Plus
Living
life to a different tempo
By Ruwanthi Herat
Gunaratne 
Every day, a group
of youngsters would head for the gushing waters of the oya near the village of
Heendeniya, off Peradeniya, on elephant back and scrub the jumbo down with coconut
husks as it lay in the water.
The elephant belonged to a
young landed proprietor, who had, as was the custom in the early 1900s, a large
family of eight children. Five boys and three girls. Due to the heavy outbreak
of smallpox the world over, the authorities had created a post known as "Inspector
of Vaccinations". "That planter, my father, was appointed to the post," says Tikiri
Banda Dissanayake, the fifth in the family who was born in 1908. Dissanayake Snr.
had to travel across the area under his purview to make sure that the smallpox
vaccinations were properly administered.
"I was reminiscing with my
younger brother just the other day and we remembered how our father would embark
on those trips," Mr. Dissanayake recalls. "By the 1920s we had been blessed with
a brand new gray Ford convertible with a canvas roof. Our father used to travel
to Kurunegala very often and we would roll the top down in time for sunset," he
smiles.
It's been a long road from
the rustic life in Heendeniya to Colombo for Mr. Dissanayake, who celebrated his
95th birthday on June 20. His home in the heart of the city though, is a tranquil
place, housing his chambers filled with weighty tomes, for Mr. Dissanayake is
a lawyer by profession.
Among his treasured early memories
is the visit of the Prince of Wales, later Edward the VIII. "I was thought to
be the youngest King's Scout in school," reminisces Mr. Dissanayake who by then
had transferred to Dharmaraja College, Kandy, from the village school in Heendeniya,
which had been built by his grandfather. All the members of his father's family
were Trinitians.
Were you the odd bead in the
lot then? He grins and the eyes behind the glasses twinkle. "In more ways than
you can imagine. During the Guard of Honour the Prince smiled and shook hands
with me," he says proudly.
“From then on I was dubbed
Wales kumaruta atha dunnu (The one who shook hands with the Prince of Wales)”.
But those were simply boyish jokes. The next august visitor was the founder of
the World Scout Movement, Lord Baden Powell himself. He pulls out a beautifully
preserved folder for us to peruse and promptly turns to the page of importance.
"That's me," he says pointing to a youngster kneeling right beside Lord Baden
Powell.
When it came to choosing a
career, he opted for law. "At the time, the lucrative professions were either
medicine or law." Mr. Dissanayake studied for a BA (Lond) degree at the University
College of Colombo, as it was called then.
University entrance was after
the Senior Cambridge, which he studied for at Nalanda Vidyalaya, Colombo. "After
I completed my Junior Cambridge at Dharmaraja, I transferred to Ananda College,
Colombo. But there was a heavy overflow of students, which led to the establishment
of Nalanda and the transfer of a bunch of students which included me."
But Mr. Dissanayake's affinity
to Nalanda Vidyalaya did not end there as on the completion of his degree, he
went back to teach History to the upper classes. "That's where I met my wife,"
he smiles. She was a teacher in the kindergarten, twelve years his junior. Did
sparks fly? He laughs.
Midway through his teaching
stint, war broke out and the Civil Defence Department was set up. Teachers from
various fields were asked to organize air raid precautions work.
"What we had to do was to educate
the public as there was a scare that Sri Lanka might be a target." Sir Oliver
Goonetilleke was the head of the Civil Defence Department and its headquarters
was opposite the YWCA at Union Place. He himself was residing at the Colombo YMBA.
"I was the Secretary of the Literary Activities Association," he adds. The young
kindergarten teacher from Nalanda was also trained in air raid precaution and
was working in the same department.
Though a keen student, Mr.
Dissanayake was a lover of the arts and a sportsman too. His varsity days were
filled with extra-curricular activities.
He was Secretary of the Union
Society, which was the highest post any undergraduate could hold at the time.
"Our hostel was situated opposite the Lionel Wendt and I was the President of
the Hostel Undergraduate Society."
