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From the President’s hand: Professor K.N.O. Dharmadasa recognised for service to Sinhala literature

The International Book Fair is now on at the BMICH and will go on until 30 September

By D.C. Ranatunga

September is the Literary Month. Writers submit their new writings to the Department of Cultural Affairs and await the results of the State Literary Awards. Book lovers impatiently wait for the International Book Fair held by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association in the second half of September.  Alongside the Book Fair, the Publishers Association also presents the ‘Swarna Pusthaka’ awards to the best Sinhala novels. The authors of the best five novels are rewarded with cash prizes.

A highlight of the State Literary Awards is the recognition of three persons for their lifelong service in the literary field in Sinhala, Tamil and English. This year’s Lifetime Awards were presented to Professor K.N.O. Dharmadasa, M. Ponnambalam and Professor Gananath Obeysekera. The awards were given away by President Maithripala Sirisena.

I must confess that I have been out of the literary scene for the past few years and I am not knowledgeable to write about contemporary writers or comment on their work. Glancing through the State Awards list for 2018, I spotted at least two names familiar to me. One was Sunil Sarath Perera and the other, late Tissa Abeysekera. 

Of the 20 awards, Sunil Sarath had won two – the best original lyrics collection (for his ‘Sandakathmina’) and the best children’s literature book – ‘Dedunnak Paayala’. Sunil has been a longstanding poet and lyricist. The ardent environmentalist has composed some of the most meaningful songs sung by well-known singers. 

The script written by Tissa Abeysekera for the film ‘Welikatara’ won the award for Best Cinema and Teledrama Script. Though the film directed by D.B. Nihalsinghe was produced and screened several decades ago, the script may not have been published until last year. Tissa was the script writer for several top level film directors and worked closely with the Sri Lankan cinema doyen, Dr. Lester James Peries. 

This year marked the 61st State Literary Awards presentation. The award for the publisher with the most number of award-winning books was won by Godage & Brothers.

Authors who had published creative and academic/research work in 2017 in Sinhala, Tamil and English could submit their work for consideration for awards. The 20 awards were offered to originals and translations of novels, short stories, poetry, plays, lyrics, literary work for youth and children as well as originals and translations of academic and research work on varied subjects including humanities and social sciences.

Over the years, both the amount of the cash awards and the number of categories have been increasing. It’s indeed a commendable gesture. Such inducements encourage more writers to try their hand in new areas.

From the State Literary Awards held earlier this month, the accent shifted to the ‘Swarna Pusthaka’ awards to the best Sinhala novels by the Publishers Association. The award was first given in 2006. The cash award had been increased since then and the winner now gets Rs. 750,000. The next five winners are also given cash awards of Rs. 100,000 each.

The eagerly-awaited International Book Fair is now on at the BMICH and will go on until 30 September.