Sri Lankan Sinhalese Family Genealogy
JAYEWARDENE, Don Adrian Wijesinghe (Tombi Mudaliyar) - Family #3002
1. Don Adrian Wijesinghe Jayewardene (Tombi Mudaliyar) 1768-1830 + Suraweera Aarachchige Don Simange Dona Dinesia at Kelanimulla in the Hewagam Korale m:1776
b:1768 in the village of Welgama near Hanwella in the Hina Korale. Descended from a family of the Colombo Chetty Community who trace their origins to the Coromondel Coast India during Dutch rule. Several years before the birth of Don Adrian, a male member of his ancestors had married a Sinhalese lady by the name of Jayawardena from the village of Welgama near hanwella about 20 miles from Colombo. It was from that time that the family took the Sinhalese name of Jayawardena. Don Adrian served as an Aarachchi of the Dutch Lascoryn Regiment. Received lands in the village, Narahenpita. When the Dutch capitulated to the British in 1796 he accepted office under the British as Aarachi & Guide to the British Army. Accompanied General Mac Dowell on an embassy to the King of Kandy, as his guide on 12-Mar-1800. Appointed Titular Muhandiram of the Atapattu. Served as guide to the British Army Jan 1815. Accompanied John D’Oyly to Kandy. Received 250 Rix Dollars per mensem as Mudaliyar of the Guides to the British Army, 15-Jan-1815. Brought the last King of Kandy to Colombo. Conspired to overthrow the British Rule from the island with Ekneligoda in 1817. Died: 11-Feb-1830. Buried with full military honors on the order of the Governor Edward barnes at the Churchyard of the Wolvendaal Dutch Reformed Church. Wife received an allowance of Pounds 18 Sh. 15 per mensem by the British Government. (Madampe, in Chilaw)
2 Johanna Jayewardene + Don Herath Seneviratne’s son p. 26
2 Don Abraham Wijesinghe Jayewardene (Mudaliyar) 1801-1866 bp:11-Dec-1808
b:1801, bp:11-Dec-1808. Interpreter Mudaliyar, Puttalam Kachcheri. Resigned his post in protest tp some remarks cast by Justice Carr. Appointed Maha Mudaliyar. Associated with Dr. Christopher Elliot of the Colombo Observer in criticisizing Governor Torrington. Arrested by the British Government along with Subraylu Raja, descendant of the Nayakkars, Sep 1848. Produced before Colepepper, JP. Openlt criticized the Governor and the Colonial Secretary. Requested Elliott to publish his interrogation by Colepepper. Died:8-May-1866.
Inherited Don Adrian’s Walauwa (Mansion) in Colombo at Grandpass and land in Chilaw. He disinherited 7 of his 10 children from his 1st marriage: Cornelis. Adriam. Philip, Francis, Alexander, Charlotte (married to Cornelis Wijesinghe} and James Alfred (page 39)
3 Don Cornelis Jayewardene (disinherited)*
3 Phillip Alexander Jayewardene (disinherited)*
3 Adrian Jayewardene (disinherited)*
3 Francis Jayewardene (disinherited)*
3 Alexander Jayewardene (disinherited)*
3 Charlotte Jayewardene + Cornelis Wijesinghe…(disinherited)*
3 Cornelia Jayewardene (born 1859) – part owner of Grandpass and heir
3 Matilda Jayewardene – part owner of Grandpass and heir
3 Eliza Jayewardene + William Goonetileke… heir (husband bought Jayawadene Walauwa - Mansion)
3 James Alfred Jayewardene, Proctor, (Equivalent to Solicitor), Deputy Coroner of Colombo + Ms. Wijeyekoon from Kalutara (d/o ‘Bismarck’ Wijeyekoon), d:1888 at age 43
4 Hector Alfred Jayewardene, b:22-Jul-1870, d:16-Oct-1913 (Eldest) Bought back properties in Chilaw and Grandpass belonging to Don Adrian, b:22-Jul-1870. Educated at St. Benedicts College, Wesley College, and Royal College, Colombo. Proctor 1893. Member New Bazaar ward CMC 1895. Works include “The Law of Mortgage in Ceylon”, 1905. d:16-Oct-1913. The most successful of all the brothers.(Rose to prominence as an advocate in 1893) Won election to the Colombo Municipal Council in 1897 and held the position for nearly 20 years. Possessed great oratory skills in English…and was involved in the 1st national political election helping candidate P. Ramanathan get a seat in the national legislature.
4 Colonel Theodore Godfrey Wijesinghe Jayewardene, b:17-Jun-1872, d:1945, Engineer, Educated at Royal College, Colombo. Hony. Secy. Royal College OBU. JP. Life Member, Royal Asiatic Society. Asst. Engineer PWD 1895. Civil Engineer 1900. Private CLI 1889. Major 1908. Military Intelligence Officer 1921. + Lena Attygalle, brother of Francis Dixon Attygalle who was murdered and where John Kotelawala, father of Sir John, was accused and tried but committed suicide before the conclusion, m:Feb-1905. (3119)
5 T.F. (Freddy) Jayewardene
4 Justice Eugene Wilfred Jayewardene KC, b:11-Jun-1874 at Kalutara, d:28-Nov-1932, Educated at Royal College, Colombo. Actg. Private Secretary to Justice Granier, 1897. Called to the English bar, Inner Temple, 1908. President, law Students’ Union. Actg. DJ, Police Magistrate. Commissioner of Requests 1906. Member of the Legal Council of Education. Additional DJ (1910-1911), Member CMC 1920, Judge May 1928. Vice President SSC. Took a leading role in the in the revision and comparison of the new Criminal Procedure Code, 1881. + Agnes Helen Don Philip Wijewardena, m:1905 (d/o Don Philip Tudugala Wijewardena) who’s history goes back to the days of the Kandyan Kingdom if not earlier to those of the Kotte kings. He had 3 ancestors who had served King Rajasinha II. Moved to Maitland Crescent in Cinnamon Gardens in Colombo. Thereafter he moved to "Park House" on Park Street where the family lived for 25 years. Park House was a huge mansion built on an extent of 2.5 acres of land situated about half a mile from Victoria Park. Its distinctive feature was a large verandah and seven bedrooms and a dining hall that could accommodate a 100 guests. [3062]
5 Junius Richard Jayewardene 1906-1996, b:Sep-17-1906 at Park House on Park Street, Colombo 2. Aka Dick or Dickie & Junius after his paternal uncle Junius Quintus Jayawardena, Richard after his maternal uncle Don Richard Wijewardena, a lawyer by profession, who lived at Park House with the Jayaewardena family. Educated a Royal College, Colombo. Prime Minister (1977–78) and President (1978–88) of Sri Lanka. Active in Sri Lankan politics since the early 1940s, he was a founding member of the United National Party. Supporting a new presidential constitution (1978), he stressed free-market, pro-Western policies and large-scale development and won elections in 1977 and 1982. In 1983, however, he was unable to prevent civil war between Tamils and majority Sinhalese; the unrest continued through the remainder of his presidency, despite Indian intervention (1987). + Elina Bandara Rupesinghe, b:1913, d:Nov 17 2007, d/o Mr & Mrs G. L. Rupasinghe, founder member of “Seva Vanitha” Unit in Sri Lanka.
