Shivantha Vivekanandan He was not bound by his blindness

The handing over of furniture items to the School for the Deaf in Ratmalana and a prestigious award to the well-known former sports star Shivantha Vivekanandan, who is the current President and Life Member of the Deaf School Past Pupils’ Association, was held at the School for the Deaf in Ratmalana, recently. 

He won a number of awards, major trophies, medals and certificates in studies, sports and art. He was able to move with normal students where he is excellent in lip reading

Shivantha Vivekanandan is deaf from birth and was educated at the School for the Deaf, Ratmalana up to the age of nine and thereafter at the normal Maryline High School, Kollupitiya where he was the most brilliant student studying up to the GCE (Advanced Level). He won a number of awards, major trophies, medals and certificates in studies, sports and art. He was able to move with normal students where he is excellent in lip reading. He captained the under-16 cricket team in 1961 and a senior athlete champion for three consecutive years from 1960 to 1962 at the Maryline High School, Kollupitiya. He was an active member of the Deaf Recreation Club, Rajagiriya where he took part in cricket, athletics and table tennis. He broke many records in several sports (too many to mention) and had already won 123 awards in sports before he retired in 1980. He was the Sportsman of the Year, Best Cricketer and Best All-round Sportsman several times.   

Shivantha Vivekanandan is good at art and won a number of awards locally and abroad where he won the highest award, “Gold Star Certificate” at the Royal Academy Art Exhibition London, Britain in 1963 and a bronze medal and a certificate at the International Exhibition of Children’s Art Works held in Tokyo, Japan in 1966.    He enrolled as the member of the Deaf School Past Pupils’ Association, The School for the Deaf, Ratmalana, in 1975. He was selected Vice President of the Association from 1997 to 1999. He was selected President in 2000 and holds that post up to date. He has been elected to this post uncontested every year. During his tenure as the President, he contributed immensely to uplift the standard of the School for the Deaf by collecting funds so that the school could launch major projects and had also had contributed much in the way of social services. He was selected as the Life Member of the Deaf School Past Pupils’ Association, Ratmalana in 2008. He organised the Deaf Schools Sports Activities in Cricket, Netball, Volleyball (Boys and Girls), sponsored by Chevron Lubricants PLC for 10 years from 2000 to 2010 where he was known as the “Father of the Deaf Sports Activities”. Many deaf students from the various deaf schools in Sri Lanka took part in these tournaments. 

 
He who is an outstanding personality, was the President, Sri Lanka Deaf Cricket Association from 2007 to 2015 (8 years) where he played a major role in promoting the leather ball tournaments, organised by Sri Lanka Cricket, as well as the foreign tours to play cricket matches in the Deaf Asia Cricket Cup Tournaments. He attended the Deaf International Cricket Council Annual General Meeting at Dubai in 2013, where he was selected a committee member DICC. He was Senior Vice Chairman, Asia Deaf Cricket Council for four years from 2013 to 2016. He is currently consultant for the Sri Lanka Deaf Cricket Association. Shivantha Vivekanandan was selected the Project Chairman for Deaf International Cricket Council in Sri Lanka where he and the organising committee from Sri Lanka Deaf Cricket Association are preparing the next Deaf Cricket World Cup Tournament to be held in Sri Lanka next year.   

He also was the Individual Member, World Federation of the Deaf. Also he is the member of the Sri Lanka Central Federation of the Deaf.   

He got through the professional exam organized by the Institute of Drafting Technologists, Sri Lanka where he is was the only deaf member of the Institute. Currently he works as the Senior Architectural Assistant at a well known Architect’s firm in Sri Lanka.   

He is married to Naguleswary who is normal. He has a son Ahilan and a daughter Karthiga.   
Shivantha Vivekanandan is grateful to his parents who had been a tower of strength to him and is determined to bear fruit and fulfil their wishes and also to his family, relations and the others for their generous support given to him. He believed that his position was given by God and he gave God all the glory because God helped him a lot.