The technical story
The Cisco 2500 supplied by Sri Lanka Telecom failed. Harsha drove for more than forty-five minutes to Rajarata University, where the Vice-Chancellor permitted the University’s Internet link to be temporarily disconnected so its Cisco router could support the webcast. Harsha recalls configuring the borrowed Cisco 805 in approximately five minutes and reconnecting the streaming team.
Historical claim: Harsha identifies this as the first event streamed live over the Internet from Sri Maha Bodhi. The photograph and technical account come from his first-person recollection. Independent sources confirm the date and scale of Sarvodaya’s Anuradhapura Peace Samadhi Day, but no independent technical log has yet been located.
People in the photograph
Dihan Morawaka was Harsha’s student and accompanied him in research and technology projects; he later became a lecturer at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Janantha Marasinghe is the son of Dr. Marasinghe, a gynaecologist, and was married to the eldest daughter of Sarvodaya founder Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne. Harsha recalls that Janantha had a passion for cybersecurity from childhood. That early interest became his profession: he is now based in Australia and works as a senior cybersecurity expert. By sharing this photograph, Janantha also helped preserve the human and technical history of the webcast.
Biographical note: Janantha’s family relationships, childhood interest in cybersecurity and present professional standing are recorded here from Harsha Wijayawardhana’s personal recollection.
Surviving documentation
- Retrospective describing Peace Samadhi Day on 15 March 2002, the Anuradhapura setting and approximately 650,000 participants.
- Sarvodaya’s account of its peace-meditation movement.
- The onsite photograph and Harsha Wijayawardhana’s accompanying recollection.