Kalakeerthi Pundit Wimal Abhayasundera
‘Vayawayana Vavakanan Cha Yadaukeyana Yoja Nam
Rasadivisheyanaithat Karma Mukkan Mahakavai’
The above saying of Ananda Wardana mostly suits the poetry books of
Wimal Abhayasundera, the great poet. A main task of a great poet is to
use the listeners and the speakers suitably to clear the tastefulness
and meanings in poetry. Ananda Wardana has told this as the great poets
with great poetism is rare in the world.
Nobody would have thought that he would become a popular and famous
poet who would win the hearts of the connoisseurs throughout the island.
Wimal Abhayasundera was born in the beautiful village of Balapitiya
in Wellabada Pattu of the Southern Sri Lanka at Welithota Totamune in
the year 1921.
 His education at the village school was limited only to Sinhala. He
got his primary education at the small school in Welitota, Wathuregama
which gave him the basic education of the mother tongue.
Wimal de S. Abhayasundea who was in his sixteeen years was seen
studying at the Pirivena under Pundit Wimalakiththi Tissa Chief Priest
Abhayasundera who in studying Pali, Sinhalese languages and literature
with grammar. Abhayasundera became popular as a blossoming poet.
Along his village in the white sandy plains in Welithota reaching at
Maligakanda in Colombo was a fruitful result of his meritorious deeds
done in the past. In the period of 1936 Wimal Abhayasundera started to
shine not only as a bright student but also as a popular poet.
After completing his education at the Vidyodaya Pirivena in
Maligakanda, Colombo he won a number of prizes in those years. At the
exams held at the Pracheena Bhashopakara Society even he got Honour
Classes in three languages Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit. He had the
fortune of winning prizes. He became a Pundit.
By this period his house named ‘Subha’ where he resided at 4th Lane,
Nawala became a place of frequent by poets like Somaweera Chandrasiri,
Wimalendra Wathuregama and young poets and poetesses, his friends.
All the young poets who were reaching popularity at that time were
his friends. It was clearly seen that poets like Sagara Palansuriya, P.B.
Alwis Perera, Wimalaratne Kumaragama, Meemana Premathilake, Chandraratne
Manawasinghe, Bambarakotuwe Sudharma Seneviratne, Kapila E. Seneviratne
of his same age but elderly poets as well as Tihariye Peter Perera,
Ananda Rajakaruna, Karunaratne Abeysekara, Baptist, Jayantha Weerasekara,
Wimalasiri Perera, H.M. Kudaligama, P. Malalgoda, U.A.S. Pereram Wilson
Hegoda enjoyed the association of poet Wimal Abhayasundera. It is not a
secret that all the said distinctive poets who are not among the living
at present as well as the poets who are among the living were his very
close and lifelong friends.
The essays of Kalakeerthi Pundit Wimal Abhayasundera are rich in
meaning, tasteful, desirous, filled with sensitive meanings and
attractive with taste which should be remembered again and again and be
enjoyed. But his mixing of words are simple, correct, free from ill
nature. He had an inborn meritorious power to use the suitable word at
the suitable place. Poetism was with his sole. Therefore poetry is
common and natural to him.
At the great struggle done in the field of poetry by the young poets
Pundit Abhayasundera took the leadership in experiments regarding
various fields in respect of poetry such as poem, way to poem, aspects
of poem, form of poem. He performed work taking only the suitable things
and putting away the unsuitable things. And as a thinker with criticism
intelligence, it was the identical reasonable feature of his poetic
life.
As an electronic printing mediaman, an author, environmentalist, a
writer who won State awards, a learned and intellectual writer and as a
teacher and a social worker, Pundit Wimal Abhayasundera who did a yeoman
service to our literature and society was born in 1921.
I do not have strength to avoid shedding tears because the life and
the death of the Master of Poet Wimal Abhayasundera was very close to
me.
Do not write Elegies after I’m dead
It’s poetry that is supramandane for happiness in this world
Where’s the tomb that defeated the earth?
For why should one cry with warm tears in the eyes?
There is no way to avoid suffering
Because of the origin of suffering
Through meditation the culture of the mind gains cessation
The recollection of impersonal movements
The memorial of death is the recollection of death
- A.P.S. de Silva Abhayasundera
Secretary, Sri Lanka Poet’s Literary Foundation |
