# Nalanda College, Colombo

Nalanda College (Sinhala: නාලන්දා විද්‍යාලය) is a Buddhist school in Sri Lanka that provides primary and secondary education for boys. The school was founded by P. de S. Kularatne as an offshoot of Ananda College, Colombo, and was officially registered as a separate institution on 1 November 1925.

## History

In 1922, a section of Ananda College was moved to Campbell Place, Colombo, based on a proposal made by Patrick de Silva Kularatne, a leading Buddhist educator. L. H. Mettananda was appointed as the principal of this institution, which was called the Ananda branch. W. E. Fernando was the headmaster, and Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thera became its first Buddhist teacher. In 1924, Kularatne spent Rs. 5,500 to purchase a 0.10 ha (0.25 acres) of land close to the Campbell Place playground and built sixteen classrooms for the new school. Governor Gregory Thompson laid the foundation stone for the building. Out of sixteen classrooms, he used two rooms for the principal's office and staff members, another two rooms for the laboratories, and the balance of twelve rooms for the classes. Three hundred and thirty students of Ananda were transferred under L. H. Mettananda in 1924.
Kularatne was instrumental in getting the institution registered as a separate school on 1 November 1925. The new school was given its motto Apadana Sobhini Panna, and the school name Nalanda was also proposed by Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero. The English and the Sinhala versions are "Character illumines Wisdom" and "Yahapath Charithayen Praggnawa Opanangwe" respectively. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thera selected this motto from the Anguttara Nikaya, Tika Nipatha, Bala Waggo Lakkana Sutta.
On 1 January 1926, Kularatne appointed Dr. Gunapala Malalasekara as principal of the Nalanda College and transferred L. H. Metthanada to Ananda College as vice principal. Nalanda was fortunate in having its second principal, Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera. Malasekara launched several projects, making plans for the collection of funds for the construction of buildings, and later commenced a bulletin titled Nalanda, as well as arranging 15-minute Buddhist talks at the daily students' assembly and took many steps to promote the Buddhist environment in the school.
Kularatne laid the foundation stone for the second building on 30 March 1926. By the end of 1926, the number of students had increased to 550. Later, he borrowed money from Anagarika Dharmapala to purchase land for the primary section which was settled by Malalasekara. The student assembly hall is named Malalasekara Theatre after him.

## Evolution

The college is equipped with facilities such as science and computer laboratories, lecture halls, auditoriums, and hostels. The main language at Nalanda is Sinhala, while students have the option to select English from year six onwards. Students of Nalanda College have consistently participated in national-level examinations, with some achieving high grades in Ordinary Level and Advanced Level exams, as well as in various sports competitions.
In 2011, Nalanda students won first place in the world at the Oracle Thinkquest Application Development. They also won first place in the International Students Biotechnology Competition and the 14th International Convention on Students Quality Control Circles, held in Lucknow, India. Students of Nalanda College Colombo also have participated in research activities. In 2017, a student of the Research Forum won a silver medal for his research, "Deposition of air pollutants on pollen grains and occurrence of respiration allergies among humans at the International Conference of Young Scientists in Germany," where Sri Lanka participated for the first time at the event as a competitive country.

## Awards

Nalanda College, Colombo, presents various awards recognising student achievements in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities. Felicitation ceremonies are conducted each year.
* Annual Prize Giving - All students who gained unique academic achievements in education are felicitated.
* Annual Colours Awarding Ceremony - Ceremony to felicitate students who performed and achieved national and international victories during the year.
* International Awarding Ceremony - Ceremony to award students who gain high recognition on the international stage.
* Nalanda Puthra Abhinandana Award – Service to the nation awarded to M. J. Perera in 1992.
* Nalanda Keerthi Sri (Sinhala: නාලන්දා කීර්තී ශ්‍රී සම්මානය) - Jayaweerage Samantha was the founder of the Nalanda Keerthi Sri Award Festival. As the media Secretary of the Nalanda College Old Scouts' Association (2003–2004), the first edition occurred on 27 September 2003. The award recognises alumni for their contributions in various professional fields, serving as an inspiration for current students.
Award recipients include: Kala Keerthi, Dr Henry Jayasena, President of Sri Lanka - Mahinda Rajapaksa, Diyawadana Nilame, Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara, Sri Lanka - Ranjana, Dr Sarath Gunapala, Professor Chandana Jayaratne, Kuppiyawatta Bodhananda Thera, Dr Gunadasa Amarasekara, Professor Pathmajeewa Ganepola Air Chief Marshal - Gagan Bulathsinghala, Air Chief Marshal - Kapila Jayampathy, Air Chief Marshal - Sumangala Dias.

