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Appreciations

Mervyn de Silva's 74th birth anniversary fell on September 5
The prophet armed with the typewriter
He was demonstrably by far the first (certainly outside Jaffna) to discern the emergence of Tamil youth militancy. He was the first to glimpse its historic potential, to understand that it meant something qualitatively new and different.

He was the first to intuitively grasp and empathize with its sense of grievance and alienation, noting not only the similarities with the Sinhala youth revolt of 1971 but also the important added dimension of discrimination. He was the first to argue that policy makers should be sensitive to the incipient phenomenon. He was the first to go against the grain of prejudice and conventional wisdom and run the risk of placing the issue on high profile public record.

Decades before the eclipse of the TULF and in a Sinhala society where (until today) the Tamil youth insurgency is seen as the creation or instrument of the Tamil political elite, Mervyn saw also the radical discontinuity between the conventional upper-middle class Tamil parliamentary politics and the fledging militant movement.

Mervyn's extraordinary discernment is traceable to the combination of his powers as a literary critic, which endowed him with great sensitivity and his remarkable knowledge of international politics, which enabled him to understand the dynamics of emergent movements. His unmatched discernment was rooted in yet another factor, while born and bred a Sinhala-Buddhist; Mervyn's internationalism had emancipated his mind honing a sensibility that was totally modern and an identity that was completely Sri Lankan.

Reproduced here is a landmark Ceylon Daily News editorial (and as he notes, it is not the initial one) he wrote on the subject as early as July 1972. Had his warnings and argument been heeded either by the SLFP, LSSP, CPSL administration of the day or the UNP administration that succeeded it, Sri Lanka would not have descended into the hell that it did and face the catastrophic prospect that it does.

DJ What's up in the North
Nobody seriously expected the MPs of the Tamil United Front to sacrifice their seats in the National State Assembly. We were equally sure that some ready formula will be duly found to clear the FP’s path to Parliament of all those argumentative impediments that the FP itself had scattered on the road with studied abandon.

The FP's leaders have never been short of sophistry in the service of their own paradoxical positions and ambiguities of action. Among some of the lawyers of the Tamil United Front the passion for Tamil lasts only the few minutes required to call out the cases and quickly evaporate thereafter. Then English comes into its own and reigns supreme.

Time will prove what the TUF's somewhat spunky ultimatum actually means. And we do not need to wait long. But far more interesting in our view is the incident reported by our Jaffna correspondent. The Action Committee could not hold its session at the headquarters of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress because of a demonstration by hundreds of Tamil youths. They invaded the building and demanded that the MPs continue their boycott of the Assembly.

The emergence, however hesitant or faint, of a militant youth group in the peninsula is a phenomenon about which we have written before. If the observation is correct, it is a factor of enormous significance - especially to the government. It is tempting these days to make a fetish of youth movements and youth politics. In Lanka, the temptation is almost irresistible after last year's holocaust. In any case, this is not only a young nation but a country of young people, as the relevant statistics prove.

The frustrations of the educated young Tamil at a time when even science graduates cannot find suitable jobs do not require much explication. The fact that these frustrations are universal and that they are shared by his Sinhala counterpart does not make the Tamil youth's psychological load lighter. And if he feels, in fact, that the educational system and system of recruitment to the public sector have been deliberately contrived to reduce his chances, he has more reason for anger. An anger that reaches the limits of tolerance makes inflammable material for a certain kind of politics.

Since the TUF's leadership is largely drawn from the upper-middle classes and professional groups and since Parliament is the raison d'etre of political movements of this type, we have really no great cause for anxiety over the TUF's threats.

The slogan 'Boycott Parliament' is a propagandist effort by Tamil parliamentarians who want to retain the support of their constituents and their seats or of Tamil politicians who want to become parliamentarians or win back their lost seats. A movement of militant youth rooted in the soil of Jaffna and nourished by material frustration, a feeling of humiliation and bitterness could be another kettle of fish.

His friendship will be missed by many
Ponnusamy Sathasivam (Satha)
Satha who was with me at Trinity since the early 1940s and at the Ceylon University Brodie Hostel thereafter, died on July 30. My thoughts go back to the days at Trinity where I first met him and his three brothers. Their arrival at Napier House was heralded by the delivery of four cupboards for their clothes. We lesser mortals had to store clothes in the steel trunks in which we brought them.

We expected four snobbish new entrants but found that they fitted in well with the rest of us. Satha and I became close friends, a friendship which lasted over 60 years and from which I benefited. Though Satha suffered from a hearing defect, he did not allow this to stand in the way of a brilliant academic performance and participation in sports and extra curricular activities.

He ended his school career with distinctions in all nine subjects at the SSC and a first division at the London Matriculation. University followed, but here the hearing defect took its toll; he found it difficult to follow lectures and participate fully in literary and social activities. I could sense a growing frustration and I was concerned that he would give up. Satha was made of sterner stuff. He graduated and went in for accountancy, which in the early 1950s was not a sought-after career.

