NO MORE LESTER’S MEMORY ON DR. LESTER JAMES PEIRIS ROAD

January 18, 2019 admin English News People

Everyone knows Dickman’s Road in Bambalapitiya, Colombo 4, but few use its actual current name Dr. Lester James Peiris Mawatha which was given in 2011 by Colombo Municipal Council in honour of veteran film director Lester James Peries.

Dr. Peries, P-E-R-I-E-S as he spelled his name, lived on this road since 1969 as a tenant. He passed away on 29th April 2018 at the age of 99. He married Sumithra Peiris, nee Gunawardane in 1964. They sold their property including Lester’s house in Kotte to spend for the films and lived past five decades in this house.

Later the owners of the property sold this house to a company and the company has informed Mrs. Sumitra Peiris to leave the house before January 17, 2019.

Sumithra has bought a house in Mirihana on a 12 perches block of land and hopes to move there.

Previously, there was lot of talk among artists and politicians to convert this house into a museum in the name of the internationally renowned cinema artist. The house is an unalienable part of Sri Lanka’s cinema history.

(Cover Photo: The house Dr. Lester James Peiris and Sumithra Peiris lived. 
Pix by Indika Handuwala, taken from dbsjeyaraj.com)

Photo credit: Don Maya

Photo Credit Don Maya

Adapted from praja.lk