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"I began to study the subject and better understand my temper" G.A. Mathupema[/caption]
Born in 1931, G.A. Mathupema is turning 90 years old this year, and having authored over 50 books and given his countless contributions to numerous local publications, we spoke to the incredible Mathupema to share with us his remarkable life story from a “village boy” travelling to Colombo, boarding by himself amongst strangers in Bambalapitiya, to publishing his very first book, as well as a bit of advice on how to become better adjusted adults in these difficult times.
As an author, Mathupema is known for his novels in both English and Sinhala. However, he’s even better known for his publications on psychology. His book “සරල මානෝවිද්යාව” (Simple Psychology) has been recommended as a reference of a useful body of work in the University of Peradeniya and the Sri Lanka Teacher Training College. During the 1971 educational reforms, his book was utilised as a textbook when principles of psychology were introduced to the curriculum. Since the popularity of Simple Psychology, Mathupema has gone on to publish several psychology books – including “ජීවන ගැටළු සහ මනෝවිද්යාව” (Life Problems and Psychology), which has gone on to become extremely popular, selling over 5,000 copies in eight months.
He shared with us a rather hilarious anecdote, noting that back when he was pursuing his Diploma in Education at the University of Colombo, his Professor of Psychology at the time, Prof. L.P. Kotalawala, had provided the class with a list of books for recommended reading. Funnily enough, Mathupema’s own book was included in the list, which led to a number of students in the class who knew of his identity to simply burst out laughing. He shared that it is so pleasant looking back at these memories, how certain decisions he made in his life led him down a most interesting path.
Being an English language teacher by profession, we asked Mathupema what prompted him to write books on psychology, and he commented that it all started as a way to remedy one of the major weaknesses he harboured as a young student – being awfully hot-tempered. He said he had this very bad practice and looked into how he could manage his emotions, and in looking into this, he was taken down the path of psychology and the science of the mind. He said his very first exposure to the subject came in the form of a psychology digest that was available in his school library, which he read diligently.
“I began to study the subject and better understand my temper,” he said, and this knowledge combined with his love for language resulted in him writing essays, drawing from his findings and research and sharing them with various publications, notably the Rasavahini magazine where his first article titled “කෝපය මැදපවත්වාගන්නේ කෙසේද” (how to control your anger) was published.@
He said he often got comments from people saying they wished to read about psychology in these simple terms – in a way the general public could understand – and so, encouraged by the editors at Rasavahini, he wrote and published his first book.
Mathupema said he would never forget the very first criticism he received for his book, published by Nandasena Rathnapala of Sunday Lankadeepa. He said the critic titled the article “අධුනිකයෙක්ගෙන් හොඳ කතාවක්” (a good story form an amateur), also sharing that back then, the way one went about getting publicity for a book was by taking two copies of the story to each editor of any interested publication in the hopes that they would give it a chance. However, he said he had never met Ratnapala, and the critic had come across the book entirely on his own. Mathupema said he and Rathnapala met at a book exhibition some time later and developed a close friendship.
Having lived a vivacious life, Mathupema shared that if he could say anything to students and the younger generation of our country, it would be to encourage them to read. “There’s nothing like reading,” he added.
Having read nearly all the publications that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, he said he has heard from some of his students that they too are able to read any and all of the books he talks about, on their smartphones. Admitting that perhaps it is his personal view of the past, he said he believes you cannot enjoy a book on a phone screen, as true enjoyment of a book comes from physically reading that book. Regardless, he only wishes that reading beyond the rigid school curriculum is encouraged further amongst younger generations.
On a closing note, Mathupema also shared that he is an avid believer that if the current education system is to reinstate the pre-vocational education programme implemented from 1972-1977 before the turning of the Government, there would be a lot more better-adjusted students entering society.
More of his thoughts on this subject and numerous others are available in his book “ගුරුවරයකු දකින ලෝකය” (The World Through the Eyes of a Teacher).
