Appreciations

My father, Mayadunnage Bertie Edward Wijeratne, who was born on June 1, 1935 and died on December 1,1994, hailed from a low country family whose origin was Sedawatta, Kelaniya. Thathie being a member of a family of planters followed the footsteps of his elder brother after completing his studies at St. Thomas', Matale creditably. He was a courageous person and took bold decisions when required.

Rigorous training under Europeans made him quite knowledgeable and hard working. His superiors found in him the makings of an efficient planter and without any hesitation recommended and transferred him to larger plantations from time to time. He became a planter at a time when there existed tough competition to join the trade. I was told that from his young days, he was keen, sincere and dynamic and mastered the techniques of all aspects of tea and rubber planting and manufacture. It did not take much time to prove his capabilities to the different managements he worked for.

After a short period of four to five years, he was successful in taking charge of larger plantations extending over thousand hectares of tea and rubber. During his time, a majority of estate workers were Tamils and he found it quite easy to work together in harmony and look after their interests while producing the best results. He was fluent in Tamil and he was quite close to the Tamil people and they loved him very much.

He gave top priority to the well-being of the downtrodden labourers who were trampled by the Europeans at every turn. Thathie's kindness and large-heartedness brought him fruitful results in the many plantations he managed. His lady love (my mother) was from the land of gems – and also from a well-known family in Ratnapura -- the Delgodas.

Thathie was a happily married man with three children -- two daughters and a son (myself). As a loving husband and father, he was proud of his family and was delighted to see that they were second to none. At the time of his death, of his three children, only one of my sisters was married. My youngest sister and I were not married. Today all three of us are married and I wish that he had been with us today to see his eight beautiful grandchildren, who, I am sure, would have made him the happiest grandfather ever.

To his brothers and sisters, Thathie was their darling and they were proud of him. He was prepared to sacrifice anything for the sake of his brothers and sisters. This rare quality was embedded in him from his schoolboy days. My Thathie's sudden and untimely demise created a vacuum that can never be filled. For our family, tragedy struck like a bolt of lightning leaving the ship rudderless midstream at the mercy of God.

He had carefully planned out his life to be put into effect soon after retirement. But alas, all hope was lost and shattered and our poor family was left with no one to guide us. As the old saying goes what man proposes God disposes. Thathie was a God-fearing man who never missed his morning prayers before setting out for work every day.

At the time of his death, he had more than forty years of experience in planting and was a well-recognised Visiting Agent for so many large plantations in the private sector. The vast areas he has replanted in many plantations that he was managing in the low country would undoubtedly bear testimony to the invaluable services rendered by him to the industry and the country at large.

My father was a lovable character