Veteran journalist ”Kala Keerthi” Edwin Ariyadasa looks back on 64 years with Lake House as a reporter and editor, working on both Sinhala and English publications. He talks about his voracious appetite for books as a child, and his career as a journalist. Photography by Kannan Arunasalam.
Comments are moderated. Please read our submission guidelines before you comment. Comments that do not adhere to the guidelines will be edited or deleted.
When engaging with the i am project, we encourage you to communicate with respect and be tolerant of differences.
Comments that do not adhere to these guidelines will be deleted.
We reserve the right to remove your access to i am completely if we believe that you are abusing the site guidelines in any way.
Edwin Ariyadasa, to me, has not passed away. It’s not an illusion because he made a unique impression on me when I was a school boy. I knew him until I left Sri Lanka. On numerous occasions, when I met him, he used to ask me unique, inquisitional queries which no one has ever asked me until this day! “Tell me Cicera, what activity would describe your main focus in these days, if it’s identified by you as your deep engrossment mentally or physically?” He asked me such questions not simply out of curiosity, but he really meant to direct my mind with clarity of action towards a purposeful focus. To date, I sense that he’s watching me, asking me whether I’m purposefully focussing, and mindful of something that I’m passionate about, during my daily routine. I always developed my avid reading habit, frequently recalling my vivid and loving remembrance of Edwin, reminiscing about the sincere smile on his face. I have never been able to witness him without having that unforgettable smile on any occasion. He was a light on the gloomy side of my mind, an amazingly kind human being and was like a Google hard drive bringing out facts at a time when there was no internet, and yet later he was able to coin the original Sinhala word for the “internet’ in our language! Every time, when I touch a book, I sense his guidance always with me, and him prescribing the quality of the book I should select for the wisdom of my heart and soul!