Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu ( ta, பாக்கியசோதி சரவணமுத்து, si, පාකියසොති සර්වනමූත්තු; 26 October 1892 – 28 May 1950; also known as P. Sara) was a

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri L ...

civil servant and sports administrator.

Early life and family

Saravanamuttu was born on 26 October 1892. He was the son of Vetharniam Saravanamuttu, a physician from

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

in Ceylon. His mother's family were from

Vaddukoddai Vaddukoddai (also spelt Vattukkottai, Vatukotai, Vattukotai) ( ta, வட்டுக்கோட்டை, si, වඩුකෝඩයි) is small but important town in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. I ...

in northern Ceylon. His paternal grandfather Vetharniam is reputed to be the founder of Chunnakam, a small town in northern Ceylon. Saravanamuttu had five brothers: Ratnasothy, Nanasothy, Tharmasothy, Manicasothy and Saptaranajyoti. He was educated at

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

where he won many prizes including the Victoria Gold Medal. He was also a member of the school's athletics, cricket and football teams. After school he received a BA degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Saravanamuttu taught at Royal College, Colombo for a brief period. He then joined

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , establish ...

in 1915 in preparation for entering the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

but family circumstances forced him to leave before finishing his course. Saravanamuttu married Sybil Thangam, daughter of Muttusumaru, a crown proctor from

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam Di ...

. They had two sons (Baski and Chandri) and a daughter (Sakuntala). Baski's son, also called Paikiasothy, is the head of the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Career

After returning to Ceylon Saravanamuttu joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1919 as a cadet, initially working at Colombo

Kachcheri A kachcheri or district secretariat is the principal government department that administrates a district in Sri Lanka. Each of the 25 districts has a kachcheri. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and a ...

. Serving in various locations, he rose up the rank of the civil service. He was Assistant Government Agent for

Mullaitivu District Mullaitivu District ( ta, முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம் ''Mullaittīvu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මුලතිවු දිස්ත්‍රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ad ...

(1926) and

Hambantota District Hambantota District ( si, හම්බන්තොට දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''hambantoṭa distrikkaya''; ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை மாவட்டம் ''Ampāntōṭṭai māvaṭṭam'') is a district i ...

. He later served as a judicial officer in

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

Kegalle Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo– Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle Distr ...

and

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

He joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands in 1946 and was appointed commissioner of the Tea Control and Rubber Control departments. He spent millions of public money in these roles and was believed to the highest paid civil servant in the country. He was offered the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George honour in the 1946

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

list for his services during the war but he declined. After retirement in 1946 Saravanamuttu entered politics. He contested the 1947 parliamentary election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate in Colombo South but failed to get elected. The winner of the election, R. A. de Mel, subsequently lost his seat after being found guilty of corrupt practices by aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring the offences of impersonation in an election petition filled by Saravanamuttu. Saravanamuttu contested the ensuing

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held in Colombo South in November 1948 but again lost, this time to

T. F. Jayewardene Major Theodore Frederick "Freddy" Jayewardene (25 March 1911 – ?) was a Ceylonese planter and politician. He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour and Member of Parliament for Colombo South from 1948 to 1956. Earl ...

. Saravanamuttu is mostly remembered for his association with the

Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club Tamil Union Cricket & Athletic Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They play their home games at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium. History The club can trace its roots back to the final years of the 19th century in which ...

which he helped develop. He was president of the club from 1948 to 1951. He helped build the club's new ground, the Colombo Oval which was renamed

Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium (Tamil: பாக்கியசோதி சரவணமுத்து மைதானம், si, පාකියසොති සර්වනමූත්තු ක්‍රීඩාංගනය) Colombo Oval o ...

in 1977. The

P. Sara Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 seas ...

, an inter-club cricket competition, ran from 1949 to 1982. Saravanamuttu was head of the Ceylon Cricket Association (1937–50) and the first president of the Board of Control for Cricket in Ceylon (1949–50). Saravanamuttu died on 28 May 1950.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saravanamuttu, Paikiasothy 1892 births 1950 deaths Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Ceylonese Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Faculty of Royal College, Colombo People from Colombo People of British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil civil servants Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil teachers Sri Lankan cricket administrators