JAYEWARDENA - MRS. ELINA V. Beloved wife of late President J.R. Jayewardena and mother of Ravi and mother-in-law of Penny, grandmother of Pradip, Rukshan and Amrik, passed away peacefully. Cremation will take place on Sunday the 18th November 2007 at 6.00 p.m. at General Cemetery - Kanatte. Cortege leaves residence at 5.00 p.m. She is 94 years of age. She is the daughter of late Mr & Mrs G.L. Rupasinghe, and the founder member of “Seva Vanitha” Unit in Sri Lanka. Address: “Braemar”, 66, Ward Place, Colombo 7. DN Mon Nov 19 2007
6 Ravi Jayawardena + Charmaine Vanderkoen (7001)
7 Pradip Jayewardene + Shan Corea , d/o Nihal Corea & Gilian Ondaatchi
7 Rukshan Jayewardene
7 Amrik Jayewardene
6 2nd spouse of Ravi Jayawardena + Penny White, Air Hostess
5 Corbert Edward Jayewardene, b:13-Mar-1908, d:23-Mar-1981 (later SEDEWATTE DHARMARUCHI THERA)
5 E.W. Jayewardene (Wilmot), b:1921
6 Prasanna Weerasinghe Jayewardene, Author, Hotelier, Environmentalist
5 Dulcie Jayewardene 1913-1986 (President Colombo Ladies League for 16 years, member Soroptimist International Organization, UK, member Prisons Project) d:31-Dec-1985 + F.A. (Rick) Abeywardena (Crown Advocate, Galle) (3025)
5 Harry Wilfred Jayewardene, QC., Dr., b:3-Nov-1916, d:20-Apr-1990
b:3-Nov-1916. Educated at Royal College, Colombo. Called to the Bar, SC 18-Mar-1941, QC 1954, LLD (Hons) University of Colombo, 1985. Life Member bar Association. President Sri lanka Bar Association. First President, Law Association. President Organization of Professionals Association. Vice President Commonwealth Law Association. Chairman Industrial Disputes Commission. UN Human Rights Commission. D:20-Apr-1990
5 Dr. Rolly P. Jayewardene, b:1918, d:11 Nov 1999, MD, MRCP and FRCP, Senior Physician of the General Hospital, Colombo. Director-General at NARESA (Natural Resources Energy and Science Authority) which has now been replaced by the NSF (Natural Science Foundation). + DR. Gladys, Chairperson, State Pharmaceutical Corporation
5 M.M. Jayewardene (Monty), b:1920
5 Girlie (Eugenie) Jayewardene + S C Corea
5 2nd spoude of Girlie (Eugenie) Jayewardene + D Weeratunga, Lawyer from Matara
6 General Tissa Indraka (Bull) Weeratunga, born on August 29, 1930 and was educated at Royal College Colombo, d:Nov 2003, Colombo, joined SL Army on Oct 11, 1949, commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant on August 2, 1951 and posted to Ceylon Light Infantry, was promoted to the rank of Brigadier on December 1, 1977 and appointed Inspector of Training of the Army, appointed Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army on March 1979 and while holding this appointment he functioned as Commander Security Forces, Jaffna from 13 July 1979 to December 31, 1979, Commander of Sri Lanka Army from Oct 14, 1981-Nov 2, 1985, appointed the General Officer Command of the Joint Operation Command on February 11, 1985, promoted to the rank of General on August 29, 1989, appointed by President J R Jayewardene, his uncle, as Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Canada in 1986. + Sonia Paul
obit:
WEERATUNGA - GENERAL TISSA INDRAKA (Bull) VSV, ndc. Dearly beloved husband of Sonia, precious father of Rohan and Samanthi, Ajith and Sumudu, Annouchka and Terrence, darling seeya of Shanaya, Kiyara, Hashan, Arvindh and Amrita, brother-in-law of Kumar and Gloria Paul, Maurice and Pamela Rode, expired. Cortege leaves residence at 2.00 p.m. on Sunday 9th November for Cremation with full Military Honours at General Cemetery Kanatte at 4 p.m. 25/23 A, Jayapura Mawatha, Beddegana Road South, Pita Kotte No flowers by request. All donations to Lt. Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa Trust. Nov 9 2003
