory and government in the south, while SJV Chelvanayakam won a majority of the seats in the North and East, including two Muslims from Kalmunai and Pottuvil.
After the passage of the Sinhala Only Act on June 5, 1956, the Federal Party launched a political pilgrimage and mobilized a convention that was held in Trincomalee in the month of August. The four basic demands were concretized at the convention, viz., citizenship restoration for the hill country Tamils, parity of status for the Sinhala and Tamil languages, the cessation of state sponsored land colonization, and a system of regional autonomy in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
The four demands became the basis for the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam agreement – the B-C Pact of 1957, and again the agreement between SJV Chelvanayakam and Dudley Senanayake in 1965. The former was abrogated by Prime Minister Bandaranaike under political duress but was not abandoned by him. The latter has been implemented in fits and starts.
The two agreements which should have been constitutionally enshrined, were severely ignored in the making of the 1972 Constitution and the 1978 Constitution – with the latter learning nothing and forgetting everything that its predecessor had inadvertently precipitated. The political precipitation was the rise of Tamil separatism and its companion, Tamil political violence. Ironically, Tamil separatism and violence created the incentive to resolve what Chelvanayakam had formulated and non-violently pursued as the four basic demands of the Tamils.
After his death in 1977, the citizenship question has finally been resolved. The 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution that was enacted in 1987 resolved the language question both in law and to an appreciable measure in practice. The same amendment also brought about the system of provincial councils, substantially fulfilling the regional autonomy demand of SJV Chelvanayakam. The land question, however, has taken a different turn with state sponsored land colonisation in the east giving way to government security forces sequestering private residential properties of Tamil families in the north, especially in the Jaffna Peninsula.
Further, the future of the Provincial Council system has become uncertain with the extended postponement of provincial elections by four Presidents and their governments, including the current incumbents. The provinces are now being administered by the President through handpicked governors without the elected provincial councils as mandated by the constitution. Imagine a Sri Lanka where there is only an Executive President and no parliament – not even a nameboard one. “What horror!”, you would say. But that is the microcosmic reality today in the country’s nine provinces.
by Rajan Philips
Features
Application of AI in Logistics in Sri Lanka can improve efficiency, reduce cost and enhance decision making
“AI increases profits while reducing un ethical intervention which is proven by Successful Global Business Models”
Artificial Intelligence(AI) is still only a buzz word in the Sri Lankan society, though many wanted to have an awareness of the concept the resources are scares, even still the IT industry has not formulated any awareness programs or a Degree yet to cope with the development. But world education warns that there want be any IT based jobs in future without learning the AI. AI has multiple use in any discipline and it has the ability to increase the efficiency of the work intern cut down the product or the service cost. Below description is how the application of AI can smoother the function of Logistic or the Supply Chain Management.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in logistics can greatly improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making in simple enhance the profit margins. Below is a structured overview of how AI can be used in logistics, including key applications, tools, and real-world examples. Machine Learning(ML) is the foundation to AI but subsequently develops the capability of absorbing the information from the cloud (IT environment) and produce future behavior or trends by analyzing the fed data to the computers on a certain period of time. In some occasions vendors offer unbelievable discounts by using ML or AI, because it clearly understands the market behavior, human behavior, expiration and many other variables that gives the profits or losses to the product or the service.
Key Areas Where AI is Used in Logistics;
· Demand Forecasting
· Route Optimization
· Warehouse Automation
· Predictive Maintenance
· Inventory Management
· Supply chain Management
· Customer Service with Chat bots
· Fraud Detection and Risk Management
1. Demand Forecasting
AI can analyze historical data, market trends, and external factors (like weather or news) to:
· Predict product demand more accurately
· Optimize inventory levels
· Reduce stockouts or overstocking
Tools: Machine learning models (e.g., time series forecasting) and IT platforms/software like Amazon Forecast, Prophet by Meta. These are the software applications that helps to understand the future trends.
Amazon Forecasting software
Traditional forecasting methods typically rely on statistical modeling, but software like “Chronos” that treats time series data (data collected during a certain period of time) as a language to be modeled and uses a pre-trained FM (forecast Models) to generate forecasts, which similar to how “Large Language Models” (LLMs) generate texts helps you achieve accurate predictions faster, significantly reducing development time compared to traditional methods.
Prophet by Meta
Prophet is a very efficient and accurate procedure for forecasting time series data based on an additive model where non-linear trends are fit with yearly, weekly, and daily seasonality, plus holiday effects. It works best with time series that have strong seasonal effects and several seasons of historical data. This software adds many social, cultural and geographical variables other than internal information to decision making.
2. Route Optimization
AI-powered systems can calculate the most efficient delivery routes in real-time using:
· Traffic data
· Weather conditions
· Delivery time windows
· Vehicle capacity and fuel usage
Example: UPS (one of the largest Logistic companies in the world) uses its ORION system (AI-based) to save millions of gallons of fuel per year.
IT Tools: Google OR-Tools, Route4Me, Mapbox with ML integration.