He qualified without difficulty and joined the well-respected accounting firm, Sambamurti & Co., now known as Kreston MNS & Co., where he was the senior partner at the time of his death. The hearing defect dogged him throughout his life despite the support of his wife Indira.

However, he did not allow this to embitter his attitude to life. He was always positive in his thinking. He understood others' weaknesses, though he himself maintained the highest of standards. His circle of friends from all walks of life bore witness to his humane qualities. He was a voracious reader and thus well informed.

His sharp wit enabled him to get to the root of a problem and to come up with simple solutions. His good nature and warm friendship will be missed by his many friends.

N.C. Vitarana (Nihal)

Life of dedicated service
W.H. Bodhidasa
Wewelwela Hewage Bodhidasa, the late Chairman of the Krishnamurti Centre Sri Lanka, who died on November 8, last year, was a rare personality. He was gentle, generous, soft-spoken and had a compassionate outlook towards his fellow beings. He was dedicated to the teachings of renowned philosopher and sage J. Krishnamurti.
Mr. Bodhidasa was closely associated with Krishnaji from 1949 till he passed away in 1986.

He was on the Reception Committee, with Dr. E.W. Adikaram and the writer, that organized Krishnaji's visits to Sri Lanka in 1949, 1957 and 1980 when Krishnaji took the public by storm with his inspiring spiritual talks. Bodhi, as he was affectionately called by his friends, also visited the Krishnamurti Foundations in India, Brockwood Park, England and Ojai in the U.S.A.

Bodhi first went to India in 1942 as a lad of 16, to visit the Theosophical Society Headquarters at Adyar, Madras and was invited by a business friend of his father, W.H. Hendrick, to stay at his residence whenever he visited Madras.

Bodhi fell in love with his daughter Srimathi, and married her in 1951 in Sri Lanka. Bodhi graduated in arts from Utkal University of Bihar, India. Srimathi had graduated from Presidency College, Madras before her marriage and later completed a Botany honours course at the Ceylon University in 1957. She taught at Devi Balika Vidyalaya for 16 years.

The golden jubilee of Bodhi's and Srimathi's marriage was celebrated by their three children, on August 26, 2001, by offering dhana to 50 Buddhist monks, who had been invited to assemble at the Mallikaramaya Temple at Dematagoda, to bless the couple.
We extend our deep sympathies, on the loss of dear Bodhi, a great son of Sri Lanka and liberal internationalist at heart, to Srimathi, their three children and six grandchildren.

May Bodhi be blessed with perfect peace, harmony and happiness in the higher dimension to which he has been called, after a life of dedicated service to his fellow beings.

C. Shanmuganayagam

He will be remembered
Prof. T. Visvanathan
For several decades, ever since our children studied together at St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo, our families have known each other well. Even the boys of their family of eight and our family of five began their education in the montessori of the Convent. Before that, in the early fifties, my husband Dennis knew Prof. Visvanthan as he had taught him obstetrics and gynaecology, in the Colombo Medical Faculty. To this day, my husband repeatedly says that Prof. Visvanathan was one of the finest teachers he has ever had.

Prof. Visvanathan was a model parent and an example to us. He was devoted and dedicated and took a great interest in his children's studies and extra curricular activities, especially swimming. St. Bridget's reached a very high standard in this sport - thanks to the encouragement and tireless efforts of parents such as Prof. Visvanathan, Anne Ranasinghe and the De Sarams. In 1979, St. Bridget's won the Public Schools Championship, the two-mile swim in 1997 and medals at the Asian Games.

Prof. Visvanathan was instrumental in involving our daughters in swimming and even though they did not win any medals or participate in international meets like the Visvanathan girls, Renuka Ranasinghe, Margaret, Julian de Saram and Janice Hsu, they enjoyed participating in the inter-house swimming meets.

When the Parents' Teachers' Association (PTA) was formed at St. Bridget's in 1971, Prof. Visva was one of its founder members and along with A.M.S. Perera, Bertie Casie Chetty and Jezima Ismail, he did the spadework of drafting its constitution. He was the first Vice President and along with other members of the PTA and Past Pupils’ Association, helped in school development and fund raising projects.

ccording to Rev. Sister Immaculate, who was Principal from 1968-1974, Prof. Visvanathan was a staunch supporter of St. Bridget's and played an active part in the affairs of the school. At the 75th jubilee celebrations of St. Bridget's, when Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was chief guest, he was an active member of the organizing committee.

Prof. Visvanathan was an excellent parent and was adored by his children. He and his wife Jean guided and inspired them right through life and succeeded in producing five doctors, one engineer and an accountant.

Chrissie Aloysius

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