7 Rohan Weeratunga + Samanthi
7 Ajith Weeratunga + Sumudu
7 Annouchika Weeratunga + Terrence
5 (Rohini? Ionie?) Jayewardene + Atukorale
5 Rohini Jayewardene 1925 – 1932
5 Ione Jayewardene b.1932 + N W Athukorale
5 Winstone Jayewardene 1915 – 1980
5 Hector Jayewardene(?)
4 John Adrian St. Valentine Jayewardene, b:14-Feb-1877. Educated at Royal College, Colombo, Barrister at Law, Inner Temple. Advocate Supreme Court of Ceylon, March 1901. Founder Member CNC, 1919. DL Colombo 1922-1924. Actg. Puisne Justice March 1923. SC Judge. d:Jun-1927 + Ethel Charlotte Irene
4 Justus Sextus Wijesinghe Jayewardene, b:28-Jan-1881, d:1928
b:28-Jan-1881. Educated at Royal College, Colombo. President Literary Club. Editor, Royal College Magazine. Admitted to the Bar 1904. Practiced in Galle and Colombo. Works include “Elements of Jurisprudence”. Ran for political office. d:1928
4 Agnes Beatrice Jayewardene + Abraham (Philip? Fitzroy?) Jayewardene, Lawyer
5 Hector Wijeysinghe Jayewardene, (Did law….and passed away before his final exams); + Pearly
6 Son
5 Alfred Wijeysinghe Jayewardene never married.
5 Fitzroy Philip Wijeysinghe Jayewardene + Justicia Udunuwara Uralawatte Perera (3128)
6 Beatrice Blossom Chandrakanthi Jayewardene + Name Not Known
7 Anne-Marie
7 Name Not Known
8 Daughter (Name Not Known)
7 Name Not Known
7 Name Not Known
7 Name Not Known
4 Dorothy Jayewardene (Dottie) + De Saram (3126)
5 Frederick (Jayewardene) de Saram (Police Chief ) + Ivy Jayewardene (daughter of Felix Jayewardene & Ms. Irene (Zelda?)) Jayewardene, 1st cousins who married)
6 6 Sirimani de Saram, MP, Minister Sri Lanka Government + Lalith Athulathmudali, MP, Minister Sri Lanka Government, assassinated
7 Serala Athulathmudali
6 Sriyani de Saram
6 Siromi de Saram
6 Hareen de Saram*
4 Violet Jayewardene (Viola) married a lawyer? (may have been a Jayewardene)
4 Junius Quintus Jayawardena, d:21 Apr 1906 after suffering a heart attack at Polonnaruwa,
1 2nd spouse of Don Adrian Wijesinghe Jayewardene (Tombi Mudaliyar) 1768-1830: + Dona Christina Corea of Grandpass m:22-Nov-1807, (Victor Corea a descendant of Don Adrian won a seat to the Legislative council 1924 - ran against E.W. Jayewardene and won).
* ”J.R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka’ Vol. 1 by K.M. DeSilva and Howard Wriggins.
Need verification.
1 Irene (Zelda?) Jayewardene + Felix Jayawardene
2 Archer Jayewardene + Doreen
3 Arjuna Jayewardene
3 Jayantha ?? Jayewardene
[Is this Dr. Jayantha Jayewardene, [Conservationist] Advisor to the Govt., Writer ?]
2 Ivy Jayewardene + Frederick De Saram (Police Chief)
3 Sirimani de Saram, MP, Minister Sri Lanka Government + Lalith Athulathmudali, MP, Minister Sri Lanka Government, assasinated
4 Serela Athulathmudali
3 Sriyani de Saram
3 Siromi de Saram
3 Hareen de Saram
2 Dr. Lester Jayewardene
3 son
3 son
3 son
3 Indira Jayewardene
Ivy’s mother’s sister (a Jayewardene) married a Bandaranaike
1 (daughter) Bandaranaike + Bandaranaike
2 Leonard Bandaranaike + Etienne Bandaranaike (grand daughter of Walter Dias Bandaranaike) (1001)
2 Ruby Dias Bandaranaike + Danton Obeysekera
3 Arjuna Obeysekera
3 Shireen Obeysekera
3 Indra Obeysekera
3 Ajith Obeysekera
2 Alick Dias Bandaranaike d:Aug 1 2007, (see obit below) + Delicia (Dela)
3 Arun Dias Bandaranaike, (Radio & TV presenter, Sports Commentator, Colombo, Sri Lanka)
2 2nd spouse of Alick Dias Bandaranaike + Name Not Known
2. Lester? married a Wickremenayeke ??
Ivy’s mother’s other sister
{1 (daughter Jayewardene ie. Ivy’s mother’s other sister ) + Husband
2 Hope + Bandaranaike}
obituary: DN Wed Aug 8 2007
DIAS BANDARANAIKE - ALICK Brother of late Leonard, expired August first. Burial took place on August 2nd. He is survived by his wife Delicia (Dela) and son Arun and sister Ruby Obeyesekere. Friends and relatives, please accept this intimation. 49, Kelanimulla, Angoda
*Devoted son and friend of all
Hareen de Saram
When my son's e-mail to me in Manila last Tuesday, started with "Some very sad news…" I knew that Hareen, my youngest cousin, was gone forever ending our long association, which started from our childhood. He was more a friend than a relative.
Hareen's death was not totally unexpected but when the stark reality that I would not see him again hit me, it moved me to tears. The only solace was that he enjoyed life as long as he lived and death was to him a relief from the extreme pain and suffering that many of his malfunctioning organs gave him.
Hareen had some sterling qualities. The finest example of which was his devoted caring for his mother who, like him, suffered a painful illness for a long time. Throughout this period, Hareen cared for Aunty Ivy as I have not seen any son do. Hareen was fortunate that he had a close family with three sisters who loved him dearly. His sisters, in these last few months, took great pains to try and pull him through. However, as he told an aunt on the phone from a Singapore hospital earlier this month, "God wants me up there." I am sure that this was God's plan.
Hareen, a bachelor, considered all his close relatives his own family and was interested in the welfare of everyone. All his nephews and nieces were extremely fond of him especially because he could relate to them easily. Hareen was a good friend and likewise he had some good friends who are going to miss him dearly. Rarely do people like Hareen pass through this world. We who knew him were lucky to have been there when he did.
From far
off Manila, I can only say, "Farewell Hareen. I loved you. May you find that
peace in Heaven which only God can give."
- Jayantha J.
