Appreciations

I came to know the well-known Colombo physician, Deshabandu Prof. R.S. Thanabalasundaram in the early 1970s and have been his patient and close friend for the past 35 years although I myself do not belong to the medical fraternity. Especially after the passing away of his wife Parmathy, herself a Sanskrit scholar with a first class degree from the University of Ceylon, I became his friend and confidant. I live in Pamankada, and often when I come to the heart of Colombo for Buddhist engagements and other activities, his residence was a second home to me. When there was time in between engagements I visited his home and spoke to him if he was free. Otherwise, I attended to my own work making myself thoroughly at home, at his home.

Although he was a Hindu, he was interested in Buddhism especially in my work in that field. He often read my Buddhist articles to the newspapers and the Buddhist journals that I edit. Often in the evenings returning from meetings of the Colombo YMBA I used to meet him at his home and converse on a variety of subjects including Buddhist philosophy.

As a doctor he was an excellent diagnostician. He relied more on his own physical examination of the patient rather than on clinical reports. I was told that while pressing parts of the body of the patient, a Doctor should observe the reactions of the patient and make a judgement rather than rely only on complaints spelt out by the patient. He belonged to that breed of Doctors who devoted time to their patients learning their family and social background and listening patiently to what the patient had to say. Unfortunately today perhaps because of the multitude of patients that consult Specialists, many Doctors devote little time to the physical examination of patients or listen to their background histories.

In the treatment of patients he assigned an important place to the psychological factor. His position was that a good number of ailments were more psychological than physical. For this reason it was important to know the background of the patient and to some extent their fears, anxieties and worries.

He once told me that a mother brought to him her daughter who had a physical ailment. All the clinical reports indicated nothing unusual, so did his examination of the patient. Failing to diagnose the case, he requested the mother to remain outside and spoke to the daughter. In the course of the conversation in the absence of the mother, it was revealed that the daughter was having a romance which the parents disapproved of and the ailment was a physical manifestation of a mental condition. So he advised the mother that since there was nothing physically wrong with the daughter she should resolve the mental problem affecting her and taking drugs was not the answer.

Recognising his services to the nation as a capable and dedicated medical consultant, the Government bestowed on him the honour of Deshabandu in 1998. I accompanied him to the President’s House on that occasion together with his brother, Dr. Chelliah Palasundram, a former director of the Medical Research Institute (MRI).

This outstanding medical practitioner, with compassion and consideration to his patients and a good friend, will be missed by a large number of his patients, both in Colombo and outstations, and by his friends and relatives. After the death of his wife around 35 years ago, he lived alone and had his consultations in his Horton Place residence in Colombo 7. His son and two daughters live in the USA and UK. During his last illness for almost three months at least one of the children were in Colombo despite their commitments to attend to his needs. To his son Sudarman Thanabalasundrum and the daughters Suchita Srikanthan and Sumangala Santiapillai we extend our profound sympathies on the loss of their dutiful, considerate and loving father.

Although Dr. Thanabasundaram was a Tamil Hindu and I, a Sinhala Buddhist, our friendship was deep and strong. There are many such friendships still persisting in our country rising above communal and religious differences despite the holocaust of 1983 where the Tamils underwent enormous suffering and for which especially the Sinhala Buddhists have to bow their heads in shame. The Buddha has declared, as recorded in the Vasala Sutta of the Suttanipada, as follows.

"Not by birth is one an outcast, not by birth is one a Brahamana, "By deed is one an outcast, by deed is one a Brahmana"

Dr. Thanabalasundaram was born a Hindu and lived as a devout Hindu all his life. Yet taking into account his interest and fair knowledge of the Dhamma I would wish that he realize early the supreme bliss of Nibbana.

He always had a flair for the psychological factor