Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, (commonly known as Martin Wickramasinghe) ( si, මාර්ටින් වික්‍රමසිංහ) (29 May 1890 – 23 July 1976) was a Sri Lankan journalist and author. His books have been translated into several languages. Wickramasinghe is often acclaimed as the father of modern

Sinhala literature Sri Lankan literature is the literary tradition of Sri Lanka. The largest part of Sri Lankan literature was written in the Sinhala language, but there is a considerable number of works in other languages used in Sri Lanka over the millennia (inc ...

.Martin Wickramasinghe: Literary colossus of the last Century
by Dr. W. A. Abeysinghe (Island) Accessed 2016-09-27Biographical sketch of Martin Wickramasinghe
by Dr. Ranga Wickramasinghe (Daily News) Accessed 2016-09-27Martin Wickramasinghe at 120
by Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa (Sunday Observer) Accessed 2016-09-27He wrote for children too
by Sumana Saparamadu (Sunday Observer) Accessed he dies in 1976-09-27

Early life

Born Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, on 29 May 1890, in the town of Koggala (

Galle District Galle ( si, ගාල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''gālla distrikkaya''; ta, காலி மாவட்டம் ''Kāli māvattam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, th ...

), as the only son of Lamahewage Don Bastian Wickramasinghe (father) and Magalle Balapitiya Liyanage Thochchohamy (mother). At the age of five Wickramasinghe was taught the

Sinhala alphabet The Sinhala script ( si, සිංහල අක්ෂර මාලාව, Siṁhala Akṣara Mālāva), also known as Sinhalese script, is a writing system used by the Sinhalese people and most Sri Lankans in Sri Lanka and elsewhere to writ ...

, at home and in the village temple, by a monk, Andiris Gurunnanse. He also learned the Devanagari script and could recite by memory long sections of the ''

Hitopadesa ''Hitopadesha'' (Sanskrit: हितोपदेशः, IAST: ''Hitopadeśa'', "Beneficial Advice") is an Indian text in the Sanskrit language consisting of fables with both animal and human characters. It incorporates maxims, worldly wisdom an ...

''. After two years he was taken to a vernacular school where he prospered until 1897 when he was sent to an English school in

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

called

Buona Vista Buona Vista is a housing estate located in the subzones of one-north and Holland Drive in the residential township of Queenstown in Singapore. The housing estate is served by the Buona Vista MRT station which links it up with the MRT system. I ...

. In the two years spent at the school Wickramasinghe became fluent in English as well as Latin. When his father died in 1901, he returned to a vernacular school in Ahangama and subsequently lost interest in schooling. Having left school, at the age of 16 years Wickramasinghe found work as a

book-keeper Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Tr ...

in a shop in Colombo owned by Carolis Silva in 1906. Following year he leaves the shop to join a commissions agency run by John Silva. in 1910, his mother dies. Following the

1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

, John Silva's agency was closed and he returned to Koggala. He then became a book-keeper at Cornelis Silva's shop in

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the ...

Journalism career

In 1916, Martin Wickramasinghe starts to write to the Sinhala daily

Dinamina Dinamina ( si, දිනමිණ) is a Sinhala language daily newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), a government-owned corporation. The newspaper commenced publishing in 1909. It was f ...

under the penname ''Hethu Vaadi'' (Rationalist) and pens a controversial series called "Plants and Animals". He then joins the editorial staff of Dinamina, owned by the press baron D. R. Wijewardena's

Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), also known as Lake House. It publishes three daily, three weekend, five weekly, two monthly and three annual publications in Sinhala, English and Tamil. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited i ...

(ANCL). In 1927, he leaves Dinamina to join Lakmina. In 1931, he returns to ANCL as the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

of Sinhala weekend paper

Silumina Silumina ( si, සිළුමිණ) is a Sinhala language weekly newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), a government-owned corporation. The newspaper commenced publishing in March 30 ...

. In 1932, he was appointed editor of Dinamina, serving until his resignation in 1946.

Literary career

His literary career began with the novel ''Leela'' (1914) and an anthology of essays on literary criticism, ''Shastriya Lekhana'' (1919). Shortly thereafter he began a campaign to raise literary standards for the Sinhalese reading public with work such as ''Sahityodaya Katha'' (1932), ''Vichara Lipi'' (1941), ''Guttila Geetaya'' (1943) and ''Sinhala Sahityaye Nageema'' (1946) in which he evaluated the traditional literally heritage according to set rules of critical criteria formed by synthesising the best in Indian and western traditions of literary criticism.Martin Wickramasinghe: An icon of world intellectual heritage
by Dr. W. A. Abeysinghe (Daily News) Accessed 2016-09-27 Through the 1940s Wickramasinghe dabbled with the double role of literary critic and creative writer. '' Gamperaliya'' (1944) is widely held as the first Sinhalese novel with a serious intent that compares, in content and technique, with the great novels of modern world literature. The novel depicts the crumbling of traditional village life under the pressure of modernisation. The story of a successful family in a Southern village is used to portray the gradual replacement of traditional economic and social structure of the village by commercial city influence. Wickramasinghe followed Gamperaliya with ''

Yuganthaya ''Yuganthaya'' ( Sinhala: යුගාන්තය "The End of an Era" or "Destiny") is a novel written by Sri Lankan writer Martin Wickremasinghe Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, (commonly known as Martin Wickramasinghe) ( si, ම� ...

