Martin Wickramasinghe is considered the preeminent Sri Lankan writer of the 20th century. While his critically acclaimed Sinhala novels and short stories established him as a literary powerhouse, Wickramasinghe’s intellectual pursuits transcended fiction. He has written in both Sinhalese and English in fields as diverse as anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, literary criticism, Buddhism and evolutionary biology. Considered the progenitor of the modern Sinhalese novel, his writing was seminal in the evolution of Sinhalese literature, elevating Sinhala fiction into the ranks of the great literature of the world. He was also instrumental in promoting new ideas and concepts, in various spheres, to the large proportion of the Sri Lankan public who were not conversant in English. His 1934 publication, “Sathva Santhathiya,” stands as a prime example, introducing Darwinian evolution and natural selection to Sinhalese audiences at a time when these concepts were novel even in academic circles.