Sekara ...Mahagama Sekera was one of the most versatile of artists this country has produced and one of the leading catalysts in the Sri Lankan artistic renaissance which started in the late 1950s. Often regarded as the nation’s finest poet of the 20th century, Sekera inspired several generations of writers even after his time.
Sekara was often being imitated but never duplicated. As a poet and a lyricist he developed the prevailing tradition and drew upon the language of the folk to up shape a modern lyrical and poetic diction. He was a poet, lyricist, painter, broadcaster, playwright, novelist, short story writer and also became a reputed moviemaker after directing his semi-autobiographical novel Thun Man Handiya as a motion picture.
Passing away on 14th of January 1976, late evening, of a sudden cardiac arrest, at the age of 46 years. He has met Prof. Jothiya Dheerasekera that afternoon for a discussion on Prabuddha where he requested Prof. Dheerasekera to write the forward for the book. In the evening, at his Gampaha residence, he was visited by the director of Yasho Geethaya, a documentary film on his patriotic song Rathna Deepa, whom he was supposed to meet the next day for an inital shooting. Afterwards he had attended to the final editing of his doctoral thesis.
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