DN 30.11.2005
Appreciation - Srimani Athulathmudali
One year has passed, the spirit of Srimani floats through our lives, but the realisation that she is physically no more upon this earth in the form we knew still very hard to come to terms with.
Srimani was so many things to different people, but not a contradiction. Frederick and Ivy De Saram's daughter, sister of Sriyani, Siromi and later little brother Hareen, was her first role, De Saram by name but more Jayewardene by blood for three of her grandparents were Jayewardenes.
Born with the commanding gene of the De Saram and Jayewardene Mudaliyar ancestors, the gentle loving, caring heart was entirely her own. The title 'the most practically caring person' earned by her over the years with so many acts big and small were linked directly to the heart.
Very beautiful like her mother, grandmother and greatbgrandmother before her, she never allowed this to be a handicap either positively or negatively. She was her own person and marriage to Laith and the birth of Serala must be the two greatest gifts she received from the God she was so familiar with and whom she believed in absolutely, with no reservation.
She became comfortable with her husband's faith and politics. Her beautiful world opened out as she walked on centre stage with the brilliant yet quite simple and gentle private person Lalith, with Serala always in tow.
Tragedy which stalked the land and was a curse to take our best, left her widowed after only just over a decade of marriage. A high spirited loving child was all that was left even though a resounding victory at the polls and a Cabinet portfolio became hers.
Well before her sixtieth year illness took her away and those of us with still some distance to go in this world will be left with moist eyes for a long time at the memory of the free and happy spirit called Srimani who injected sunshine into our lives, who now by her faith and actions must be in green pastures with so many whom she loved and who loved her.
Prasanna Wijesinghe Jayewardene, Rosmead Place, Colombo 7
Two novels and ten hotels in the offing
By Chitra Weerasinghe
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He has just finished writing his second novel - `The King who keeps his crown' - based on a fictitious island in the Indian Ocean; one which has an ideal social structure and peace as its only priority.
He is Prasanna Wijesinghe Jayewardene the author, hotelier, environmentalist - a man of many convictions who professes a great love for this, his motherland and within which island's framework, he says, he has been able to do what he has always wished - no matter how far he has succeeded.
Since leaving Trinity College, Kandy after completing his schooling, he obtained a diploma in hotel management and tourism from Salzburg's Klessheim Hotel School in Austria; lived and worked in ten countries among them France, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Austria, Malaysia, Maldives, Seychelles and in Karachi when it was Pakistan's capital and completely different to what it presently is as Islamabad.
Now, basking in the glory of his experiences and, probably achievements; and having put his thoughts on paper, he is dreaming of the time when what he visualises for Sri Lanka will become a reality.
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What made him focus on peace as being a country's sole priority in this, his second novel (not about Sri Lanka) - the first titled `A journey forward' was based on the Sri Lanka of a couple of decades ago seen through the eyes of a foreigner visiting this country for the first time to attend the funeral of his father?
That peace is what his heart aches for I was able to gather as I sat talking with him one poya afternoon at the Hilton Colombo's Thorana Lounge. I enjoyed listening to him philosophise, fantasise, and convey useful messages of wisdom preached and practised by sages and men whom he admired.
The Dalai Lama maintains that a human being is essentially a good person; that violence is only a surface emotion and that deep down in a person's heart he yearns for goodness and a sense of value; and also that if you look at a person from a positive angle as the Dalai Lama constantly reminds us, then the vast majority of people will also react positively towards you, he said.
That then is the theme on which he bases his story and weaves subtly into it the threads of his thinking on the environment and its biodiversity.
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A society can, taking into consideration the inherent good in a person, engage him in helping preserve the environment and its biodiversity and so to be one with nature as human beings are expected to live, says Jayewardene a keen and committed environmentalist who boasts of having held a leopard in his hands when it was a cub and which cub he nurtured till full grown at the time he was General Manager at Negombo's Brown Beach Hotel.
``It slept in bed with me and my wife. But today keeping most forms of wildlife in domestication is banned," he said.
Jayewardene's love for the environment and for wildlife stems from that great concern his ancestors spanning three generations (as far as he could remember) had for plants and animals.
His father, E.D.W. Jayewardene was an officer in the British Army and a man who had captained the University Rugby team; represented the CR & FC and Ceylon at Rugby; was also the author of two books `Water Gardening in Ceylon' and `Sinhalese Masks. More importantly he was a great believer in the peaceful co-existence of people, plants and animals in the environment. He lived in some of the jungles in Sri Lanka besides the towns. And he created the right environment in the home for his family to imbibe and take to his great love and interest in nature.
Is it not natural then, for Jayewardene to seize every opportunity he possibly could to express his concern for the environment?
And how could you forget those days when he was General Manager of the Mount Lavinia Hotel, the time he spent ensuring the cleanliness of the hotel's vicinity, the nearby railway station and roads? He even roped in the residents of the area to join him in his shramadana campaigns of the beach and the streets where they lived.
How many hours does he spend writing and how did he find the time to do so with all his work, interests and social service activities?
I never take myself too seriously and think I am so busy that I cannot think of anything else. Everyone is busy in his/her own way and you must not think of yourself as being busier than the other person. That is what I learned from former President J.R.Jayewardene.
He says he socialises but not too much; that he shifts his priorities as the need arises and that he does fulfil his social and family obligations and spends profitabily whatever time he has - focusing, of course, on his happiness - a priority in any person's life. But all in all he devotes two to three hours a day to his writing.
And that is not all. He has lots more things to do and lots more things happening.
Having had considerable experience in running skiing hotels, city hotels, resort hotels and jungle hotels, he is now in the throes of planning and building yet another type- lifestyle hotels. He has planned ten such hotels in areas like Hambantota, Maskeliya, Wilpattu, Trincomalee, Maduru Oya Jaffna and a few other locations which he was averse to disclose until all the customary procedures have been complied with and completed.
