Sunanda Mahendra De Mel (; born 28 January 1938), popularly known as Sunanda Mahendra, is an author, and poet.

Personal life

Mahendra was born on 28 January 1938 in Piliyandala.

Career

Mahendra started to write news columns which were published in daily and weekly papers. He published the drama book ''Vineetha Hema'' becoming the first to publish a drama associated book in Sri Lanka. He published his maiden novel ''Hewaneli Eda Minissu'' which won State Literary Award for the best novel in 1964. In 1965, he translated

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

’s play ''Heddar Gabler'' as ''Geheniyak'' to Sinhala. During this period, he became a program producer in

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', , ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Departme ...

. Then he became a professional broadcaster on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

, based in London, where he also read for his doctorate. He is the pioneer to bring ''BBC Sandeshaya'' to Sri Lankan listeners. In 1965, a monologue called ''Pitastharayo'' was produced which was originally a radio drama. His next stage play was ''Sayuren Aa Landa'' in 1967 starred by

Malini Fonseka Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, (; ; 30 April 1947 – 24 May 2025) was a Sri Lankan actress, theatre artist, director and politician. Often dubbed the "Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema", her career spanned seven decades. Fonseka made her ...

. He wrote popular song lyrics for C.T. Fernando such as "Obage Thurulen Oba Dun Sihilen" and "Amathannata Heki Basak Soya". However the songs were released through radio after the death of Fernando in 1977. While in UK, he wrote the song "Kuda Devika" sung by Edmond Wickremasekera. In 1976, Mahendra made the play ''Jana Hathura''. In 1979, he made the first autonomous play ''Pokuru Wessa''. Later

Wilson Gunaratne Wilson Gunaratne (born March 9, 1949, as විල්සන් ගුණරත්න inhala is an actor and comedian in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. He is most notable for the role of ''Kodithuwakku'' in television comedy sitc ...

produced the remake of the play. In 1980, he made several children’s and media books. In the meantime, he presented the popular radio program ''Vishwa Keerthiyata Pathwuuwo''. The program involved many foreign personalities such as Darwin, Socrates, Dickens, Plato, D H Lawrence, Beethoven, Checkov, Gallileo, Homer which were discussed under socio-political frame work. Apart from that, he also presented the programs ''Geeyaka Rasa'', ''Nirmana Vindana'' and ''Sahan Eliya''. After his return from Poland to Sri Lanka, he published a book on Polish folk tales, ''Polantha Janakatha''. In 1990, Mahendra produced the biopic stage play ''Socrates''. Since then, he became a full-time writer and made the newspaper series ''Second thoughts'' on Daily News. The series was later published as a book by the same name. In 1999, he made the plays ''Aesop'' and ''Checkhov Sandhyava''.

Awards

His book ''Ogha Tharanaya'' (The Crossing of the Torrential Stream) won the

State Literary Award The State Literary Award is a set of annual literary prizes by the Government of Sri Lanka under several categories. The awards cover fiction, poetry, translations, songs and cover designs. Works from Sinhala, Tamil Tamil may refer to: Peop ...

for the best Sinhala poetry collection in 2006. Many poems from the collection are now translated into English. He has won the State Literary Award for the best original play script (1993), the best research work (2002) and twice for the best Sinhala novels in 1964 and 2002. His outstanding contribution to his field of expertise, mass communication, earned him a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Copernicus award for Social Sciences in 1983. The play ''Socrates'' won eight awards including best state drama award in 1991. * 1964 "Hevaneli eda minissu" best Sinhala Novel State Literary Award. * 1990 Most outstanding Citizen Award. Lions International. * 1992 "Socrates" best playscript State Literary Award * 1993 "Socrates" eight awards State Drama Festival * 2001 "Janakiyaman potha" best research State Literary Award * 2002 "Niruwath Devivaru" best Sinhala Novel State Literary Award * 2003 "Puranokthi Sangrahaya" merit State Literary Award * 2004 "Chaya Pranthaya" best Sinhala Novel Godage Literary Award * 2006 "Ogha Tharanaya" Best poetry collection State Literary Festival * 2010 Professor Gunapala Malalasekara Memorial Award for life-time achievement of Buddhist literary contribution. * 2008 Suta Kavi Buddhist Literary Award for Poetry

References

External links

Review on Sunanda Mahendra's first playUniversity of Kelaniyaමේ තරම් සුන්දර ද බන්ධන...?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahendra, Sunanda 1938 births Living people Sinhalese people Sri Lankan academics Alumni of Dharmaraja College Alumni of Ananda College Sri Lankan dramatists and playwrights Sri Lankan radio writers Academic staff of the University of Kelaniya Kala Keerthi Sinhala-language poets Sinhalese writers 20th-century Sri Lankan novelists 20th-century Sri Lankan poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the University of Leicester Alumni of the University of Kelaniya