Dr.Senerath Paranavitana

Senerath Paranavitana (26 December 1896 – 4 October 1972) was a pioneering
archeologist and epigraphist of Sri Lanka. His works dominated the middle-part of
the 20th century. He became the archeological commissioner in 1939, following
H. C. P. Bell, and D. M. de Z. Wickremasinghe in that position.
He was born on 26 December 1896 at Metaramba, Galle. He had his early
education at the Metaramba Government School and later entered Bona Vista
School in Galle. He studied oriental languages at Ranweligoda Pirivena in
Heenatigala. He was a school teacher at the Udugampola Government School and
joined the Department of Archaeology in 1923. He married in 1930. Senarath
Paranavitana received his Ph.D. degree in 1936 from the university of Laiden,
Holland. and was appointed Commissioner of Archaeology on 1 October 1940 in
which capacity he served diligently till December 1956. The next year (1957) he
was appointed Professor of Archeology at the Peradeniya campus of the
University of Ceylon.

Even though Paranavithana's period began with the on set of the Second World
War, his erudition and energy resulted in a very fruitful 17 years as the
Archaeological Commissioner of Ceylon, when he retired in 1956. Today, Sri
Lankan history and prehistory are illuminated by his highly-regarded academic
and popular writings. The most well-known "magnum opus" of course was "Sigiri
graffiti", published in two monumental volumes by the Oxford University Press.
Besides his numerous contributions to foreign and local journals in the fields of
epigraphy, history, art, architecture, religion, languages and literature are the
following publications:

• The Shrine of Upulvan at Devundara (1953)

• The God of Adam's peak (1958)

• Ceylon and Malaysia (1961)

• Inscriptions of Ceylon Vol.l (1970)

• The Greeks and the Mauryas (1971)

• Arts of Ancient Sinhalese (1971)

• Inscriptions of Ceylon Vol. ll (published posthumously)

• Story of Sigiriya (published posthumously)

• Sinhalayo

Details were taken from Wikipedia & Divaina News Paper

Alexander Graham Bell

1847 -- 1922

BELL, Alexander Graham, physicist, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 March 1847. He is a son of Alexander Melville Bell, mentioned below, and was educated at the Edinburgh high school and Edinburgh University, receiving special training in his father's system for removing impediments in speech. He removed to London in 1867, and entered the University there, but left on account of his health, and went to Canada with his father in 1870. In 1872 he took up his residence in the United States, introducing with success his father's system of deaf-mute instruction, and became professor of vocal physiology in Boston University. He had been interested for many years in the transmission of sound by electricity, and had devised many forms of apparatus for the purpose, but the first public exhibition of his invention was at Philadelphia in 1876. Its complete success has made him wealthy. His invention of the "photophone," in which a vibratory beam of light is substituted for a wire in conveying speech, has also attracted much attention, but has never been practically used. It was first described by him before the American association for the advancement of science in Boston, 27 August 1880.

After the shooting of President Garfield, Professor Bell, together with Sumner Tainter, experimented with an improved form of Hughes's induction balance, and endeavored to find the exact location of the ball, but failed. Professor Bell has put forth the theory that the present system of educating deaf-mutes is wrong, as it tends to restrict them to one another's society, so that marriages between the deaf are common, and therefore the number of deaf-mute children born is on the increase. His latest experiments relate to the recording of speech by means of photographing the vibrations of a jet of water. He is a member of various learned societies, and has published many scientific papers. He has lived for some time in Washington, District of Columbia.

Edited Appleton's Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 Virtualology ^TM

Library of Congress on Bell

The online version of the Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress will comprise a selection of approximately 4700 items (totaling about 38,000 images). This second release contains about 4650 items consisting of correspondence, scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and photographs documenting Bell's invention of the telephone and his involvement in the first telephone company, his family life, his interest in the education of the deaf, and his aeronautical and other scientific research. Dates span from 1862 to 1939, but the bulk of the materials are from 1865 to 1920. Included among Bell's papers are pages from his experimental notebook from March 10, 1876, describing the first successful experiment with the telephone, during which he spoke through the instrument to his assistant the famous words, "Mr. Watson--Come here--I want to see you." Bell's various roles in life as teacher, inventor, celebrity, and family man are covered extensively in his papers. The digitization of this selection of the Bell Family Papers is made possible through the generous support of the AT&T Foundation.

