by Ananda W. P. Guruge

This article is published to commemorate the birth centenary of veteran
broadcaster A. W. Dharmapala which fell on November 24.

While radio broadcasting was still in its earliest stages in Sri Lanka,
Radio Ceylon evoked wonder and curiosity. Not only the presenters of
programmes but also technical personnel who brought the magic of music and
voice to a little box on the mantle received special attention. A name
mentioned in connection with the first Sinhala broadcast was that of A. W.
Dharmapala, the young and enterprising engineer. It was his voice that the
people of Sri Lanka heard in Sinhala over seventy years ago.

My close and memorable association with Dharmapala goes way back to 1951
when as a graduate student I had the privilege of being a regular
broadcaster in Dr. Ediriweera Sarathchandra's "Shastriya Sangraha". Those
were days when Radio Ceylon (as the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation was
then known) had not yet come of age and the production of a programme needed
constant technical support. Breakdowns were frequent as microphones went out
of order or recording machines refused to work as needed.

Technical aspects
All broadcasters, especially those of us who delivered our programmes live
late in the evening, were relieved to find Dharmapala, the Outdoor
Broadcasting Engineer, ready at hand with his wide repertoire of technical
skills, ever smiling and always cooperative. No task was too small for him.
His single-minded dedication to improving the technical aspects of
broadcasting ultimately resulted in a fault-free technical infrastructure,
which is undoubtedly to his lasting credit. It was thus we became friends
and our friendship lasted many decades.

I came much closer to him both physically and in work in 1954 when I was
entrusted with the organization of the national celebration of Buddha
Jayanti to mark the dual occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's
death and the founding of the Sinhala kingdom in Sri Lanka. My office was in
the Home Ministry located in Torrington Square and from my office to Radio
Ceylon was a brief walk of two minutes by backdoors of both buildings. The
point of entry to Radio Ceylon for me was past Dharmapala's office.

As the Buddha Jayanti Programme depended heavily on the radio, I was at
Radio Ceylon practically every day and some days several times. Often I
needed to have Dharmapala's advice and direct involvement, especially as the
entire Outside Broadcasting Operation was under his control. Buddha Jayanti
activities were broadcast from all over.

Complicated operation
A very complicated operation was when the switching on of the lights on the
path to Sri Pada was an occasion when Justin Kotelawala (representing the
Prime Minister, Sir John Kotelawala) and I were to speak from the Uda
Maluwa. Kotelawala was very diffident whether we had the capacity to do so
and I assured him that Dharmapala was there to ensure that all that was
technically feasible would be perfect.

It was really so and the ceremony was heard clearly without a hitch all over
the island. An eager listener in Colombo was the Prime Minister himself who
had a personal interest in the supply of electricity from Lakshapana to Sri
Pada as the fulfillment of a vow. I told him of the most efficient and
helpful Engineer of Radio Ceylon and his staff who made this broadcast
possible.

An immediate result of Dharmapala readiness to cooperate fully in the Buddha
Jayanti activities was that he was entrusted with equipping a mobile public
address and outdoor broadcasting unit for the Lanka Buddha Mandalaya.
Walkers Limited was supplying the van but it was the Prime Minister's own
decision that the technical aspects of the project was to be entrusted to
Dharmapala. It was no easy task because he did it entirely as a voluntary
activity outside his normal office hours. I have often been to the workshop
after office to find that Dharmapala was not only doing all the technical
designing but also taking upon himself the detailed tasks of wiring and
fitting sophisticated equipment.

For 1955, we had the most up to date broadcasting unit performing a wide
variety of activities. The unit was used to send monks all over the island
to preach in villages which had no monks. It handled all outdoor
broadcasting activities from every nook and corner of the country. So
conscientious and attached Dharmapala was to his project that he personally
serviced the equipment periodically and looked after its frequent upgrading.

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/11/28/fea04.html