'' (1948) and '' Kaliyugaya'' (1957) forming a trilogy. After the decay of the traditional life, the story details the rise of the bourgeoisie, with its urban base and entrepreneurial drive, ending with the formation of the labour movement and socialist theology and rise of hopes for a new social order. The trilogy was made into film by the renowned Sri Lankan director Dr.

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, a ...

. With the development of a literary criticism movement in the early-'50s, Wickramasinghe presented the works ''Sahitya Kalava'' ('The Art of Literature' 1950) and ''Kawya Vicharaya'' ('The Criticism of Poetry' 1954). Wickramasinghe was appointed a member of the Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1953 and in 1954 was appointed to the National Languages Commission, from which he resigned three months later. He was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in ''The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The reci ...

with the ensign awarded by Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in person during her Royal Visit to Ceylon in 1954. Wickramasinghe's most heralded work came in 1956 with ''

Viragaya ''Viragaya'' (''Devoid of Passions'') is a 1956 novel written by Martin Wickremasinghe. The novel is considered an outstanding work in modern Sinhalese fiction due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique. The story ...

''. Due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique, the novel has come to be hailed as the greatest work of Sinhalese fiction. It follows the spiritual problems of a fragile Sinhalese youth raised in a traditional Buddhist home after being confronted with the spectre of adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it all made more complex with the modernisation of society. First-person narrative is used to put forth the autobiographical story of the anti-hero in impressionistic vignettes rather than in chronological order. It is a seminal work and spawned a spew of imitators, some good on their own right.

Peradeniya school and poet

Wickramasinghe was an early practitioner of the genre of poetry called ''nisandas'', which ignored the restrictions placed on poetry by the traditional prosodic patterns. It drew inspiration from the work of Eliot,

Pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: Units * Pound (currency), a unit of currency * Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom * Pound (mass), a unit of mass * Pound (force), a unit of force * Rail pound, in rail profile Symbols * Po ...

, Whitman and other western poets and was part of a movement called Peradeniya School. Wickramasinghe's work was ''Teri Gi'' (1952). The movement dissolved in the 1960s prompted by Wickramasinghe's contention that other writers of the Peradeniya School were not sensitive to cultural traditions and the Buddhist background of Sinhalese society. He accused

Ediriweera Sarachchandra Dr. Veditantirige Eustace Reginold de Silva (later became Veditantirige Ediriweera Ranjitha Sarachchandra) (3 June 1914 – 16 August 1996; Sinhala: මහාචාර්ය එදිරිවීර සරච්චන්ද්‍ර), popularly ...

Gunadasa Amarasekara Gunadasa Amarasekera (born 1929) is a prominent Sinhala writer, poet, and essayist from Sri Lanka. Early life and education Gunadasa Amarasekera was born in Yattalamatta in Galle District. He was educated at Mahinda College, Galle and Nalanda ...

and others of imitating "decadent" western and post-war

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japan ...

and of supporting a

nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

look on life with cynical disregard for national tradition.

Later years

Wickramasinghe visited Cuba on the invitation of the

Cuban Government Cuba has had a socialist political system since 1959 based on the "one state – one party" principle. Cuba is constitutionally defined as a Marxist–Leninist state. The present Constitution of Cuba, which was passed in a 2019 referendum, also ...

in 1968. In 1973, Wickramasinghe wrote a new biography of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...

titled ''Bava Taranaya''. In it the great teacher's change from royal heir in-waiting to philosopher-mendicant is portrayed as being a result of his sympathy to the poor and the downtrodden of society. Wickramasinghe died on 23 July 1976 and his home is now a folk

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

Personal life

Wickramasinghe married Kataluwe Balage Prema de Silva on 30 November 1925. They move to Mount-Lavinia, where their first child Susantha Manuwarna is born and dies 3 months later. They would six more children, three sons and three daughters. Their eldest son

Sarath Kusum Wickramasinghe Sarath Kusum Wickramasinghe (known as S. K. Wickremasinghe) (1926 - 11 June 2020) was a Sri Lankan business executive and diplomat. He served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1995 to 1999. Early life and education The ...

