“An Unfinished Odyssey” Library

BY Capt. Nimal Perera

(AFNI, Chairman Nautical Institute SL Branch)

It was a quiet evening in the Pilot station on a day in March 2013. With the setting sun inching its way towards the horizon, three harbour pilots were enjoying a moment’s respite. Discussing mundane events of the day, the conversation eventually drifted on to reminiscing of their days at sea. A regular habit among the seafaring fraternity, it was a common theme whenever a few of us met at some watering hole to meet and greet any colleague visiting from overseas. The unifying factor was the Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC), which had given us a start in our professional careers. The conversation would eventually turn to reminiscing about our seafaring days with the CSC; pranks played and capers pulled as cadets, and their later experiences, funny, sad and sometimes life changing. The stories would acquire a life of their own, in direct proportion to the beverages consumed as the evening wore on. Many would be the suggestions and calls to chronicle these memories for posterity before they were lost to the annals of time; and many would be the promises made to put pen to paper, before a sober morrow made for dim memories. In consequence, it never got done.

Enter Rohan Wijeyaratna, an ex-Chief Engineer with CSC, who had been harbouring thoughts along similar lines for quite a while. Running into one of the raconteurs he mooted the idea of the publication of a book on the life and times with CSC, before all the lore was lost with time. Going further, he offered to spearhead the project with no cost to anybody, in a moment of insanity; never realising what he was getting into. This message was passed on to Harindra Perera, who sensing a good thing when he saw one, embraced the idea wholeheartedly and immediately went about drumming up support. There being sufficient enthusiasm shown to begin the job, the message was conveyed to Rohan, who was an accomplished scribe of no mean repute, in addition to being a man with a very strong work ethic and a penchant for paying extreme attention to detail.

Next came the all-important task of sourcing articles. To the project committee comprising Rohan Wijeyaratna, Asitha Wijesekera, Harindra Perera and Nimal Perera it proved harder than imagined. Some did not respond to the e-mails mostly because they did not believe the book would see the light of day. Many were the promises made with the best of intentions and not delivered on, and then there was the sheer lack of interest on the part of some. But the sourcing went unabated. That arduous task was called to a halt in early 2016, when 113 articles by some 50 contributors consisting of seafarers, Office staff, one supernumerary and an Agent were to hand. There was stuff enough for a volume of considerable proportions.

It would be fitting at this point to reflect on the rationale for such a book. Besides recording for posterity, the book was meant to illustrate how an iconic State Institution managed its early years so brilliantly, until the tide turned. The period under reference being from 1970 to the early 1980s; the years now referred to as CSC’s glory days. The book attempted to remind the reader how, more than 50 years ago, the government of the day floated a national shipping line which thrived despite heavy odds, and ended up as a carrier which by the 1980s was the envy of all the SAARC countries. In fact, it became the carrier of choice for most of the containerised transport in the region at the time. The book captures stories of the fleet – all gleaming with fresh paint, burnished brass and smartly uniformed officers, where stewards in white tunics waited at the saloon tables where many a lesson was taught and learnt, and where ‘mentoring’ was a way of life long before it became fashionable in the HR lexicon.

From the past to the present. The articles having been resourced, it was time to proof read and do the production work. For well-nigh two long years Rohan’s weekends were spent visiting the printers at Siyambalape. A suitable title for the book also came up for discussion.

In Rohan’s own words “For each of those who sailed or worked with the CSC ashore, the time spent was an odyssey in itself, characterized by many changes of fortune, discovery, adventure and great learning. This book traverses the years from CSC’s inception to its less fortunate times and must be considered a pioneering effort, which is by no means complete. It does not claim to be the definitive volume of the life and time of the CSC. Many stories will still remain untold, many more ‘characters’ remain unrevealed. And with CSC being far from dead, there will be many more tales to be aired, sometime in the future. Because this book does not in itself represent the entire story of the organisation or those who were involved with it, quite fittingly it shall remain ‘an unfinished odyssey’ of the life and times of the CSC”.

That is how the title An Unfinished Odyssey came into being. It was a book like no other, and probably the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. The book now took its shape as individual experiences were chronicled through the collective effort of over 50 persons who put pen to paper. Thus, the book unwound the history of the fleet through the eyes of the contributors, which is what makes it unique.

It was five years to the day when the book finally saw the light of day and went on sale as a limited-edition volume of 500 copies in March 2018. To say that the finished product was a stunning masterpiece would be an understatement. The book depicts Rohan’s many talents and flair; from the cover design to the calligraphy to the tasteful embellishments on the pages. It is a very readable book, shorn of technical language. Numbered by hand and gift boxed, the hardcover volume is a collector’s item fit to adorn any library.

The Project Committee very early in the proceedings decided that all monies accrued from the sale of the book be donated to charity, preferably an educational one. Accordingly, on the 8th of October 2020, a historic meeting took place at the Colombo Cricket Club pavilion where it was decided that the donation should go to Two Leaves Trust, founded by Manik Jayakumar now domiciled in the USA. The funds were to be used for equipping a library which would serve Idalgasinne Bio Tea Association for Development (IBITAD) plantation workers, Winrose International Campus Students, school children from Haldemulla, Koslanda, Idalgasinne and Haputale; retired/senior folks; and the neighbouring villages of Soragune, Kirawanagama, Walhaputhanne, Nikapotha and others.

The Trust was chosen primarily owing to Somasunderam Skandakumar’s (Skanda as he is more popularly known) deep involvement in the charity. As Rohan mentioned, his impeccable reputation and the trail he left behind wherever he went – be it as a player, an administrator of cricket or in commerce, or as a highly respected High Commissioner – made the choice an easy one. Therefore, when the time came to declare open the “An Unfinished Odyssey Community and Academic Library” there was no hesitation in inviting Skanda to do the honours, as none in the Project Committee were in a position to be present due to government-imposed travel restrictions. Accordingly, the library was opened by Skanda on the 31st of July 2021.

It is housed in the IBITAD building at the Bio Tea Garden, Haldemulla, and located on the Colombo – Badulla Road, about 1.3km from Beragala Junction. It is administered by the Two Leaves Trust, under the Chairmanship of Gnanasekaran, with Skanda in the capacity of an “Advisor”.