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| Tuesday, 4 May 2004 |
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Douglas D. Ranasinghe - The Lion of Kotte by Nadira Gunatilleke The 4th death Anniversary of Justice of Peace Puravidya Chakravarthi and Puravidya Visharada Douglas D.Ranasinghe, Honorary curator of Sri Jayawardanapura and a member of Royal Asiatic Society fell on May 1, 2004. He died on May 1, 2000 at the age of 89.
Since 1949 Mr. Ranasinghe served for the field of Archaeology in Sri Lanka for about 50 years. Lions Club International district 306 A awarded him the most outstanding citizen award in the field of art and culture. Late President Ranasinghe Premadasa presented a plaque to Mr.Ranasinghe for his outstanding contribution in the preservation of places of archaeological value in the historic city of Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte. He authored 'Asirimath Kotte', 'Welikada Viththi' and 'Lion of Kotte'. Mr. Ranasinghe in his attempts at untombing the old city of Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte had discovered a large number of artifacts and donated over 250 of them to Kotte Museum. Gold and gem studded jewellery and monuments dating back to the beginnings of Kotte were among them. Regardless of the many obstacles down the years, Mr.Ranasinghe had preserved for posterity a collector's heritage belonging to ancient kingdoms and life in Sri Lanka. Having lived most of his life in Jayawardanapura, he had collected most items from the areas around Kotte, the palace site, the temple sites and from the banks of the Diyawanna. They range from 15th century Parakramabahu to the 16 th century of the Portuguese era. He possessed the only coin belonging to the Parakramabahu era with the lion on haunches, inscribed in the ancient art of Nagara script. One of Mr. Ranasinghe's most valued possessions were the grains of sand that are supposed to have been collected from the original place of landing of Vijaya and his followers in ancient Thambapanni. Clay mug used for drinking purposes, 'Pe Thetiya' an ordinary coconut shell that has been used to measure time, terra-cotta Bodhisatva statues, 24 Suvisivivarana Buddha statues, garments worn by the ancient chieftains and a 300 year old sofa made of jack are among the valuable artifacts preserved by Mr. Ranasinghe. The Kotte museum which was built by Mr. Ranasinghe contains books and artifacts entirely donated by him who had collected them over a lifetime of devotion to preserving the ancient cultural heritage of his home town. He had also pointed out a serious lapse on the part of the authorities for permitting certain 'protected' sites to be encroached on by persons putting up new unauthorised buildings. Once he told that unless the people act fast and help keep the city's vanishing treasures, they will disappear altogether. Mr. Ranasinghe always stressed the importance of teaching archaeology in the school syllabuses which encourages children to protect the country's rich cultural heritage. |
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