Features
Noel Crusz’s Little Bike Lost: The Story of Sri Lanka’s First Schoolboy Film
by Rajiva Wijesinha
I had hugely enjoyed the Ceylon Journal, an exciting initiative from someone only recently out of school. Avishka Mario Senewiratne, who subsequently gave me one of his earlier books, which is an even more remarkable achievement. As the title indicates, it deals with a film made a long time ago.
He heard about it only when he was writing The Story of St. Joseph’s College, and promptly recognized it as ‘a phenomenal event that took place in 1956’. And this was not exaggeration, for the idea to make a film, and carry it through professionally, was unique, and Avishka is owed a debt of gratitude for having recorded the exercise so meticulously.
The film was the brainchild of Fr. Noel Crusz, whose name sounded familiar, for he had been known as an artist and also a priest who had later given up the priesthood, and married. Before that, he had while a teacher at St. Peter’s, been asked to produce ‘Catholic Hour’ for Radio Ceylon. And understanding his talent Cardinal Cooray, the head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka during my childhood, and for many years before that, sent him to Europe and America to study mass media.
He made many friends in Hollywood, who helped him in his film-making. Bing Crosby gave him the camera he used, and was later said to have helped with funding when he was running out, even after he had been given a loan of Rs.100 by the visionary educationist Fr. Peter Pillai.
When Vittorio De Sica’s ‘Bicycle Thieves’ reached cinemas in Colombo, Noel Crusz was at St. Josephs where he had set up a Film Society. One of its members, having slipped out to watch the film, and been caught and caned by Peter Pillai who was then the Rector, thought up a script which appealed to Crusz. This was good timing, for 1955/56 had been declared the Diamond Jubilee year of SJC. Before that Crusz had written and produced plays, and also made documentary films. A feature was a new departure that he thought appropriate for the Jubilee, but while he remained in charge he gave the boys of the Film Society full responsibility, and they lived up to this admirably.
Avishka has given full details of the process, with chapters about the selection of the cast and crew, the different locations used, and what took place behind the scenes, followed by a short account of how the footage was put together. In between, which shows admirable pacing on the writer’s part, is a long chapter detailing the plot of the film. Then we have the press preview and the reactions, which were almost entirely positive. Even Mervyn de Silva, though less enthusiastic, registered the great initiative displayed, and praised the young people ‘in a society that is well known for its timidity’.
But then tragedy strikes. For Kingsley De Rosairo, the boy who had organized the fighting and the race sequences, inspired by the subject of the film, persuaded his father to buy him a new bicycle. His cousin was given one too, and the two raced round Colombo, and even cycled one day to Avissawella and back. But then one evening, the evening of the press preview, when they got home, they found that their music teacher had come and gone and left a message that they should come to his home. So Kingley set off, and was knocked down by a passing truck, when he had almost reached the house. And though he was rushed to hospital, doctors could do nothing and he died next morning, without regaining consciousness.
But the show went on. The one strong criticism made of the film was that the sound was messy, for it had had to be dubbed as the camera used did not allow for the recording of speech. And since the cast read out what they were supposed to say, it had sounded stilted. Crusz then accepted the suggestion that this be dropped, and managed to have the new version, without any conversation, ready for the Gala Premiere which took place at the Lionel Wendt.
The Prime Minister Mr Bandaranaike graced the occasion, with his wife and daughter who were both elected to that position in time, and made a very complimentary speech. And before the screening Mrs Bandaranaike gave out awards to the cast and crew. The main star of the film got an Olympic New Yorker bicycle, the same as he had won in a raffle in the film and then had it stolen from him, before recovering it and winning the Cycle Race at the Sports Meet.
He was tongue-tied when Chandrika asked him how he had done his role, and the producer had to answer for him. But after that little touch, Avishka ends the chapter with him cycling home on his new bike. And even more moving had been the earlier record of Charmaine De Rozairo going on stage ‘to collect a prize on behalf of her later younger brother, Kingsley’.
