by I. L. P. Samarasinghe

Singing and adulation in Sri Lanka are reserved for politicians. On February 4, 2005 we celebrated 57 years of independence thanks to the sagacious Churchill of Britain. Ceylon got independence without a struggle, armed or otherwise.

After World War Two the wily British who ruled most of the world saw their power failing; only their Dominions were close to them; so they devised independence and brought the independent countries to a British Commonwealth and made Ceylonese a lot of lazy lackeys unlike India which had to fight for independence.

Their despicable rule reminds us of them by names of roads, bridges, buildings named after the white governors and other prominents. Now our politicians have cottoned on and we get a plethora of names, both old and new named after politicians.

Why names of politicians only? Don't we have big names and heroes who could lend us their names? We have big names in cricket, athletics, billiards, boxing, and swimming. Don't we have big names in literature; historians, researchers, doctors of medicine, businessmen? We as a nation of selfish, jealous, onlookers should remind ourselves of Martin Wickremasinghe, T. B. Illangaratne in literature, Arjuna Ranatunge a living idol and captain of the champion Sri Lanka cricket team, Susanthika Jayasinghe par excellence in athletics, Duncan White in athletics, Eddie Grey and Leslie Handunge in boxing, Julian Bolling in swimming, Muthiah Muralitharan in cricket, Ethiriveerasingham in athletics.

Ponnaperuma in agricultural research in paddy; Weerarathne in paddy research, giving the country high yielding varieties of paddy, thereby calling a halt to rice imports. Not yet the granary of the East, but very soon with the 'Rata Perata' programme of the UPFA government of the 1,000 irrigation tanks of our forefathers to be repaired immediately with more later. Cyril Ponnamperuma who worked in America on atomic research but wasn't appreciated here in Sri Lanka.

Ernest Abeyratne of the Department of Agriculture who contributed to dry zone agriculture and gave general advice on research on other crops. Senaka Bibile a world renowned pharmacist who set up the Osu Sala in Sri Lanka, the poor mans dispensary. It was intended to be so but the privatisation of the UNF government distorted its bearings.

Gajaman Nona of the south, versifier and poetess, D. R. Wijewardena founder of Lake House printers, businessman and philanthropist Deshamanya Dr. Lalith Kothalawela. Ceylinco is a household name. No one need sing hosannas for Kothalawela, for he stands tall! Let us see names of living heroes amongst us on walls and in stone for its that, that will enthuse us as a nation to go forward and grab what the world has to offer Sri Lanka.

The country need not wait until the heroes are dead to honour them. While they live, before they leave the country and emigrate elsewhere, where their talents will be appreciated and made use of, let our country even though poor reach out to them, remunerate them with what they will earn in any other country and keep them back to pass on their expertise to our younger generation.

That will be a business investment to carry our country forward (Rata Perata). Dr. Nagalingam Ethiriweerasingham the Asian games gold medallist in 1958 in Tokyo now lives in Los Angeles domiciled there. He worked in Sierra Leone and in Nigeria for UNESCO. Now he is here in his country on holiday and will spend time in the North East provinces and will provide training for young sportsmen there. He will also train coaches.

What if Ethiriweerasingham was kept back in Sri Lanka to coach our youngsters? Would not sport have benefitted, if he consented and was with us.

Now to an unsung Ceylonese hero of yore. Harmanis de Alwis of the Department of Agriculture (1872 to 1896) and later named Mohandiram de Alwis Seneviratne in 1896 and Mudliyar in 1901. Both British honours to the natives as Ceylonese were then called. Harmanis de Alwis on being honoured took on the appellation Seneviratne and thereafter his descendants followed with the surname de Alwis Seneviratne.

The fauna and flora of Sri Lanka are a study for the Agriculture and Forest Department. The study commences by live observation and follows into the laboratory with dissecting knives and microscopes. In the time of Harmanis de Alwis Seneviratne photography was in its infancy. Colour photography a long way off.

To fill the gap and shortcoming came Harmanis. His outstanding remarkable talent as an artist and draughtsman helped him delineate much of the flora of Ceylon. Harmanis' work was to take him to the countryside and animal infested forests. Armed with paper and water colour he was accompanied by helpers carrying guns and victuals. He spent days and nights in the rain forests of Lanka and emerged with detailed drawings of plants and flowers indigenous to the country. The detailed scientific depiction of plants was Harmanis' forte.

The first botanical gardens set up by the British was in Slave Island, then shifted to Kalutara and Peradeniya where stood the gardens of Kandyan kings with climate suitable for plants. The title Royal Botanic Gardens does not refer to British royalty but to Sinhala royalty. Harmanis was appointed draughtsman to the botanic gardens until his retirement in 1861 aged 70.