The “Route4Me” IT platform automates and integrates mission-critical last mile workflows, empowering route planners, dispatchers, drivers, and managers to take the business to the next level. Distribution networks, passenger transportation networks can achieve much cost reduction by using above platforms. This is a good platform for the Sri Lanka passenger industry to reduce the overheads for the population. In Sri Lanka “Pick me” and “Uber” uses similar platforms in their transportation industry. Whole three wheeler industry can be regulating with this kind of software and transfer benefits to the passengers.
3. Warehouse Automation
AI enables:
· Robotics for picking, packing, and sorting
· Vision systems for scanning and inventory management
· Autonomous forklifts and drones for internal transport
Example: Amazon’s use of “Kiva robots” in fulfillment(distribution) centers.
Kiva Robots in Warehouses
Traditionally, goods are moved around a distribution center using a conveyor system or by human-operated machines (such as forklifts). In Kiva’s approach, items are stored in portable storage units. When an order is entered into the Kiva database system, the software locates the closest automated guided vehicle to the item and directs it to retrieve it. The mobile robots navigate around the warehouse by following a series of computerized bar-code stickers on the floor. Each drive unit has a sensor that prevents it from colliding with others. When the drive unit reaches the target location, it slides underneath the pod(Pallet) and lifts it off the ground through a corkscrew action. The robot then carries the pod to the specified human operator to pick up the items or subsequently hand over to the “drone” to deliver to the customer. Human intervention is minimal and accordingly overheads are reduced, Sri Lanka needs to achieve this kind of operational level in order to par with the international markets.
4. Predictive Maintenance
Traditionally Sri Lankans are week in maintenance, they basically wait until the machine stops in the other way bureaucratic too are much restrict on the maintenance and the procurement procedure. Applying this kind of maintenance software will eradicate all of these lethargies and the bureaucratic blocks. Subsequently continuing the smooth operations and productions.
AI monitors equipment (vehicles, conveyor belts, etc.) to:
· Predict when they will fail
· Schedule maintenance proactively
· Reduce downtime and repair costs
Tools: IoT(internet of things as cameras, sensors, GPS etc.) sensors + ML models (e.g., anomaly detection), IT platforms like IBM Maximo.
IBM Maximo is a multi-facet coordinator
“From equipment to factories, from fleets to infrastructure, Maximo Application Suite empowers users across verticals to coordinate maintenance and management for a broad range of asset classes”.
5. Supply Chain Visibility
AI can analyze data across the supply chain to:
· Track shipments in real-time
· Identify delays or bottlenecks
· Provide predictive ETAs
📦 Example: DHL (Logistic Company) uses AI to forecast transit delays and offer dynamic ETA updates.
This is an ideal tool for cargo management, ideal for sea ports and the air ports in Sri Lanka. This is one of the grave gray areas in the port system, though the port system is lacking the required information due to that the client has to pay the demurrages and warehouse cost for the ports. Also, cut down unnecessary delays and reduce bribes and corruption at all levels.
6. Inventory Management
AI helps optimize:
· Stock levels across multiple warehouses
· Replenishment timing
· Safety stock calculation
Tools: ERP (Entrepreneur Resource Planning) systems with embedded AI (e.g., SAP, Oracle), custom ML models.
These systems drastically reduce the human intervention and speedup the Supply management process.
7. Customer Service & Chatbots
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can:
· Handle customer queries 24/7
· Track orders
· Provide personalized delivery updates
Tools: Dialogflow, Microsoft Bot Framework, ChatGPT API
Dialogflow
“Dialogflow” is a natural language understanding IT platform that makes it easy to design and integrate a conversational user interface into the mobile app, web application, device, bot, interactive voice response system, and so on. Using Dialogflow, establishments can provide new and engaging ways for users to interact with the product. Dialogflow can analyze multiple types of input from the customers, including text or audio inputs (like from a phone or voice recording). It can also respond to the customers in a couple of ways, either through text or with synthetic speech.
AI Conversational Chatbots Platform
Above IT platforms control the human intervention and reduce the cost of employees. Chatbots are basically efficient than the humans due to the high memory power for the standard customer inquiries. Application to Government sector will reduce the burden for the general public.
8. Fraud Detection & Risk Management
AI detects unusual patterns in:
· Orders
· Transactions
· Supplier behavior
Helps prevent:
· Cargo theft
· Counterfeit goods
· Financial fraud
*”KPMG Clara” for Supply Chain Risk Management
“KPMG Clara” is an AI-powered IT platform offering supply chain analytics, risk detection, and compliance management.
Key Features:
· AI-driven risk modeling
· ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and compliance monitoring
· Predictive analytics for disruptions
· Supplier risk scoring
“Geo Analysis” (AI based) IT platform in Supply Chain Access Control
Above IT platform Monitor access patterns across cross-border freight hubs, regional warehouses, and remote carrier logins. “Geo analysis” for supply chain authentication identifies impossible travel, geo-inconsistencies, and spoofed IPs to reduce credential abuse and unauthorized entry into logistics systems. This important IT platform can reduce corruption and many unethical practices, ideal tool for the Sri Lankan Government sector that can curb the mal practices.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a remarkable IT tool which can apply in almost all the sectors that can reap the Efficiency and Accuracy. In above paragraphs I have described the application in different stages of the Logistic or the Supply Chain Management. Application of AI tools can be done on stages as initially find the specific pain points pertaining to the supply chain and then, prepare data from the GPS, inventory systems, sales forecasts and supplier records. Subsequently can understand the specific AI platforms and ML models to suit the SCM operation. Further, can apply in a small scale as a pilot project and analyze impact as cost savings or efficiency gains. Once understand the model can roll out to other areas of operations in the establishment.