At the time the procedure to
be called to the Bar was slightly different to what it is today. After he had
completed his degree he was given the option of entering the Sri Lanka Law College
and completing the exams within one year. Therefore, the exams were taken at leisure
and his oaths were taken in 1942. He took silk (was appointed a President's Counsel)
in 1983.
As a result of working in the
Civil Defence Department Mr. Dissanayake had what he calls "an office-like mentality".
"I was tempted to take up work in a government office following the work at the
Civil Defence Department but it was Mr. Lalitha Rajapakse, KC who convinced me
otherwise." His initial apprenticeship under Mr. Rajapakse saw him get in to practice.
And by 1945 he was well on his way.
Back in Heendeniya, his parents
had decreed that it was time he settled down with a 'nice, Kandyan bride'. "They
didn't know about this affair that was flourishing in Colombo. But when they did
find out, I was given their blessings." Chandra, the young kindergarten teacher
and Tikiri were married in 1950.
His wife was an energetic lady,
who had qualified in home economics at the Lady Irwin College in Madras and proceeded
to the University of Nebraska for a master's degree in the subject. "She was in
a class of her own," says Mr. Dissanayake fondly. Chandra Dissanayake became a
household name in Sri Lanka with her book on Ceylon cookery.
His lawyer's mantle had to
be put aside the minute he got home, as both he and their two children were the
guinea pigs in her cooking experiments, he recalls. "When she conducted demonstrations
our hall was usually packed with upto 400 ladies. I always remember the sweet
smell that emanated from the house nearly every single day." As a result of his
wife's affiliation to home economics, Mr. Dissanayake still proudly holds the
position of trustee of the Sri Lanka Housewives Association.
His own work centred on Kandyan
and Buddhist ecclesiastical law and he published a book on the subject in collaboration
with his wife's uncle, proctor A. B. Colin Soysa, titled Buddhist Ecclesiastical
Law and Kandyan Law.
A highlight of his professional
career was when he was appointed Commissioner of Assizes in 1969.
He vividly recalls the famous
C. W. E. robbery case brought before him at the time. "Several lakhs were stolen
from a van transporting it on the narrow Victoria Bridge. The accused Cheena was
in a car, which obstructed the van on the bridge. Cheena wrested the rifle from
the PC and threw chillie powder at him. Some of the stolen money was found hidden
under a plantain tree!" The prosecuting counsel was Bunty Zoysa of the Attorney
General's Dept. and his junior was the present Chief Justice, Sarath N. Silva.
Cheena was found guilty and sentenced to about 25 years of imprisonment.
"During my time at the bench
I never had to send a man to the gallows," he muses. But the position did have
its downside as well. There was a police sentry outside the house at all times
and one night he shot at what he thought was a man skulking around. When the Borella
Police was called in to investigate they found that the bullet had ricocheted
off the stone wall and it was concluded that he had simply mistaken moonlight
and the car headlamps as movement.
"I still remember the story
that appeared in the papers the following day - Ghostly Visitor at His Lordship's
House," he chuckles.
What made him continue his
practice all those years since 1945? "I am a firm believer in the idiom that to
stay fit in body you've first got to stay fit in mind. By being actively involved
in the profession I have kept my mind alive." Is law now part of the family tradition?
"None of my children took after me. Chandini, my daughter is an accountant based
in Australia. My son Thilak, is an engineer in the IT field."
It is only now that Mr. Dissanayake
is moving away from active practice. "I indulge mainly in consultation work at
the moment. A few of the pending cases have now been assigned to my juniors."
How does he stay fit? "I love
sports and played tennis and badminton frequently. Whenever possible I still take
regular walks around the racecourse." He is also an avid fan of yoga. "There was
a time when I could stand on my head effortlessly. I remember how Pundit Nehru
used to say that apart from its physical benefits standing on one's head showed
the world all topsy turvy, and thereby in its proper perspective," he smiles.
T. B. Dissanayake, in his multi-faceted
life has seen nearly a century. As he recounts numerous cases and tales of travelling
overland from Colombo to Kashmir, every word is spoken softly and with that unmistakable
old world charm. As Judge E. H. G. Gunasekara once said of him in the courtroom,
"He is of a different tempo."
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