Appreciations
A silent social worker - Paules Fernando
Kavan the team player - Kavan Rambukwelle
He was strict but also caring - Gamini Athukorale
A doctor with a rare healing touch - Dr. B.P.N. Jayasekera
He taught me many things - Walter Perera Mudannayake
No one can take your place - Canon Sam D. Horshington
True gentleman - Dr. Cecil Dharmaraja Chelliah
Blossom of joy and grief - Wilhelmina Cabraal
A silent social worker
With the passing away of N. Paules Fernando, JP on January 24, the country
lost a philanthropist and keen social worker. Born to a traditional family
of merchants, Mr. Fernando was brought to the forefront by his brother
the late N. Porolis Fernando who in 1909 founded the well known firm in
Pettah. During the early '40s they provided employment to over 200 people,
a rare achievement at the time and opened branch establishments in Kandy,
Kurunegala and Bandarawela.
An ardent musician, he pioneered the promotion of Sinhala gramophone
records under the "Columbia" and "Odeon" labels. The very first complete
"Maha Pirith" recording was produced by his firm.
Mr. Fernando actively participated in several social organisations,
including the Buddhist Theosophical Society where he functioned as an executive
officer for several years. Mr. Fernando was on the Board of Management
of the Tharuna Abhiwurdhi Sadaka Samitiya and was its schools' General
Manager conducting the affairs of 70 schools. He was Chairman of the Lawri's
Children's Home in Colombo 10 which caters to the needs of a large number
of orphaned girls.
Mr. Fernando took part in the functions of the Ruwanweli Seya Restoration
Society and completed a room at the Dutugemunu Pilgrims' Rest in Anuradhapura
now used by thousands of pilgrims. To his credit also stands the Nalandaramaya
Buddhist Temple at Nalanda Place, Colombo 10, where regular Daham Desanas
are preached and a Daham school functions.
The crowning glory of his life can be seen in Anuradhapura, where he
along with his brother, constructed a brass railing within the inner perimeter
of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi thereby giving protection to this sacred tree.
These and other services of this silent social worker to his motherland
and particularly to Buddhism, will no doubt help him in his journey in
samsara and to achieve the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
He leaves behind his son Jayantha and three daughters. His wife Mrs.
Violet Wijetunga of Galle pre-deceased him.
A grateful employee
Kavan the team player
I first met Kavan and his wife, Anne, many years ago when the Duncan White
Sports Foundation was in the early stages of being set up. Since the Foundation
was based on the principle of objectivity and consensus, it required a
president whose reputation was beyond reproach. Kavan was the person who
fitted the bill perfectly.
A widely respected and eminent sports personality, who had a reputation
in rugby, he embodied the ideal qualities we associate with sportsmanship.
Kavan was brought up in an era where winning was not the sole purpose of
the game, where team spirit and fairplay were the underlying principles.
Kavan exemplified these values which are so rare today in the world of
sports, where the scramble for money, fame and glory have taken precedence
over decency.
He was a humanist and true team player.
The sports arena in Sri Lanka is still largely male dominated and old
boy networks are strong. Inspite of this Kavan was open minded and supported
me as President of the Foundation. This impressed me, because he grew up
in a different era when gender equality was not generally accepted.
Kavan gave me wise counsel and was always ready to assist me. Through
the years, Kavan's continued service as a Trustee of the Foundation contributed
much to sustaining the high standards upon which it was established. I
find it hard to imagine the Foundation without Kavan. His camaraderie and
good advice will be sorely missed by me and my fellow board members. Our
next gathering will indeed be a very sad one.
Jennifer Moragoda
President
Duncan White Sports Foundation
He was strict but also caring
I consider it a privilege to have had the opportunity to associate closely
with Gamini Athukorale and feel it my duty to place on record the qualities
he possessed.
He functioned as Deputy Minister of Mahaweli Development and Minister
of Lands, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development, until the People's Alliance
came into power in 1994 and subsequently as an MP.
The construction phase of the accelerated Mahaweli programme, launched
by the UNP, was successfully nearing completion, under the guidance of
Gamini Dissanayake, when Gamini Athukorale took over. He had a clear vision
and plan of action for the second phase, which included consolidation of
resources, empowerment of beneficiaries and giving them ownership of the
Mahaweli Development Project.
He also realized the importance of human resource development and for
the first time, a Human Resource Development Division was setup.
The first impression of officials who had to work under his direction
was that he was a strict administrator. But it did not take long for them
to realize how kind hearted he was and also how close he was to the officers
and the people.
Once, when he heard that a senior officer was suffering from a serious
illness, he spoke to him personally. When he came to know that the facilities
available in Sri Lanka at the time were not adequate for the treatment
of such an illness, he suggested treatment abroad.
He spoke personally to the then President, R. Premadasa and made arrangements
to provide funds from the President's Fund to meet part of the expenses
involved for treatment abroad. He also spoke to Air Lanka and made arrangements
to get the tickets.
He was deeply concerned about unemployment among the youth. He attempted
to provide them with computer training and a knowledge in English by initiating
such programmes in Mahaweli areas.
In Sri Lanka's march towards development, the name of Gamini Athukorale
will never fade. I see him as a Minister, who worked untiringly and with
dedication and also a human being with rare qualities.
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana !
Gamini Kudaliyanage
Director
Human Resource & Institutional Development,
Mahaweli Authority
A doctor with a rare healing touch
Five years ago on January 14, Dr. B.P.N. Jayasekera passed away after a
brief illness. He was a G.P. par excellence - kind, understanding, courteous
and most importantly, with that rare 'healing touch'.
