Dr Mirando Obeysekere, patriotic poet of Lanka

Dr Kala Rani Philips

The researcher of King Ravana’s heritage completes 50 years in his service

Born in Rassagala in 1940, Mirando Obeysekere, Sri Lanka’s most renowned modern anthropologist, researcher, poet and author celebrates his 70th birthday on May 31, 2010.

The culture of ancient upcountry and its Buddhist environment began to exercise a powerful and lasting influence from his boyhood and was to provide both the literary scientific stimulus to his decision to survey and research on our prehistoric society, especially the Megalithic era of ancient Sri Lanka.

Obeysekere began to write essays and compose poetry in his boyhood and to publish those in early 60s. It is interesting to recall Mahakavi Ravindranath Thagore’s Perspective View relevance to even to the present day, which was published in May 1960.

The national literary critic Prof. Minivan P. Tillakaratne of the Kelaniya University once said: “Dr. Mirando Obeysekere is a poet of limitless value. His novels and research papers have a maturity and exhilarating power to attract the hearts of readers.

Magically though he uses his ideas carefully and though he distributes his volumes of publications, Obeysekere’s writings produce a patriotic feeling among readers. Dr Obeysekere’s works on Politics, Anthropology, History and Social Science have been introduced, commented and eulogized by eminent critics abroad and here in Sri Lanka while some critics in Sri Lanka, have severely attacked and criticized him on his patriotic views.

He has two children, Sinha Kumar and Enoka. Dr Obeysekere has also achieved distinction as a top class orator and political critic. Being the recipient of Silver Pen Award of UK, National Honours of Sri Lanka and Universal Brotherhood Award, he is working all his time to uplift the Sri Lankan culture.

Dr Obeysekere is the son of Samuel Sykes Obeysekere and Ellien Ciccey Galagoda Kumarihamy of Nilgala Walauwa Udapattuwa.

I wish to conclude with a few words of Prof. Mark C. Denham of California.

“The creative and research work of Mirando Obeysekere represent an interesting and meaningful example of a highly sophisticated personality uncontrolled by any institutional attachment. All his writings seems to me as a valiant attempt for the advancement of the society and culture.”