During his career he accurately delineated more than 2,000 plants and flowers of Ceylon making his artistry invaluable to botany and entomology of the time. Harmanis' exceptional talent was passed on to his sons William 1842-1916 and George about the same time who passed it on to their sons. Artistry and draughtsmanship was in the blood of that family.

In 1865 William was appointed draughtsman to the gardens. He retired from service and was honoured by the British Governor as Muhandiram in 1896 and late Mudliyar in 1901. In 1902 William de Alwis Seneviratne was succeeded by his son Alfred as draughtsman by the Department of Agriculture which maintained the Peradeniya Gardens. Artistry and draughtsmanship was in the genes of the family for Alfred's sons.

Alfred the first born, Wilfred, Edwin and Edmund were employed as draughtsman in the Department of Agriculture. Sons Walter and Victor as draughtsman in the Forest Department. Though all male descendants of Harmanis carried his talent the illustrious Harmanis' great granddaughters Alice, Kate Maria and Maude weren't imbued with his artistry.

Harmani's was so adept in botanic illustration that those in authority took him to Madras and later to Singapore. H. N. Ridley, Director of Botanic Gardens, Singapore, in a compilation of 'Flora' had to turn to the Peradeniya gardens for an artist and was directed to the brothers Charles and James de Alwis Seneviratne. Drawings of plants and fungi done by the brothers are now lying at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England.

Wrote Botanist Thwaites in 1858, "A great many valuable drawings of indigenous plants have been added to the library during the year and I'm able to report favourably as to the improvement shown in the execution by the native draughtsman William whose services deserve better remuneration." Again botanist Trirnen in 1880 wrote, "The draughtsman (one of Harmanis' descendants) added 22 finished drawings to the fine series of coloured illustrations of plants of Ceylon.

The drawings are the work of one family (father and two sons) fully coloured probably unparalleled in the East for accuracy of botanical detail and beauty and delineation."

The de Alwis Seneviratnes have contributed so much to botanic illustration including the butterflies of Ceylon done by William de Alwis Seneviratne. He completed the task of depicting in water colour no less than 350 species of Sri Lanka butterflies and moths, 250 of them. Complete with larva, chrysalis and imago.

The work was completed in the incomprehensible time of four years. William's work stands out as the greatest single contribution to the study of any group of animals in Sri Lanka. William de Alwis Seneviratne made over 1,000 detailed illustrations of Sri Lankan Fungi, including mushrooms. Alfred, William's son did most of the drawing for compilation 'Grasses of Ceylon'. In a manual of weeds of the major crops of Ceylon 1951 George's work is reproduced. In 'Forshungen auf Ceylon' by the Swiss brothers Karl Friedrich Sarasin and Paul Benedikt Sarasin, William made drawings.

The de Alwis Seneviratne's were honoured by the British rulers of the time. The Governor gave them land at Getambe in Kandy and so impressed were the British with Harmanis de Alwis and his progeny that even to date a painting of Harmanis proudly hands in the Lindley library of the Horticultural Society, London. The British had an orchid named after Harmanis (Taemophylum Alwisii) and a genus of slime mould (Alwisia).

Harmanis and his son William and many other Alwis Seneviratnes lie buried in the family graveyard at St. John's Church, Getambe, Kandy. But have our countrymen erected anything anywhere, named anything anywhere to acknowledge and honour a great countryman and his descendants of artists. Many of who rest from their labours to their country, Sri Lanka.

The works of the family of De Alwis Seneviratne are to be seen in many places. In the National Herbarium, Peradeniya; National Museum of Sri Lanka, Colombo. Department of Agriculture, Gannoruwa; Queens Cottage, Nuwara Eliya (Presidential retreat) and abroad in the Natural History Museum, London; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Singapore Botanic Gardens; and the Calcutta Botanic Gardens.

Once again the writer questions, "Is there a column, a statue, a road, a bridge, a building named after Harmanis de Alwis Seneviratne. The British honoured him with titles, Mohandiram, Mudliyar and land, but where are the acknowledgement of a country to which Harmanis and his artist descendants contributed so much.

We honour our politicians many of who have robbed our poor country. The athletes, cricketers, writers, scientists, poets who make this country worth living in are forgotten and relegated to limbo and lie unforgotten.

Publicise their greatness and contribution to our country. Do not wait till they are dead. This is a country that boasts of 2,500 years of culture; let us show our culture or Harmanis and his descendants may well quote Shakespeare "Ingratitude more strong than traitors arms quite vanquished me" (read us)"

(For much of the substance in this article the writer is indebted to Rohan Pethiyagoda of Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka, Colombo.)