The son who made it all happen
Mrs. Mallika Hewavitarne née Dharmagunewardena was the daughter of Muhandiram and Mrs. Lansage Andiris Perera Dharmagunewardena, the former a wellknown businessman and
President of the Buddhist Theosophical Society.
Mallika married Don Carolis Hewavitarne and they had five children, Don David (later Anagarika Dharmapala), Edmund, Dr. C.A., Simon and Engeltina.
Mrs. Hewavitarne passed away at the age of 89 years in 1936, having outlived all her children.
Dr. C.A. Hewavitarne
The son who was a pillar of strength to Mrs. Hewavitarne was Charles Alwis, a physician, who attended the prestigious Colombo Academy (later known as Royal College) and then went into the Ceylon Medical College, joining the Ceylon Medical Service after graduating as a doctor. Pursuing his postgraduate studies in Britain, he gained the diploma of the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (LRCP London) followed by the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS).
In 1915, he along with his brother Edmund (who died in prison), D.S. Senanayake and D.R. Wijewardene was imprisoned by the British following the riots of that year. This crackdown and brutal suppression of the Sinhala Buddhists were fuelled by fears of an uprising, by the then British Governor Sir Robert Chalmers who also gave orders to shooton-sight anyone whom the police deemed a rioter, with or without justification.
Later, Dr. Hewavitarne was a member of the University College Ceylon Council and the Dr. C.A. Hewavitarne Memorial Prizes for Physics are awarded annually in his memory at the University of Colombo and at the Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya.
A consummate intellectual, he was a bridge, billiards and chess player and moved easily with all strata of society. He died just short of his 53rd birthday in a tragic car-train accident at Eheliyagoda.