“A person without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey
Back in time, our ancestors inked the pages of history with their imaginations, dreams, and golden discoveries. They impatiently awaited the moment when their stories were finally unveiled and cherished by the generations that came after. Over time, people have undoubtedly updated the book of hope as they passed it on. Presently, almost everything around us, if you are keen on exploring its underlying foundation, would probably date back to ancient times. As Marvin Garvey quotes a person who doesn’t know and respect the golden era would be a tree without its roots. Heritage mail itself is our genuine attempt of apprising the present generations about the forgotten past.
Heritage Mail, itself being our ticket to the sensational, inspiring days of the past, revolved around 11 topic areas of interest. Starting off, the first up was “The marvelous invention of lenses” penned by Rtr. Yowan Dias. He explores the depth of the discovery, and their desire to see the unseen extents of the world. One of the fine discoveries that people looked up to, had turned the tables in the world of science.
Adding to the discovery of lens, “Birth of an art form” by Rtr. Jithaka Alexander escorts the readers through the birth of photography, the pause button to life, and your chance of reliving a memory. As quoted, “Where our eyes are never closing, hearts are never broken and time’s forever frozen, still…”, photography has always been our return ticket to moments otherwise gone.
Taking us off the trail of lenses, Rtr. Kavindana Nirmani throws her focus on the evolution of transit through her work “Beginning of Transportation”. She takes us on a walk through the evolving modes of transportation starting from their roots, the discoveries which ultimately made way to the sophisticated, luxurious methods of transit we experience today.
Next up, “Unwinding the helix of genetic discoveries” by Rtr. Ama Upeka walks us through the one thing that makes us unique, the core of our existence. The beauty of these discoveries itself is summed up in her words as she concludes, “A reality, full of opportunities that will re-wire the unwritten history of our future”.
As we go on there’s Rtr. Ruchila Wijerathne marks his entry with “Smaller the better”. He makes us focus on the so-called nanotechnology, an extension to more advanced technology which holds prominence in a majority of science areas. As he conveys, nanotechnology is a whole bucket of novelty to science within the appropriate limits.
Moving on, Rtr. Hirusha Munasighe updates us on “A bridge to the outer world” where he expounds on the evolvement of the network while bringing to light the twin-sided aspects of the internet. ‘Bringing the internet to life as a communication platform has made a huge difference in man’s daily routine’, as he says stands true as the internet stands to be one of the dire necessities of the century.
As we move on, there’s Rtr. Udari De Silva with “A legacy of Freedom” where she exaggerates the importance of the declaration of the right to education. A magic that makes a dream, a reality. “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world” as quoted says it all.
Next up, Rtr. Ruwangi Amarasooriya travels us through the origin of writing through “Ink of paper and a fluttering heart!”. Writing is the ultimate getaway from the stressful days, a ray of hope to the dark, a platform to commute bringing grandeur to life.
Moving on, there’s Rtr. Sumudu Thennakoon sharing with us the discovery of “Penicillin- The turning point in medicine”, the very foundation for the discovery of antibiotics against infection. As she says “We cannot even imagine how our lives would be now if penicillin was not discovered and how dangerous a small infection can be”.
Adding to the field of medicine, Rtr. Amrah Izadeen brings to us “Valiance” where she expounds on the creation of vaccines. ‘Une maladie, un vaccin’-For each disease a vaccine, the concept which secured our survival against the next predator coming our way.
Finally, up, there’s Rtr. Supun Samarasinghe with the “Invention of Martial Arts” where he explores the roots of the Art of War. Martial Arts itself isn’t just a weapon for human safety but a means to learn about life.
With 11 articles taking you all the way to unknown, forgotten accomplishments of the past, the ultimate quest, Heritage Mail marks its closure.
History doesn’t belong to us, we belong to it. It’s our gift to learn and apply to the future ahead. Hence, a gift that should be reminisced and carried on with us for the generations to come. Here, I am Rtr. Thiruni Withana signing off.
“The past is where you learned the lesson. The future is where you apply the lesson”
By Rtr. Thiruni Withana
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