By the pricking of my thumbs I sensed there was a story when I heard that the current President of the Sri Lanka Federation of University Women (SLFUW) is one Colonel Udula Krishnaratne of the SL Army. A smart and youthful 60-year-old, the immediate impression she conveyed was of an exhilarating zest for living life to the full and, as we talked together, that impression grew on me.
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A Dental Surgeon by profession, she retired from the Army in 2008 and is back in practice in civilian life as a Relief Officer for the Colombo Municipality, as well as having her own private practice. Dr. Udula had her schooling at Sanghamitta Vidyalaya, Galle, but transferred to Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda, for her A/Levels. She has been into sports in a big way from early on, playing hockey, netball and basket ball. In school, she was also a champion sprinter and long-jumper. When Udula entered Peradeniya University in 1975, there had been a combined Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Vet Science. She said there were 45 dental students in her batch which comprised a fair number of women. She won her colours in netball, captaining the university netball team. It was while she was in university that she met her future husband, an army officer named Nimal Krishnaratne, at a friend’s house. He too was keen on sports and was a rugger player. Their friendship blossomed into romance.
Udula graduated in 1980 and worked first at the General Hospital, Colombo. She got married in March 1982 and in November of the same year she joined the army and underwent her training at the Kotelawela Defence Academy. She says she thinks she was attracted to army life because she felt that with her sports record, she would fit in there. I’ve no doubt that her husband’s being in the army had some influence as well. It is obviously a very happy and compatible marriage and they have two adult children, a married daughter and son and are excitedly awaiting the imminent arrival of their first grandchild.
Udula had no difficulty in adjusting to army life. She said they were stationed in Diyatalawa when two officers who had been their neighbours and friends, were killed while on active service in Jaffna. One was Brig. Ariyapperuma who was the first high-ranking officer to lose his life in Jaffna, and the other was Brig. Lucky Wijeratne.
Mrs. Wijeratne happened to be in her dental clinic when the ‘phone rang and Udula was informed that Brig. Wijeratne had been killed. It fell to her to break the tragic news to her friend. These deaths had moved Udula and her husband deeply and made them ready to serve in the war zone.
Her first posting was to Vavuniya. Wounded soldiers used to be brought to them for treatment. Then it was decided to start a mobile dental lab and every month, a medical team that included the women, either flew or travelled by road to Palaly in Jaffna, to spend a week there attending to the war-wounded. She said that these trips were fraught with some danger, but they had no hair-raising experiences. She told me philosophically, “When you join the army, you know that people get killed in war and that it could happen to you.” The team also flew regularly to Elephant Pass.
Udula’s boss, Gen. Tilak Jayaweera, was keen to establish Dental Centres wherever there were Army Camps and Udula was instrumental in setting up such centres in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Kuruwita, Minneriya, Mulleriyawa and Ratmalana.
She has travelled extensively outside the country, both in her capacity as an army officer and as a private individual, having been to South Korea, Thailand, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Australia and the UK.
Udula has served as President of the Seva Vanitha’s Wagoners Ladies’ Club in Panagoda and also of the Medical Corps Officers Mess in Colombo. She had a hand in organizing the Medical Corps Holiday Bungalow in Diyatalawa. She was Chairperson of the Souvenir Committee of the Sri Lanka Dental Association. In 1993, she emerged as the Army’s Table Tennis champion in both the Singles and the Mixed Doubles.
In the midst of all this activity, she had found the time to follow, at weekends, a course that gave her a diploma in Landscape Gardening. She speaks proudly of the “productive garden” she has cultivated after retirement in their home in Piliyandala. “I have planted teak, mahogany, nadun and kaluvera trees as well as fruit trees in abundance.” She has even done an `Olympic Sports Administration Course’! In 2001, Udula was unanimously elected Secretary of the Sri Lanka Netball Federation and she was delighted that SL won the Asian Cup that year. It’s no wonder that when her old school, Sanghamitta Vidyalaya, introduced an award for `The Most Outstanding Old Girl’, she was its first recipient in 2002.
Today, she is President of the SLFUW, having been brought in by Prof. Nayani Melagoda, Head of the History & International Relations Dept. of Colombo University. Udula served as a Council Member of the Association, then as 2nd Vice President, and as 1st Vice President prior to becoming President for 2011-2012. In December 2011, Udula was responsible for launching the SLFUW website and a friend, who was present on that occasion, said it was heart-warming to see how Udula’s whole family seemed to be involved in that project - her husband, daughter and son-in-law, and her son. While acknowledging that hers is a close-knit family on whose full support she can always count, she mentions the other members whose invaluable help made the website a reality - Dr. Mahesha Kapurubandara, Mrs. Shirley Rodrigo, Dr.Nirmali de Silva and Dr.Lilangani de Silva.
Udula also expressed her indebtedness to Mrs. Dorothy Abeywickrama; the SLFUW’s oldest surviving Past President, for all the help and guidance she has readily given.
An innovative venture that the SLFUW has put into effect with the support of Unilever Sri Lanka is career guidance workshops for undergraduate women. “Building Career Women of Sri Lanka” was jointly launched by the SLFUW and Unilevers on January 30, 2012. This was the forerunner of several more such workshops and has met with an enthusiastic response, Udula was happy to say. Piyumi Dias, the Association’s young and able Asst. Secretary, is the coordinator.
March 8 International Women’s Day, will be celebrated by the SLUWF on March 10 at its Resource & Training Centre when the first-ever Journal of the SLFUW will be released
Udula confided in me that she has one other dream which she would very much like to realise, and that is to honour, in some concrete way, all the past Presidents of the Association who have contributed so much in their time. “My mother taught me the importance of many of our “sirith-virith” of old, emphasising respect for elders, and so I want very much to do something to show our appreciation of their endeavours before I step down as President.”
A quietly devout Buddhist, Udula has for many years been actively involved in the welfare of a temple about 5 km from Horana. Located just above a river, its serene surroundings draw her there whenever she can get away, as it’s an ideal place for reflection and meditation.
Tireless in using her energy, time and talents to the full, Col. Dr. Udula Krishnaratne is the kind of role model our young people need in today’s topsy-turvy world. |
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