New Delhi, January 18 (The Pathfinder Foundation): The Sinhala translation of renowned Indian author Jairam Ramesh’s book “The Light of Asia; the poem that defined the Buddha”, Budusiritha Lowata Genagiya Maha Kavyaya; Asiyawe Alokaya, translated by award winning translator Niluka Kadurugamuwa was launched recently. Budusiritha Lowata Genagiya Maha Kavyaya; Asiyawe Alokaya is a publication of the Pathfinder Foundation and could be contacted at [email protected] .
“The Light of Asia; the poem that defined the Buddha” is a work of deep scholarship based on extensive research and serves as a biography of both the epic poem The Light of Asia and its author Sir Edwin Arnold. The book describes how the poem The Light of Asia, which is based on the life of the Buddha, captivated and inspired many iconic personalities such as Swami Vivekananda, Anagarika Dharmapala, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. It also reveals how the poem got translated into over thirty languages, including Sinhala, and inspired movements for social equality, incarnating itself in music, dance, drama, art and cinema.
Jairam Ramesh, the author of “The Light of Asia; the poem that defined the Buddha” is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament representing the State of Karnataka, and was a Union Minister of India between 2006 and 2014. He has held the ministerial portfolios of Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Environment and Forests. He has authored several well-known books.
The translator of the book, Niluka Kadurugamuwa is an officer of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, presently serving as Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi. He has won the State Literary Award for the best translation of a novel into Sinhala in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Budusiritha Lowata Genagiya Maha Kavyaya; Asiyawe Alokaya is Kadurugamuwa’s eighth translation.
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