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Appreciations For all the
friends and family who woke up last Sunday morning to the devastating
news of the death of a wonderful friend and teammate, it was unbelievable.
As the sad news spread like a fast three quarter line on a rugger
field, the demise of Raba was becoming a reality. Many friends remember
with grief that it was only a few hours before that they had hugged
and rubbed shoulders with him at the Bradby that Saturday evening.
Having returned
from America as a guest of the Royal College Rugby Players Union
to captain a team of past Royal ruggerites on their 25th anniversary
reunion, he was a star. Raba captained
his alma mater in 1979 and that was the second of three consecutive
years of Royal's victories against Trinity. Raba then captained
the Colombo North Schools in the Gratiaen Cup before going on to
represent CR & FC and CH&FC at club level. He then migrated
to North America and became an active member of the RC Old Boys'
Union there. He continued
with his passion for sports and was a regular at the games there. Young in life
and younger at heart, he had to cross the finish line. He gave his
all and kept going until that very last step. Thaththi harmed
none but helped all Born as the
youngest child to Margaret Perera and Malawala Nissanga Ralahamillage
William Melaris Peiris Seneviratne who ended his services at the
then Colombo harbour as the first Sinhala chief during British rule,
my father had his education at Ananda College, Colombo along with
his brothers. The eldest of them, advocate J.R.P.S. who was 18 years
his senior was on the staff of Ananda at the time. Having completed
his education, he joined the Ceylon Government Railway where he
had an unbroken record of exemplary service and retired as the O.A.
GMR's office, Maradana. No sooner he retired, he was called back
to service and worked dedicatedly until the last. He was an upright
man who never sought favours. To get his pension he stood in the
queue for hours, getting pushed around by the peons, before his
son, Gamini - a Civil Servant and head of the department spotted
him. As a good tennis
player, he took part in all the prestigious tournaments in the country
and returned home victorious, proudly carrying his trophies. He
captained the Government Services team and won the championship
bringing honours to the railway. His love for sports was so great
that he was a member of 32 sports clubs in and around Colombo. His
first love was tennis followed by badminton, cricket, TT, billiards,
chess, carrom and bridge. He excelled in them and encouraged others
to join him. All sports
facilities except a tennis court were available at home. Ours was
an open house and mother's delight was to treat everybody with food
and drinks at all times. Sunday was
a day of entertainment, which we all looked forward to. A sea bath
at Uswetakeiyawa or a tank bath at Walpola and a softball cricket
match in between was a frequent occurrence. He was very
firm when it came to our studies. He encouraged us to read Shakespeare,
Wordsworth, the editorial in the daily papers and also to be armed
with the Oxford dictionary. He was a good
Buddhist who harmed none but helped all. He had no craving for wealth.
When it was time to hold the annual almsgivings he offered the best
to the monks. Once when mother wanted to offer an ordinary fountain
pen to a student monk at our temple he bought the best that was
available - a Parker 51 and the monk was overjoyed. He always loved
to make people happy by giving a surprise gift. He was a loving
and caring husband and doting father. He was in the
habit of doing a bit of quick shopping after office to be the first
to catch anything new that came to the market which was specially
useful for mother in sewing or cookery and educational material
for us. Once it was a tracing wheel and a meat tenderizer that mother
got, and delighted with it she walked behind him as usual asking,
"Darling how much did it cost you?" and he said, "Oh,
very cheap. Just 25 cents." Then he would have high fun, as
Ammi being so gullible related it to her friends who sent their
husbands on a wild goose chase looking for the item. He was always
nattily dressed. He had good taste in clothing. Anybody who came
carelessly and shabbily dressed would be pulled up, specially my
brothers' undergraduate friends. He would get their clothes washed,
shoes polished and also give them a pep talk. He was delighted
to hear about the birth of a baby boy for whom his present was a
cricket set. He was very
methodical in everything he did. Holiday programmes were all well
planned, reservation of holiday bungalows, railway berths etc, were
made well in time. Sweet memories
of our parents will remain fresh in our minds. May they both acquire
all the merit of our pinkamas and attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana. He was a sincere
friend On my last
visit to Sri Lanka in January, this year, I heard that Anton was
warded in a nursing home. I visited him there several times and
prayed for his speedy recovery. After a couple of weeks he was sent
home but continued to be under treatment. The day before
I left Sri Lanka for Canada, I visited him and had a brief chat. On June 30,
daughter Ramanie informed me that Anton had passed away that morning.
This news broke my heart. Anton was a true and sincere friend. Anton had his
education at St. Benedict's College, Kotahena and later joined the
Ceylon Law College. However, within six months he left Law College
and threw himself into politics. The Colombo Municipal Council elections
were round the corner and the Ceylon Communist Party approached
Anton with a request that he contest the Kotahena East ward. This
ward known as Little Rome, had been represented throughout by a
UNP stalwart but Anton accepted the challenge. When the results
came, Kotahena East had been captured by Anton. The news shook the
city. Anton was a
gifted orator who was able to speak all three languages - English,
Sinhala and Tamil. After two years in the Colombo Municipality,
Anton realized that as a member of the Communist Party he could
not be of service to his voters and improve the conditions within
the ward. The late V.A. Sugathadasa who was Mayor of Colombo having
noticed Anton's potential persuaded him to join the UNP. The late
President J.R. Jayewardene always sent his car to pick Anton up
whenever he went for political meetings in any part of the country,
as Anton was a gifted speaker. As a UNP member,
Anton was able to improve many shortcomings in his ward and help
his voters by providing employment and obtaining poor relief. He
represented this ward for almost 16 years, during which time he
built a swimming pool and community centre at Mayfield Lane, which
are proof of his dedication. It is regrettable that this swimming
pool and community centre have not been named after him. After retiring
from politics, Anton realized the enormous problems that the harbour
workers were facing and organized the Independent Harbour Workers'
Union of which he became the President. Within one year, this union
became one of the most powerful with a membership of over 2,000.
Having run it for almost 10 years, he handed over the reins to the
workers. An ode to a
fallen hero Nilakshi
G. He had planned
to accomplish it all Shazan led
a very short life that was full to the brim with activity. He was
a very cheerful person who was charitable and helpful. He always
went out of his way to help others. Shazan was
a young man with dynamic leadership qualities. Even though I should
have been the one leading him, he was my leader, motivator and advisor.
He advised me and helped me more like a friend than a son. During my Haj
pilgrimage to Mecca in February 2002, Shazan had written a moving
message titled "My Mission" in life and pasted a copy
on my office wall. I was taken aback and impressed that a youth
of 20 had such a vision. He had planned to accomplish it all by
25! This was not to be. A few days
before his death, Shazan had mentioned to his drama friends that
if he died and made it to heaven, he would plead with the Almighty
to allow his parents, family, close associates and friends to enter
and dwell in Paradise with him forever. This shows how much he loved
his friends. At times friends
gained priority over us. Finally he died embracing his close friends. May Almighty
Allah grant Shazan and his beloved friends Shafraz Hathy, Rahumath
Mohamed, Arzan Rafi and Arafath Nizar Jennathul Firdouse! |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
