A.Y.S. Gnanam:

An entrepreneur par excellence

St. Anthony's Industries Group founder Chairman the well-known industrialist A.Y.S. Gnanam, who died at the age of 84, would have been 90 years on May 5, had he been living. His life and character is so exemplary and is an object lesson to all entrepreneurs, those who wish to study entrepreneurship and also to all those who hope to become entrepreneurs in the future.

His life was full of pitfalls and challenges. He was born in South India and could not afford any formal education nor an easy living. He together with his parents arrived in Sri Lanka when he was only 10 years old. Having lost his father when he was still very young, Gnanam looked for a source of income. He started collecting scrap iron for resale on a small scale. With sheer determination, a tremendous amount of hard work and with an untiring effort, he made his tiny business grow into a massive enterprise.

The empire he built provided employment to several people of this country. He pioneered the manufacture of a large number of industrial and other consumer products locally. He provided leadership for the setting up of a wide variety of business enterprises and also lead them from the front to become very successful ventures. His business acumen, achievements and the greatness in the business sphere is well known. However, the most inspiring and most fascinating things about the man are known only by a few.

He was a ‘super human being’ in the real sense of the word. His integrity and honesty stood at the highest degree. He always remembered his past and his humble beginings. He helped everyone who assisted him, especially when his business was small.

He helped a large number of people in the name of humanity, irrespective of his or her race, caste or religion. He always set an example of acting with impeccable morality, integrity and decency towards other.

I was selected as the Group Finance Manager at St. Anthony's Industries Group in 1976, as my first job, at the age of 24 years. I had very little experience as an accountant and hardly any experience as a manager. I had to work directly under one of the most energetic and highly experienced entrepreneurs on earth in Gnanam. It did not take much time for me to realize that Gnanam was a man of deeds and not of words, for whom no excuse, whether looking good or otherwise was acceptable.

Initially, I was very much excited and highly scared, when I realized that my survival in the new job will depend solely on whether I deliver the goods or not. Soon I found that though Gnanam appeared to be a tough and a difficult person to work with, that he was a very straight forward, highly disciplined and a man of very great character. He expected all those who worked and associated with him to reciprocate strictly to such great characteristics.

During the five years I spent at St. Anthony's I learnt not only the intricacies of financial management, but also the challenges of entrepreneurship of the highest order. It was a school of character building. He showed the easy way to meet stiffer challenges and how best to believe in yourself when all others are failing.

He himself had to face several such challenges and to undergo a wide range of difficulties. Gnanam was a person who would not get excited by any calamity. He was a firm believer in God and in himself for whom failures were always pillars of success. Even when his entire industrial complex was destroyed in 1983, his enthusiasm did not suffer even an inch. He came back with sheer determination and rebuilt every thing to a greater height.

He had an excellent knowledge in every field connected with industry and business, whether it was accounting, finance, costing, engineering, marketing or any other. Neither an employee nor any other person could easily take him for a ride because of his wide knowledge of every connected subject.

He had a clear vision of anything he was involved in and also a well defined goal. He knew the way to achieve it too. For him, it was only a matter of organizing his team to work towards the goal. He wanted everyone to think positively, no matter how difficult the task was. Anyone could criticize the plan within such a framework. He was prepared to listen and amend the plan. However, once a decision was reached, everyone alike should ensure that it is implemented to achieve the desired result.

He was a man who walked with kings without losing the common touch. Several top notched civil servants, government officials, political leaders including those with very big names and even Heads of States used to consult him regularly on the country's national economy and industrial policy. He was quite outspoken and had a clear vision about what is to be done to develope this country to greater heights.

Although he was known to be a great entrepreneur, there was another aspect which was not common knowledge. That is the super qualities he possessed as a great human being. I know of several individuals who were constantly helped by him for the sole reason that they had helped him at some stage or other of his life.

I left my job at St. Anthony's after a stint of five years to start something of my own. Although he was not happy when I first told him of my decision to leave the job, on second thoughts, he told me that I will do better in an industry of my own than working for somebody and finally gave his blessings.

