March 21, 2007 marked the demise of a teacher, guide and philosopher to several generations of grateful students. D.D.R. Nanayakkara retired from the teaching profession as the Deputy Principal of Royal College, Colombo capping a lifetime devoted to teaching.
Mr. Nanayakkara or ‘Nana’ as he was referred to by thousands of students was born in Galle and educated in Kandy. He married in early 1949 and was the father of one son, Sanath Nanayakkara.
As a young teacher at Madampe, he demonstrated his capacity for drawing the best from those around him. The school needed a playing field but had no assets to pay for the labour involved in the project. Young Nana as he was then known, organised the whole village to turn out as volunteer labour. Lo and behold, a playground was the result.
The then Minister of Education recognized his worth and Royal College was the beneficiary of a devoted and competent educationist. During his 26 years at Royal, ‘Nana’ drew on his experience as a hockey and soccer player as a Hockey and Soccer Master.
Those who knew him appreciated the qualities that he preached and more importantly practised.
During his tenure at Royal, pressure was brought on him to temper his view on what was correct to pander to the wishes of those who wielded power. We Royalists are proud that he held his head high and did what he knew was correct whether it was advantageous to him or not.
A man we lost but are proud to have known.
Sunil de Silva,
(Former Attorney-General)
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