APPRECIATIONS
View(s):A skilled medical professional whose expertise made a difference
Dr. Premini Amerasinghe
The demise of Dr. Premini Amerasinghe last month was a loss both to the profession and to the multitude of friends she had. She was the daughter of the Senior Physician Dr. Hillary Gunawardene of the General Hospital Colombo as NHSL was then known. She, I gathered, was the belle of her batch in Colombo Medical School, and was soon ‘swept away’ as the saying goes, by Mark Amerasinghe, the Orthopaedic Surgeon, the youngest of the Amerasinghe brothers, among who were Shirley (UN – Law of the Sea convention) and Clarence (Car Mart).
Mark also taught me and I came into contact with Premini in the early ’70’s when she was the Consultant Radiologist of the Kandy General Hospital.
We in Sri Lanka, at that time, were inundated with young male patients with gangrene affecting their fingers and toes. I had come back from the UK, trained as a Vascular Surgeon. Avoiding amputations of their affected limbs was my mission. We had no imaging facilities such as contrast enhanced- CT, MRI, or Duplex Ultra-sound at that time. Premini was up to the task, and she devised a method to do the angiograms for me, such that I could reliably use the imaging data, to reconstruct the blood vessels, avoiding amputation of limbs of these young bread-winners.
After retirement, from Kandy Hospital she came to the Teaching Hospital Peradeniya, the University Hospital of the Peradeniya Medical School, where I too worked and continued with giving her expertise. The joint work we did resulted in many orations and peer reviewed articles in the local Medical Journals in the years that followed.
She seemed to have been gifted with her uncle Dr. R.L. Spittel’s literary talents. A writer, author and poet in her own right, her works are too well known to wax on here.
Her late husband Mark’s ability in singing baritone, and the French drama-plays he produced earned him the title ‘Chevalier’ conferred by the French government. This helped the Kandy medical fabric to keep its reputation for being in the ‘academia’.
May she rest in peace.
-Channa Ratnatunga
To me, she was an inspiration
Aunty Premini (Dr. Premini Amerasinghe) passed away on February 18, 2026, ending a remarkable journey of service in the medical field and Sri Lanka’s English literary landscape. I got to know her as my friend Manju’s mother, but she soon became a source of inspiration to me, as a poet and outstanding personality. It is her endorsement of my poetry that gave me the courage to publish.
During her last stay in the hospital and as her health deteriorated, I wrote this poem for her, as I believe, tributes are better paid when the person is alive and able to see for themselves how much she or he is appreciated. She saw this poem first and Manju told me that she appreciated it.
I share it here as a tribute to this amazing lady whom I had the privilege of knowing.
For Aunty Premini
Life is a poem that you write
of yourself
and perform on Earth’s
shifting stage
the accolades show
that you wrote it well
beautifully crafted, gracefully delivered
strength displayed in every line
Your words have touched
your truths enlightened
your doctor’s hands have healed
young minds moulded, expertly guided
your love
nurtured and filled
every space, crevice, and fleeting moment
along the paths you’ve taken
On darker nights, you’ve waited
till the light revealed new dawns
let that poem forever flow
uncontained by loss or grief
Age and ailment, slowing time,
have left your spirit and mind
untouched
and the light still shines
across all of sky
as the Milky Way stretches
over Earth’s shifting stage
-Hasitha Wickremasinghe
A friend who will live in our hearts forever
Athula Jayasekera
It is a year since that unfortunate day when Athula, my friend for 30 long years, left his residence for his usual morning walk, not imagining in his wildest thoughts the fate that was to befall him that day.
Hardly a day passes, without thoughts about this great personality crossing my mind, as he was such a sincere friend–a brother at times, a motivator, an adviser and a partner with whom so many of us worked with so much joy.
Athula’s dedicated service to our alma mater, Nalanda College, can hardly be matched.
As a cadet during our days at Nalanda he was a member of the Cadet platoon that won the coveted Herman Loos Trophy, the all island championship award for cadets after a lapse of 39 years.
He rendered yeoman service to Nalanda, through his association with the Nalanda Junior OBA, where he was President from 1995 to 1999 and was eagerly looking forward to its 50th anniversary celebrations last year. Though his untimely departure did not allow him that pleasure, it was a fitting tribute to Athula that the Nalanda Junior OBA posthumously bestowed on him the honour of the Golden Guardian Award at that grand function.
As Athula was a keen follower of discipline and a great enthusiast for improving the language skills of fellow Nalandians, a group of his friends, led by Priyanka Wanigasekera and Kumar Gunawardena initiated and presented a memorial award in his name for the Best Cadet and the Best English Orator, at the College Prize Giving starting from 2025.
Athula’s contribution to Nalanda will also be remembered through several articles he wrote to the press about our alma mater, about its history, founders, cricket stars and several appreciations about our coaches, teachers and even about our groundsmen. Unfortunately he was gone before Nalanda celebrated its centenary and we missed a series of articles he certainly would have written to mark the occasion.
There have been so many lives Athula had touched with his caring, friendly and helpful ways and his absence has been sadly felt by all those who had known him.
It really was a rude shock to face the sad passing away of Athula, my dearest friend for over 30 years. His memories will linger for the rest of my days.
May Athula attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana sooner than later!
Varuna Ratnaweera
You will be greatly missed
Nalin Harilal Gunesekera
Hope
In your last days,
I didn’t get the chance to hold
your hand
nor speak to you or hear you sing.
I heard you were so much at peace
as if you had surrendered your will, at ease.
Who would have thought your journey was so short,
Nevertheless, we often now think of the good fight you fought.
Your larger-than-life personality will be greatly missed
These are just a few things I would lovingly list.
Hope;
Your absence now reminds me of something, actually just one thing.
This is good news indeed, and it is worth my cling.
My faith, a promise of a beautiful place prepared.
The Word, the Truth, this has been declared.
Shenuki Gunesekera
Searching for an ideal partner? Find your soul mate on Hitad.lk, Sri Lanka's favourite marriage proposals page. With Hitad.lk matrimonial advertisements you have access to thousands of ads from potential suitors who are looking for someone just like you.