Click to more details from Bell foundation.

Kayes - A Famous Srilanka Poet

Ven. Kalalelle Ananda Sagara, a Colombo period poet who wrote
some of the finest verses at the time under the pseudonym Kayes and U.A.S. Perera or Siri Aiya who conducted a weekly children ‘s program called Lama Theeraya at the then Radio Ceylon.
Kayes Hamuduruwo took our Sinhala class and prescribed two of his well-known poetry books, Malhami and Kalakanniya for the class.

We read them in class with him in sheer delight. I remember Kayes’ poem opened new literary vistas to us. Some of us were inspired to write poetry ourselves, they may have been doggerel, but we scribbled them on exercise books not meant for school work. Sheepishly we showed them to the poet- monk who smiled at our amateurish literary attempts. We continued while relishing the Hamuduruwo’s classic works.
It was not generally known in school that Ven. Kalalelle Ananda Sagara was in fact the
poet Kayes. Some of us probed and discovered the fact. Perhaps the clerical versifier
believed in the saying of Oscar Wilde that the artist should remain incognito and
concealed in the background exposing only his art, not his identity and name.
Kayes noted this thinking in a preface he wrote to his epic Sudo Sudu which recounted in
lucid and simple verse the immortal love story of three village youth. Somehow Kayes
Hamuduruwo never prescribed Sudo Sudu for our class. Perhaps he decided that the love
theme was too adult in conception and we were unready yet for the literary adventure.
But there were students who had read Sudo Sudu stealthily out of curiosity and
admiration for our poet- teacher.

Kayes Hamuduruwo was also a proficient English teacher. I remember with amusement
how he shed his Sinhalism when he took an English class: he strained to imitate the highly-tilted diction of Old Blighty. Kayes took his pen-name after the three initials of his name KAS (Kalalelle Ananda Sagara); KAS was neatly converted into Kayes.

Later, when he gave up robes he reverted to his lay name Sagara Palansuriya. For a while he donned the European suit but opted to the national dress when he took to politics and successfully contested the Horana seat under the MEP of SWRD Bandaranaike and Phillip Gunawardena.

It was while Kayes was at Ananda that his Colombo Period poets’ Association the Aganuwara Tharuna Kavi Samajaya (Athakasa) held its annual general meeting at Prince College in Kotahena.

All the stalwarts of the Colombo Period were there: Borelesgamuwa G.H. Perera, P.B. Alwis Perera, Indra Kumaranayake, Wimalaratne Kumarage, John Rajadasa, H.M. Kudaligama and others. Kayes had composed a brilliant welcome in verse lampooning his poetcolleagues
in unmalicious terms: it was hilarious. Kayes invited two of us- Jayawardena and myself to recite the poem. He was residing in an aramaya in Dematagoda and we went there to rehearse the poem. We had to memorize the entire set of verses.

Kayes sat down on a canvas-backed wooden chair and smoked while we recited the verses.
He gave his approval only after an umpteen number of rehearsals. At Prince College it was a festive day. There were poets everywhere and the public response, unlike now, was great. People then seemed to appreciate and relish good Sinhala poetry. It ranked above the trash that went as pseudo literary work.

The welcome poem at Prince College was received with applause. Kayes though he left Ananda continued to write verses. Some of them highly imaginative and even philosophical and contributed regularly to his friend Alwis Perera ‘s monthly digest of poems titled Dedunna.

Kayes while he was teaching in Jaffna wrote poems titled Uthuren and Wimalaratne Kumarage who was a DRO, also a friend of Kayes responded from the South his verses headlined Dakunen.
To us, Kayes was the memorable individual - not Sagara Palansuriya, Kayes was our dream-maker. Some of us later became poets ourselves no doubt inspired by our monk-teacher. Who wouldn’t if he had read the immortal opening verse in Sudo Sudu: Godamada Dekama Sarusaraya Palabaraya; katurodu Gammane tharamake Pitisaraya; Eygama Medin Galana Ganga Manaharaya; Kada MandiyaPihitiye Gama Kelavaraya.