At one time several of his past patients lived in Geneva and all had
on many occasions spoken to him over the phone and got relief, as the Swiss
doctors treating them had to struggle with CT scans and other reports to
make a proper diagnosis. Such was his ability. It was rarely, if at all,
that he ordered tests and then too only to confirm his findings.
Dr. Jayasekera made his mark as the Registrar to Professor Nicholas
Attygalle, one of the most distinguished gynaecologists Sri Lanka has ever
produced. In the mid-50s he left government service and joined Dr. Raffle
at the clinic at Wellawatte. Many of Professor Attygalle's patients, their
daughters and even grand-daughters sought Dr. Jayasekera's assistance.
Delivering babies round the clock, making house calls even in the night
and seeing hundreds of patients at the clinic, he was a busy practitioner.
Yet, he remained a family man devoted to his wife Anula and the children.
He was never motivated by money and treated many a patient free of charge,
besides helping various charitable organizations.
During the past years, many ex-patients of his would have thought, like
me, "If only Dr. Jayasekera was with us today". We miss him.
Dr. Dayanath Jayasuriya
He taught me many things
My parents informed me that when I was born in Bogawantalawa, my uncle,
Walter Perera Mudannayake, was a guest at my parents' house. My father
was then the District Medical Officer.
Maybe this was why I had a close affinity to Walter, my mother's brother.
Walter was the eternal bachelor. If you thought that he was a saint - forget
it! He had his "peccadillos". As a kid of ten, Walter and I attended one
of those "melas" in Horton Place, the present site of Asha Central Hospital.
Walter was in love and little Nihal was requested to hand over a letter
to the girl of Walter's dreams. Unfortunately, I handed it over to the
wrong girl and the 'mela' ended abruptly for us, with both of us running
away from an enamoured buxom female.
Walter was an 'intellectual', a writer par excellence. He was a skilled
journalist, a sub-editor of the Ceylon Catholic Messenger and the Bangkok
Post. Some of his articles were published in internationally recognized
journals. It was he who gave me an insight into English Literature. As
a youngster, I had the privilege of listening to the conversations between
Walter, Father Justin and Ivan Anton. The parry, thrust and humour were
just unbelievable.
My interest in the Catholic faith, preliminary introduction into metaphysics
and the knowledge of saints that mattered, were nurtured by Walter. He
had a special devotion to St. Therese, the little flower of Jesus. All
his nieces and nephews were given a little book on the life and times of
this saint. We were enthralled with his stories of this lady. She was in
his words, a saint for the ordinary man and woman. When I visited France,
on a pilgrimage, how I wished I could have taken Walter with me to her
birthplace, her family house and the convent she entered and lived in till
her death.
My sister Erin and I owe our deep interest in mystery novels to Walter.
Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey; Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot
and Miss Marple; Ngaio Marsh's Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn and Chesterton's
Father Brown, were our favourites. Walter, that generous uncle of ours,
presented us with copies of all the new editions, when they arrived in
Sri Lanka.
His knowledge of classical music, his records and books, helped in the
progress of our musical education.
If you were a relative or friend of Walter's, you would receive a periodic
newsletter from him, in any part of the world you lived. The letters were
deeply reflective, philosophical, poetic and humorous.
He and his sister, Celia, loved cats and dogs. I still remember a time
in Bangkok, where one of the Siamese cats had 'peed' into my suitcase.It
took vast quantities of disinfectant and perfume to get my suitcase ready
for packing.
You were, Walter, very humane. I enjoyed the tempestuous fights we had
and also the "togetherness" we shared. You and I used to enjoy a number
of gourmet meals and choice wines both in Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Nihal Abeysundere
No one can take your place
It was at the break of dawn on February 4, that soft-spoken Canon Horshington,
left his family, relatives and friends.
He was 84.
Despite being very knowledgeable, he was humble and unassuming. His
foresight was wonderful.
Canon Horshington had his early education at St. John's College, Jaffna
but took up the London Matriculation exam at Trinity College Kandy.
A regular vistor to his humble home, now I will only see
An empty room
Your empty chair,
We always feel
You're still there
Your gentle ways
Your smiling face
No one on earth
Can take your place
Our thoughts are with his wife and daughters in this time of sorrow.
May the good Lord be with him.
Richy Jacob
True gentleman
It is with deep grief that we mourn the death of Dr. Cecil Chelliah, at
the ripe age of 75 years. A product of St. Peter'sCollege, Bambalapitiya,
he epitomized a true gentleman of his era. He was a man of great character,
always impeccably dressed, polite and soft spoken, with a twinkle in his
eye.
A pioneer consultant in chest diseases, he also pursued a career in
public health. After a distinguished stint at the Department of Health,
with a DPH from Sydney, he served the Municipality and Glass House Diagnostic
Laboratory.
He was always upright, a good companion, mentor, accomplished pianist,
chorister, and loved his food and wine. Many were at the "receiving end"
of his hospitality.
Our sympathies are with his charming wife, two sons and their families.
The Staff of Glass House
Blossom of joy and grief
The gardener implanted a rose shoot,
Watered, manured, looked after it affectionately.
Stem of thorns, leaves of diverse hues of rainbow came to light.
Yet the gardener was cheerless.
Lo! A tiny bud cropped up snappily.
Gardener's joy knew no bounds,
With a smile he delighted,
The bud blossomed before long.
A lovely pink rose, queen of flowers, pollen fragrance, nectar galore.
Birds and bees to imbibe nectar,
Admirers to cherish and enjoy the loveliness and prettiness of the
blossom convened.
Swiftly, the gardener plucked the beautiful rose and presented to the
most suited.
Lovely rose blossomed for a while to the joy of all and sundry
Oh! Suddenly it faded away, withered and dropped, to the grief and
heartache of everyone,
To blossom in the land of the blessed.
Life is the garden.
Love is the lovely rose.
Victor |