But `Elephant Corridor' a lifestyle designer 24- all suite Boutique Hotel - the first of this series of ten and a unique blend of art and architecture located in the wilds of Sigiriya is almost ready and he is awaiting that most opportune time in tourism this year - that is when tourists will once again begin to trickle in greater numbers, to open its doors to them. It is an exclusive, upmarket, luxurious boutique hotel for the discerning visitor and affords him the opportunity of being with nature and studying and watching the flora and fauna there, he says.
What I can do for Sri Lanka from my side is to pioneer a new generation of hotels and project Sri Lanka which when looked at objectively is a great destination - a very attractive girl on the beach as it were; but we must remember and he quotes Dr Anandatissa de Alwisd as saying ``we are not the only girl on the beach. We must make our girl attractive and scintillating.'
Jayewardene talks of the location for a hotel as being of paramount importance. It is priority number one. priority number two and priority number three - a view, he says, expressed by a famous international hotelier and it is the specific features of each location that he wishes to bring out and capitalise on in his boutique hotels.
You design a hotel within a particular location - primarily to enhance that area and improve the living standards of its people - but without damaging or destroying that area and also bearing in mind that a hotel has a shelf life unlike that of land - the shelf life depending on the eventual demand of the market.
Three other hotels besides the `Elephant Corridor' are in the process of being developed. They are the `Leopard Mountain' in the tea estates of Maskeliya and `Flamingo Plain' amidst the sea and paddy fields of Hambantota.
Jayewardene has met the Dabane Veddas in Mahiyangana to ensure whether he could integrate his hotel with the vedda population and to see how he may introduce their dances and rituals for the benefit of tourists.
I want to give the tourists the opportunity of getting married, if they wish, in traditional veddha style. And he has managed to pick up a few words of andarademala (the gypsy language) as disclosed to him by Lalith Athulathmudali.
Having been to Jaffna as a schoolboy and still remembering his father drawing his attention to the architecture and other attractive features - culture and people of Yalapalam; having seen the varying terrain from palm trees to beaches, visited islands like Delft with its ponies and Nagadipa, he has already embarked on plans for achieving his desire for a hotel there. He has named it the `Peninsular Beach Hotel' and it will be located in Casurina Beach. It will serve as a city hotel and an airport hotel and all that stems from his optimism that peace is at hand.
| Pradeep Jayewardene's House - http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=7324 |
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Until their home was totally destroyed by fire at the end of the 1980s, the Jayewardene family enjoyed the use of an old cocohut estate bungalow perched high on the red cliffs that frame the eastern side of Weligama Bay on the south coast of Sri Lanka. In 1997 Bawa was asked by J. R. Jayewardene's grandson, Pradeep, to design a replacement. The site lies at the end of a steep track off the main Galle-to-Matara road. After a short climb, the noise of the traffic is left far behind and a final twist in the track reveals a breathtaking view westwards across the bay and a grove of coconut palms, silhouetted against the sky. On closer inspection a platoon of black columns can be discerned among the coconut trunks, a thin horizontal roof floating amongst their fronds: a simple pleasure pavilion stands on a stepped plinth. The roof is a galvanized steel deck sloping gently southwards and supported on three rows of six concrete-encased columns: there are no walls, no doors, no windows, no shutters. Part of the plinth is raised to accommodate a lower bedroom level and this raised area creates a place for sitting, while the lower floor is dominated by a huge dining table that rests on an old electricity generator, a remnant from the original bungalow. An enclosed stairway leads down to a half-buried space containing service areas and bedrooms that open onto a lower courtyard.
The house is separated in time from the A. S. H. de Silva House by almost forty years, but they are two points on the same journey. Both consist in essence of a roof inserted into a landscape to exclude sun and rain while admitting cooling currents of air. It may be that one house is simply a distillation of the other or that it takes forty years to gain the confidence to strip things down to their bare essentials.
Soon after the house was completed, the following poem was written by Michael Ondaatje, the uncle of Pradeep Jayewardene's wife:
House on a Red Cliff, 26 January 1998
There is no mirror in Mirissa the sea is in the leaves the waves are in the
palms old language in the arms of the casurina pine parampara, parampara from
generation to generation The flamboyant a grandfather planted having lived
through fire lifts itself over the roof unframed
the house an open net where night concentrates on a breath on a step
a thing or gesture we cannot be attached to just the long, the short, the
difficult minutes of night's phenomena where even in darkness there is no
horizon without a tree just a boat's light in the leaves A last footstep before
formlessness (Ondaatje 1998)
Source: Robson, David. 2002. Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works. London: Thames and Hudson
Dr. Rolly dies
Sunday Times Nov 7 1999:
Dr. R. (Rolly) P.
Jayewardene, one of Sri Lanka's most eminent and respected medical personalities
died on Friday night and was cremated yesterday at the Colombo General Cemetery.
Dr. Jayewardene who was 81, was an MD, MRCP and FRCP. Having had a brilliant academic career at the Faculty of Medicine, he retired from public service as Senior Physician of the General Hospital, Colombo. In later years he was also a Director-General at NARESA (Natural Resources Energy and Science Authority) which has been replaced by the NSF (Natural Science Foundation). He was a younger brother of the late President J.R. Jayewardene. His wife, Gladys who was Chairperson of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation predeceased him.
POORNA HEALTHCARE TRUST REPORT
JR Jayewardene JRL with President Ronald Reagan of USA JRJ
Pictures sent in by:
Manjula de Livera
email - manjuladelivera@yahoo.com.au
3 Jul 2008
Justicia Udunuwara Uralawatte Perera Husband of Beatrice Blossom Chandrakanthi Jayewardene (son in law of Fitzroy Philip Wijeysinghe
Jayewardene & Justicia Udunuwara Uralawatte Perera, father of Anne Marie)
Beatrice Blossom Chandrakanthi Jayewardene (daughter of Fitzroy Philip Wijeysinghe Jayewardene & Justicia Udunuwara Uralawatte Perera, mother of Anne Marie)
Sat 8 Nov 2003
Gen. Tissa Weeratunga dies
General T.I. Weeratunga who served as the Commander of Sri Lanka Army from 1981 to 1985 and General Officer Commanding - Joint Operation Command passed away at his residence in Kotte yesterday.
