Appreciations

K. L. Ariyananda of Mahaweli: Harnessed nature to serve mankind

Growing up in the shelter of a great human being who harnessed nature to serve mankind, my sibling and I had the mighty Mahaweli and the most optimistic era of post-independent Sri Lanka as a backdrop to measure us by.

In the shelter of the giant shade cast by my father, we grew to love this birth land of ours. Bowatenna, Ukuwela, Kotmale, Randenigala, Rantambe and Polgolla were childhood playgrounds. School vacations were spent in circuit Bungalows all over the island, which are nostalgic memories. Norton Bridge, Luxapana, Castlereigh and Maoussakele were our infant stamping grounds.

My father was a top technocrat who never misappropriated a cent of the millions that passed through his hands. He was a loving guru to a generation of young engineers at the CEB, CECB and Katubedda University. He was a man who moved with intellectuals but retained the common touch and had the most uninhabited sense of humour and camaraderie. Loyal to friends, he epitomized all that was good in the educational system set in place by epochal giants such as Sir Ivor Jennings and C. W. W. Kannangara.

The sobriquet of the Mahaweli is a much-vaunted one, but as many of his colleagues of that period would affirm, this honorific appellation uniquely fitted my father well.

A southern gentleman to his bootstraps or rather to the sandal straps, he favoured his ancestors who hailed from the deep Sothern village of Kamburugamuwa mentioned in the Kulavansa chronicles.

My father was Kamburugamuwa Lokuruge Ariyananda. Hereafter, referred to as KLA, with all due respect. He was born in Galle on May 22, 1932. His father K.L. Paulus, a government surveyor from Elliot Road was married to Yahathugoda Badalge Lasin Nanda from Millidduwa.

As a student of Mahinda College, he excelled in studies and sports such as cricket and boxing as well as cadetting. Having lost his father to an illness at 14 years, he moved to Ananda College, Colombo for higher studies. Entering the University of Colombo to study medicine, KLA soon realized that this was not his future and switched to a BSc Hons degree in engineering and was transferred to the new University of Peradeniya as part of the first batch of engineering students there.

Upon passing out in 1957 as an engineer, he further qualified himself as a Charted Engineer in Civil and Electrical fields and furthermore as a diplomat of the IEE (London).

Thereafter, KLA was appointed to the Laxapana Power Station, then under the Department of Electrical undertakings, the predecessor to the CEB. In 1961, he married my mother Kamala Indatissa from Dehiwala who studied at Kundasale Agriculture School and at USK in Wales, UK under a Commonwealth Scholarship and upon her return was teaching at Buddhist Ladies’ College.

Soon after marriage, my parent flew to UK, since KLA had received a Colombo Plan Scholarship as a graduate trainee. He received his training in Hydro Electric Machinery at North of Scotland HE Board and at Edinborough, Huddersfield and Festinog in North Wales. He returned with his pregnant wife, to have their eldest son (the writer).

KLA was appointed as an engineer at Wimalasurendra Power Station at Norton Bridge. In fact, my earliest memories are lush lawn and rose-filled gardens of the electrical engineers' bungalow at Norton Bridge surrounded by the misty mountains of the Sevensisters range. While at Norton, KLA was also involved in the Kelanitissa 50 MW oil-fired steam power station in Colombo. During this time, a daughter - Tanuja - and son - Jagath - joined the family.

From 1970-75, KLA was appointed the Chief Engineer (Mechanical and Electrical) at Mahaweli Development Board at Jawatta Colombo, where he was responsible for the conceptual design of a barrage across the Mahaweli River at Polgolla in Kandy. Also, he was involved in the supervision and installation of all equipment at the Bowantenna Diversionary project including the spillway and bulkhead gates tec. Designing of an operation room with a remote indication communication network to control the discharge of water to the irrigation system of the North Central Province still provide sustenance to the Raja Rata farmers. Preparation of a technical report for Samanalawawe 120 MW Hydropower stations and 100m high dam were other projects undertaken by KLA and his colleagues at MDB at this period in time.

The supervision of building the radial gates at Kalawewa and Dambulu Oya reservoirs was also undertaken for MDB and CECB by KLA. Supervisory Consultancy for installation of turbines at Canyon Power Station was done by KLA as Deputy General Manager (Mechanical and Electrical) at MDB.

In 1977, KLA decided to move to UK with his growing family of teenagers and baby daughter Tanju, as Senior Project Engineer with Kennedy and Donkin (K&D) Power System of Working Surrey. While at K&D, KLA undertook service as Senior Resident Engineer and Senior Design Engineer to a number of projects around the world, in countries as diverse as Spain, Turkey, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Malawi etc. During this period, he was seconded to Sri Lanka under special Cabinet approval as an expatriate Engineering Consultant to work at Kotmale, Randenigala, Rantambe, Victoria and Kukule Ganga projects. Setting up of Mahaweli Complex to coordinate and control all Mahaweli reservoirs and power stations was carried out by KLA as manager of the Mahaweli complex at Digana in Kandy.

Again back in UK during 1989-90, KLA was responsible for work undertaken in Malawi Southern Africa, Syria, Sudan, Spain and Ethiopia as well as the London underground rail system and at Enfield Power Centre.

In 1996, KLA was recalled to Sri Lanka and appointed by the then government to replace Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe who was retiring as the Chairman of the CECB. During his tenure at CECB, KLA was responsible for making the CECB one of the few profit-making government bodies. He initiated the Architect Unit at CECB where his youngest daughter Tanju, a Chartered Architect qualified both in UK and Sri Lanka now works.

Later, KLA was appointed as Vice Chairman and later Chairman of the CEB upon the request of the Engineers Union of the CEB to the then Minister of Power and Energy. In 2002, KLA retired from the CEB and founded his own company Power Consult Ltd. to develop mini-hydro projects. The first of which was commissioned at Kumburutenlawela in Belihuloya.

After a period of illness, KLA passed away under the loving care of his wife and children on September 22, 2017. Left behind hereafter, a shadow of this giant who harnessed nature to serve mankind is wife Kamala, sons Kapila and Jagath, and daughters Tanuja and Tanju, daughter-in-laws Sanji and Chamila and son-in-law Manu and five grandchildren.

May my father attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana that he so earnestly wished for by virtue of the development work he did to dispel darkness in his own land of birth and many other lands.

Son Kapila