November 2 marked the 80th birthday of my father Ebert Silva, a legend in the transportation industry in this country who passed away some seven months ago. My late grandfather, Agampodi Nomis de Silva, a remarkable entrepreneur from the coastal village of Waskaduwa in the South Western Province arrived in Colombo and settled down in [...]

Feeds Editorials Times Online

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

He steered his father’s vision in his own way

By Rajini de Silva Mendis
Ebert Silva
View(s):

November 2 marked the 80th birthday of my father Ebert Silva, a legend in the transportation industry in this country who passed away some seven months ago. My late grandfather, Agampodi Nomis de Silva, a remarkable entrepreneur from the coastal village of Waskaduwa in the South Western Province arrived in Colombo and settled down in Dehiwala to realise his dream of starting a business in passenger transport. With his wife Magilin they raised a family of eight children. The eldest son and the second in the family was my father, Ebert.

Ebert Silva shows the oldest bus in Sri Lanka to Lord Montagu Beaulieu during his visit here in 1979

My gramdfather instilled in his children the Buddhist principles, tenets and values. Being a devout Buddhist, a teetotaller and a vegetarian by choice from the age of seven, it was a tradition respectfully continued and maintained by my father throughout the years. Educated at St. Peter’s College, my father used to recall the carefree lifestyle he enjoyed in his younger days where he used to cycle all the way from the residence along Hill Street in Dehiwala to College, accompanied by his friends.

There were also days that his father would drive them to and from school in his ‘Austin 14’. My father’s passion for automobiles was evident from a very young age. After school, he would leave his books aside and dash to the workshops and garages, situated beside the residence. His friends calling him for play after school often found my father emerging from under vehicles he had been tampering with covered with stains and smears.

As told by my father, when my grandfather set out to realise his dream of a bus service by operating the first bus between Colombo and Matara in 1925, there had been no proper guidelines to regulate or to standardise the services. I remember the many exciting and chilling stories narrated by him, having heard and witnessed as a little boy of fights and brawls, sometimes even fatal that had erupted between bus operators and their crews due to the struggle for passengers and routes. The ‘Nelson Commission’ had been subsequently appointed by the British Government in this context to address the inadequacies of the existing bus service and to suggest and recommend methodologies to improve the public transport system in the country. Among the Commission’s proposals were recommendations to use ‘closed body’ buses to ensure passenger safety and comfort. It was also stipulated to incorporate all bus operations into limited liability companies with the allocation of specific routes and operational time tables.

It was in this backdrop that my grandfather, Nomis de Silva, incorporated his bus service as ‘Ebert Silva Omni Bus Company Limited’ in the 1940s, adorning his buses with the name of his eldest son. Prior to the incorporation the buses were operated along many main routes in the island including that of Colombo to Jaffna, after which the Omni Bus Company commenced its service along the Colpetty – Eye Hospital – Wellawatte – Kirulapone – Polhengoda – Colpetty – Maradana route. My father once recalled the bus fare from Colpetty to the Eye Hospital being 5 cents and that from Colpetty to Maradana being a mere 2 cents at that time.

The Chevrolet 1935 ‘open body’ with the plate Z – 1988, the oldest bus preserved in its original condition in Sri Lanka is a prestigious member from the original Ebert Silva Omni Bus fleet of 1940s. This priceless piece of history was undoubtedly my father’s most treasured possession out of all in his precious collection of vintage, classic motor vehicles. It was this love he had for motor vehicles, especially the vintage and the classics that made him a founder member of the Vintage Car Owners’ Club in 1987 and later a Vice President. He was an active member until his demise.

Among his fine collection are also rare and invaluable pieces such as a 20 hp Rolls Royce, a Bentley, a Cadillac, Armstrong Siddeleys and Buicks, of which the convertible belonged to the renowned Sri Lankan actress Rukmani Devi. Having searched and hunted for them out of sheer passion and love, collecting these treasures had taken him all over the country. With each discovery having its own unique tale, his dream was to restore them to their pristine condition one day and have them displayed in a unique Ebert Silva Museum.

In 1953, my grandfather had passed away following a brief illness at the age of 59. My father, the eldest son as a young 21-year-old took up the reins of the Ebert Silva Omni Bus Company.

In true entrepreneurial spirit, even amidst such devastating and trying circumstances, a year after the sudden demise of my grandfather, in 1954, my father incorporated a new company, the Ebert Silva Touring Company Limited, which he took to great heights in the years to come. Looking beyond the mundane operation of public transport, the new company was part of his vision to nurture and develop the sparks of a new market – tourism, which he foresaw to have great potential of soon unfolding into a vibrant industry.

