She was a gracious lady

Chrysi Rajapaksa

"The ole order changes,
yielding place to new."

Daughter of K.M. Gunasekera and wife of Sir Lalitha Rajapaksa, Chrysi Rajapaksa was a gracious lady. She combined humility, dignity and charm which served her not only when her husband was the first Minister of Justice in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) under Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake but also when he served with distinction as Ambassador to France & UK.

An elegant tennis player, she played at the SSC, Bandarawela and Nuwara Eliya championships and later at the Women's International Club. She also served with distinction as the President of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress for many years and was honoured later on for her distinguished service amongst many other social causes.

On a personal note, she gave me my first cricket bat when I was six years old. I salute a lady who has served her husband, country, religion, social services and everybody she came into contact with. I also salute her for playing her last innings with fortitude combined with her charm, elegance and dignity- a rare commodity nowadays. To her family, son Bimal Rajapaksa and loving daughters Vineetha and Ramani, my deepest condolences.

May she attain Nibbana.

By Mithila Gunaratna