A famous person I would like to meet

Arthur C. Clarke is an internationally renowned scientist and a writer of scientific fiction. The predictions he made through these novels regarding space travel and satellite communication have become realities of today. A man who could foretell such possibilities is indeed a great man, a man to be honoured and admired. Of all the famous people I know, it is Arthur C. Clarke I would like to meet.

I had the opportunity to read some of his books. Reading these books roused my interest and I was driven to find out more about the life and work of this great man.

His novel '2001: A Space Odyssey' became very famous. His many predictions culminated in 1958 when he published a series of essays which eventually became profiles of the future.
Arthur C. Clarke is an Englishman who later became a Sri Lankan citizen. He was the Chancellor of the International Space University of Moratuwa from 1979 to 2002. Clarke was knighted in 2000. On November 14 he was awarded the 'Sri Lanka Abhimanaya', the highest civilian award of our country.

Aparna Amarasekera
(12 years)
Musaeus College

A history lesson on a rainy day

It was a terrible rainy day,
What can be worse, I thought,
Than have a test the very next day,
On sea routes explorers sought.

Studying away for two whole hours,
Hadn't seemed to fill my brain,
But suddenly a wonderful idea struck me,
By gazing at the falling rain.

I ran with three papers of different colours,
Into my garden with my book of notes,
And after locating the biggest puddle,
I turned the papers to boats.

The routes being plotted on the soil,
Off went Columbus and Magallen,
I watched my boats pass, and topped my class,
At the history test next day.

Savini Chandrasinghe
(14 years)
Bishop's College