Village boy turned banker wins coveted literary award

LAKMINI Rodrigo

LITERATURE: Chamminda Welagedara is a versatile and award winning writer, and considered an asset to the Sinhala literary world.

He is an executive banking officer, accomplished writer as well as a humanitarian who strives to safeguard the sinhala culture.

He had started his writing career by writing to many Sinhala news papers, and then published his maiden book 'Nethata Kandulak' in 1998. He has written many short story collections that have been embraced by the readers eagerly, and is also an award winning scriptwriter of TV documentaries.

Three of his latest books were launched on March 24, at the National Library Services Board Auditorium.

The three books are 'Yaya Thuna' which is a novel revolving round a middle class family, 'Yaha Palanaya'- a book on maintaining good employer-employee relationships and 'Watman Benku Katayuthu saha Nawa Prawanatha' which is an assistance to the public in handling modern day banking.

One of them, the novel 'Yaya Thuna' won the D.R. Wijewardene Memorial award for 2005. 'Yaya Thuna' is a novel that carries a story highlighting the many problems and changes a family undergoes over three decades. The family, originally living in greeny area in upcountry, is forced to give up their worldly belongings and move to a dry zone in Anuradhapura due to the accelerated Mahaweli Project.

Fragrance

The drastic changes in their lives from a happy, well-off middle class family to the dismayed refugee-like life in Anuradhapura is highlighted in a very sentimental manner.

"I was born in a village, studied and grew up in a village. The true beauty and love seen in a village is something novel to today's modern world. 'Yaya Thuna' is an honest attempt of mine to bring the genuine fragrance of true village life to the modern world," Welagedara says.

He says the story of the novel is partly based on true incidents that he had experienced while working in various parts of the country including the dry zone.

The book is written in simple but yet precise and magnificent language, which casts a spell to enchant the reader from the first page to the last. "The author should play with the language and have a close relationship with the language. I fondled the words and thereby built my own dialogue," says the banker-cum-writer.

Welagedara has had 32 years of banking experience at the Bank of Ceylon, which has led him to share his banking knowledge with the public by writing a book on banking trends. He had delivered lectures on banking, at the University of Kelaniya, when he got to experience the lack of knowledge in the public in the banking world.

"Many books on banking had been written and published in English, but the number of books in Sinhala are only a handful. I wanted to give the banking knowledge to the ordinary people, and assist them to overcome the banking problems they face in their day to day life," says Welagedara. Benefits

Welagedara, who had got through all exams in the banking sector, and is also an AIB holder, has high expectations for this book. He believes that school children, university students, bankers and the general public would highly benefit from this book.

"The book comprises everything the general public needs to know about banking. And it's written in simple Sinhala, making it easily understandable to the reader," he says.

'Yaha Palanaya' is a book comprising ethics in good governing and secrets of maintaining good relationships among people in various ranks. Welagedara, a role model of a good employer, maintains a very close bond with his juniors, and thereby gets the maximum benefit to his organisation.

"The fruitfulness of a good organisation depends on good relationships, which are based on understanding and good communication. The book brings out the basic ingredients needed for a good relationship. Any type of relationship including 'Bhikkhu- upasaka', 'husband-wife' or 'employer-employee', can be enhanced by the essence of the book," Welagedara says.

Welagedara has come a long way in his journey of life, conquering many avenues. He recalls the people who had guided and supported him in many ways with sincere gratitude. "My late father,my mother, my wife, the Bank of Ceylon, and Mr. Prema Dissanayake-owner of Surasa Publications have rendered me their utmost support which has made me reach this point," he says with gratitude.

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