Tharaka Wasalamudaliarachchi

Tharaka Wasalamudaliarachchi (born 18th October 1973 Sinhala) is a Sri Lankan author,. journalist, actress and a social media influencer. Mostly known for her television work "Helidarawwa" (හෙළිදරව්ව), books Kalu (කළු), Mati (මැටි), Dehi (දෙහි) and her acting work in Pipi Piyum (පිපි පියුම්). In addition, Tharaka is also known as a song writer as well as a social media influencer as well. 
== Early Life and Education ==
Tharaka was born on 18th October 1973 in Matara, Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka as the older child of her family. Her father was a teacher in Economics and the mother was a bank manager. Tharaka grew up in Matara throughout 70's and 80's. She completed her primary education in a small school in Pallewela and secondary education in St. Thomas' Girls' High School, Matara. In 2002 she completed a Diploma of Journalism on Journalism from University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Tharaka completed her Bachelor's degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 2017 and her Master's degree from University of Kelaniya in 2019 (Specialized in Political science).
== Career ==
=== Early Career ===
She began her career at a very young age, in her teen years by writing letters to Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, a popular radio station at the time as well as many leading newspapers.. In mid 90's she joined television by hosting many television programs such as Shanida Ayubowan in Jathika Rupavahini. In 1997, she joined Swarnavahini as one of the earliest journalists in the channel. She was a part of the team of presenters in "Deshapalana Sathiya" as well as a part of the production crew of "Rathu Ira". However, her most notable work as a journalist was initiated in 1997 with the investigative television show "Helidarawwa" which she found early fame as a journalist. She started as the presenter of the show and eventually she took over the role of the producer soon afeter. In 2000 and 2001, Tharaka won two Sumathi Awards for Best Investigative Television Program for her work in "Helidarawwa"'
Her career in print media also had noteworthy points during this time as she was an editor for the magazine TV Sri Lanka In 2001. She became a news anchor for Swarnavahini with the introduction of Live@8 (the 8 o'clock news broadcast of the channel). 2001 was also the year of the beginning of her carrer as an author. Her first novel was published in 2001 as "andaramandiya" which was a publication of M.D. Gunasena Publishers. This book won her the Youth Literature Award in 2001 awarded by the National Youth Service Council of Sri Lanka. 
=== 2005 - 2010 ===
Tharaka took a break from her career from 2003 to 2005 to focus on her personal life with the birth of her second son. In 2005. she returned to Swarnawahini with the biographical documentary program "Charitha" which she hosted and produced. In 2006 she made her acting debut by starring in "Pipi Piyum" playing the main role, alongside actor Saranga Disasekara|Saranga Dissasekara. In 2007 she starred in anothrer teledrama, "Udu Viyan" which was followed by many other single episode teledramas in the series "Vidarshana".
2006 also marked a landmark year for her with her receiving the JCI Award for the Best Young Journalist of Sri Lanka. This was followed by another Sumathi Awards|Sumathi Tele Award for the Best Documentary Program in 2007, which was awarded for her work in "Charitha".
In terms of her authoring career, Dehi (2006). Mati (2007) and Kalu (2009) were published respectively, all by Sarasavi Publishers. These years were the period of her career where she received recognition as an author, as these books were critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Tharaka was nominated for the "Golden Book Award (Swarna Pusthaka) organized by the Book Publishers Association of Sri Lanka" in 2009 for her novel Kalu
In addition, in this period she wrote more than 15 songs as a song writer. 
Other notable works include “Dankuda Banda," "Hitha Mage Aalawanthai," and "Sihina Kirula." 
=== 2013 - Up to date ===
With the birth of her third son in 2011, Tharaka took another break from her career. In 2013 she returned to her authoring career with the book Aes (ඇස්). This was followed by Pata (පාට) in 2016, Guru (ගුරු) in 2018 and Indrachapa (ඉන්ද්‍රචාප) in 2018. In her return to professional work, she focused on reaching audiences through websites and social medial platforms. She has an official website (tharakaawa.com) which is a lifestyle blog. She is also an active influencer on Facebook as her profile has 4000+ friends and 13000+ followers. Her Instagram profile has 2500+ followers. In addition she has an official YouTube channel as well.
She is also a well known song writer in Sri Lanka with over 12 hit songs including "Gimhana Sihine" performed by "Udaya Sri". 
== Personal Life ==
Tharaka is married to Chandana Sooriyabandara who is also a Sri Lankan journalist, a television host in Sirasa TV. Her brother-in-law (brother of the husband) is Saddha Mangala Sooriyabandara who is also a journalist, TV host and a script writer. Tharaka is a mother of three sons, Gimhan Soriyabandara (Attorney at Law, a graduate of University of Colombo, author and teacher). Muniwara Sooriyabandara and Nimna Sooriyabandara (Currently students of St. Joseph's College, Colombo). She is a Sinhalese in Ethnicity and a Buddhist in religion with liberal religious views. Her hometown is Matara and currently she resides in Colombo.
== Books ==
Book 	Year 	Publisher 	ISBN
Andaramandiya (අන්දරමණ්ඩිය)	2001 	Gunasena Publishers 	9552111587
Konda Kirilli (කොණ්ඩ කිරිල්ලී)	2001 	Malpiyali Publishers	9556234438
Dehi (දෙහි) 	2006 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789555735018
Mati (මැටි) 	2007 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789555737173
Kalu (කළු) 	2008 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789555739542
Aes (ඇස් ) 	2014 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789553100986
Pata (පාට) 	2016 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789553112804
Indrachapa (ඉන්ද්‍රචාප) 	2019 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789553114372
Guru (ගුරු) 	2019 	Sarasavi Publishers 	9789553116765
Kasi (කාසි) 	2021 (To be published)	Sarasavi Publishers 	N/A
== Awards ==
=== Television ===
Awards for Work in Television
Program 	Award 	Year	Result
Helidarawwa	Sumathi Tele Awards for Best Investigative Television Program	2000	Won
Helidarawwa	Sumathi Tele Awards for Best Investigative Television Program	2001	Won
N/A 	JCI Award for the Most Outstanding Young Journalist 	2006	Won
Charitha 	Sumathi Tele Awards for Best Documentary Program 	2007	Won
Charitha 	Sumathi Tele Awards for Best Television Presenter 	2007	Nominated
=== Books ===
Awards for Work in Authoring
Book 	Award 	Year	Result
Andaramandiya	Youth Literature Award by National Youth Service Council of Sri Lanka	2001	Won
Kalu 	Swarna Pusthaka Award 	2009	Nominated
Category:Sri Lankan novelists
Category:Sri Lankan actresses
Category:Sri Lankan journalists