Tissa Indika Weeratunga was born on August 29, 1930 and was educated at Royal College, Colombo.
General Weeratunga was among the first batch of Officer Cadets to join the Regular Force of the Army on October 11, 1949 after the formation of the Sri Lanka Army in independent Sri Lanka. After his initial training in the United Kingdom he was commissioned in the rank of Second Lieutenant on August 2, 1951 and posted to Ceylon Light Infantry.
Weeratunga was promoted to the rank of Brigadier on December 1, 1977 and appointed Inspector of Training of the Army.
He was appointed Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army on March 1979 and while holding this appointment he functioned as Commander Security Forces, Jaffna from 13 July 1979 to December 31, 1979.
He became the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army on October 14, 1981 and served until November 2, 1985. Then he was appointed the General Officer Command of the Joint Operation Command on February 11, 1985.
He was promoted to the rank of General on August 29, 1989.
After his career in the Sri Lanka Army he has also served as Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Canada.
The body of Gen. Weeratunga now lies at his residence 25/23, Jayapura Mawatha, Beddagana South, Pitakotte.
The cortege will leave for General Cemetery, Kanatta, from residence at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
JAYEWARDENE, ADRIAN ST. VALENTINE
The Law of Partition in Ceylon. Ordinances: Nos. 10 of 1863 and...
[Ceylon]. Jayewardene, Adrian St. Valentine. The Law of Partition in Ceylon.
Ordinances: Nos. 10 of 1863 and 10 of 1897. Galle: Printed by the Albion Press
Office, 1904. xiii, 108, xix pp. Octavo (6" x 8-1/2"). Original cloth,
black-stamped titles to front board and spine. Some shelfwear and soiling,
internally clean. Ex-library. Location label to spine, annotation in ink to
front pastedown, small stamp to title page. A nice copy of a rare title. $450. *
First edition. Partition law was unusually complicated in colonial Ceylon due to
the peasant and tribal traditions that governed the transmission of agricultural
land. "It is impossible to speak too highly of the exactitude and industry with
which the scheme of the work has been carried out, and the author is to be
congratulated, not only on having contributed a work of permanent value to the
jurisprudence of the country, but also on having presented the experience of his
country in a form which, it is to be hoped, will prove useful in other parts of
the world.": Anton Bertram, Journal of Comparative Legislation and International
Law (Third Series) 8 (1926) 156. (Review of the second edition.) OCLC locates 1
copy. Sweet & Maxwell, A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth 7:218.
USD 450.00
Offered by: Lawbook Exchange - Book number: 51175
J R Jayewardene Center:
The Mural in the Auditorium
The Mural adorning the walls of the auditorium depicts the saga of a country whose sovereignty and independence were lost and subsequently regained. It tells the story of a few Kandyan Chiefs who conspired with the British to dethrone their King who was a Nayakkar of Indian origin and thereby retain power among themselves. By the time they realised their folly it was too late, for they had signed the Kandyan Convention and ceded the Kingdom over to the British. The aftermath of the cession was an angry resurgence and revolt by some national minded courageous men who ultimately paid with their lives.
After over a hundred years the revolt never really ended, this time not by arms and impulsive men, but by intelectual prowess of great patriotic men who pushed forward with a resolute determination and finally succeeded in regarding the lost sovereignty and independence and handed Sri Lanka over to their successors who fashioned the country to be equal among other intelectual nations of the world.
The mural begins, on the left wall, with the meeting of Gen. Macdowall by Pilimatalawe Dissawa on 12th March 1810. The second frame illustrates a discussion Sir John D' Oyly had with the Chief Ehelepola, Chief Molligoda and Adigar of Kapuwatte. The third frame depicts an instance inflamed by emotions of nationalism. 2nd March 1815 was the date fixed to sign the Kandyan Convention at the Magul Maduwa - the King's Court. Before even reading out the convention an English soldier hoisted the English flag - the Union Jack. This was an illegal gesture since the convention had not been signed at the moment. Enraged by this insolence Ven. Wariyapola Sumangala leapt to the flag staff, pulled the flag down and trampled it demanding "Who ordered you to do this. You have no right to hoist this flag yet!" The soldier with his sword drawn was about to strike the Thera when Sir John D' Oyly intervened, restrained the soldier and apologised to the monk.
The next frame illustrates, having dethroned the Nayakkar King, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, and ceding the Kandyan Kingdom to King George III of Great Britain, the signing (with conditions) of the Kandyan Convention on 2nd of March 1815 by
Robert
Brownrigg as the Commander-in-Chief of the King of England
and on behalf of the Kandyan People :-
Chief Ehelepola
Chief Adigar Molligoda
Second Adigar Pilimatalawwe
Dissawe of Four Korales, Pilimatalawwe Junior
Dissawe of Uva, Monerawila
Dissawe of Matale, Ratwatta
Molligoda Junior the Dissawe of Three Korales
Dullewa, Dissawa of Walapane
Dissawa of Wellassa and Bintenna and Galagama
Dissawa of Tamankaduwa
Galagoda, Dissawa of Nuwara Kalawiya
The Sinhala Chiefs sought the help of the British with the intention of crowning a Sinhala Buddhist as King. But their plans collapsed amidst the crafty machinations of Governor Brownrigg designed to firmly establish the British reign in Sri Lanka. Thus by signing the Convention the Sinhalese finally had to cede the Kandyan Kingdom which had been an independent, sovereign state for two thousand three hundred and fifty seven years.
The first struggle for liberation known as the 1817 Kandyan revolt led by Sinhalese hero Keppetipola is depicted in the next frame. The struggle failed and Keppetipola who was convicted as the man who initiated and organized the revolt was sentenced to death by decapitation. He was accordingly executed near the Bogambara tank.
In 1848 when the people of Matale and Seven Korales rose up against the rule of the British empire it was Gongalegoda Banda who led them. The British who suppressed the uprising took into custody Gongalegoda Banda the Leader and Kudapola Thero who assisted him and sentenced them to death. The first phase ends here, which was the armed struggle for liberation.
