Appreciation :

Jayasumana Dharmabandu

It is ten years since Jayasumana Dharmabandu passed away. Born to a family of three with two sisters elder to him, he was the son of the late T.A. Dharmabandu who had been a Member of the Moratuwa Urban Council in the Nineteen Forties, and of the Late Mrs. Piyaseeli Perera of Egodauyana.

Jayasumana had his primary education at the Roman Catholic School, Katukurunda, Moratuwa, now known as St. Mary's Primary School, and then shifted to Moratu Vidyalaya and completed his education at Ananda College, where his father had served as its Registrar for a long period.

Jayasumana from his young days has been interested in books not only as a reader but also as a writer. To his credit he has authored fifteen books amongst which are "Yuri Gagarin", "Fidel Castro", "Puran Appu", "Oru Karayo", "Greeshma Pushpaya" and "Aithihasika Moratuwa". He edited three magazines, "Diyatha", "Malhina", and "Janahanda". Whilst serving in the CTB, he was associated with the editing of its paper "Gamana". Later he was attached to the editorial staff of "Dawasa" and "Jana Sathiya" the Sunday Weekly.

Jayasumana was a great admirer of the Late Philip Gunawardena and his Party, the MEP, but, through the influence of several of his friends including the writer, he joined the LSSP with which he was associated until his death.

No sooner Jayasumana joined the LSSP, he became actively involved in all its activities which prompted the Party to nominate him to contest a veteran politician in the calibre of Meryl Fernando (who had by then left the LSSP) at the Urban Council Elections held in 1967.

Meryl had been representing Koralawella Ward in the Moratuwa Urban Council for quite a long time and even served as its Chairman in addition to being the MP for Moratuwa. Jayasumana not only defeated Meryl but was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Urban Council.

Jayasumana led a very simple life and moved with the people very freely. Without confining himself to the office of the Vice Chairman, he was active enough to visit worksites of the U.C. to supervise the work carried out, and also took up within the U.C. meetings, problems of the workers, which have been brought to his notice on his visits.

In the nineteen seventies he became the Chairman of the U.C. with the untimely death of the then Chairman, T.L.C. Peiris. However, in the nineteen seventies, dissolution of Urban Councils being a common occurrence, the Moratuwa U.C. too was dissolved on flimsy charges. It so happened that charges brought against the Council were baseless and it transpired that the Deputy Minister who dissolved the Council and brought it under the administration of a Special Commissioner had not been properly advised!

Jayasumana's elder sister, Dayaseeli is married to Marshall Perera, an eminent lawyer practising in Badulla and they happen to be the parents of Dilan Perera, Hon. Minister of Estate Infrastructure and Community Development, and Hon. Deputy Minister of Information and Media and Hon. Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation.

The other sister, Gunaseeli married to a Government Servant, Piyasiri Peiris, a prominent Social Worker at Egodauyana, Moratuwa, now retired from Govt. Service.

A true son of Moratuwa born 26th February, 1938, Jayasumana passed away on 10th November, 1995, leaving his wife Mallika earlier attached to the Fertiliser Corporation, and two children, presently residing at Egodauyana. Jayasumana proved himself an efficient administrator, versatile writer, honest and able politician and a good orator. Amongst his friends and relatives he was quite an amiable and popular character.

Wimalasiri De Mel, Moratuwa