Features

Entering Australia, early resistance and the platform for Dilmah’s success

Published

3 years ago

2023/10/1

(Excerpted from the Merrill Fernando autobiography)

Australia and neighbouring New Zealand feature very prominently in my story as it was in Australia, in 1985, that I launched ‘Dilmah’ as a brand. I was familiar with the markets in those two countries as I had been exporting to both since my early days in the export trade. I had also made very useful connections during my days as one of the major bulk tea suppliers from Sri Lanka to Australia.

The late Bill Bennet, who, in the early 1950s trained as a tea taster at Heath & Co in Colombo, where he represented Bushells’ interests, became a good friend. A very friendly, large-hearted man, at that time he was also very much a mentor to me. Later, he joined his father in the family tea company, H. A. Bennet & Sons in Australia and, eventually, became its owner. He sold much of my bulk tea in Australia.

In my move from bulk to branded tea, his advice and guidance were invaluable. As was the case with many of my business associates, he and his family became very close to mine. For close upon 50 years, we never failed to meet on my visits to Melbourne, Australia. I was deeply saddened by the recent passing of this gentle and generous man.

Bill introduced me to his brother, Peter, and Jack Sholer, who owned the Australian Tea & Coffee Company, which used to supply private label tea and coffee to supermarkets. Since the demand for tea bags was growing and their factory was unable to meet the production increase, they turned to me for help. It was a very useful opportunity for me as, soon afterwards, I made a major breakthrough when I was awarded the contract to pack ‘Farmland’ tea bags for G. J. Coles, then the largest supermarket chain in Australia.

Initially, as I will describe in a subsequent chapter, my export initiatives of value-added tea were inhibited by restrictions on shipping opportunities and the differentiated freight rates for bulk and value-added tea. Those issues had to be resolved with a mix of confrontation, subtlety, and influence leverage and, after a long battle, I was able to achieve a reasonable parity.

In 1977 I acquired two tea bagging machines at a cost of around USD 500,000, but for about two years I was unable to generate any business. Eventually, after relentless promotion on my part, personally carried out, I obtained a decent opening in the G. J. Coles supermarket chain. I developed private labels for Coles, Woolworths, Franklins, Safeway and other smaller supermarket chains, within a year.

Max Currie, Head of Tetley and Lyons Australia, and I, established a very good relationship and I supplied him with tea bags under the Tetley label. I also encountered episodes of sabotage of my tea, most likely by his staff, as they would have feared that Max might transfer all the Tetley business in Sri Lanka to me. I went across to Australia and proved that a cigarette butt, which was allegedly found in one of my packs from Sri Lanka, would, most probably, have been introduced at the Aussie end, as that cigarette brand was not available in Sri Lanka! Eventually, after they secured their own tea bagging machines, I stopped supplying that label.

This was also a period of stringent exchange control regulations. Spending money abroad, even for genuine businessmen, was restricted to 10 pounds sterling per day for a 21-day maximum. Max was aware of this issue and was always generous to me with spending money, which was very useful. Despite my protests he continued this practice even after controls were relaxed.

Family ties in business Romeo and Drake of South Australia

Max was also the Chairman of the Victoria Economic Council, a very influential position in a Labour Party Government body. He offered me some very generous concessions, including a proposal for me to transfer tea bagging machines and to set up an operation in Melbourne, for which he would find the necessary land. He also offered me funding through the Economic Council. However, I explained to him that my philosophy was to provide employment in my country and to ensure that the benefits of value addition would remain in Sri Lanka.

His wife, Meris, too became our friend as she was especially fond of both Malik and Dilhan. She presented them with lovely sweaters and other woollen clothing when they were schooling in England. Max moved on a few years ago but Meris continues to live in Melbourne and I do not fail to meet her whenever I visit that city.

Why Dilmah?

`DILMAH, ‘the brand name that now symbolizes Quality Pure Ceylon Tea in over a hundred countries, was coined by combining the names of my two sons, Dilhan and Malik. When I linked the names of my two sons to my brand, I was demonstrating my commitment to my promise to deliver a quality product at a reasonable price, and the credibility of my pledge to the customer. My brand was as part of my family as my two sons were. In retrospect, despite the early setbacks and the initial misgivings of advertising and marketing experts about the potential of a brand name, which, in their view, did not seem linked to tea, it proved to be one of the best marketing decisions I had ever made.

The trial launch took place in 1985, in Australia, with a decent-looking but by no means impressive pack. This was well before the art of the graphic designer and five colour printing. I designed my own pack and first called it ‘Dilma’. I was then 55 years old and close to the age when most people retire!

My friend Gamini Goonesena, formerly a famous cricketer both in England and Sri Lanka, was then working for the Australian advertising agency, appointed by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, as the official media company for the promotion of Sri Lanka tea brands in Australia. Gamini helped me source a distributor, Aeroplane Jelly, a small, family-owned, jelly-producing company. I selected it because they had good access to the retail trade, especially in New South Wales.

However, I made slow progress with them and it soon became clear that the challenge of marketing a new product category like tea, in a highly-competitive environment, was beyond their capabilities. Therefore, I moved to Mauri Foods whilst George Patterson, a leading advertising agency, re-designed the package, which remains much the same to this day.

Patterson developed a new campaign strategy, with one of the first key initiatives being consumer testing of the brand name, ‘Dilma’. The results indicated that ‘Dilma’ did not have sufficient punch to create significant brand awareness and visibility. There were doubts about its appeal to a highly-sophisticated market like Australia. However, the creation of a new brand name was out of the question; quite apart from the sunk costs and the prohibitive additional cost of rebranding, my sentimental attachment to the brand name precluded any such consideration.

Finally, following rigorous consumer testing, it was decided to add the ‘H’ at the end of ‘Dilma’ and rebrand as ‘Dilmah’. Thus the brand was born. It was relaunched with a new packaging design, which was printed in Singapore to ensure highest quality in presentation.

Early struggles

I came up against stiff resistance when I tried to find a supermarket chain which would give ‘Dilmah’ space on its shelves. The Coles supermarket chain buyer whom I approached maintained that he was happy with the tea brands he was already selling and that he did not see the need to add to the portfolio of selling brands which had been around for generations. I had many friendly arguments with him, trying to get him to understand that big brand owners were simply looking for profit, without any concern for the consumer, who is driven to buy whatever is on the shelf, regardless of the quality of the product.

I tried to convince him that what was on the shelf was commodity tea and that whilst the brand names remained the same, the contents had changed and the consumers, who had been weaned on quality Ceylon Tea, were now being deceived by an inferior product. Finally, either convinced by my arguments or simply to appease my insistence, he accepted two Dilmah products and put genuine, quality Ceylon Tea back on the Coles supermarket shelf.

It was also a watershed moment in my life as a tea entrepreneur; for the first 38 years I had been supplying tea in bulk to blenders and packers around the world. With the launching of my own brand, ‘Dilmah,’ I took the first steps towards the fulfilment of a promise I had made to myself, as a young man in his novitiate in the tea trade.

Initially, despite my long experience in tea and my knowledge of multinational marketing strategies, I was still a bit naive. It was my intention to price Dilmah 20 cents above the market leader, but the Coles buyer would not agree. In deference to his opinion and advice, I priced it at AUS Dollars 1.89, 10 cents less. I was delighted with what I had achieved, in ignorance of what was to follow.

As Dilmah was relatively small, unknown, and, in my perception, posed no threat to the established multinational brands, I never expected a reaction from them. However, the then market leader discounted its tea to AUS Dollars 1.49 at the very next promotion. I was both disappointed and dispirited. I assumed that my long-held dream to bring Pure Ceylon Tea back to the consumer would have to remain as such. I fully expected Dilmah to be taken off the shelves when it came up for review three months later.

The Dilmah philosophy was a threat to the multinational operational style. The foundation of the latter, a well-entrenched colonial concept, is to subjugate the producer by acquiring his product in bulk, as a raw material, and to add real value by branding, packaging, and marketing elsewhere. Dilmah had broken that mould by adding that value in the country of production itself. If many others were to follow that example, the mass market traders’ business would be at serious risk. Hence, the immediate retaliatory response in Australia, which included aggressive media campaigns mounted by Lipton, Bushells and Lanchoo the then market leaders to counter my entry in to the Australian market with Dilmah.

Nabi Saleh: a chance meeting led to a lifelong Friendship

Therefore, in the background of an envisaged worst case scenario, I was rendered speechless when, at my next visit to the Coles buyer, he said: “I have good news for you.” Apparently, never before had he received so many messages from happy customers, as he did about Dilmah, commending the product. The callers had thanked Coles for bringing real Ceylon Tea back in to their cups. That marked the beginning of the Dilmah success and the confirmation of my long-held belief, that if you deliver good quality consistently, the consumer will extend patronage. The brand is built and sustained by the happy customer.

Australia was a market with other, inherent advantages for a proposition such as Dilmah, as that market offered many house brands and generic packs, largely of Ceylon Tea. Whilst all such packs were under importers’ brands, with suppliers and origins changing from time to time, it was still an important part of Australian business and a pattern of trade and distribution common in other Western countries as well.

The opportunity given to me earlier, to provide such house brands and generic packs to retailers, gave me an invaluable insight in to the dynamics of the Australian tea market. That experience with the distribution system, and my connections with the retailers and their management, enabled me to very effectively introduce my own brand later.

Having first worked with Mauri Foods, I moved to Cerebos Australia whilst working with a few other foodservice importers. Subsequently, with the sales of Dilmah gathering momentum, I set up ‘Dilmah Australia’ as a company and a marketing platform, to operate in association with Broker Counterpoint Marketing Services. The latter functioned as regional brokers whilst we managed the customers and logistics through a logistics company. I recruited Cindy Dean, wife of a good friend, Ishan Ratnam, as the General Manager of Dilmah Australia. Thus, with my own team in place, I was beginning to achieve my goals for Dilmah in Australia.

However, I found that our distributors did not always share my passion for Dilmah and, as a result, I had to constantly review marketing strategies and distribution arrangements. One disappointing experience was with Valcorp, in 2008. I found that this company, headed by John Valmobida, did not possess the competencies and attributes necessary to drive Dilmah with the kind of energy that I liked to see. Finally, when we were unable to arrive at a resolution of issues regarding distribution of Dilmah in Sydney, Valmobida suggested that the operations agreement between us be cancelled.

I immediately agreed and resisted all his subsequent attempts to change my mind. From then on, having given Valcorp a couple of months’ grace, we set up our own distribution, eventually managed by Rohan Meegama, the son of my Shipping Manager when I was at A. F. Jones. Rohan was the Warehouse Manager for Valcorp and, despite the misgivings of both colleagues and friends, I set him up in the warehousing business on his own and entrusted our distribution in Australia to him. He has been doing an excellent job ever since.

Consequences of stress

That was a particularly trying time for me personally as, under the strain of resolving problems that were cropping up in all the major cities in Australia where we were in business, I actually fell physically ill. I was flying between cities almost on a daily basis and as a result of developing a seemingly unquenchable thirst, consuming large quantities of lemonade and other carbonated drinks. It was one of the most stressful periods in my life.

After a very strenuous spell in Australia I returned to Colombo soon afterwards, flew to London, still feeling terribly unwell but understanding the reason. A couple of days after I landed, the late Daya de Silva, then my doctor in London, diagnosed that I had come in for Type 2 Diabetes! An incipient condition had been triggered in to a major health episode by work stress. He wanted to immediately hositalize me but agreed to let me stay at home on the strict understanding that I would ring him twice a day, to personally report on my condition.

In the launching and promotion of Dilmah tea in Australia, I had to contend with humiliation, disappointment, and interventions designed to damage my progress. In addition, there was also opposition from people in Sri Lanka itself. However, whilst I was deeply shaken by the fierce and often unscrupulous competition from the multinationals, I was also inspired by the welcome reception to the concept of a quality tea that I eventually received from the supermarket buyer and the consumer. My persistence at that level paid off and resulted in supermarket chains agreeing to stock my products.

A refreshing counterpoint to the initial hostility I faced in Australia was the friendly reception, from the Romeo & Drake families of Adelaide, both running independent supermarket chains in South Australia. My association with these two families goes back to over 40 years. In the charming nature of such close-knit, traditional family businesses, very much like mine, the relationship has been extended to the second and third generations.

Rodney Arambawela, a proactive official

Rodney was Sri Lanka’s Tea Commissioner in the Middle East (Gulf Region) from 1975-1982. During this period of service he was stationed in Dubai, before it became the sophisticated and modern centre of business activity that it is today. I got to know him then and shared with him, my ideas for the launch of a Pure Ceylon Tea brand of my own.

In 1982, during Major Jayawickrema’s period as Minister of Plantation Industries, Rodney was appointed as Tea Commissioner to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. His appointment came at a time when the market for Ceylon Tea in Australia had declined alarmingly, with Australian packers opting for cheaper tea from different origins, more suitable for tea bags. Rodney’s remit in Australia, as defined by the minister himself, was to strategize the revitalization of the Ceylon Tea market in the country.

Apart from my own knowledge of the Australian market, the market research that Rodney conducted after assuming duties in Australia, provided statistics which were very helpful in the launch of Dilmah in that country. He was also very supportive in the early promotional campaigns and took an active part in the related activities. His proactive response to the project, and his enthusiasm for its successful implementation, was in complete contrast to the passive and often obstructionist attitude of some of the members of the Secretariat in Colombo. After leaving the Tea Board in 1988, Rodney reverted to an academic career but still continued his promotion of Dilmah in various forums. His assistance to the cause of Dilmah in Australia has been invaluable.

Nabi Saleh my friend

My story of Dilmah in Australia would not be complete without mention of Nabi Saleh, a highly-educated, Iranian-Australian businessman and commodities trader. I met Nabi, quite unexpectedly, about 40 years ago at the Franklins Supermarket, Sydney, whilst we were both waiting to meet the same buyer, Michael Hansel. We were competitors at first. but later became trade associates and, more importantly, good friends.

Nabi was then a private label supplier to Franklins and other distributors. through a small-time packer in Indonesia. After that first meeting. Nabi bought private label tea from me as well. In 1995 Nabi became the owner/Chief Executive Officer of Gloria Jean’s Coffee, a venture he developed into a worldwide success. Nabi admired my vision for Pure Ceylon Tea and was of assistance to me in establishing Dilmah in Australia. Like me, Nabi is also a man of great faith.

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Features

Building a sustainable future for Sri Lanka’s construction industry

Published

15 hours 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

15 hours 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

15 hours 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.