But after that there were no more films. After his account of the Gala Premiere, Avishka records the popularity of the film all over the country, with screenings in several other venues including Jaffna. But then, typically, though Fr. Crusz now had many fans, his work upset some of his superiors, and early in 1958 he was transferred, whereupon the Film Society died away. The writer of this film had written another screenplay called ‘Shanty Dwellers’, but it did not see the light of day.
Avishka does not expand on the reasons for the transfer, simply noting in the last chapter that Crusz served in Kohuwala and Jaffna and Maggona, before giving up the priesthood in 1965. He had also given up his role on ‘Catholic Hour’, though why this should have happened while he was in Kohuwala is not clear. I suspect rather that the conservative elements in the Church asserted themselves, not at all happy with Crusz’s strong sense of social justice – as exemplified indeed by the subject of the proposed second film.
For Crusz was associated with the radical Peter Pillai and also it would seem with the future liberation theologian Tissa Balasuriya, who was also then on the SJC staff and who was later excommunicated. By then Crusz had left the country, and lived out his life in Australia, where he finally wrote a book about the Cocos Island Mutiny, the only instance in the Second World War when soldiers were executed for mutiny. They were Ceylonese and his longstanding concern with the story makes it clear that his thirst for social justice had not diminished.
But the last chapter also has heartwarming accounts of what happened to the boys over the years, including the surprise party the producers of the film threw for Noel Crusz for his 95th birthday. They managed to trace the hero, Gerry D’Silva, whose unexpected presence drove Crusz to tears of joy. Earlier we were told about how he was reunited with the second lead, Bryan Walles, who had migrated to America, after his mother saw an article Crusz wrote in 1995 about the making of the film.
Sadly hardly any of the cast and crew remained in Sri Lanka. Many were Burgher and departed in the sad exodus of this talented group in the sixties and seventies. But even the Sinhalese producer Lalin Fernando went, though one important member of the production team, Ranjith Pereira, stayed behind and had a distinguished career in the country.
If the last chapter has a valedictory air, the penultimate one recreates the sense of adventure that Crusz had encouraged, for it is about how Bryan Walles and three of his friends, carried away by Tarzan books, decided to leave Colombo and live in the jungles of Madhu. So they set off by train, but at Maradana one of the boys decided to stay behind.
Unfortunately for the rest, he revealed the plan to his parents so the boys found the police waiting for them on the platform at Polgahawela, and they were taken home. But the chapter ends with a picture of Bryan on an elephant, finally pulling off a Tarzan, around 30 years later.
That picture is one of the splendid illustrations with which the book abounds. It contrasts, as do the many pictures in the last chapter, with the pictures of the boys in school, including several stills taken while the film was being made. The pictures exude innocence, though the book, and the film, are full of the fights which seem to have been a staple of existence in the school in those days.
The pictures also capture the questioning look the heroes, the boy who lost his bike and his younger brother, seem to have displayed in life as in the film. The four bullies, on the other hand, look tough, at all times, though the one who double-crossed the others and told Tommy where the bike was also has a wary look in his portrait picture.
The girls, whom Noel Crusz chose from Holy Family Convent, where he had previously produced plays, are striking, though Tommy’s older sisters are suitably admonitory in the stills. Sadly the older sister – which they were in real life too – died in the first decade of this century but the younger one, who looks radiant in the picture of her with her husband in Australia, was still living when the book was written.
Then there are the picture of the places where filming took place, including an array of pictures of St. Joseph’s as it was 70 years ago. And there are crowd shots, not only of the cycle race, but even of one of Sri Lanka’s greatest sportmen, Nagalingam Ethirveerasingham, about to leap high at the sports meet. Supplementing these are a few imaginative sketches which bring alive the personalities of not only Noel Crusz but also Peter Pillai and the Vice-Rector, to say nothing of Bing Crosby.