, served as

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is the Sri Lankan envoy to United Kingdom. Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange High Commissioners, rather than Ambassadors. Though there are a few technica ...

from 1995 to 1999. Wickramasinghe built himself a house Samudrasanna Road, Mount-Lavinia in 1939. In 1941, his family home in Koggala is taken over by the military when

RAF Koggala Koggala ( si, කොග්ගල, translit=Koggala; ta, கொக்கலை, translit=Kokkalai) is a small coastal town, situated at the edge of a lagoon on the south coast of Sri Lanka, located in Galle District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, ...

was established during

world war 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1950, he sold his house and moved to Thimbirigasyaya to allow his children to attend university. In 1956, he moved to

Bandarawela Bandarawela ( Sinhala : බණ්ඩාරවෙල, pronounced ; Tamil: பண்டாரவெல) is the second largest town in the Badulla District which is away from Badulla. Bandarawela is away from Colombo and about away from Kandy, ...

, where he took up residence.

Honors and awards

* Member of the

(MBE) - 1953 * Appointed Member of the Radio Broadcasting Commission – 1953 * Award for the best news paper article for the year "The fall of the Brahmin Class" – 1956 * The novel "Viragaya" wins the Don Pedric Award for the best novel of the year – 1957 * Awarded a Honorary PhD by the

Vidyodaya University Vidyodaya School is a private college-preparatory combined-grades school located in Thevakkal, Kochi, India. It provides comprehensive school education from lower primary to grade 12. About Established in 1990-91 the school conducts classes fr ...

– 1960 * Awarded a

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

by the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

– 1963 *

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

Award for his book "The Rise of the Soviet Land" – 1964 * Awarded a

by Vidyalankara University −1964 * Awarded a

by the

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

– 1970 * Receives the first Presidential Award for Literature – 1974

Publications

A comprehensive list of publications of Martin Wikramasinghe, Novels *''Leela'' (1914) *''Soma'' (1920) *''Irangani'' (1923) *''Seetha'' (1923) *''Miringu Diya (Mirage)'' (1925) *''Unmada Chitra'' (1929) *''Rohini'' (1929) *'' Gamperaliya (The Uprooted/Changing Village)'' (1944) *'' Madol Doova (Mangrove Island)'' (1947) *''

(End of the Era)'' (1949) *''

(Devoid of Passions)'' (1956) *'' Kaliyugaya (Age of Destruction)'' (1957) *''Karuvala Gedara (House of Shadows)'' (1963) *''Bhavatharanaya (Siddhartha's Quest)'' (1973) Collections of short stories *''Geheniyak (A Woman)'' (1924) *''Magul Gedara (The Wedding)'' (1927) *''Pavkarayata Galgesima (Stoning the Sinner)'' (1936) *''Apuru Muhuna (The Strange Face)'' (1944) *''Handa Sakki Kima (The Moon is Witness)'' (1945) *''Mara Yuddhaya (Mara's War)'' (1945) *''Mage Kathawa (My Story)'' (1947) *''Vahallu (Bondage)'' (1951) Plays *''Chithra'' (1940) *''Mayuri'' (1944) *''Vijitha'' (1952) Literary criticism *''Shastriya Lekshana (Educational Essays)'' (1919) *''Sinhala Sahitya Katha (Sinhala Literary Essays)'' (1932) *''Sahitya Shiksha 1 (Essays on Literatura)'' (1936) *''Sahitya Shiksha 2'' (1938) *''Vichara Lipi (Literary Criticism)'' (1941) *''Guttila Gitaya 1 (Critical Review)'' (1943) *''Sinhala Sahityaye Negima (Landmarks of Sinhala Literature)'' (1945) *''Sahitya Kalava (Art of Literature)'' (1950) *''Kavya Vicharaya (Sinhala Poetry:A critical Review)'' (1954) *''Atta Yutta (Essays in Literature)'' (1955) *''Bana Katha Sahitya (Buddhist Folk Literature)'' (1955) *''Nava Padya Sinhalaya (Modern Sinhala Poetry)'' (1957) *''Rasavadaya Ha Bauddha Kavyaya (Aesthetics and Buddhist Poetry)'' (1961) *''Sinhala Vichara Maga (Sinhala Literary Criticism)'' (1964) *''Navakathanga Ha Viragaya (Literary Aspects of Buddhist Jataka Stories)'' (1968) *''Sinhala Navakathawa Ha Japan Kama Katha Sevanella (The Sinhala Novel in the Shadow of the Japanese Erotic Novel)'' (1969) *''Sinhala Natakaya Ha Sanda Kinduruwa (Sanda Kinduru and Sinhala Drama)'' (1970) *''Sampradaya Ha Vicharaya (Tradition and Criticism)'' (1971) *''Vyavahara Bhashava Ha Parinama Dharmaya (Contemporary Sinhala and Its Evolotion)'' (?) Evolution and Anthropology *''Sathwa Sanhathiya (Biological Evolution)'' (1934) *''Bhavakarma Vikashaya (An Unorthodox Interpretation of Buddhist Philosophy)'' (1967) *''Manava Vidyava Ha Bauddha Vignana Vadaya (Anthropology and Buddhist Idealism)'' (1974) Philosophy *''Sinhala Lakuna (The Sinhalese Identity)'' (1947) *''Budu Samaya Ha Samaja Darshanaya (Buddhism and Social Philosophy)'' (1948) *''Denuma Ha Dekuma (Knowledge and Reality)'' (1958) *''Sinhala Sakaskada (Sociological Writings)'' (1962) *''Bauddha Darshanaya Ha Margaya (Buddhist Philosophy and the Way)'' (1968) *''Nivan Muhunuvara Ha Bamunu Dittiya (Face of Nirvana and Brahmin Dogma)'' (1972) Autobiography *'' Ape Gama (Our Village)'' (1940) *''Upanda Sita (From My Childhood)'' (1961) Biography *''Chechov Ha Lankava (Chechov and Sri Lanka)'' (1970) *''Ape Urumaya Ha Bhikshun Vahanse (The contribution of Buddhist Monks to our Cultural Heritage)'' (?) *''Ape Viyath Parapura Ha Bhasha Samaja Parinamaya (The role of Our Leaders in the Evolution of Our Language and Society)'' (?) Books in English *''Aspects of Sinhalese Culture'' (1952) *''The Buddhist Jataka Stories and the Russian Novel'' (1952) *''The Mysticism of D H Lawrence'' (1957) *''Buddhism and Culture'' (1964) *''Revolution and Evolution'' (1971) *''Buddhism and Art'' (1973) *''Sinhala Language and Culture'' (1975) History *''Purana Sinhala Stringe Enduma (Women's Attire in Ancient Lanka)'' (1935) *''Kalunika Sevima (Search for Our Past)'' (1950) Travel *''Soviet Deshaye Negima (The Rise of the Soviet Union)'' (1962)

