Sri Lanka, July 14 -- The Koggala township where reputed writer Martin Wickramasinghe was born, received its name due to an engraved picture of a crane on a rock. Hundreds of books, including the novels Gamperaliya and Madolduwa, written by Wickramasinghe were based on Koggala where his ancestral home is situated.

Martin Wickramasinghe was born on May 29, 1890, at village headman's house which was then known as Ginpathaliye Opisara Gedara. Opisara is the Sinhala word for officer, a man respected by the villagers, who was appointed by the Government to keep law and order in the village. Wickramasinghe was not only a writer but also a literarian and a historian. He received his education at Buona Vista College, a Christian Missionary Schoo...