The book ends with three appendices, the last the filmography of Crusz, while the first tells the tale of the inspiration for the film, Vittorio De Sica’s ‘Bicycle Thieves’. The second appendix is a fascinating letter from Crusz written almost half a century after the film was made, about the process of creating a soundtrack through dubbing that was more professional than the first effort, and which included the crowd voices used then.
I thought the book a triumph for many reasons. First in that it recreated a singular achievement of a school 70 years ago, while conveying the enthusiasm and the dedication of schoolboys of that period. Second it records the tremendous achievement of Noel Crusz, while also registering the sadness of his career being spiked as it were by unsympathetic authority.
Third it brings together heaps of period pictures, supplemented by pictures of youngsters grown old, which is a healthy reminder of the passing of time, while the buildings of St. Joseph’s, though altered over the years, mark the continuity of a distinguished heritage. To add another perspective, the writer has collected advertisements of those days for both cameras and bicycles, that record too the impact the film made – as do the newspaper cuttings about the triumph as well as the tragedy of Kenneth De Rozairo’s death.
In a bleak world it has been heartening to see the initiatives and the dedication of Avishka Mario Senewiratne, first with regard to the inspired Ceylon Journal and now this revival of a forgotten story and singular achievement. And his ability to recreate the past reminds me of something my former Dean once wrote, that ‘The past envelopes you like a warm blanket.’
The escalating conflict in the Middle East is of such magnitude, with loss of life, destruction of cities, and global energy shortages, that it is diverting attention worldwide and in Sri Lanka, from other serious problems. Barely four months ago Sri Lanka experienced a cyclone of epic proportions that caused torrential rains, accompanied by floods and landslides. The immediate displacement exceeded one million people, though the number of deaths was about 640, with around 200 others reported missing. The visual images of entire towns and villages being inundated, with some swept away by floodwaters, evoked an overwhelming humanitarian response from the general population.
When the crisis of displacement was at its height there was a concerted public response. People set up emergency kitchens and volunteer clean up teams fanned out to make flooded homes inhabitable again. Religious institutions, civil society organisations and local communities worked together to assist the displaced. For a brief period the country witnessed a powerful demonstration of social solidarity. The scale of the devastation prompted the government to offer generous aid packages. These included assistance for the rebuilding of damaged houses, support for building new houses, grants for clean up operations and rent payments to displaced families. Welfare centres were also set up for those unable to find temporary housing.
The government also appointed a Presidential Task Force to lead post-cyclone rebuilding efforts. The mandate of the Task Force is to coordinate post-disaster response mechanisms, streamline institutional efforts and ensure the effective implementation of rebuilding programmes in the aftermath of the cyclone. The body comprises a high-level team, led by the Prime Minister, and including cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, provincial-level officials, senior public servants, representing key state institutions, and civil society representatives. It was envisaged that the Task Force would function as the central coordinating authority, working with government agencies and other stakeholders to accelerate recovery initiatives and restore essential services in affected regions.
Demotivated Service
However, four months later a visit to one of the worst of the cyclone affected areas to meet with affected families from five villages revealed that they remained stranded and in a state of limbo. Most of these people had suffered terribly from the cyclone. Some had lost their homes. A few had lost family members. Many had been informed that the land on which they lived had become unsafe and that they would need to relocate. Most of them had received the promised money for clean up and some had received rent payments for two months. However, little had happened beyond this. The longer term process of rebuilding houses, securing land and restoring livelihoods has barely begun. As a result, families who had already endured the trauma of disaster, now face prolonged uncertainty about their future. It seems that once again the promises made by the political leadership has not reached the ground.
A government officer explained that the public service was highly demotivated. According to him, many officials felt that they had too much work piled upon them with too little resources to do much about it. They also believed that they were underpaid for the work they were expected to carry out. In fact, there had even been a call by public officials specially assigned to cyclone relief work to go on strike due to complaints about their conditions of work. This government official appreciated the government leadership’s commitment to non corruption. But he noted the irony that this had also contributed to a demotivation of the public service. This was on the unjustifiable basis that approving and implementing projects more quickly requires an incentive system.
