Sri Lanka, March 9 -- In the pre-independence era, mother Lanka was blessed with several iconic leaders dedicated to the upliftment of civil society in the long run. Privy Councillor, Herbert Nissanka Mendis (H. Sri Nissanka) was an unsung contemporary, but undoubtedly the par excellence. Though being educated in Europe, he preferred the common village man's simple way of life. His own was a lifestyle inspired by the Buddhist way of simplicity, purity and humility - the unassuming grandeur of a great visionary. He was an intellectual who could never be bought over to do an ill deed against his beloved motherland.

He was born in 1898 at the famous Garumuni Walawwuwa of Balapitiya in Southern Ceylon, as the only son of Diveris Mendis and d...