Translations in other languages

Books translated in to other languages, Bulgarian *''Madol Doova'' (1961) Chinese *''A Collection of Short Stories'' (1961) *''Madol Doova'' (1961) Dutch *''Madol Doova'' (1979) English *''Landmarks of Sinhala Literature'' (1948) *''Lay Bare the Roots (Ape Gama)'' (1958) *''Madol Doova'' (1968) *''The Way of the Lotus (Viragaya)'' (1985) French *''Viragaya'' (1995) Japanese *''Madol Doova'' (2002) Romanian *''Madol Doova'' (1962) Russian *''Madol Doova'' (1954) *''A Collection of Short Stories 1'' (1958) *''A Collection of Short Stories 2'' (1970) *''Trilogy: Gamperaliya, Kaliyugaya, Yuganthaya'' (1975) Tamil *''Gamperaliya'' (1964) *''Viragaya'' (1992) *''Madol Doova'' (1993)

Films and television productions

Films and television productions, based on Martin Wikramasinghe's books, Feature films *'' Gamperaliya'' (1963) *'' Madol Doova'' (1976) *'' Kaliyugaya'' (1981) *''

'' (1983) *''Viragaya'' (1987) *"Karuwala Gedara"(_) Television *''Leli (Daughter in law)'' (1989) *''Gamperaliya'' (1989) *''Mamage Duwa'' (1992) *''Madol Doova'' (1994) *''Upasakamma (The Pious Woman)'' (1994) *''Mudiyanse Mama (Honourable Uncle)'' (1994) *''Mava (Mother)'' (1994) *''Sisiliyata Padamak (A Lesson for Ceciliya)'' (1994)

Martin Wickramasinghe Trust

Martin Wickramasinghe Trust is an approved by the Government of Sri Lanka as a charitable organization. The Martin Wickramasinghe Trust has been established with the objectives of preservation of manuscripts, first editions of all his books, tape recording and photographs related to his life and work. Martin Wickramasinghe House & Folk Museum in Koggala also operated by Martin Wickramasinghe Trust Fund.

References

External links

Official website of Martin Wickramasinghe – www.martinwickramasinghe.infoA writer of many facets
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickramasinghe, Martin 1890 births 1976 deaths 20th-century novelists Ceylonese Members of the Order of the British Empire Sinhalese journalists Sinhalese writers Sri Lankan novelists Sri Lankan Buddhists