Whether or not this explanation fully captures the situation, it points to an issue that the government needs to address. Disaster recovery requires a proactive public administration. Officials need to reach out to affected communities, provide clear information and help them navigate the complex procedures required to access assistance. At the consultation with cyclone victims this was precisely the concern that people raised. They said that government officers were not proactive in reaching out to them. Many felt they had little engagement with the state and that the government officers did not come to them. This suggests that the government system at the community level could be supported by non-governmental organisations that have the capacity and experience of working with communities at the grassroots.
In situations such as this the government needs to think about ways of motivating public officials to do more rather than less. It needs to identify legitimate incentives that reward initiative and performance. These could include special allowances for those working in disaster affected areas, recognition and promotion for officers who successfully complete relief and reconstruction work, and the provision of additional staff and logistical support so that the workload is manageable. Clear targets and deadlines, with support from the non-governmental sector, can also encourage officials to act more proactively. When government officers feel supported and recognised for the extra effort required, they are more likely to engage actively with affected communities and ensure that assistance reaches those who need it most.
Political Solutions
Under the prevailing circumstances, however, the cyclone victims do not know what to do. The government needs to act on this without further delay. Government policy states that families can receive financial assistance of up to Rs 5 million to build new houses if they have identified the land on which they wish to build. But there is little freehold land available in many of the affected areas. As a result, people cannot show government officials the land they plan to buy and, therefore, cannot access the government’s promised funds. The government needs to address this issue by providing a list of available places for resettlement, both within and outside the area they live in. However, another finding at the meeting was that many cyclone victims whose lands have been declared unsafe do not wish to leave them. Even those who have been told that their land is unstable feel more comfortable remaining where they have lived for many years. Relocating to an unfamiliar area is not an easy decision.
Another problem the victims face is the difficulty of obtaining the documents necessary to receive compensation. Families with missing members cannot prove that their loved ones are no longer alive. Without official confirmation they cannot access property rights or benefits that would normally pass to surviving family members. These are problems that Sri Lanka has faced before in the context of the three decade long internal war. It has set up new legal mechanisms such as the provision of certificates of absence validated by the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) in place of death certificates when individuals remain missing for long periods. The government also needs to be sensitive to the fact that people who are farmers cannot be settled anywhere. Farming is not possible in every location. Access to suitable land and water is essential if farmers are to rebuild their livelihoods. Relocation programmes that fail to take these realities into account risk creating new psychological and economic hardships.
The message from the consultation with cyclone victims is that the government needs to talk more and engage more directly with affected communities. At the same time the political leadership at the highest levels need to resolve the problems that government officers on the ground cannot solve. Issues relating to land availability, legal documentation and livelihood restoration require policy decisions at higher levels. The challenge to the government to address these issues in the context of the Iran war and possible global catastrophe will require a special commitment. Demonstrating that Sri Lanka is a society that considers the wellbeing of all its citizens to be a priority will require not only financial assistance but also a motivated public service and proactive political leadership that reaches out to those still waiting to rebuild their lives.
by Jehan Perera
A recent panel discussion at the University of Peradeniya examined the implications of the Supreme Court’s judgement on ragging, in which the Court recognised that preventing ragging requires not only criminal penalties imposed after an incident occurs but also systems and processes within universities that enable victims to speak up and receive support. Bringing together perspectives from law, university administration, psychology and students, the discussion sought to understand why ragging continues to persist in Sri Lankan universities despite the existence of legal prohibitions. While the discussion covered legal and institutional dimensions, one theme emerged clearly: addressing ragging requires more than laws and disciplinary rules. It requires institutions that are capable of supporting victims.
Sri Lanka enacted the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act No. 20 of 1998 following several tragic incidents in universities, during the 1990s. Among the most widely remembered is the death of engineering student S. Varapragash at the University of Peradeniya in 1997. Incidents such as this shocked the country and revealed the consequences of allowing violent forms of student hierarchy to persist. The 1998 Act marked an important legal intervention by recognising ragging as a criminal offence. The law introduced severe penalties for individuals found guilty of engaging in ragging or other forms of violence in educational institutions, including fines and imprisonment.
Despite the existence of this law for nearly three decades, prosecutions under the Act have been extremely rare. Incidents continue to surface across universities although most are not reported. The incidents that do reach university administrations are dealt with internally through disciplinary procedures rather than through the criminal justice system. This suggests that the problem does not lie solely in the absence of legal provisions but also in the ability of victims to come forward and pursue complaints.
The tragic reminders; the cases of Varapragash and Pasindu Hirushan
Varapragash, a first-year engineering student at the University of Peradeniya, was forced by senior students to perform extreme physical exercises as part of ragging, resulting in severe internal injuries and acute renal failure that ultimately led to his death. In 2022, the courts upheld the conviction of one of the perpetrators for abduction and murder. The case illustrates not only the brutality of ragging but also how long and difficult the path to justice can be for victims and their families. Even when victims speak about their experiences, they may not always disclose the full extent of what they have endured. In the case of Varapragash, the judgement records that the victim told his father that he was asked to do dips and sit-ups. Varapragash’s father had testified that it appeared his son was not revealing the exact details of what he had to endure due to shame.
More than two decades after the death of Varapragash, the tragedy of ragging continues. The 2025 Supreme Court judgement arose from the case of Pasindu Hirushan, a 21-year-old student of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, who sustained devastating head injuries at a fresher’s party, in March 2020, after a tyre sent down the stairs by senior students struck him. He became immobile, was placed on life support, and returned home only months later. If the Varapragash case exposed the deadly consequences of ragging in the 1990s, the Pasindu Hirushan case demonstrates that universities are still failing to prevent serious violence, decades after the enactment of the 1998 Act. It was against this background of continuing institutional failure that the Supreme Court issued its Orders of Court in 2025. Among the key mechanisms emphasised by the judgement is the establishment of Victim Support Committees within universities.
Why do victims need support?
Ragging in universities can take many forms, including verbal humiliation, physical abuse, emotional intimidation and, in some instances, sexual harassment. While all forms of ragging can have serious consequences, incidents involving sexual harassment often present additional barriers for victims who wish to come forward. Victims may hesitate to complain due to weak institutional mechanisms, fear of retaliation, or uncertainty about whether their experiences will be taken seriously. In many cases, those who speak out are confronted with questions that shift attention away from the alleged misconduct and onto their own behaviour: why did s/he continue the conversation?; why did s/he not simply disengage, if the harassment occurred as claimed?; why did s/he remain in the environment?; or did his/her actions somehow encourage the accused’s behaviour? Such responses illustrate how easily victims can be subjected to a second layer of scrutiny when they attempt to report incidents. When individuals anticipate disbelief, minimisation or blame, silence may appear safer than disclosure. In such circumstances, the presence of a trusted institutional body, capable of providing guidance, protection and support, become critically important, highlighting the need for effective Victim Support Committees within universities.
What Victim Support Committees must do
As expected by the Supreme Court, an effective Victim Support Committee should function as a trusted institutional mechanism that places the safety and dignity of victims at the centre of its work. The committee must provide a safe and confidential point of contact through which victims can report incidents of ragging without fear of intimidation or retaliation. It should assist victims in understanding and pursuing available complaint procedures, while also ensuring their immediate protection where there is a risk of continued harassment. Recognising the psychological harm ragging may cause, the committee should facilitate access to counselling and emotional support services. At a practical level, it should also help victims document incidents, record statements, and preserve evidence that may be necessary for disciplinary or legal proceedings. The committee must coordinate with university authorities to ensure that complaints are addressed promptly and responsibly, while maintaining strict confidentiality to protect the identity and well-being of those who come forward. Beyond responding to individual cases, Victim Support Committees should also contribute to broader awareness and prevention efforts, within universities, helping to create an environment where ragging is actively discouraged and students feel safe to report incidents. Without such support, the process of pursuing justice can become overwhelming for individuals who are already dealing with the emotional impact of abuse.
