Softlogic Life inspires ‘Mannar Unbound’

• Comes forward as principal partner to launch ‘Mannar Unbound’: A photographic narration of the little-explored island’s nature and wildlife

As Sri Lanka’s number one health insurance company, Softlogic Life encourages Sri Lankans to enhance their quality of life by following their passions. The company has embraced creativity and disruptive innovation over the last few years, to elevate the standards of their customers by bringing together world-class solutions. 

Building up momentum for their cause of inspiring Sri Lankans, Softlogic Life has come forward to support four Sri Lankan professionals— Dr. Thilak Jayaratne, Dr. Janaka Gallangoda, Tamara Fernando and Nadika Hapuarachchi—whose passion for wildlife photography has become a solid foundation for conserving Sri Lanka’s fauna and flora over the last few years. 

Now, after five years of extensive fieldwork documenting the flora and fauna of this the little-explored Mannar region, these four passionate Sri Lankans have authored and launched ‘Mannar Unbound’—a photographic documentation and presentation of the biodiversity and natural landscape of Mannar. 

As a committed Sri Lankan corporate with a dedication towards conserving natural resources, Softlogic Life has further strengthened its sustainability efforts by not only inspiring these authors to launch ‘Mannar Unbound’ but also makes it a clarion call to everyone to savour the beauty of the region and to assist, urgently, in its preservation.

‘Mannar Unbound’ is an invitation for every Sri Lanka to delight in the images and history of the region. Importantly, it is also a call for to empathise with the beauty of nature and to contribute towards ensuring that Mannar’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems remain free from damage and exploitation as far as possible. 

“At Softlogic Life, our strategic objectives are always integrated closely with our sustainability initiatives. While protecting our world and providing a healthy environment for people of the nation, we are proactively engaged in inspiring every Sri Lankan to enthusiastically follow their passion and live their life to the fullest,” said Iftikar Ahamed, Managing Director of Softlogic Life. 

“The launch of ‘Mannar Unbound’ today is one such example where we identified the passion of these amazing intellectuals; they are committed towards bringing change by being passionate about conserving what is rare and beautiful. We are privileged to be a partner of their journey in launching extensive research and fieldwork done over five years. We hope that the contents of ‘Mannar Unbound’ will colour and animate your sense of Mannar today, and invite you to explore as well as protect it.” 

‘Mannar Unbound’ spans a variety of photographic genres including avian photography, landscapes, underwater fauna and architectural ruins. This visual story is intertwined with a historical story: beginning in antiquity, it invites one to soar through the wars of the Portuguese, dive into the cultural transformations enacted under the Dutch and follow every reader into the sunset period of British colonial Mannar. Photographs, like those in this book, freeze moments in time; but the story of Mannar is dynamic, cosmopolitan, and changing.

Softlogic Life Insurance PLC is a subsidiary of Softlogic Capital PLC and is part of the Softlogic Group, which is recognised as one of Sri Lanka’s most diversified and fastest-growing conglomerates, with interests in healthcare, retail, ICT, leisure, automobiles and financial services. Significant stakeholders in the company also include FMO and DEG, who are rated ‘AAA’ Development Financial Institutions from the Netherlands and Germany, respectively. 

Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe