Kaluachchigamage Jayatillake (; 27 June 1926 – 14 September 2011), known as K. Jayatillake, was a Sinhala

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

. He was born in Kannimahara,

Gampaha District Gampaha District ( ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ''Kampakai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. It is the second most populous district of Sri Lank ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and was a contemporary of

Mahagama Sekara Mahagama Sekera (Mahagamage Sekera) ( Sinhala:මහගම සේකර / මහගමගේ සේකර ) (7 April 1929 – 14 January 1976) was a famed Sri Lankan poet, lyricist, playwright, novelist, artist, translator and filmmaker. He i ...

having studied in the same school. He married Sumana Jayatillake and was the father of four children. K. Jayatilake was one of Sri Lanka's topmost creative writers of the modern period of Sinhala literature. Using his close observations of village life, Jayatilake was a pioneer in the Sinhalese realistic novel. His first creative work, Punaruppattiya, a collection of short stories published in 1955, was well received. His award-winning novel and acknowledged masterpiece, Charitha Thunak, published in 1963, begins with a scene of peasants working in the field, evoking the intimate relationship between the villager and the earth. In this and other novels, Jayatilake reminds us also of the close-knit society of the village that is guided by common values.

Books

*Parajithayo *Charitha Thunak *Punchirala *Punchiralage Maranaya *Rajapakshe Walawwa *Pitha Maha *Piya Saha Puththu *Aprasanna Kathawa *Adishtana *Kalo Ayanthe *Maya Maliga *Manahkalpitha Vartavak Hevath Ardha Navakatavak *Mahallekuge Prema Katavak *Mathu Sambandai *Ekagei Avurudhdha *Vajira Pabbatha *Katu Saha Mal *Diyaniya Apasu Yai *Punaruthpaththiya *Delowata Nathi Aya *අතීරණය

External links

The living icon of Sinhala Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayatillake, K 1926 births 2011 deaths Sinhalese writers 20th-century Sri Lankan novelists