Who among us was not brought up on rice, the staple diet of our country since time immemorial? We eat it at least once everyday. We love its aroma, its appearance, and we know it tastes best when we eat it with our fingers. Rice is so much a part of our lives, a day without it for at least one meal, seems unimaginable.
No wonder then, that Ariyasiri Vithanage, Chairman of Trad Lanka Agricultural Enterprises, Anuradhapura, should see rice as something which deserves tremendous respect. Abhorring the careless way rice is treated by some of the other traders in the business, Ariyasiri assures that the rice he markets is free of stones and sand and comes with a leaflet instructing the housewives in the best ways to prepare it. (i.e. when cooking rice fresh from the mill less water should be used than the traditional amount).
In more ways than one, stepping into the rice market for Ariyasiri, has been a way of returning to his roots. Born in the deep south and hailing from a family of farmers Ariyasiri is happy he is assisting the toilers of the soil who produce the quintessential food of our country in Anuradhapura, through Trad Lanka Agricultural (Pvt) Limited.
The money he needed for this investment, however, came from elsewhere. After completing his education at the Prince of Wales MV, Ariyasiri gave up the opportunity of entering university to pursue a career in advertising. He recalls earning Rs. 125 a month as a Sinhala Copywriter. In 1969 he joined the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) as a guest announcer.
