A true disciple of Gurudewa Alles  would embrace our multi-culturalism | R.I.T. Alles

“The light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere.” This is exactly what I felt when I heard the sad news of our beloved Gurudewa’s passing away within a few hours of landing in Sri Lanka. The above were Pundit Nehru’s words, on hearing of the death of his beloved Bapu (father), Mahatma Gandhi.

Mr. Alles was a colossus of an influence on my life for which I am eternally thankful. I had hoped to hold his hand and reminisce about the golden days of ‘DS’ . I had hoped to once again recite the memorable little poem “Ooranta meeyanta haranta my hitha…….” which was the challenge thrown at us DS boys by the late President Premadasa (then prime minister) at a prize day many years ago which Mr. Alles religiously made me recite whenever we met, and responded to with a hearty laugh.

Waves and waves of mourners were pouring in. I watched this throng… faces contorted with grief, sympathising with Mrs.Alles, Harsha and Tiran aiya. Mrs. Alles whom I fondly call “the first lady of DS” was the strength behind this great man. She took care of the family affairs with efficiency and military precision, giving our Gurudewa all the time and freedom to found and nurture our Alma Mater from virtually nothing, to a great seat of learning.

My first encounter with Sir is so vivid after all these years. This was way back in 1969 when our Gurudewa returned after a scholarship from Cambridge University. I was a little boy in grade 1B of Mrs Rajasinghe and remember vividly taking a peek outside from my class. I saw a tall man with a chiselled and impressive jaw line, walking ramrod straight with a warm smile. He was suave and moved among the crowd with confidence and ease.

When I looked at the gaunt but serene lifeless face of my Gurudewa I was transported back to our first prizegiving where Sir, his youthful handsome self was hosting the Chief Guest, then Prime Minister Mrs Bandaranaike. These were the first glory days of DS. Our forward march was unstoppable with the dynamic Mr. Alles at the helm. DS was going from strength to strength and becoming a power to reckon with. Suddenly every parent wished his or her son to be a part of this success story.

When the then Minister of Education in a moment of youthful arrogance decided to send our Gurudewa home, the fledgling school became a rudderless ship. However, Mr. Alles, like the proverbial phoenix managed to come back during President Premadasa’s term. Once reinstated, he started rebuilding and reshaping his beloved DS. Finally after 18 years his stint at DS came to an end when President Premadasa headhunted him to steer national education for the benefit of millions. President Premadasa once again selected him with other intellectuals to form the Youth Commission to probe the root causes of the bloody youth uprising of the late 80s.

On a personal note, Sir had shared the most important milestones in my life. He was by my side at my graduation. Next to my family, he was the one I had to get blessings and approval from when I decided on my life’s partner. The day I became a father, Sir was present to bless our little Mahari and became Ralph Seeya to our children. On his last visit to the UK, Sir and Aunty Rohini spent a few delightful and memorable days in Warrick with my family. While going for a walk with Thusith, a much loved DS son, we got him to climb over a stile which he did gamely and jocularly complained that the “golayas” got the “gura” to jump over fences. Those were restful days for both of them.

Looking at the mourners, I see all races and religions. There are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and Burghers all coming for the love of one great soul who taught us that “irrespective of race and religion we are the children of Mother Lanka.” He preached the gospel of tolerance and racial amity. He drilled in to our collective psyche that Sri Lanka was indeed a multicultural, multi-racial and multi-religious country which equally belonged to us all. We gradually realised that we were one big family of brothers who rejoiced in the beauty of diversity. Being bi-lingual, he addressed us in fluent Sinhala and English while Mr.Thamotharampillai or Mr. Ajward did a simultaneous Tamil translation. During his tenure we had head prefects from all racial and religious backgrounds purely selected on merit – Sujeewa Alwis, K. Sriparam and Mohideen Cader, who we could be proud of and look up to. To my mind this is Gurudewa’s legacy to us. His dream was for a united Sri Lanka where people of all races and religions flourished in harmony.

To be a true disciple of Gurudewa Alles is to shed all parochialism from one’s self and extend a hand of friendship and love to those from other races and religions and to treat Sri Lanka as a multi -cultural nation.

Beloved Gurudewa, may your journey through samsara be short and sweet and may you soon attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana.

Dr. Thushara Rodrigo

You were a great teacher, one who guided not preached | R.I.T. Alles

If a nation really wants to evolve and grow
If a nation really wants to see a better tomorrow
It needs to start making changes at the ground level
To educate young minds and remove society’s devils

This can only be possible if there were more teachers like you
Who put their heart and soul to help students get through
A smart and really good teacher
Should be a good guide, not a preacher
Who’d open each mind
Therein treasures to find
Encouragement would be his best feature

You had this good quality and more;
You inspired each brain to explore
Our respect you earned
You’ve made us love learning,
As no teacher has before.

RIT Alles, a great Educator
A leader who inspired our every step of the way
A great teacher who knew how to teach,
When anyone needed help, you willingly reached,
Explained things well, beyond just a preach,
Real-life examples, connect with us each,
You taught us the importance of excellent speech,
You made us learn the way life should be lived.

Thank you so much, for the way that you led
Showed us the path to be what we are today
In good places in society leading responsible and noble lives

Today we mourn so greatly the loss of a great teacher, our nation mourns the loss of a great educator, a loss irreplaceable the world over Thank you Sir,

For all you did not only to me but to everyone who learnt under you. We will forever miss you.
May you attain Nibbana

Ajith K. Talaiver

“My life is not for myself, it is for the children” | R.I.T. Alles

The news that Ralph Ignatius Thomas Alles had breathed his last made children and parents shudder with sorrow on that chilly Thursday night in December. He passed away at his home in Kuruppu Lane at 81 years of age, surrounded by his loving family whom he loved with all his heart.

