COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -
Science fiction visionary Arthur C. Clarke was buried Saturday to the music of
his most famous work, the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey,'' as tearful mourners
spoke of his wish to be remembered as someone who "never grew up.''
Clarke, who moved to Sri
Lanka in 1956, died
at a Colombo hospital Wednesday at age 90 after years of suffering
debilitating post-polio syndrome.
In the
days since Clarke's death, students, space enthusiasts, politicians and
Buddhist monks traveled to his Colombo home to pay their last respects and to
salute a man who inspired
many of them.
His brief funeral Saturday
was held according to his written instructions: "Absolutely no religious rites
of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my
funeral.''
The Ekanayake family, with
whom the
British author lived in the final decades of his life, cried as his coffin
was lowered into the grave at the general cemetery in Colombo. His brother,
Fred Clarke, and other family members were among the mourners. Some fans and
followers also sprinkled soil into the grave.
Music from the 1968
movie "2001,'' which Clarke wrote with director Stanley Kubrick, was played
at the funeral and at Clarke's home before the ceremony.
Tamara Ekanayake, the
daughter of Clarke's business partner and longtime friend Hector Ekanayake,
made a brief speech at their home before the funeral procession began. She said
Clarke's gravestone would be engraved according to his wishes: "Here lies
Arthur C. Clarke. He never grew up and did not stop growing.''
Born in western England on
Dec. 16, 1917, Clarke earlier served in the Royal Air Force during World War II
before moving to Sri Lanka.
He won worldwide acclaim
with more
than 100 books on space, science and the future. Clarke also was credited
with coming up with the concept of communications satellites decades before
they became a reality.
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