Janaka Bogollagama: An Undying Legacy of Heart and Hustle

• He was a doting father who spared no expense to shower his wife, Sunetra and daughters, Sujani and Heshani, with every possible comfort and luxury
• He built seven temples in the North Western Province, and although a Buddhist, he helped all other religions too

The 31st of July this year would have been the 75th birthday of the late Janaka Bogollagama, who left us 15 years ago. His family and friends still miss this most warm-hearted, generous man, who was full of joie de vivre. Janaka had the blithest of temperaments, was irrepressibly good-natured but always extraordinarily decisive and strong-willed, which helped to make him a successful businessman and a household word in Kurunegala, his hometown. 

Philanthropist, sportsman, businessman: Janaka Bogollagama’s impact still echoes in Kurunegala.

He had a sharp, observant eye and a ready sense of humour, which helped in his business of land sales. He had the rare ability to meet new challenges head-on, which enabled him to move forward even in bad times. Perhaps the fact that he had been a sportsman all his life who played tennis almost daily, contributed towards his success, as sports as been called the one true international language. He was known to all who knew him as a bon vivant, a life enhancer and a man of unbridled generosity who never turned away anyone who came to him in need. 
He was a doting father who spared no expense to shower his wife, Sunetra and daughters, Sujani and Heshani, with every possible comfort and luxury. During his schooldays at Ananda College, he was the public school champion in tennis, and his achievements through sports and business were many and varied. He was President of the North Western Province Badminton Association, President of the Kurunegala club for 15 years, and the only one from an outstation to be President of the SLTA. He was the first President of the Wayamba Chamber of Commerce and, like his father, a staunch supporter of the UNP, never shifting his loyalties from the party through thick and thin. His contribution to the party in Kurunegala can never be matched. He always remained a Ranil Wickremesinghe loyalist, which was a bond between us. His generosity reached out to thirty to forty families who needed help, for livelihood and shelter. He also bought the best tractor available for them, sent all the essentials needed by them and built a school for this deprived community. He had also sent lorry loads of goods for them during the tsunami devastation. 
He built seven temples in the North Western Province, and although a Buddhist, he helped all other religions too. His love for sports made him sponsor most sports events in Kurunegala. He supported all charities in Kurunegala and those in other parts of the country too. 
The qualities he possessed of head and heart were rare, and he was unafraid to face death, full of optimistic philosophy right to the end. The world is poorer without him, but the memories will always be with us forever. Janaka, you were the genuine article, salt of the earth, and we will never ever forget you.