‘The Journey – A Tale of Passion’

The autobiography of Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, ‘The Journey – A Tale of Passion’ was launched on 7 June in Colombo at an event graced by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and a host of other dignitaries.  

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing

Former Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal

‘The Journey’ is the third book written by Dr. Nalaka Godahewa. This book is not just a memoir. It also serves as a practical guidebook for the young generation. Parallel to his life story the author also takes trouble to explain the social, economic and political context within which each situation was experienced. His learnings from those experiences are also shared with the readers.  

Former Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal who was entrusted with the task of introducing the book said, “Dr. Nalaka Godahewa is a professional who has excelled in many disciplines. What is more important is the role he played in the Public Sector since 2009 during which period I got to know him. He was part of our team that revived the economy under President Rajapaksa’s leadership.” 

According to Nivard Cabraal one of the specialties of Dr. Godahewa is his ability to explain a very complex matter in a very simple language that even an ordinary person could understand. Nivard quoted the example of how the two of them worked together to simplify the explanations on the highly technical bond scam issue to the general public. The journey is an easy to read book, which has also reviewed the ups and downs of the Rajapaksa era according to the former Governor of Central Bank.

Dr. Nalaka Godahewa’s official website was launched by former Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa under whom Dr. Godahewa served as the Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism.  

The Chief Guest of the event Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that under his leadership during 2005-2014 the challenges were different. “The same way we handled those challenges successfully, a future government will face any challenge and bring prosperity back to this nation,” assured Rajapaksa. He said that it is time for the educated people to come forward and get involved in the nation building efforts. 

“Dr. Nalaka Godahewa is one person who never left us during difficult times though some other people appear only during good times. Nalaka has always delivered results in whatever the task we assigned to him whether it is Sri Lanka Insurance, Sri Lanka Tourism, or SEC. Recently, he has been helping even our young politicians to become more knowledgeable and effective in TV debates. Now we want to assign him a new task and request him to enter politics and serve the nation at a different level,” he said. Rajapaksa also joked that in the game of politics one has to face many bouncers so he has to make sure you protect your head from these bouncers. 

Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe