Dialling back to hundred years ago
View(s):On November 12, there was in Colombo an unusual book launch. Unusual because the contents of the book deal with the development of telecommunication in the country over a period of about hundred years.
The author of the book is P. K. Wickramarachi, the first Manager of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), now in retirement.
The title of the book is ‘Telecom’s evolution in Sri Lanka – my recollections’. The hardcover book has 12 chapters and some 132 pages. The language in the book is simple, lucid and straightforward.
Wickramarachi joined the then P & T Department in 1955 as an Inspector in Training almost fresh from school and retired in 1955 as manager of the then newly formed SLT.
Starting from the 30s when automatic dialing was introduced to the three City Exchanges, he traces the development of telecommunications right up to the time when the then Telecom Department was converted from a service organisation to a commercial organisation, the SLT.
All the important development stages are described without omitting the more important details. His own role in these developments has been beautifully integrated with the information concerning the projects themselves.
The book is not without a few shortcomings, the most glaring of these being the inclusion of too many photographs. They are not only too small, but also of a poor quality.
Some do not fit in to the subject matter described in the text as well. It would have been better to have about six to eight full page photographs each connected with the main developments during the period.
No mention has been made about those who helped in the production of the book as is normally done under the heading “Acknowledgements”.
The book should have been dedicated to all those from the lowest to the highest who toiled hard for the development plans to be successfully implemented.
The writer considers the book to be an important historical document whose value will enhance with the passing years.
The author’s career with Telecom is a fair example of how hard work, commitment and discipline can bring one to the highest echelons of his profession.
| Book facts Telecom’s evolution in Sri Lanka by L. H. R. Wijetunga. Reviewed By P. K. Wickramarachi |