Final outcome will be “15% reduction in fuel cost, 20% faster deliveries, Increased customer satisfaction”
There may be many negative lobbies since this is new to the many sectors in the country and further ability to proof the corruption but proper education and understanding the world AI based business models, establishments can reach the required goal.
(Writer can be reached at, chandana_w@yahoo.com)
by Lt Col. Chandana Weerakoon.
Chartered Logistician
Features
Motherhood is not ‘giving up’
Since having my baby, I have been regularly met with the question, “Are you back at work?”
“No,”
I reply. “I am doing my PhD from home.”
Several emotions arise. I feel guilty that I am not back at work, that somehow I should be. I also feel relieved that I can justify my time at home by offering up the PhD as a worthy endeavour. Sometimes, the person responds in surprise, “Oh, so no work?” Other times, they are approving, “How lucky for you and your baby.” Occasionally, there is the advice, “Don’t give up work.”
At the back of my mind are certain thoughts. “Am I not ‘working’? Isn’t the work of motherhood also considered ‘work’? If it isn’t, shouldn’t it be?”
Although the questions, comments, and advice about returning to work are made innocently enough, mostly benevolently, they have prompted me to reflect on the idea of work and motherhood, and how mothers and society view both.
Motherhood, I believe, is a full-time, highly skilled, unpaid job that never ends. All mothers work at least two jobs. They do the work of mothering, and also work in either a paid or unpaid additional role. Many women will do even more. They mother, care for their elderly parents, work a paid job, voluntarily contribute to community building, and try to fit in creative pursuits, hobbies, or ‘self-care’ when they can.
Motherhood requires many skills. You are, effectively, the CEO of your family and home (with hopefully a supportive co-CEO by your side). There is the work of child-rearing, which requires patience, energy, creativity, presence, flexibility, courage, fortitude, knowledge, and the ability to research, learn, and unlearn. You are raising the future. Then there is the work of home and family life, which requires skills in leadership, organisation, prioritisation, delegation, negotiation, financial management, crisis management, and conflict resolution. There is also the internal work of being self-aware, forgiving yourself and others, practicing compassion, and accepting the inherent imperfections of ‘doing it all’.
This work of motherhood is now recognised as ‘unpaid caregiving and domestic work’ and ‘invisible labour’ by international organisations such as the United Nations. It includes physical labour, direct care labour, mental or cognitive labour, and emotional labour, and is mostly the work of women.
I am not complaining. Men have their own unpaid labour. I love being a mother and wife. I view it as a privilege and a blessing. Ideally, the job can also be supported by paid or unpaid help. My point is that the work of women, and specifically mothers, should be recognised and respected, not only by society, but also by women and mothers themselves.
I know it is not just me who has experienced conflicting emotions about ‘giving up’ traditional work to focus on family life. Within my social circle and more widely, mothers describe a loss of self-worth and identity unless they are ‘working mothers’, and feeling embarrassment and guilt when asked the dreaded question, “What do you do?” There is the loss of financial dignity that comes with taking on an unpaid job, no matter how important you may think it is. Dynamics with husbands also need to shift, where both members are viewed as equally valuable to making the business of ‘home’ successful.
Neha Ruch, the author of The Power Pause, is an American brand strategist-turned-full-time stay-at-home mother and home maker, who addresses this very issue. Many of my thoughts for this article are based on her book. She argues that the time a woman wishes to invest in this phase of life, motherhood and family life, is valuable, not just for the children or family unit, but for the mother herself. It is a time for growth, skill-building, and expanding networks and connections.
Often, it leads women in new, creative, and more fulfilling directions, and provides an opportunity for them to re-enter the workforce on their own terms. She also points out that ‘the pause’ is not a luxury for a lucky minority, as many women become the default caregiver for their children if childcare is too costly, or not the preferred option. Through the movement she has created, Ruch provides legitimacy, validation, and structure to this phase of life (because, after all, it is only a phase, not forever) that is often spoken of as mindless, monotonous, and unglamorous, and I am grateful for it.
I suppose what I am saying is, next time you meet a mother, consider asking her, “How are you?”, and next time I am asked what I do, I should proudly declare (using Ruch’s script), “Right now, I am on a career pause and get to be home with my baby, and I am exploring possibilities for the future.”
(Lihini Wijeyaratne Cooray
Lihini is rediscovering her love for writing while embracing first-time motherhood and her ‘Power Pause’. She is also navigating her roles as a doctor and PhD researcher. She hopes that her writing can inspire a fresh perspective on motherhood as being valuable, powerful, and exciting.)
by Lihini Wijeyaratne Cooray
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