Adding a bit of Jaffna into life

They say a picture speaks a thousand words; that the link between then and now is hidden in the line, colour and the shadow of a photograph. If this be true, the newly launched picture essay book ‘Glorious Jaffna’ holds the key that bridges the North of the country with the rest of the island.

By Cheranka Mendis

 Capturing the essence of the peninsula, ‘Glorious Jaffna’ compiled by Sunela Samaranayake and Tharindu Amunugama is a tribute to the resilient people and the miles of landscape ravaged by war. The book which has been commissioned and published by Asia Capital Plc., Sri Lanka’s largest investment bank listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange, has been made in print as a beacon of hope for the people of Jaffna.

 The book was launched at a gala ceremony at the Cinnamon Grand last week amidst a number of well known corporates and personalities of Sri Lanka. The very first book was handed over to Chairman of Asia Capital, Manohan Nanayakkara by Sunela and Tharindu. Nanayakkara addressing the gathering stated that the forming of the book was an accident.

Tharindu, who enjoyed responsibilities of financial portfolio management at Asia Capital is also a poet with a passion for photography. Nanayakkara who came across his talent accidentally was said to have been ‘captivated by the image and rich colour of the photograph’ and as he himself put it, was surprised to know that the said photograph was taken from a small digital camera. 

“When I found out about this, I offered him one of my own cameras that was gathering dust in a corner. He went to Jaffna and took some beautiful shots out of which a photograph of Palmyrah trees in Elephant Pass caught my fancy. It was then that the idea of a book crossed my mind. However we later found out that the picture quality of the photographs were too small to be published,” Nanayakkara said. Upon hearing this, Nanayakkara offered to buy him a new camera under the promise that Tharindu brought back the photographs to compile a book. “It was a happy accident for both of us,” he admitted.  Tharindu is said to be a passionate photographer with many other interests which includes reading, traveling and sports. With his love for art and literature coupled with his love for outdoors, photography to Tharindu is more than a mere form of expression, the book said. Sunela, who wrote the prose that goes along with the photographs, is involved in Transactions Advisory. She is said to be widely traveled and spends her free time in the South East corner of Sri Lanka looking for the elusive leopard.  The proceeds of the book, now available in all leading bookstores priced at Rs. 4800, will go towards two key Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects handled by Asia Capital. The launch of the book also marked the launch of their CSR initiative of 2011 which is assisting and educating 10, 000 students in Jaffna. The annual sum per head in this process is USD 270. In addition to this, part of the proceeds will also go towards the ‘Humpty Dumpty Foundation’, which provides milk as nutrition for kids in Jaffna in an attempt to encourage them to attend to school.

On a more moving note, Nanayakkara revealed that the nine year old Jerusha that was featured in the book, whose father was a toddy tapper before he lost the use of one of his legs due to a landmine explosion, is now under the care of his family and would be educated and given the same opportunities that his children would get.  Speaking on assignments of same caliber, he stated that a young director from the East Coast, Saneeva Pushpakumara was also supported by the company where he made a film titled ‘Flying Fish’ on the fisher folk of the area. The short clip is to be screened from January 26 to February 6 at the Rotterdam Film Festival where it has been nominated for an award along with 12 other international competitors.

A similar clip titled ‘Siddhartha Buddha’ targeting the South Indian community will soon be made as well, he said.