Some thing very special happened in Colombo last Saturday, 6th September evening, at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies. Gamani Corea’s autobiography, MY MEMOIRS, 479 pages long, was launched by the Gamani Corea Foundation, in the luminous presence of Gamani Corea himself. Three facets made the occasion unforgettable .

First, the presence of Corea, who had faded away from the scene, read of as having taken to his bed. But here he was, bubbling and smiling and greeting the line of admirers and aficionados who were thrilled as he was, to talk to and touch the elusive mentor. He stretched out his hand as if he was at home, bent forward to listen to words spoken to his ears and smiled and welcomed them all. One of them brought a red carnation which adorned his lapel. He sat through the whole evening and at the end, seated on his wheelchair, tucked into the refreshments.

Second, was the valued presence of a rare gathering of several generations of committed Lankans who had each in their own way, as human beings and as professionals, given of their best to this country from diverse fields of expertise. These were men and women who had engaged as deeply as possible in the life of their society. In spite of the cracks and fault lines multiplying unceasingly at the centre and the margins, they had held the enemy at bay, and ensured that values, justice and large-mindedness prevail over expediency unlimited. It was a rare cross section of concerned Sri Lankans. They invested the occasion with affection, admiration and empathy in a gesture of fellowship.

Third, was the superb address by Dr. Arjun Sen Gupta, from our northern neighbour, and a dear colleague of Gamani Corea in many Third World fora, who spoke about the enduring significance of the work that Gamani Corea had done at UNCTAD for developing countries, both in the past and its importance for the future. He meticulously revisited the history of the struggles of the developing and developed world in commodity trade, and made the important point that though world politics had overtaken those initiatives in the 90s, the struggle was unfinished yet. There was a persisting need to re-engage with the discourse in our quest for justice today.

We would like to conclude with the last paragraph in the book. "When in Colombo, I also gave attention to the establishment of a Foundation, which would take the form of an independent endowment, devoted to the activities, both national and international, that occupied my professional career. This decision was motivated in large part by my single status on the one hand and the properties that I had largely inherited from my mother, on the other. My aim was to set up and endow a centre of intellectual activity devoted to the issues that concerned my entire working career – issues of development, both national and international. The Centre is now registered under the Company Law of Sri Lanka but has yet to have the benefit of a ceremonial launching. I have, upto now, been encouraged in this endeavour by expressions of support from friends and acquaintances abroad, both in Geneva and elsewhere. The Centre has been named the "Gamani Corea Foundation" contrary to my earlier preference to use the name of my mother. I was persuaded that my economic career was specially relevant to the objectives and the prospects of success for the Foundation and that it should , therefore, carry my name. A ceremonial inauguration of the institution is now planned for the current year, 2002, an event with which I hope to associate participants from abroad. It is my hope that I will be able to devote my energies increasingly to the development of the Foundation in the period ahead."