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Appreciations
Soldier with sterling qualities He was an officer,
gentleman and sportsman with sterling qualities. He came from
a respectable family in Kelaniya. His father was the late Major.
N. Nadarajasingham. Lt. Col Rajasinghe
was educated at Ananda College, Colombo 10 where he excelled in
his studies, sports, cadeting and rifle shooting. He was the
Sergeant Major of the Ananda College Cadet Platoon and won the prestigious.
Herman Loos
cadeting championship cup in the Inter-Colleges Cadet Platoons parades/drills. After leaving
college, he enlisted as a Cadet Officer in the Ceylon Army and received
training at the Diyatalawa Military Academy. He defeated all army
regiments at the annual small arms rifle shooting tournaments. Commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Army Service Corps, he underwent
training in Britain, India and Pakistan. I came to know
him when we were both stationed at the Palaly army camp to guard
the 1971 JVP insurgents including Leader Rohana Wijeweera, Gamanayake,
Herath, Wijesinghe, Amarasinghe, Bopage, Podi Athula (Victor Ivon),
Loku Athula (N. Jaysinghe), Prof. Uyangoda and Mahinda Wijesekara
who were incarcerated in the Jaffna Fort and Fort Hammond Hill Prisons. May Daya be
born among us till he attains Nibbana in his journey through Samsara.
My salute to you for your integrity and valour. A hero to his
friends His power to
touch the core of people's hearts came from some great reservoir
of goodness and spirituality. He tried to be non-judgmental, a magnificent
example of how the human spirit can make a difference in the life
of others. Among the numerous
charity work he spearheaded, the HOPE rock concert for the Cancer
Hospital last year brought in over half a million rupees. More recently
Shazan designed a heart-stopping slide show on the Internet, titled
‘Heartbeat’ highlighting the plight of those affected
by the floods in the south and demanding the help of the affluent.
Shazan's commitment
and service to his alma mater, Royal College, was over and beyond
the call of expectation. As Comm-unity Service Director in 1999
and President of The Interact Club in 2000, he launched the clean
up project and for the first time in its history an Avurudu festival
was held with gifts and a feast for the minor employees. Shazan was
an excellent prefect - more of a humanitarian than the keeper of
the law. He was a winner in the debating team - captaining the Royal
College team in many of their competitions. He was the turning force
in the college Drama Society. In 2001, Shazan was the cast leader
and Royal won the Shakespeare drama competitions after 11 years. Outspoken,
intelligent and wiser than his 21 years, he was a departure from
the norm. Shazan never conformed. He did not treat life as an emergency
and the measure of his peace of mind, I think, was determined by
his ability to live for the moment. His heart bore no malice or
grudge. I loved him
so and till I see him again there will always be a void in my heart.
He has attained Janathul Firdouse and is in God's embrace now, but
oh the difference to me. Memories of
a dear brother In him, I saw
a true Kalyana Mithra The news caused
me to suffer a blackout. The 'flame' had been extinguished by unforeseen
forces. Even today, it is with difficulty that I face the reality
that my Kalyana Mithra is no more. The grief of
losing him is so intense even today that I can well imagine what
suffering his sudden death would have caused to his loving wife
Chandra and children Kavan, Sagala and Thanuja. Kolitha's passing
away was so sudden that it proved to all of us the truth of Lord
Buddha's teaching that all things will perish, whether animate or
inanimate. I first met
Kolitha at Glendale, Bandarawela in January 1948, when 19 students
met in Form IG, with Lennie de Silva as Form Master and J. T. R.
Perimpanayagam as Warden of the Hill School Branch of Trinity College.
Kolitha was a dedicated student, liked by all his classmates and
appreciated by the teachers. He was a vegetarian
throughout his life and I am sure that he did not hurt any being,
during his 65 years of exemplary living. Kolitha was
a beacon of light to most and I learnt the finer points of Buddhism
from him. In him I found not just a friend but also much more -
a true Kalyana Mithra having the seven qualities as spelled out
in the 'Buddha Neethi Sangrahaya', a journal of Buddha's laws authored
by Rev. Rerukane Chandawimala Thero. They are: a person who gives
the most valued and precious treasures expecting no return; one
who does what is most difficult towards a friend, tolerates harsh
words, wrongs and intolerant deeds and shares the innermost secrets
while protecting a friend's secrets as one's own; one who will not
isolate or abandon a friend in times of distress and would not look
down upon a friend. It has been
a year since Kolitha's death and we grieve for the loss of a much-loved
friend, counsellor and confidante. One may pass through life and
not be lucky to find a friend of Kolitha's calibre. On his first
death anniversary on July 1, may he be remembered by all who knew
and loved him for his unique Buddhist living with Metta and convey
to him merit for a peaceful journey through Samsara leading to Nibbbana. |
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