## Clubs and societies

* Aeronautical Society
* Buddhist Association
* Communication Unit
* Computer Society
* Commerce Society
* Dancing Circle
* Commerce Society
* English Debating Society
* English Drama Circle
* Interact Club
* Leo Club
* Life Saving Club
* Prefects Guild
* Photographic & Art Society
* Science Society
* Scouts Troop
* Western Music Association

## Sports

Nalanda College occupies a playground at Campbell Place, a modern sports complex, a modern squash court, a swimming pool, a shooting range and other sports facilities.
* Athletics
* Archery
* Badminton
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Cadet Platoon
* Cadet Band
* Chess
* Gymnastics
* Hockey
* Martial Arts – Karate, Wushu
* Rugby Football
* Rowing
* Rifle Shooting
* Soccer (Football)
* Squash
* Swimming
* Tennis
* Volleyball
* Water Polo

### Cricket
#### Battle of the Maroons

The Ananda versus Nalanda cricket match has been played between Ananda College, Colombo, and Nalanda College, Colombo, since 1924. Over the years, Nalanda College has produced many world-famous cricketers such as Bandula Warnapura, Roshan Mahanama, Kumar Dharmasena, and Mahela Jayawardena

#### Nalanda vs Trinity

The annual cricket match between Nalanda College, Colombo, and Trinity College, Kandy, is played for the Mahela-Sanga Trophy.

## Principals

| Name | From | To |
| L. H. Mettananda | 1925 | 1926 |
| Prof. Gunapala Malalasekara | 1926 | 1927 |
| G. K. W. Perera | 1927 | 1928 |
| J. N. Jinarajadasa | 1928 | 1946 |
| D. C. Lowris | 1947 | 1952 |
| M. de S. Jayarathne | 1953 | 1955 |
| M. W. Karunananda | 1956 | 1962 |
| K. M. W. Kuruppu | 1962 | 1963 |
| D. J. Edirisinghe | 1963 | 1964 |
| Gunapala Wickramaratne | 1964 | 1969 |
| Sugunadasa Athukorala | 1969 | 1982 |
| Dharma Gunasinghe | 1982 | 1990 |
| D. G. Sumanasekera | 1990 | 1994 |
| Edward Ranasinghe | 1994 | 1999 |
| Hemantha Premathilaka | 1999 | 2010 |
| Ranjith Jayasundara | 2010 | 2017 |
| Thilak Waththuhewa | 2017 | 2020 |
| H.M. Wijerathna (acting) | 2020 | 2021 |
| Thilak Waththuhewa | 2021 | 2023 |
| Iran Champika De Silva | 2023 | Present |

## Notable teachers

Nalanda College has had a number of well-known teachers in tutorial staff including: Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayake Thero, Polwatte Buddhadatta Mahanayake Thero, S. Mahinda Thero, A. T. Ariyaratne, Sagara Palansuriya, Edward Jayakody, Premasara Epasinghe, S. Panibharatha, Siri Perera ,Vidura koushalya and Somalatha Subasinghe.

## Alumni

Past students who have studied at Nalanda College Colombo are referred to as Old Nalandians.

## War Memorial and remembrance

Each year, students and alumni commemorate the loss of 41 alumni who died in the Sri Lankan civil war. A war memorial is situated between the main oldest buildings of the college.

## Nalanda College Junior Old Boys' Association

The Association is the alumni association for the college. Its objective is to enhance the interests of the college, past students, and present students by maintaining relationships among alumni, and with their alma mater. Each year, the union organises many events such as Future Minds, Nalanda Walk, Olcott Memorial Old Boys' Cricket Tourney, Ranaviru Upahara, and more.