Sunday Times 2
“Hiru Wenuvata Sandhu” provides a refreshing change of scene
September 4 saw the launch of Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam’s book “Hiru Wenuvata Sandhu,” which had been his pet project, though only a few 
knew about it. The Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Health Services) of the Colombo Municipal Council, and former Chief Medical Officer of Health of the CMC, Dr. Kariyawasam is more in the news on issues of public health rather than in the literary field. Cabinet Minister for Economics and Development, Basil Rajapaksa was the chief guest at the launch.
Speaking at the ceremony at the Russian Centre in Colombo, former Attorney General Palitha Fernando said that it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dr. Kariyawasam had produced a novel. Having been his classmate at Royal College, Colombo, Palitha Fernando shared that his strong creative streak had flourished in school, with a little prodding from the teachers. “We were threatened with punishment if we didn’t write,” he smiles, recalling their reasons for writing a short-story. It was this short-story that made known the Doctor’s strong linguistic skills,
Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam. Pix by Mangala Weerasekera
finding a place on the pages of a school publication.
Intrigued by Hiru Wenuvata Sandhu he said, it is a refreshing change of scene from the statutes he is compelled to go through.
Dr. Kariyawasam’s protagonist, Pramuka is on a quest for love and after a failed romance, the story tells how the young man picks himself up and moves on.
The book is one that completely absorbs the reader who will have trouble putting it down, are the encouraging words for Dr. Kariyawasam. Hoping his classmate and dear friend would undertake an English novel, the former Attorney General said he was confident all Dr. Kariyawasam’s efforts will result in a good read.