But the Ebert Silva Omni Bus Company was among the 56 bus companies that were nationalised to form the State owned Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) that commenced operations on January 1, 1958. At the brink of Nationalization, there had been a Commission set up by the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna Government to assess the bus companies and to record public complaints and grievances against their services. My father used to relate with much pride the Ebert Silva Omni Bus Company being the only company against which there were no public complaints or criticisms. The company had been acknowledged at that time to have operated a model transport service with safety, comfort and punctuality.

Ebert Silva Omni Bus Company had had 68 buses in its fleet at the time of nationalisation. Post nationalisation left my father with only two discarded buses which were not roadworthy. Overnight all assets of the business were lost and there was an uncertain future and grave financial issues for my father to address with six younger siblings. The workforce had been absorbed in to the newly formed CTB and their jobs were thus secured. When my father had been notified by the authorities to call over and collect a cheque, being compensation for the fleet, he had written back with a request to pledge the funds to the Cancer Society.

Undeterred and unshaken and with immense spirit and resilience my father started rising up from the ashes like a phoenix. He travelled throughout the country looking for second hand vehicles and lorries to build up his fleet once more. In a differently configured economy and at a time when motor vehicles were not abundantly available as it is today, lorries were bought and converted under his guidance and supervision into buses in his workshop. Ebert Silva Touring Company commenced business with two secondhand cars that were deployed at the Jetty of the Colombo harbour and the Mount Lavinia hotel for tourists. As a young entrepreneur he also initiated many tour packages to less seen and travelled places in the island of significant historical importance and scenic beauty with the vision of promoting domestic tourism. The concept of ‘package tours’ among Sri Lankans to experience places of interest in the island was thus introduced.

My father’s able leadership saw the company grow from strength to strength. He had an artistic flair and minute attention to detail. His

One of his much loved cars, the Mercedes Benz bearing his signature registration number ‘3500’

initials ‘ES’ were a branding he conceptualised and designed, during the 1950s. The logo of the cheetah’s head, the fastest animal on land encircled by a wheel of fire was also his creation. There were strict rules on the maintenance of the fleet and embellishing of vehicles was done with passion and delight that the Ebert Silva fleet stood out conspicuously from the rest. Each bus had a different design in the corporate colour of deep green across its body, in a pattern often conceived by him.

Stringent guidelines were set in recruiting staff with strict rules on minimum experience and age limit for recruitment to uphold the same high standards that had been maintained through the years. Working 18 to 20 hours a day until his very last day, the zeal and enthusiasm in him as a 21-year-old never seemed to have faded with time. Many efforts of futile persuasion and coaxing to ease his routine and to relax would only make him quip with a grin, “The man at the top should be made out of steel!” and the finest steel it was indeed!

The company extended and expanded its services realising the potential and accommodating the needs of the times. Thereafter, with the liberalisation of the economy in 1978 my father contributed significantly to the advancement and promotion of the industry with him also serving as the President of the Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka.

The hand -picked choice of former President J. R. Jayewardene for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Sri Lanka in 1981 was the Ebert Silva Touring Co., Ltd. The Queen and her entourage visited and viewed the ruined cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa in the company coaches. Ebert Silva Touring Co., Ltd. was the only private company to provide transport for this Royal visit.

Among the later accolades received were the Presidential Awards presented for the ‘Best Domestic Operator’ in Travel and Tourism in the years 2007 and 2008. In recognition of a lifetime of passionate and committed contribution to Sri Lanka’s travel and tourism sphere he was bestowed with the Presidential Award as a ‘Legend’ in Sri Lanka’s Travel and Tourism industry in 2009.

Even though his name was synonymous with Sri Lanka’s travel and tourism industry for generations, he was always a simple, unassuming and practical man of very few words. Clad in his signature white attire he detested being driven and was always at the wheel of his much loved cars, the EY Humber Hawk and the Mercedes Benz cars all bearing his signature registration number ‘3500’. Always shunning publicity, he was a silent and dedicated benefactor and patron of numerous Buddhist temples, many charitable organisations and institutions. The workers in the workshops as well as the staff knew of their master’s generosity and kindness. He was touched and moved by adverse and unfortunate stories and would readily make arrangements to offer necessary help.

I am indeed proud and privileged to have been the daughter of a man who not only inscribed and engraved his name with honour and distinction, portrayed the rare human traits of courage, determination, resilience and acumen having been confronted with insurmountable challenges and obstacles, but for also being a man who tread upon this earth softly and gently with humaneness, generosity and kindness.

A sage quote from a philosopher is a testament to the life he led, “The true measure of the greatness and legacy of a person is the length his shadow casts on the future.”

May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!




Share This Post

DeliciousDiggGoogleStumbleuponRedditTechnoratiYahooBloggerMyspace
comments powered by Disqus

Advertising Rates

Please contact the advertising office on 011 - 2479521 for the advertising rates.