User:Snookyabey/sandbox/Seneka Abeyratne

Seneka Abeyratne
Seneka Abeyratne, born January 25, 1952 in Colombo, Sri Lanka Email ID: snabeyratne@gmail.com

Life and career
Seneka Abeyratne lives in Piliyandala, Sri Lanka. He is a well-known economist (retired), part-time journalist (economics/fine arts), and creative artist. His artistic work cuts across several fields, including creative writing (novels, plays), photography, digital modern art, dancing, and choreography (classical ballet/contemporary dance). He commenced his high school education at Trinity College and completed it at Royal College, where he was Head Prefect and Vice-Captain of rugby-football. He obtained his B.A. in Economics from York University, Canada, and his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University, USA.

His professional career as an economist spanned over three decades. Prior to retirement in 2009, he was a high-level, international consultant to the Asian Development Bank, Manila on economic policy analysis and reform. From 2004 to 2006, he was Director of Economic Affairs at the Peace Secretariat when the Ceasefire Agreement was in operation. From 2000 to 2003, he was CEO of the National Agribusiness Council (NAC), established with USAID funding. He was also the NAC’s first Chairman. During this time he provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance in the preparation of the seminal Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) – a World Bank-sponsored initiative. From 2002 to 2004, he also served as Chairman of the National Agribusiness Development Committee established by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to promote commercialization of agriculture in Sri Lanka.

On the cultural front, he has some notable achievements to his name. He was the first photographer to take a snapshot of an orca in Sri Lankan waters (Kalpitiya, 2008). This historic photo made it to the front page of the Daily Mirror. He is the co-winner of the 2006 Gratiaen Prize for the best work of fiction in English (“Three Star K”) as well as winner of the 2008 State Literary Award (for “Three Star K and Other Plays”). He has held a total of five B&W photography/digital modern art exhibitions to date: four in Colombo and one in the South of France – all sponsored by the French Embassy/Alliance Francaise. He is the published author of two novels, a screenplay, a collection of plays, and a B&W village photo book with fifteen pages of text – the only one of its kind to be produced by a Sri Lankan writer/photographer. Most of his plays, including “Three Star K,” “Virgo Intacta,” “Midnight Train,” and “Por la Libertad,” have been performed by various theater groups in Sri Lanka. Two of his early one–act plays were performed in Chennai by the Madras Players. Some of his short plays have also been performed in French by the Alliance Francaise de Kotte. Due to his in-depth knowledge of pharmacy, he served as coordinating editor of the “Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions” (2nd edition), published by CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, New York, in 2016.

His debut novel, “Fragments of a Fugue,” was published by Excalibur Press, London in 1992 and his second novel, “Asmita,” by Dr Cicero Books, New York in 2017. His gripping novels and plays explore complex psychological and social themes with focus on internal conflicts and dysfunctional human relationships. Some of his works, such as “Three Star K” and “Asmita,” are noted for their graphic violence, strong sexual content, and powerful imagery. He is viewed by local critics as an iconoclastic writer who “stays away from and distorts without remorse the stereotype” (Sunday Times). His plays, on the whole, are dark and disturbing, which is perhaps why the Sunday Observer once called him “the most challenging and controversial playwright in the country.”

Published Works
Novels: (i) “Fragments of a Fugue,” Excalibur Press, London, 2002; (ii) “Asmita,” Dr Cicero Books, New York, 2017 Plays: “Three Star K and Other Plays,” Colombo, 2008 Screenplays: “Temptation,” Colombo, 2011 Photography: “Facets of Wewala,” Colombo, 2007