Appreciations
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In
life he gave us love, in death he gave us courage When Hilarian was diagnosed as having Leukemia, my two sons and I were devastated. God gave us the courage and strength to face it and we found the six month period during which Hilarian was ailing a preparatory period to give him all our love and care. It was amazing the way he took it up and always said that it was God’s wish. Whilst taking treatment, he prepared all of us to face anything with positive thinking and reality. Hilarian was a wonderful husband, so loving, caring and understanding. He had all the qualities of a dutiful and loving husband and father. Since both my sons are not living with us, he was my companion who looked after me in many ways. There was nothing he could not do. He was clever and attended to everything in the house and even assisted me in household chores in the absence of servants. I am not ashamed to say that I could not wear my sari pin nor put my hair in place without him. Whenever my mother, brothers, sisters and their families or his family members needed help, while shifting or attending to repairs of the house, Hilarian was always there, willingly and with great eagerness to help at any time of the day. He never turned down any request. He was loved by all of them and they considered him a big brother. Things changed from the moment we got to know of his sickness. I prepared my self for it and he gave me all the courage to face life without him. He was devoted to our three grand children, but in the latter stages he tried to keep his distance with them, fearing that their little minds would receive too big a shock by his sudden absence. God gave the most precious gift of taking him away without much pain and suffering and he had all of us around him when he bade ‘Goodbye’ and left for his heavenly abode very peacefully. Now my dearest Hilarian is gone and I am all alone in the house, but I feel his presence every moment of the day. I feel that he is there all the time, helping me out. Everloving wife Lilani He
went that extra mile for friend and family Doyne
excelled as a left arm pace bowler opening for Kingswood and played
under Owen Mottau. On leaving school he continued to play for Dambulla
in the P. Sara Tournament for almost five years. Once he moved to
Colombo he played Mercantile cricket for De Soysa & Company
and Kundanmals Ltd. He also played a few seasons for Galle Cricket Club and the highlight of his cricketing career was when he played for Galle Cricket Club against a strong Gopalan XI Madras when he took 3 wickets in one over to wreck the strong batting line-up at the Galle esplanade. In 1970 Doyne joined Magpek and took to planting, specializing in coconut. He continued in this field until his untimely death on August 27, when he suddenly took ill and passed away within minutes at his home in Pannipitiya. Doyne was a humble and gentle person with an unassuming personality. His simple and unassuming nature was such that at times people took it as a weakness. He did not hurt anyone through thought, word or deed. He was a trusted and loyal friend on whom one could depend for anytime. No task was too low or mean for him to perform. He would go that extra mile and beyond his call of duty if it was for a friend, relative or acquaintance. He did it gladly with pleasure. We
as a family were very fortunate to have met him and had a friendship,
which spread over 40 years. We will certainly, miss him in the days
to come. Vassa and Savi de Silva A prince
of charity and benevolence When the Ceylon Gem Corporation was inaugurated he accepted the invitation of Finance Minister Dr. N.M. Perera to make the first purchase of gem stones and inaugurated CRA fees that brought in valuable gems and millions of dollars to the corporation by way of exchange. He did not want to accept any honours or titles given as recognition of his service to society and the nation. He was simple and humble. He helped the Yathama Institute, Makola Orphanage, Colombo Zahira College, Thableegh Movement Headquarters, Maharagama Gafooria Institute, Jemiyyathul Ulema, Physically-Handicapped Institute, orphanages and many such institutions. The Moors Islamic Cultural Home, YMMA and Moors Sports Club had his hand of help in hours of need. He was much sought after in the realm of education and social service. His associates in the field of education and social service were Dr. T.B. Jayah, Dr. M.C.M. Kaleel, Dr. A.M.A. Azeez, Professor Ahmad Furkhan, Dr. A.M.M. Shahabdeen, Dr. M.A.M. Shukry, Professor M.M. Uwise, Dr. Uvais Ahmed and Dr. M.A.M. Madanay, to name a few. He
believed education was the great leveller. He realized that without
educational pursuits, life becomes aimless, colourless and functionless.
