Published Articles
BY CHANDANA RANAWEERA
Just how Radiant Way is for the
English language, when it comes to primary education of Sinhala language,
the go-to book used by almost every Sinhala teacher in the country
is Kumarodhaya. The simplistic yet comprehensive manner
the book familiarizes beginners with the language, the reader
friendliness, and its captivating illustrations make Kumarodhaya the
most popular 'textbook' written on early education for the Sinhala
language.
Despite the book having been first published
well over 80 years ago, it is constantly re-printed to match its
never-ending demands. The creator of the popular book is L.S.E.
Amararatne. Although the book gave Amararatne a reputation of a
prominent educationist, he was also an incredible artist -a talent of
his not known to many.
Amararatne was born on 3 April 1916 in Devundara,
Matara. After completing his school education at St. Servatius'
College, Matara, Amararatne served as an English teacher at St. Joseph's
College Colombo 10. At the time, school education in the country was
dominated by missionary schools which promoted the English language
and education in English medium. The education system lacked proper
textbooks on the Sinhala language which discouraged many who were
keen on studying the language, to pursue it.
In an attempt to address this void in the
education sector, young Amararatne compiled Kumarodaya in
1936, when he was just a 20-year-old youth. He also illustrated the
pictures in the book and in no time the book became a huge hit. The
book was initially made for the Grade 8 students but the popularity
it gained in a short span of time, prompted Amararatne to compile
different versions of the book to fit well with earlier grades.
In 1940, Amararatne entered the College of Technology,
Maradana - popularly known as Technical College - which was then
headed by the prominent artist J.D.A. Perera. He studied painting at the
college and it didn't take long for the artist within Amararatne to
shine as he became the best art student in the college within just a year.
In 1949 he returned to the Technical College as a
lecturer to teach what he had learnt and to nurture future generations of young
and aspiring artists. Subsequently, he joined the Heywood
Institute (now the University of Visual and Performance Arts) where
he served until 1960. During his time at the Heywood Institute,
Amararatne published several books with illustrations of his own
unique artistic creations.
His publications; Rasadahara, Ananda Katha, and
books containing Aesop's Fables became widely popular among students
of the Arts as well as trainee teachers who were studying at teacher training
institutes. He then published a book about painting in Sinhala which became
a textbook that was widely-used in teacher training institutes.
Later he worked with David Paynter and Amararatne was
appointed the Head of Sculpture and Waxwork at the University of Visual
and Performance Arts.
His artistic talent spread across many different
mediums. During 1977-78 he made a sculpture of Prof. De Mazenod
which now lies at a church in Borella. However, his innate talent had
always been water colour painting. Not only did he brush a multitude
of popular water colour paintings but he also illustrated for many books
using the water colour medium. When studying his works of art, it
becomes clear that Amararatne loved to use the colours yellow and
brown to create naturalistic and easy-on-the-eye paintings.
Although this unique and talented painter is no longer
amongst us, as he met his demise several years ago, his legacy will be
carried on through the books he has authored and illustrated, and by
his daughter Lakmini
Amararatne - an internationally-acclaimed
artist who is influenced by her father.