Copy right from Mr.Premil Ratnayake's Article

Sir. Arthur C. Clarke

The achievements of Arthur C. Clarke, unique among his peers, bridge the arts and sciences.
His works and his authorship have ranged from scientific discovery to science fiction, from
technical application to entertainment, and have made a global impact on the lives of present
and future generations.
Arthur C. Clarke was the son of an English farming family, born in the seaside town of
Minehead, Somerset, England on December 16, 1917. In 1998, his lifetime work was
recognized by H.M. The Queen when he was honored with a Knighthood – formally conferred
by Prince Charles in Sri Lanka two years later. He passed away in Sri Lanka on March 19,
2008.
After attending schools in his home county, Arthur Clarke moved to London in 1936 and
pursued his early interest in space sciences by joining the British Interplanetary Society. He
started to contribute to the BIS Bulletin and began to write science fiction.
As with so many young men at the time, World War II interrupted in 1939 and he joined the
RAF, eventually becoming an officer in charge of the first radar talk-down equipment, the
Ground Controlled Approach, during its experimental trials. Later, his only non-science-fiction
novel, Glide Path, was based on this work. After the war, he returned to London and to the
BIS, becoming its president in 1947-50 and again in 1953.
In 1945, a UK periodical magazine “Wireless World” published his landmark technical paper "Extra-terrestrial Relays" in which he first set
out the principles of satellite communication with satellites in geostationary orbits - a speculation realized 25 years later. During the
evolution of his discovery, he worked with scientists and engineers in the USA in the development of spacecraft and launch systems, and
addressed the United Nations during their deliberations on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Clarke's work, which led to the global satellite systems in use today, brought him numerous honors including the 1982 Marconi International
Fellowship, a gold medal of the Franklin Institute, the Vikram Sarabhai Professorship of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad,
the Lindbergh Award and a Fellowship of King's College, London. Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometers above the equator is
named The Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union.
After leaving the RAF in 1946, he resumed his formal studies and was awarded a Fellowship at King's College, London where he obtained
first class honors in Physics and Mathematics in 1948.
In 1954, Clarke wrote to Dr. Harry Wexler, then chief of the Scientific Services Division, U.S. Weather Bureau, about satellite applications
for weather forecasting. From these communications, a new branch of meteorology was born, and Dr. Wexler became the driving force in
using rockets and satellites for meteorological research and operations.
At the same time, Clarke has been the author of many books, articles and papers. The first story he sold professionally was "Rescue
Party", written in March 1945 and appearing in Astounding Science in May 1946. He went on to become a prolific writer of science fiction,
renowned worldwide and with more than 70 titles to his name. Among his many non-fiction works, “Profiles of the Future” (1962) looked at
the probable shape of tomorrow's world and stated his “Three Laws”.
In 1964, he started to work with the noted film producer Stanley Kubrick on a science fiction movie script. Four years later, he shared an
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Oscar nomination with Kubrick at the Hollywood Academy Awards for the film version of “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Then, in 1985, he
published a sequel, “2010: Odyssey Two” and worked with Peter Hyams on the movie version. Their work was done using a Kaypro
computer and a modem, linking Arthur in Sri Lanka and Peter Hyams in Los Angeles, leading to a book “The Odyssey File - The Making of
2010.”
In television, Clarke worked alongside Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra for the CBS coverage of the Apollo 12 and 15 space missions.
His thirteen-part TV series Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World in 1981 and Arthur C. Clarke's World of strange Powers in 1984 has been
screened in many countries and he has contributed to other TV series about space, such as Walter Cronkite's Universe series in 1981.
Clarke first visited Colombo, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) in December 1954 and has lived there since 1956 pursuing an enthusiasm for
underwater exploration along that coast and on the Great Barrier Reef. In recent years, he has been largely confined to a wheelchair due
to post-polio syndrome, but his output as a writer has continued undiminished.
 

NOTE: the authorized biography by Neil McAleer - Arthur C. Clarke - The Authorized Biography - was published by Contemporary Books,
Chicago, in 1992.

You can get more details from .....

more details on wikipedia.org

clarke foundation 

About Sir. Clarke