He knew absence of knowledge leads one to diversion and dissipation.
Saeed Muhammed Being
my sis was the greatest gift you gave me So when I sat down to write something about her, words failed me; where do I start? What do I say? How should I say it? She was Lalani, known by people all over the world, a vivacious, lively, witty individual who loved life. Therefore, during her short life she travelled extensively, kept in touch with her school friends, and lived happily with her family. She was a loving wife to Yogi and a wonderful mother to Lashika and Rajiv. Her life was her family. She became very upset when the children fell sick (which was very rare). I remember the time when Lashika had to undergo a small operation to remove a polyp on her nose. My sister was so worried that she kept asking Lashika how she was. Finally Lashika snapped back, “Mummy, I am fine, can you please shut up?!!” Lala, as we called her, was a strict disciplinarian too. I remember when the children were young they had to eat every morsel of food put on their plates by their mother. Sometimes they used to sit for hours chewing and chewing hoping that their mother would get sick of it. But they were not so lucky. Lala would not let them get off their chairs until they finished. Lala never forgot to send cards for birthdays and Christmas/New Year to family members and friends. Her cards were the first to arrive every year. And, she admonished any one who forgot to send her a card. I remember once I sent her an e-card on her birthday and she replied immediately, “Akka, I shall not settle for an e card. Send me a birthday card, pronto!!” and I did. What
I’m going to miss and miss like hell are her e mails. We used
to write to each other every week. Hers came like a prayer every
week but some times due to pressure of work I skipped a week or
two. Then I would get a one-liner from her, “What’s
up? Where’s my mail?” So I would sit down and write
a long one to compensate. She used to keep in touch with all her
school friends through the same mode and sometimes it was so funny
because I used to get news about her friends and mine (who live
here in Sri Lanka) via the USA! They were so expressive and because of her attitude towards life, there was always a twinkle in them. That’s what drew people to her like magnets. She was never at a loss for words . She loved a good argument. When she was very young she used to switch over to English when she got really mad!! It used to amuse our family members because we usually tend to switch to our mother tongue when we are mad. She was a good orator and therefore in constant demand to speak at various functions at her alma mater, Girls’ High school, Kandy. One such was the vote of thanks given at a prize giving where the Chief Guest was then President J.R. Jayewardene. Her teacher told me that even he had commended her oratorical skills. I remember her practising that speech going round and round our dining table. During that time we had a domestic aide who was a young man with a wonderful sense of humour. He too went round and round the table behind my sister muttering and mimicking her. As children, my brother and I who were closer to each other in age did things together. Poor Lala used to be left out of most of our games because she was ‘too young’. I remember the time when aiya and I had bicycles. Lala, at that time could only ride a tricycle. So when we rode our bicycles, she rode furiously on her tricycle to catch up with us. It was so funny to see her puffing and panting never to be outdone. Then there was the nap time. When all of us napped after lunch she used to play by herself. She used to be both the teacher and the student. I used to watch her without her knowing and it was entertainment galore. There was one thing I remember distinctly. That was the prize giving she enacted. She pretended to be the chief guest as well as the prize winner and she always ended up “winning” the Mallet All Round Prize, which was the most prestigious prize awarded to the best student in Girls’ High School. Although it was a make-believe world for her then, it became a reality very much later. She won that prize during her last year in school and we were so proud of her. When
she was sick I always expected a miracle to cure her because people
like her deserve it. But in her case there was no miracle and so
she had to go. Why did she — someone who loved life and was
loved in life — have to go just like that? No one really knows.
But why was there no miracle? It was only after her death that I
realized that there was in fact a miracle. It was she. She almost
died of asphyxiation about six days after her birth. But she survived
and was part of our family for 43 years. And, as miracles generally
happen only once in a lifetime, maybe I was expecting too much.
She had to go but she has left behind many memories to cherish until
our time comes. -James
Whitcomb Riley |
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