Appreciations
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A
gentleman to his fingertips
He started his career at G.C. Roche & Co. Ltd and thereafter joined K. Gunaratnam in establishing Cinemas Ltd., before starting his own company, 'Heladiva Traders' Ltd, who were well known importers of the Morjan canned fish, fresh fruits and commodity items. Mr. Thambinayagam was a philanthropist, ardent church worker and unassuming man lovingly called Thamby. He was the Vice Patron of his Alma Mater, St. Anthony's College, Kayts. He was generous with his money, and helped various colleges, churches, Homes for the Elders and other charitable institutions. Every year during the annual feast of May and Corpus Christi processions he took the sole responsibility to illuminate and decorate Mayfield Road, Kotahena where he lived. He earned respect, love and affection from all he knew. He was a great angler and active member of the Ceylon Anglers’ Club, taking part in competitions and winning many awards at the breakwater in Colombo and in Trincomalee. His late wife Rosemary was a tower of strength to him in building up a strong, closely knit family. Joseph and Rosemary celebrated the silver jubilee of their wedding in a modest way at the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu, with close family members. Theirs was an open house for friends, relatives and clergy. I still remember travelling with him in his car on many enjoyable trips with my cousins the late J.E. Benedict and the late Edward Benedict to Jaffna and Madhu. On the way it used to be a hunting trip and we would stop for a long lunch break with his dear friend Rev. Fr. T.A.J. Mathuranayagam who was Rector of St. Joseph's College, Anuradhapura. I always recall the many functions Thamby used to organize. One was for his brother the late Rev. Fr. Victor Rajanayagam of the Kandy Diocese and another the reception given to the present Bishop of Jaffna Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Savundaranayagam when he was ordained a priest in Kayts too. Bonjean Thampoe Your
memory won’t fade **** *** Hemamala Sangakkara What
mattered to him was the cause not the person Mr. Shariff was the son of Seyyad Lebbe of Kurundugolla and Mrs. Latifa Umma of Telumbugahawatte. He had his early education at Akurana Government School (Azhar) and entered the Peradeniya Campus in 1953 from Zahira College, Colombo after a short period at St. Anthony's College, Kandy. At the Akurana school, in the late 1940s he was the star pupil of my late father, Headmaster T.M.S. Hamid. He married Fareeda, the beautiful daughter of my uncle T.M.M. Ismail, the Village Headman of Kurugoda. He has six children who were all doing well in life. After graduation Mr. Shariff joined the Education Department. His first posting as Inspector of Schools was at Kegalle. Thereafter he went successively to Matale, Gampola, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and then Kandy in the 1970s. During this time he underwent a short period of field training in the United Kingdom. After 1977, from Kandy he was shifted in quick succession to Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee and then to Batticaloa in 1982 where he served as Director of Education. 1982 became a turning point in his long and distinguished career in the Department of Education. When a jealous politician in Kandy attempted to humiliate him, he was forced to retire prematurely. But he continued to serve the community with even greater zeal from the non-governmental sector. Mr. Shariff joined the legendary benefactor Naleem Hajiar of Beruwela and served as his adviser on education in the Islamic Renaissance Movement. This movement’s quiet and solid service encompassed the Muslim areas around the country. Mr. Shariff's over 30 years in the Department of Education and the Islamic Renaissance Movement shone as an example of willing and selfless service with legendary dedication. He was also a livewire of the Ceylon Society for Justice in Palestine (CSJP) that was established in Akurana following the burning of the Al Aqsa Mosque in 1968 in Jerusalem. Mr. Shariff was instrumental in leading the Society's delegations from mosque to mosque in many parts of the country on Fridays and getting resolutions passed by the congregation requesting the government to sever diplomatic relations with Israel. The campaign snowballed into a powerful movement and the new government of May 1970 closed down the Israeli Embassy in September that year. During the latter part of Mr. Shariff's life his main commitment and efforts went towards the Ceylon Bailthul Mal Fund. In later years when his health started failing he did not retire to inactivity but concentrated his work within the Kandy District. Some of his projects in Kan dy include the establishment of a woodwork training centre in Batupitiya in Udunuwara where Muslim carpenters are trained and the provision of stipends to more than 30 students monthly at the university, including a few tsunami affected students. What
mattered to Mr. Shariff was the cause and not the persons. In the
final stages of his life his doctors had warned the family that
Mr. Shariff was in the terminal stages of 'hepato-renal syndrome'.
He took the news with equanimity in his usual style neither moaning
nor groaning. His wife had just enough time to inform her four sons
who were abroad at the time in Botswana, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Every one of his six children were present when he breathed his
last. Dr. H.M. Mauroof
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