This author means real business!
When a saara-vita man entered the auditorium of the National Library Board, raucously peddling his wares, “vit- vita”, the audience was rudely jolted out of the quiet atmosphere. The man was interrupting the proceedings of the launch of “Honda Mudalaali”, by Buddhika Karunaratne – a journalist of the Mawubima newspaper.
The saara-vita man and the book
Before the embarrassed audience had time to so much as titter, the speaker at the podium struck up a jokey conversation with the saara-vita man, and the sudden intrusion turned out to be a creative ploy by the organisers: apposite as well as creative because the book that was being launched, though a children’s book, was written essentially to teach business skills. The intrusion and the conversation that ensued between speaker and vendor conveyed what the book intends to demonstrate: How to be a good businessman, and
The author (right) presenting a copy of the book to one of his former teachers. Pix by Indika Handuwala
how to avoid the kind of escapades of this unfortunate man (who complains that no one coming to the library buys his ‘vita’).
The story in Buddhika’s book basically recounts how Wolf (‘Wurka-raala’) sets up a business. He learns many lessons on his way to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the course of the story, which aims both to entertain and educate at the same time. One good piece of advice which was given gratis at the launch to the saara-vita man was that a businessman has to set himself up in an appropriate location (and not try selling betel in the National Library’s quasi-deserted halls).
As one of the guests at the launch remarked in his speech, children will benefit greatly from ‘Honda Mudalaali’, imbibing good entrepreneurial skills at an early stage. Speaking at the occasion, Chief Guest Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, the well known Management Development Consultant, praised the book, stressing the importance of acquiring entrepreneurial skills as early as possible.
The short ceremony was attended by the author’s family, friends, colleagues and a number of distinguished guests.