The mural on the right-side begins with the images of the Leaders who guided an anarchial, divided and helpless nation to raise its head again. When the foreigners were leading the country, nation and religion to ruination it was Anagarika Dharmapala who generated in minds of the Sinhalese the love for the nation and the religion. In 1886 Colonel Olcott and Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera helped him to spread Buddhism. It was the cultural struggle launched by Dharmapala and other Buddhist leaders which laid the foundation for the background to gain independence in 1948. This mural consists of 18 frames and leads to the independent Sri Lanka of today.
Colonel Olcott and his wife, who came to Sri Lanka founded the Parama Vignana Buddhist Society. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala, Migettuwatte Gunananda Theras supported Colonel Olcott in founding Buddhist schools for Buddhist Children. He was the pioneer who designed the Buddhist flag with its shades acceptable to everybody. Gunananda Thera had delivered more than 5000 sermons including Liyanagemulla, Gampola and Panadura demolishing Christian arguments and thereby enlivening the Buddhist sentiments in the people.
The second frame depicts one of the most tragical events in recent history. William Henry Pedris was arrested on the false allegation of leading the 1915 revolt against the government and shot dead in public on 7th July 1915. This incident gave birth to the political reformation activities of Ceylon Reform League by Ponnambalam Arunachalam joining hands with F. R. Senanayake's Lanka Mahajana Sabhawa.
Frame 3 gives the portraits of the Pioneers of Ceylon National Congress
namely,
W.A. de Silva, Sir D. B. Jayatillake
Sir James Peiris, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam
E.W. Perera, E. W. Jayewardene
D. R. Wijewardene, F. R. Senanayake
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, T. B. Jayah
Walisinghe Harischandra, John de Silva
Frame 4 depicts a symbol of Appreciation by a grateful Nation
On a tour of England Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan made several speeches, seminars
etc requesting a Westminster type government to Sri Lanka. He explained the
correct position of the 1915 revolt to the Secretaries and Members of Parliament
and the representatives of the Queen of England. On his return to the island on
17th February 1916 he was given a warm welcome by the leaders of Sri Lanka. As a
mark of recognition of the service to the country the people of Sri Lanka led by
Sinhalese Leaders placed him on a cart and pulled the cart along the streets of
Colombo. The leaders so gathered included F.R. Senanayake, A. E. Gunasinghe,
A.W.P. Jayatillaka, E.W. Perera and P. N. Jayanethi.
Frame 5 Universal Franchise in 1931
The most significant feature of the Donoughmore Constitution in 1931 was the grant of Universal Franchise to the Sri Lankans. As a result every person over the age of 21 was entitled to vote. Prior to 1931 only a few selected males had this right. Since it was an era where the intellectual prowess was still premature the voter indicated his option by marking a cross against the symbol of the candidate of his preference.
Frame 6 shows the First State Council Building .
In 1912, Sir Henry Mc cullum having pointed out the necessity for a State Council Building, a site was selected at Galle Face, Colombo and plans were approved in June 1920. The new State Council Building was ceremonially declared open by Sir Herbert Stanley, Governor of the Legislative Council. In this building met the State Council from 1931-1941, the House of Representatives from 1947-1972 and the National State Assembly from 1971-1978. In September 1978 after the new constitution coming into force it became the House of Parliament.
Frame 7 shows the The First State Council established under the Donoughmore Constitution. The council had 50 elected members, 8 appointed members and a cabinet of Ministers.
Frame 8 portrays:
Sir D B Jayatillake who was the Leader of the House of the State Council
The Sooriyamal Movement
J. R. Jayewardene in discussion with Sri Javaharlal Nehru
Frame 9 With the introduction of the Soulbury Constitution the first House of Representatives was elected in August/September 1947. The frame shows the first cabinet of Ministers.
Frame 10 Portrays the first Governor of Ceylon Lord Soulbury and the first Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake.
Frame 11 signifies the dawn of independence in 1948, the peasant colonisation movement and the origin of the Colombo Plan.
Frame 12 Portrays Dudly Senanayake, Sir John Kotelawala and C.W.W. Kannangara
Frame 13
signifies the Bandaranaike era,
: S.W.R.D. Banradanaike, Prime Minister
: Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike, World's first Lady Prime Minister
: The Non Aligned Summit Conference at the Bandaranaike Memorial
International Conference Hall
: The new State Emblem of the Democratic Socialist Republic of
Sri Lanka
Frame 14
Portrays the first Executive President of Sri Lanka,
His Excellency J. R. Jayewardene
Frame 15 shows the new Parliament Building in Jayewardenepura Kotte and the Mahaweli Project
Frame 16 Portrays President Jayewardene and Gamini Dissanayake Minister of Mahaweli Development
Frame 17 Portrays President Ranasinghe Premadasa and his Udagam Movement
Frame 18 Portrays the first Lady Executive President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Banaranaike Kumarathunge and the Sudu Nelum Movement
The Pushcannon Foursome
In 1929, Junius Richard Jayewardene (Dick), joined three others in forming a private 'club' which was called "The Honorable Society of Pushcannons" (reference to billiards). The object of the society was "to eat together at least once a month". The members comprised of cousin T F Jayewardene (son of T G Jayewardene), Percy Pieris, and Samson Gunasekera, brother in law of A E de Silva (father of Sir Ernest de Silva).
A E de Silva was one of the wealthiest businessmen and landowners of his time. His elegant mansion "Sirimetpaya" down Flower Road (renamed to Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha presently) is now the office of the Prime Minister.
The Pushcannon quartet met on at least 50 occasions between July 1929 and early 1935. They solemnly kept minutes of their meetings. The book of minutes which has survived would, at first, seem an unlikely source of information on his life, and the manner in which he was growing into manhood, but interspersed with the notes and social activity are snippets of information of a personal and political nature which any biographer would find invaluable. Often these items supplement material from other sources; on other occasions they provide clues to the development of Dick's personality which would be difficult to obtain from any other source. Most of the details in the minutes refer to social occasions, but every now and then the real world breaks through into their discussions, and, wherever it does it is clearly Dick who is responsible.
