"No university in the world would have such a setting", exclaimed Sir Ivor Jennings, who seated on a tree stump on a hillock on the opposite bank of River Mahaweli, created in his mind's eye the buildings of the new university as they would dot the forest clad inclines of Lower Hantana range as envisaged by the site plan prepared by Sir Patrick Abercrombie.
 Peradeniya University File photo |
The buildings designed according to national tradition by Shirley De Alwis were to come up gradually during the years that followed. Nearly 70 years have passed since that momentous event, when the man who was destined to be the founding father of our university virtually undertook the mission assigned him with a passionate commitment.
Although he had undertaken and completed a variety of tasks during his illustrious career Peradeniya is undoubtedly his most enduring monument. Visiting Peradeniya in 1962, seven years after he left Sri Lanka having completed his mission and addressing the university teachers who had hosted him for dinner he was to say "..... I hope your university will go on developing and growing. You are heirs of the pioneers of 1952 and I hope you are looking after the property really well in the tradition of all other Universities. You have the foundations here of an excellent University".
Read more »
No comments:
Post a Comment