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The amazing man behind the Mace
By Chandani Kirinde
For S.P. Charles, it was a dream come true. Fifty seven years after he designed the Mace for Parliament, he had the opportunity of taking a close look at it last Friday.

Eighty-nine year old Simammeru Pathiranalage Charles was felicitated by Parliament, with a memento and a cash donation, for his unique contribution to Parliamentary history, and given a fitting ovation by the MPs as he sat in the Speaker's Gallery of the legislature.

Mr. Charles had the distinguished honour of being the chief artist selected to draw up the design for the Mace in 1947 which he did with the assistance of several others. It took several months and many drafts before he could come up with a design that was acceptable to Senarath Paranavitharana - the then Archaeology Commissioner who was the person who had set in motion the creation of a Mace for the Legislature, Mr. Charles said.

Recollecting how he gathered ideas to create a Mace that was uniquely Sri Lankan, Mr. Charles said that during his long walks from the Museum Building in Colombo to the Technical College in Maradana where he then worked, he observed the many buildings and their designs. The design on top of the Eye Hospital building in Colombo inspired the creation of the top portion of the Mace, he said.

On the day the design was approved, it was decided to send it to England and Don Carolis was given the task of sending it across to that country for the Mace to be built. The man who fashioned the Mace, Mr. Spencer, had greatly admired Mr. Charles' design and said there were only five so well designed Maces in the world. The completed Mace was valued in that year at 32,000 gold sovereigns.

The new Mace was brought to Ceylon and presented to the local Legislature by a delegation of MPs from the British Parliament in January 1949. Mr. Charles was one of those invited to sit in the Speaker's Gallery on this historic session presided by the first Speaker Sir Francis Molamure.

"The Mace was brought in wrapped in a yellow cover. I sat in the Gallery above the Speaker Chair. When the cover was taken off, my eyes were blinded by its appearance," Mr. Charles recalled.

But he could not get more than a glimpse of the Mace that he had designed until Friday. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara, Cultural Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath, Chief Opposition Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera were among those present to felicitate Mr.Chalres.

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