I was just building up my industry and he very keenly followed the progress I made.

Once when I told him of my plans to get into a new field of business, he told me that he has some extra machinery which would be of interest to me. When I told him that I do not have the means to purchase them outright, but would arrange for a bank loan to purchase them, he not only asked me to take them and pay whenever I can, but also offered them at an unbelievably very low price.

He was simply expressing his appreciation for something he got from me some years back. This must have been just another one of the several thousands of such deeds he has performed in sheer humanity.

The greatest thing about the man was not in the reflection of the particular deed itself, but in the fact that he could not have even remembered that he has done a thing like that in the past.

Rohan B. Fernando

Asoka Alwis :

A constant source of inspiration

When I first met Asoka Alwis in the seventies I did not realize that she was a constant source of inspiration and strength to her family. Her pleasant disposition, composed and soft spoken manner gave no indication of the inner strength she possessed. Afte she became my sister's mother-in-law my association with her continued over three decades, before she passed away aged 89, on August 2, 2011. On her husband's demise, a heavy responsibility rested on her shoulders and single handed she guided the destiny of her young family. She saw her two sons and daughters going through their formative years, nurturing them with utmost care, love and attention. Three of her children went through their university careers and she encouraged them until they were established in their professions.

Her young family relied on her, and her guidance and immense contribution ensured that their aspirations were fullfilled. She steered the ship safely to the land of peace and prosperity.

Asoka Aunty spread her kindness and love beyond her family to reach out to those in need. Many benefitted through her generosity. Her former domestics received continuous assistance even after they left her services. Her unshaken devotion to Buddhism paid rich dividends even in later life. Her memory was clear and she led a normal life at a leisurely pace, practising loving kindness (Metta), Compassion (Karuna), Equanimity (Upekka) and she was happy about the good fortune of others (Muditha). She had a flair for organising alms-giving to monks, and carrying out meritorious deeds. Being very enthusiastic about observing sil, she in the process, enforced discipline on her actions, words and thoughts. It was customary for her to start the day listening to pirith chanting very early in the morning.

Over the years, she had developed her inner composure and the stresses and tensions which one experiences in the daily routine did not effect her much.

A former teacher, she led a life of noble deeds, speaking kind words and set an example by the way in which she lived. She could be considered a role model. Ever devoted to her family, she had a tranquil influence on them and maintained close ties with her grandchildren as well even when her family had extended to the fourth generation.

May she attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana!

Damayanthi Perera

Sinnathurai Viswiah:

The East loses a veteran son

The East was robbed of one of its distinguished sons Sinnathurai Visviah at the age of 96, when a few days ago he was seen going about seated on the pillion of one of his son's motorcycle engaged in his wonted style of attending to one of his fellowmen in distress on some matter.

Serving for many years as village Cultivation Superintendent there was hardly any jungle patch in the Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Anuradhapuara Districts his feet did not tread.

He had the unsurpassed privilege, where he was lucky to have had his education at both the premier educational colleges in Batticaloa Methodist Central College and at St. Michael's College. It was a joy to hear the English he commanded. A bane of our nation, and that done by successive different governments, is that in appointment of personnel to development committees their criteria was not the expertise, but the political slant of favourites. But for once, aware of the rich expertise of Viswiah in the fields of paddy cultivation, cattle development etc.

Not he but the nation was enriched, when this self effacing person, was named to travel to Kerala and such places to study in depth, what was termed the White Revolution for cattle development. At any time he could and would rattle off statistics of the acres of paddy in the district, the cattle population, the detailed losses caused by the very frequent cyclones that buffeted the East, of the tsunami and details of the loss to our economy when our most major irrigation tank breached.

English and Sinhala Government Agents in office greatly respected his expertise and among other things I am most grateful for his profound advice, and when during the time I served in Parliament he gave expert avdvice to introduce lift irrigation at the formerVeddah Village of Kathiravelli.

My invocation to the divine is that the turf which today encumbers him, lie softly over his remains.

Prince Casinader.