The First Five Decades: N.U. Jayawardena biography first Sinhala translation handed over to Presiden

The first copy of the Sinhala translation of the biography of, N.U. Jayawardena—The First Five Decades, was handed over to President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently.

The authors of the book are Kumari Jayawardena (N.U.’s daughter-in-law) and Jennifer Moragoda (his granddaughter-in-law) and the translation was by Sunethra Siriwardena.

This edition of the book is being published by Godage Publishers. The book was handed over by members of the family, the authors and the publisher.  

The biography chronicles the first half of the long life and varied career of Tangalle-born N.U. Jayawardena (1908 to 2002), son of a provincial rest house keeper who rose to become the first Sri Lankan Governor of the Central Bank and a leading figure in the private sector.  

The book examines the formative experiences in N.U. Jayawardena’s early life and career, and the role he played, behind the scenes, in shaping some of Sri Lanka’s key financial and economic infrastructure. His life is set against the backdrop of the dramatic political, economic and social upheavals of the first half of the 20th century, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Second World War, and the period of Sri Lanka’s transition into an independent nation.

The original English version of the biography was published in 2008, to mark Deshamanya N.U. Jayawardena’s birth centenary.

Pic by Sudath Silva