by ECB Wijeyesinghe The Lake House Sinhala Weekly is 50 years today (Mar. 30, 1980). All the blithe spirits that used to haunt Lake House are bound to return from their Elysian fields today to rejoice over a notable birthday anniversary. Fifty years ago, almost to the very day, was born one of the miracles […]
LankaWeb – Beyond Illusion to Reality with Traditional Rice lankaweb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lankaweb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
by M. P. Dhanapala Former Director, Rice Research and Development Department of Agriculture maddumadhanapala@yahoo.com, Tel. 0718412444 Some groups emerge time to time from different professions, with enthusiasm of promoting traditional rice varieties free of toxic contaminants for consumption. Traditional varieties are highlighted as healthy and nutritious, but with little or no scientific evidence. In this […]
by Chantal Hiranthi Obeyesekere de Saram
My grandfather, Sir James Peter Obeyesekere, was a benevolent man who believed in giving to the society/community in which he lived. He was a linguist and a scholar who made great attempts to facilitate education throughout the Island. He had no interest in politics and was more focused on carrying out social activities to develop education, religion and society as a whole. He was a member of the colonial government service and was appointed to the post of Chief Mudaliyar. He was regarded as one of the most powerful personalities in British Colonial rule.
(Excerpted from Senior DIG Edward Gunawardena’s memoirs)
It was indeed a privilege to meet and come to know Sir James Peter Obeysekera, a doyen of the Low Country aristocracy. Although the Obeysekera family was spread far and wide in the Western Province, Batadola Walawwa situated in the Gampaha District was its seat. This was the majestic residence of Sir James. With Lady Hilda Obeysekera having passed away earlier, he lived alone at Batadola. His son, J.P. Obeysekera Jnr., who was the Member of Parliament for Attanagalla and his wife, Siva, visited him frequently and attended to all his needs.