New Delhi, March 27 -- The demise of Gananath Obeyesekere (1930-2025) could be interpreted as the symbolic end of the best era of the University of Peradeniya, the largest university in Sri Lanka. Gananath embodied the ethos of what Peradeniya stood for throughout his life as a scholar who indulged himself in exploring the unknown. The strict discipline he inculcated from Peradeniya was duly manifested in his scholarly contributions as an anthropologist.

Yet turning to anthropology was a serendipity for Gananath and he first excelled in English Literature during his early years at the University of Peradeniya. Under the colonial settings in which the University of Peradeniya soared its wings, a degree in English literature was regarded t...