Sunday Times 2
From academia to media, he was a guiding light
Venue: Sri Lanka Press Institute Auditorium
Date: Somewhere in mid-June 2007
Event: Meeting of the panel of Judges, Journalism Awards for Excellence 2006
As the head of the organising institution, I was coordinating the meeting and when it came to the agenda point of selecting a chair for the panel of judges, Amal Jayasinghe’s proposal of Prof Tissa Kariyawasam was unanimous. But the response of the university don was humble. “I was the chair for several years now – please let someone else do the job for this year.” But judges were not flexible. Prof. Kariyawasam was their obvious choice for the chair.
At least a dozen meetings followws thereafter and not all the judges would pay equal level of interest after a few initial meetings. But that was not the case with this remarkable personality. His commitment and dedication to the task that he took charge of was at the highest standards. With a small black umbrella in hand, Prof. Kariyawasam was at the meeting room at least five minutes before we started the meetings.
This was the first opportunity that I worked closely with him. Our relationship grew to a point where he became the supervisor of my doctoral thesis which was his last completed PhD supervision, as far as I am aware of.
He always highlighted the fact that lack of academic discipline within the newsroom would ultimately result in sub-standard content in the media. The professor had a critical analysis on this issue and continuously encouraged journalists to pursue their academic career. I also became a beneficiary of this non-ending persuasion and perseverance.
Prof. Kariyawasam belonged to the epoch of early 70s but his thoughts and vision always bypassed his contemporary era. His multi-disciplinary academic career encompassed Sinhala language, drama, literature, folklore, traditional dancing, journalism and mass communication. Even his academic qualifications speak for themselves — graduated from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya with Honours in Sinhala in 1964; Master’s degree in Anthropology in the same University in 1968, PhD on Fine Arts from the University of London in 1973 and then Diploma in Journalism from the London School of Journalism.
A few weeks ago, I visited him at his home and spent a few hours listening to his old stories. Still piles of documents and books were on his messy table in the living room. Though feeble in the body, his mind was strong and eyes were bright as he recounted the fascinating stories, as usual of the good old days – mainly when he was heading the national television Rupavahini during President Premadasa’s government.
Prof. Kariyawasam will find a place in history books for his invaluable contributions to the discipline of mass communication. The introduction of a new discipline to the university system is a struggle by itself and scholars like Prof. Sarachchandra, Prof. Ariyapala and Prof. Wimal Dissanayake initiated this tedious task but Prof. Kariyawasam became a leading figure in carrying forward this struggle along with his contemporaries such as Prof. Sunanda Mahendra and Edwin Ariyadasa. He not only introduced and developed this discipline but continuously reformed it to suit the present day challenges. Even in his last days, the professor was talking about revising the Mass Com curriculum of the Jayewardenepura University to suit the challenges of the present era. The academia in this country will not forget his involvement in the setting up of the University of Visual Arts and Performing Arts.
In the newsroom jargon we use to say that no one is indispensable. Things will move ahead irrespective of people and events. But this logic is not applicable to Prof. Kariyawasam. The vacuum created by his demise will never be filled, and it will remain forever.
Ranga Kalansooriya (Ph.D)