Piyadasa Sirisena was a Ceylonese pioneer novelist, patriot, journalist, temperance worker and independence activist.

Piyadasa Sirisena used the novel as a medium through which to reform society and became one of the leaders in mass communication in the early part of the 20th century.

Piyadasa Sirisena was born in 1875, in the countryside village called Athuruwella in Induruwa located three kilometers south of Bentota in Galle District.

The wide range of Piyadasa Sirisena's skills made him a prolific thinker and writer during the early years of the 20th century.

[3] The publication-‘Situmina’ was first published in 1895 and subsequently Sirisena contributed articles of ‘Sarasavi Sandaresa‘ news paper edited by a leading journalist of that era known as Hemendra Sepala Perera.

It was Perera who laid the platform for Piyadasa Sirisena to launch his distinguished literary career which impacted Ceylonese society to a larger extent.

Ceylon at this time had a increasing number of literate citizens who were well aware of their political rights and their ancient Buddhist heritage.

Most of the numerous poems he wrote were on Buddhist, nationalist and historical themes that invoked patriotic feelings in the readers mind.

Buddhist leaders such as Anagarika Dharmapala, Dr. W. A. de Silva, Arthur V. Dias and Walisinghe Harischandra took part in theses campaigns.

He also used his oratorical skills to popularize and move forward their temperance movement, whenever anti-liquor meetings were held in various parts of the country.