“I would have been dead long ago, if I was not a teacher. The children around me have inspired me to live. …….,” R.I.T. Alles once told me during an interview (published September 30, 2007.)

Ralph Alles, had only one focus – how best he could instil education, discipline and guidance. His baritone voice had a magical quality. With that voice, he could make a student sit up, stand up or want to run to him – and hug him.

A past pupil recalls an unusual gesture from this strict disciplinarian. Heckled and ridiculed by friends, he had reached a point where the misery in his life could not get any deeper. “Only Alles Sir had the presence of mind to call me and ask me why my school fees had accumulated. He was the Head of the school and I was trembling. I told him that my father had died of a heart attack, leaving us, four children, with our mother who is a housewife. I told him that my mother had even sold our sewing machine to feed us. I remember how his eyes clouded with tears, and I can never forget to this date what Sir Alles did. He paid my school fees that had accumulated…”

Ralph Alles’ younger son, Dr. Harsha Alles, in a last farewell spoke of a loving father who dedicated his life for their happiness and well being. To his sons, Tiran, Harsha and late Malik, Ralph Alles was a father at his best. If there was anything that caused Ralph Alles unbearable pain, it was any hurt coming to his children. And sadly he endured the greatest tragedy of his life – the premature demise of his youngest son Malik Alles.

“I broke down, I wanted to go to that same grave with Malik and the sadness has never ended. It was my wife Rohini who though going through much sorrow, stood by me and helped me to pick up the pieces,” he told me on that day in 2007. He strode on through life, in his sadness, wiping the tears – to reach out to children everywhere.

And on Monday December 9, Ralph Ignatius Thomas Alles lay there, in the open space at Gateway College, where children used to stand and listen to him. As this Founder Principal closed his eyes and left the gates of Gateway College, he opened our eyes to the many great things he had done in life.

“My life is not for myself, it is for the children,” he told me. And it truly was. There can never be another Ralph Alles.

Ranee Mohamed

Unforgettable memories of a wonderful Thaththa | Terrence Ashley Peiris

‘Ten years have passed away
Yet it seems like yesterday
Precious forever are memories of you
In silence and prayer we think of you’

It is hard to believe that ten years have passed since my beloved Thaththa passed away on December 9, 2003 at the age of 77. He always had a special love for me and it is with great pain and sorrow I write this tribute. With God’s blessings he led a happy and contented life and was a great strength to our family.

He married my mother on April 30, 1953 and they had a happy wedded life. They celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in April 2003 with a thanksgiving service conducted by Rev. Noel Fernando, the then President of the Methodist Church followed by a reception in the Jubilee Hall at Galle Face Hotel where their wedding reception too was held. My son Asanjay also joined them in celebrating his birthday as he was born as the first grandchild on their 26th wedding anniversary. He was very close to his grandfather whom he called Ber Thaththa from his childhood.

My mother was a loving wife who was always behind Thaththa and looked after him well until his end. I know how much she still misses him.

He was a loving father to me and my Malli and our spouses. He was fond of his three grandsons, Asanjay, Trishan and Shiran. Thaththa was delighted that Malli’s sons were twins and that Trishan had his initials T.A. Thaththa enjoyed relating humorous stories of the experiences he had during his young days to them.

I still remember how he would take us shopping during Christmas and would never hesitate to buy whatever we wanted. When Malli was small he was so excited on seeing a steam roller for the first time when our road was being repaired and Thaththa went all over Colombo to find a miniature model to make Malli happy. As a child I was crazy about handbags and Thaththa would bring me different shaped and coloured handbags.

Thaththa was a senior engineer at the time of his retirement from the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in 1988 and was proud to have completed 44 years of uninterrupted service at this institution which he considered to be his second home.
He was a great lover of music and a good pianist too. He had a big collection of songs from Engelbert, Tom Jones, Jim Reeves to name a few which he recorded for me when I was a teenager and which I still listen to. He loved musical shows, especially those by the Jetliners in the late 60s and early 70s for which he received complimentary tickets from his friend Tony Fernando and used to take me and my friends, even disregarding my mother’s entreaties not to spoil me. Having attended the Jetliners final show early this year, I realized that Thaththa would have been so happy had he been with us that day and I could not help but shed tears thinking of the past.

Thaththa was kind to all, hated none and was like a little child even in his old age. He had great faith in God. Thaththa attended to his own matters up to the end and never troubled anyone and we can be happy that his end was peaceful.

Dearest Thaththa, ten years ago, your passing away was so sudden and unexpected and saddened our hearts. But we rejoice as we are certain that you are with our Lord Almighty. You will remain in our hearts forever.

May your soul rest in peace until we meet on that beautiful shore.

Trishanthi Fernando

You were many things to all of us | Aamala Wadugodapitiya Dissanayake 

Remembering you with fond love and gratitude on your first birthday since your hurried but courageous departure last February.

We sadly miss………….
* your warm affection and concern for our
well-being
* your generosity, hospitality and love show- ered on us all
* your unconditional love for your children, grandchildren and family
* your determination to stand firmly by your
convictions
* your kindness to the weak and infirm
* your ability to impart knowledge of English
* your endearing voice ringing in our ears ….

Everloving family and friends