Outstanding people who stand tall

By Upali Salgado

Statues all over the world are tributes to outstanding men and women. Leaders such as Abraham Lincoln (Washington), Sir Winston Churchill (London), Chairman Mao tse-tung (Beijing), Mahatma Gandhi (Bombay), Lenin (St. Petersburg) and General De Gaulle (France) all have statues dedicated to their memory.

The colossal Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France to the USA is of special significance as it does not honour an individual.

Statues can also have religious significance such as that of Sakyamuni Gotama Buddha at Anuradhapura and at Aukana in differing mudra (poses), and those of the 7th Century as seen at Maligavila and Dombegoda (indicating Mahayana influence).

The British erected statues of their Governors, Frederick North, Henry Ward and of William Gregory, the Museum builder in Colombo. The only American to be honoured likewise is Col. Henry S. Olcott, a Theosophist and Buddhist leader who spearheaded the Buddhist revival after 1865. Several Buddhist monks and lay leaders have also been remembered, among them, Ven. Welivita Asarana Sri Saranankara Sangharaja and Ven. Wariyapola Sri Sumanagala of Kandy, Ven. Welitara Gnanavimala Tissa Nayaka Thera of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya, Ven. Ambagahawatte Indra Gnaswami Nayake Thera of the Ramanna Nikaya, Ven Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera, Anagarika Dharmapala, Walisinghe Harischandra, Prof. Gunapala Malalasekera, Sir Baron Jayatilleka, Henry Amarasuriya and Sir Cyril de Zoysa.

Statues of statesmen and politicians also dot the country. D.S. Senanayake, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotalawela, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, William Gopallawa, Dr. N.M. Perera, R.Premadasa and C.W.W. Kanangara, the Father of Free Education. In their own inimitable way they contributed to the progress of our nation.

Gajaman Nona

A charming small statue, barely five feet tall, of Gajaman Nona dressed in a Dutch style evening dress holding in her hand a quill is seen at Nonagama junction, on the main highway between Tangalle and Hambantota. Gajaman Nona had exceptional good looks and was a legendary figure because of her ability to write and recite impromptu vibrant Sinhala verse.

According to a Dutch Thombu at the Bambalapitiya Milagiriya Church, she was born on March 10, 1746 and was baptised Dona Isabella Koraneliya Perumal. She was the second daughter of Don Fransisco Senaratne Kumara Perumal who lived near Hakmana. He became the Gajaman Aratchi of the Matara District and had much to do with the capture and taming of elephants.

Gajaman Nona learnt her Sinhala from the famous Pandit Koratota "Hamuduruwo". She knew the handsome Elapatha Mudaliyar of Ratnapura District, who had been earlier ordained a Samanera bhikkhu and was known as Elapatha Dhammaratna Thera. He resided at the Sapugoda Vihare, and learnt his Sinhala from the same Koratota "Hamuduruwo." It is well-known that Elapatha Mudaliyar and Gajaman Nona wrote to each other (after the demise of her husband who met with an accident) in lovely verse, using warm language. Often did the handsome Mudaliyar refer to her charming ways, and she replied him in unforgettable verse always with a pun or two.

Another who came into the life of Gajaman Nona was Sir John D'Oyley, a Cambridge educated scholar who arrived in Ceylon around 1800 and soon mastered Sinhala. He served as G.A. and Fiscal Collector of the Matara-Hambantota districts between 1802 and 1806. By that time Gajaman Nona who appeared to be impoverished had in beautiful verse petitioned him seeking an audience and relief to end her poverty. D'Oyley who read the petition having much respect for her literary ability granted a Nindagama (several acres of land), now known as "Nona-gama" where her beautiful statue stands. The poetess of Matara died aged 56 on December 15, 1814.

Hasalaka Veeraya

The state of the "Hasalaka Veeraya" who sacrificed his life to save his comrades and prevent a military debacle at Elephant Pass camp stands in his home town Hasalaka. Corporal Gamini Kularatne of the CLI Regiment, when facing an LTTE onslaught on July 14, 1991, seeing a large bulldozer being driven at speed to destroy the camp barricades,had flung into the driver's cockpit a hand grenade that exploded immediately, killing both the driver and himself. He was posthumously awarded the Sri Lanka army's highest Award for Bravery - The Parama Veera Vibhuushana.

Sir Charles

The grateful public of Ceylon erected a statue in memory of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa of Moratuwa, opposite Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital, Colombo. This statue shows Sir Charles holding a key in his hand to signify that he was ever ready to open his vault and give to the deserving of all faiths.

His munificence knew no bounds. He donated the Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital, the Lunawa Hospital, the Bacteriological Institute, the Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa, two large schools, Prince and Princess of Wales Colleges, the Soysa-ramaya Buddhist Temple, several "ambalamas" on the road to Kandy and Marawila where his plantation interests were, and the De Soysa Maternity Home. Sir Charles entertained Royalty at "Alfred House" Kollupitiya. He died on September 29, 1890.

Sir John of Kandawala

The statue of our one-time Prime Minister, Sir John Kotalawela, reminds us of several development projects he successfully completed with great vision. The Colombo Port Development scheme - the Queen Elizabeth Quay, a new Light House for the Port, the Dry Docks, widening of Galle Road, Norton Bride and Laxapana hydro electric schemes, the Peradeniya University buildings, the Kotalawalapura housing scheme for Railway workers and several bridges were completed under his close supervision.

Sir John was a flamboyant fun loving man, a soldier and gentleman. When the Ceylon Scout contingent attended the Jubilee World Jamboree in 1957 at Birmingham they planned to visit Sir John as he was in Kent but a tight schedule made the visit impossible. The contingent then wrote to Sir John asking that they be excused. To their surprise, the hospitable Sir John who never forgot his countrymen, promptly sent in his Rolls Royce car direct to the Jamboree site some 400 miles away, an extra large carton containing 100 luscious apples from his farm at Briddenden, Kent.

It was known that this man Kotalawela, loved to wine and dance at his barbecue parties but he never lost the common touch. His workers at the Kahatagaha plumbago mines were the best paid in that trade, and when a senior worker's daughter got married, he gave the bride not only a handsome dowry but her trousseau as well. He was present at all functions at Dodangaslanda, despite ministerial duties.

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