"I began to study the subject and better understand my temper" G.A. Mathupema[/caption]
Born in 1931, G.A. Mathupema is turning 90 years old this year, and having authored over 50 books and given his countless contributions to numerous local publications, we spoke to the incredible Mathupema to share with us his remarkable life story from a “village boy” travelling to Colombo, boarding by himself amongst strangers in Bambalapitiya, to publishing his very first book, as well as a bit of advice on how to become better adjusted adults in these difficult times.
As an author, Mathupema is known for his novels in both English and Sinhala. However, he’s even better known for his publications on psychology. His book “සරල මානෝවිද්යාව” (Simple Psychology) has been recommended as a reference of a useful body of work in the University of Peradeniya and the Sri Lanka Teacher Training College. During the 1971 educational reforms, his book was utilised as a textbook when principles of psychology were introduced to the curriculum. Since the popularity of Simple Psychology, Mathupema has gone on to publish several psychology books – including “ජීවන ගැටළු සහ මනෝවිද්යාව” (Life Problems and Psychology), which has gone on to become extremely popular, selling over 5,000 copies in eight months.
He shared with us a rather hilarious anecdote, noting that back when he was pursuing his Diploma in Education at the University of Colombo, his Professor of Psychology at the time, Prof. L.P. Kotalawala, had provided the class with a list of books for recommended reading. Funnily enough, Mathupema’s own book was included in the list, which led to a number of students in the class who knew of his identity to simply burst out laughing. He shared that it is so pleasant looking back at these memories, how certain decisions he made in his life led him down a most interesting path.
Being an English language teacher by profession, we asked Mathupema what prompted him to write books on psychology, and he commented that it all started as a way to remedy one of the major weaknesses he harboured as a young student – being awfully hot-tempered. He said he had this very bad practice and looked into how he could manage his emotions, and in looking into this, he was taken down the path of psychology and the science of the mind. He said his very first exposure to the subject came in the form of a psychology digest that was available in his school library, which he read diligently.
“I began to study the subject and better understand my temper,” he said, and this knowledge combined with his love for language resulted in him writing essays, drawing from his findings and research and sharing them with various publications, notably the Rasavahini magazine where his first article titled “කෝපය මැදපවත්වාගන්නේ කෙසේද” (how to control your anger) was published.@
He said he often got comments from people saying they wished to read about psychology in these simple terms – in a way the general public could understand – and so, encouraged by the editors at Rasavahini, he wrote and published his first book.
Mathupema said he would never forget the very first criticism he received for his book, published by Nandasena Rathnapala of Sunday Lankadeepa. He said the critic titled the article “අධුනිකයෙක්ගෙන් හොඳ කතාවක්” (a good story form an amateur), also sharing that back then, the way one went about getting publicity for a book was by taking two copies of the story to each editor of any interested publication in the hopes that they would give it a chance. However, he said he had never met Ratnapala, and the critic had come across the book entirely on his own. Mathupema said he and Rathnapala met at a book exhibition some time later and developed a close friendship.
Having lived a vivacious life, Mathupema shared that if he could say anything to students and the younger generation of our country, it would be to encourage them to read. “There’s nothing like reading,” he added.
Having read nearly all the publications that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, he said he has heard from some of his students that they too are able to read any and all of the books he talks about, on their smartphones. Admitting that perhaps it is his personal view of the past, he said he believes you cannot enjoy a book on a phone screen, as true enjoyment of a book comes from physically reading that book. Regardless, he only wishes that reading beyond the rigid school curriculum is encouraged further amongst younger generations.
On a closing note, Mathupema also shared that he is an avid believer that if the current education system is to reinstate the pre-vocational education programme implemented from 1972-1977 before the turning of the Government, there would be a lot more better-adjusted students entering society.
More of his thoughts on this subject and numerous others are available in his book “ගුරුවරයකු දකින ලෝකය” (The World Through the Eyes of a Teacher).