Appreciations

Anura was our childhood friend. None of us had a mother for a Prime Minister or the stately homes that he possessed. However, everything that he had he shared with us. We grew up through the days that had no TV, no technology but the outdoors, cycles, books and games. We often sat together on the carpet at "Broomfield" in Nuwara Eliya, Anura, Mohan, David, Onais, and myself, and we yelled as each one beat the other at Monopoly. We stopped to eat whatever was available, and then went on to play cricket, fish in the cold waters of Lake Gregory and come back again for a snack!

What halcyon days they were, not once in the years that rolled on did I remember Anura refer to his heritage or his connections. We were kids who enjoyed all that childhood and our growing teenage years presented to us. He loved his Akkas with a passion, but when you are 16 years old, they are better out of the way ! His mother was the dignified lady we all respected, but many times we managed to wriggle out of episodes that we can now remember and smile about! As he grew older it was evident how much he wanted his family around him.

He knew his Shakespeare by heart while all of us had to sweat to remember the lines. His writing prowess was evident in those early years, but how much he helped us with the openness of his heart. We all went our different ways, but he never forgot us. Our families loved him and watched as he strode on the pavilion of politics, which was never to be. He never was revengeful or angry with anyone, he loved what he enjoyed, the theatre, his books, his family and his animals.

I had left Sri Lanka, and although we kept in touch, I had not given him my new telephone number when we moved house. On a State visit to the country I now reside in, he tracked me down, much to my amazement and we had breakfast together, while laughter and memorable visions of our childhood made the morning fly past.

Anura my friend, I shall remember your raucous laughter, your smile, your intellect, your humble heart. It grieves me that you have left us devoid of a humane man, one who moved with kings, yet never lost the common touch. You are what makes a man so rare, so honest, so loyal. We shall remember you with the going down of the sun.

As kids we were all but one, immersed in innocence