The minutes reveal that sometime in the early 1930's Dick had successfully completed his second examination as an Advocate student. Also the Pushcannon Quartet had helped an amateur dramatic society in staging a play, Temple Thurston's, "The Wandering Jew".
The members dined at the best hotels and restaurants in town. On one occasion it is mentioned that "dinner was eaten at the Sinhagiri Hotel run by a Singhalese (sic) as just then we were intensely national". That particular hotel was as "undistinguished" as its location was unfashionable. At this meeting they decided "not without Percy's usual opposition" to "don white sarongs to visit [the] Maligakande Temple".
Here, if one needed it, was a definite clue to Dick's religious convictions. Under the tutelage of his uncle WalterWijewardene and the guidance of the Bhikku's of the Vajiraramaya Temple, he was now a Buddhist in all but name. He had long since absconded the Anglicanism in which he had grown up as a child and a young gentleman. This was one battle that his father, E W, had lost. One by one, his children, especially the older ones, had succumbed to the attractions of the religion of their mother and her family, the Wijewardene's.
The members, later, chose to use Sinhala to sign their names on the minute book and also chose a Sinhalese name, "Priya Sangamaya", for the Pushcannon Club. By the time the club celebrated its first anniversary on 3-4 August 1930, Dick was calling himself "Ravindra" and signing the minutes book by that name. He also substituted "Jeevaka" for Junius although he didnt use it in any of the documents of the society. It should be noted here that Dick chose to nsame his son Ravindra who was called "Ravi" by almost everyone. To this anniversary meeting of the group Dick had invited two guests, Richard Gothabaya Senanayake (son of F R) and Justin Kotalawela (younger brother of John Lionel), who were both children of the Attygalle inheritance. RG, in time, became Dick's bitterest political opponent.
One interesting episode recorded in the minutes was the support Dick created for the unveiling of a portrait of Ghandi at the Law College which was not much in the favor of the British Colonial Administration who considered Ghandi, who was fighting for freedom and languishing in jail, an enemy at that time. With the support of his father, EW, he somehw managed to make it happen even though the Brits were not very happy. The unveiling ceremony was performed by a prominent politician and a leading figure in the Ceylon National Congress, Francis (Later Sir Francis) de Soyza, KC. The main speaker at the occasion was also a leading politician, C E Corea, father of S C Corea who was at that time the Hony Secretary of the Law Students Union. The portrait of Gandhi still hangs at the Law College. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dick who had by this time relinquished his job as his fathers private secretary. The job was taken over by Corbett Jayewardene, who was a law student himself.
Sunday Times No 10 1996
When JR made the Indians Cry....
By Lakshmi Pieris
His former Press Secretary
On November 4 at sunset we cremated a great man this land ever produced. He was a colossus. A man amongst men and a leader amongst leaders. A man for all seasons, who changed Lanka's history. He changed the horizons, created new vistas. Paved the way for all of us to have a better life. He was a king without a crown.
Last time I saw him alive was on his 90th birthday. He looked very frail although he tried to appear cheerful. His beloved wife was in the hospital recovering from surgery. He was missing her very much. He told me that was the first time he spent his birthday alone after marriage. I was seeing him after 18 months. I am glad I made that long journey from Texas to be there in time for his birthday.
Some thing in the back of my mind told me that I would not witness his next birthday. So I made my travel plans accordingly.
It was heart breaking to see him lying in a hospital bed. So I never sighted the hospital. Instead I prayed and held a Bodhi Pooja. I remembered he had told us that he never spent a night in a hospital. Anyway news that filtered down the grapevine was very disheartening about his deteriorating health.
I never intended to write this so soon. But the saddest news next to my parent's deaths reached me on Friday noon. I did not know how to start this. I had a duty to write this note.
President JR and Madam Jayewardene were like parents to me. I made it a point to see them every now and then ever after their retirement, until I left the country due to vicious politics.
My first encounter with JR, the prime minister was in 1977 when I was assigned to work in the ministry of defence and foreign affairs - subject of defence came under the prime minister and foreign affairs under Mr. A.C.S. Hameed. As years went by I kept moving from ministry to ministry and in 1979 ended up in the ministry of finance and planning as it's information officer.
One fine morning I received a call from Dr. Sarath Amunugama who was the secretary to the ministry of information and broadcasting to see him in the office. Dr. Amunugama, himself a very popular man amongst the mediamen at that time, was the very same person who recruited me to the department of information as its first woman press officer ten years before.
He said, "I am going to give you a chance of a lifetime. I have decided to nominate you to be the press officer in the president's office. When you get a letter of appointment from the president's office go and assume duties."
I could not believe my ears. But the offer was real. I waited for that letter for weeks and months. But it never came my way. I felt there would have been an invisible hand at work to prevent me from going there.
But again at the end of 1983 I received a call from Mr. Milton Weerasena who worked in the president's office. He wished to know whether I would like to join the president's office to handle the media desk. At that time the press secretary's post was vacant. I was never ambitious. But I liked the excitement of working for the highest in the land.
One week later I was before Mr. Menikdiwela, secretary to the president facing an interview. Few weeks later I was appointed to the president's office. Working in the president's office was like walking on a tight rope. One could witness many facets of human behaviour there. I was not sure whether I'll be able to survive amongst the tale carriers.
Few months later all of a sudden I got a call from Ward Place. All these days my work was confined to the president's office. Caller said president wants to see me at 8.30 am at Ward Place. I was a bit terrified. I wondered why he summoned me there. I was a bit uneasy. But when I appeared before this calm, well mannered charismatic gentleman I regained my composure.
Can you write and read Sinhala well? He posed a question. "Fairly well Sir, I replied." From tomorrow could you please come here around 8.30 am and attend to Mrs. Jayewardene's correspondence, he asked. I agreed, and the president said: "We will pay you a salary from our private resources, since there are no funds allocated for a