Making Victim Support Committees work
According to the Orders of Court, these committees should include representatives from the academic and non-academic staff, a qualified counsellor and/or clinical psychologist, an independent person, from outside the institution, with experience in law enforcement, health, or social services, and not more than three final-year students, with unblemished academic and disciplinary records, appointed for fixed terms. Further, universities must ensure that committees consist of individuals who possess both expertise and genuine commitment in areas such as student welfare, psychology, gender studies, human rights and law enforcement, in line with the spirit of the Supreme Court’s directions, rather than consisting largely of ex officio positions. If treated as routine administrative positions, rather than responsibilities requiring specialised knowledge, sensitivity and empathy, these committees risk becoming symbolic rather than functional.
Greater transparency in the appointment process could strengthen the credibility of these committees. Universities could invite expressions of interest from individuals with relevant expertise and demonstrated commitment to supporting victims. Such an approach would help ensure that the committees benefit from the knowledge and dedication of those best equipped to fulfil this role.
The Supreme Court judgement also introduces an important safeguard by giving the University Grants Commission (UGC) the authority to appoint members to university-level Victim Support Committees. If exercised with integrity, this provision could help ensure that these committees operate with greater independence. It may also help address a challenge that sometimes arises within institutions, where individuals, with relevant expertise, or strong commitment to addressing issues, such as violence, harassment or student welfare, may not always be included in institutional mechanisms due to internal administrative preferences. External oversight by the UGC could, therefore, create opportunities for such individuals to contribute meaningfully to Victim Support Committees and strengthen their effectiveness.
Ultimately, the success of the recent judgement will depend not only on the directives it issued, the number of committees universities establish, or the number of meetings they convene, or other box-checking exercises, but on how sincerely those directives are implemented and the trust these committees inspire among students and staff. Laws can prohibit ragging, but they cannot by themselves create environments in which victims feel safe to speak. That responsibility lies with institutions. When universities create systems that listen to victims, support them and treat their experiences with seriousness, universities will become places where dignity and learning can coexist.
(Udari Abeyasinghe is attached to the Department of Oral Pathology at the University of Peradeniya)
Kuppi is a politics and pedagogy happening on the margins of the lecture hall that parodies, subverts, and simultaneously reaffirms social hierarchies.
by Udari Abeyasinghe
Several of our artistes do venture out on foreign assignments but, I’m told, most of their performances are mainly for the Sri Lankans based abroad.
However, the group Mirage is doing it differently and they are now in great demand in the Seychelles.
Guests patronising the Lo Brizan pub/restaurant, Niva Labriz Resort, in the Seychelles, is made up of a wide variety of nationalities, including Russians, Chinese, French and Germans, and they all enjoy the music dished out by Mirage, and that is precisely why they are off to the Seychelles … for the fifth time!
The band is scheduled to leave this month and will be back after three weeks, but their journey to the Seychelles will continue, with two more assignments lined up for 2026.
In August it’s a four-week contract, and in December another four-week contract that will take in the festive celebrations … Christmas and the New Year.
Donald’s birthday
celebrations
According to reports coming my way, it is a happening scene at the Lo Brizan pub/restaurant, Niva Labriz Resort, whenever Mirage is featured, and the band has even adjusted its repertoire to include local and African songs.
They work three hours per day and six days per week at the Lo Brizan pub/restaurant.
Donald Pieries:
Leader, vocalist,
drummer
Led by vocalist and drummer Donald Pieries, many say it is his
musical talents and leadership that have contributed to the band’s success.
Donald, who celebrated his birthday on 07 March, at the Irish Pub, has been with the group through various lineup changes and is known for his strong vocals.
He leads a very talented and versatile line up, with Sudham (bass/vocals), Gayan (lead guitar/vocals), Danu (female vocalist) and Toosha (keyboards/vocals).
Mirage performs regularly at venues like the Irish Pub in Colombo and also at Food Harbour, Port City.
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