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Kala Korner - by Dee Cee

A rare honour to a student of culture
Hearing about Dr. S. G. Samarasinghe being awarded the Royal Asiatic Society Medal for distinguished service to the Society brought back memories of the time when we were colleagues on the Dinamina Editorial in the fifties. S.G. as we all called him, joined the Dinamina after graduation. We knew he was not going to be a journalist for long. Just as we expected, his second class honours degree got him into the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS).

S.G. now joins the ranks of distinguished personalities like Sir Paul E. Peiris and Professor Senerat Paranavitana who received the Medal in 1946 and 1950 respectively. In fact, Sir Paul was the first recipient of the Medal after Mrs. Hilda Obeysekera Peiris made an endowment of Rs. 3000 in 1946 for its presentation. The Medal is the highest honour that could be conferred on a member of the Society in Sri Lanka.

Quite apart from his service as an administrative officer both in the outstations and in Colombo, his contribution in the field of literature and the arts has been considerable. His deep interest in the study of oriental languages and culture made him initiate the much talked-about quarterly Sinhala journal, 'Sanskriti' in 1952 along with his colleague Amaradasa Virasinghe. Hardly any Sinhala journal has survived for long. In spite of a break in the 1970s, 'Sanskriti' has now been revived and continues to be popular, particularly in the universities.

S.G's research on 'Sinhala Folklore as a Repository of Traditional Wisdom' in Sri Lanka' earned him a PhD from the University of Colombo. Earlier, a Fellowship from the Pennsylvania University got him the Master's degree and a research grant by the Wenner Gren Foundation enabled him to continue his research.

He has over a dozen publications to his credit including the translation of Leo Tolstoy's novel Kreutzer Sonata for which he won the Sahitya Mandalaya Award. He has also translated Cinderella and other stories of the Grimm Brothers which have become popular in our children's literature.

Having been a member of the Royal Asiatic Society for 26 years, he has contributed immensely towards achieving its objectives. As President (from 2002-2004), he followed up the translation of the 48 'Atthakathas' into Sinhala and presently functions as the chairman of the Pali Atthakatha Committee.

The Society's aims
The Royal Asiatic Society has a history of 160 years in Sri Lanka, having been established as the Ceylon Branch on February 7, 1845. It is devoted to the study of history, religions, language, literature, arts, science and social conditions of the people - both past and present. It publishes a journal, which is considered a storehouse of knowledge and an unfailing source of information for prospective researchers. The Society has a well-stocked library with one of the best collections of books on Sri Lanka.

It has also sponsored many projects which have had an impact on Sri Lankan culture. The National Museum and the Sinhala Dictionary are two such projects. So is the 'Atthakatha' project. The Head of State was always the patron of the Society and eminent men and women have served as office-bearers and members.

When Hilda Obeysekera made her endowment, she wanted the money invested and the interest utilised to award the Royal Asiatic Society Ceylon Branch Medal from time to time to "such member as in the opinion of the Council, has made a contribution towards the furtherance of the Society's aims which merit special recognition”. So far there have been 15 recipients of the Medal.

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