Early life and career

Dhanapala was born in Tissamaharama

Tissamaharama

Tissamaharama is a town in south-eastern Sri Lanka. It used to be the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3rd century B.C. Only few buildings from that period can still be seen today. The large artificial Tissa Wewa lake, which was a part of a sophisticated irrigation...

 and educated at Mahinda College

Mahinda College

Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. It is a national school, which provides primary and secondary education. The school was established on March 1, 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott...

 Galle and Allahabad University

Allahabad University

Allahabad University , is a premier Central University located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Its origins lie in the Muir Central College, named after Lt...

 India. After an early career as a teacher including a period spent as Principal of Dharmaloka Vidyalaya Kelaniya

Kelaniya

Kelaniya is a small town near Colombo, Sri Lanka in the Gampaha District. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which runs through the town...

 he took to Journalism as a career.

Jounalism

Dhanapala started in journalism working at the Dinamina

Dinamina

Founded on December 17 1909, the Dinamina is a Sinhalese daily that claims the largest circulation among Sinhalese-speaking peoples in Sri Lanka. The newspaper was founded by the Sinhalese scholar H.S. Perera who acted as both owner and editor-in-chief of the paper at the outset. Upon Perera's...

 Newspaper published by the Lake House Group. He later moved as founder editor to a competing daily Sinhala newspaper Lankadipa and commenced a long standing friendship with fellow reporter PA Ediriweera

PA Ediriweera

Piyadasa Ariyasena Ediriweera was a Sri Lankan Travel Agent, Journalist and Enterpreneur-Journalism:Ediriweera was born in Ahangama Sri Lanka in October 1915...

. The newspaper began as a six column tabloid in 1947 and was a standard seven column daily newspaper by 1949. His ability to influence political thinking in the Sinhala speaking population is believed to have caused concern among the incumbent government as he supported the campaign of Mr S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in the 1956 general election.

Career as author

Dhanapala was a well known biographer of leading personalities in Ceylon and is best known for his book on contemporary political figures Among those Present. His writing also includes work on Buddhist paintings from shrines and temples in Ceylon and The story of Sinhalese paintings .

Honours

The Sri Lanka Press Institute commemorates his memory through the award of the DB Dhanapala Award for the Best Journalist
.

Family

Dhanapala was married to Rathi Dhanapala teacher, poet, artist and author , and his family followed him into the media and creative fields. He was the father of filmmaker D. B. Nihalsinghe

D. B. Nihalsinghe

Dr. Diego Badaturuge Nihalsingha is urguably the most versatile person in film and television in Sri Lanka- with a respected reputation in both film and television being one of the most senior Sri Lankan film directors and film industry pioneers with over 40 years of distinguished service to...

 and photographer D.B Suranimala who married Ranjini Ediriweera (who acted in the film Wer stirbt schon gerne unter Palmen? (1974) and later joined her brothers as a director of Ceylon Tours) the daughter of his friend and business partner PA Ediriweera

PA Ediriweera

Piyadasa Ariyasena Ediriweera was a Sri Lankan Travel Agent, Journalist and Enterpreneur-Journalism:Ediriweera was born in Ahangama Sri Lanka in October 1915...

.
References