Appreciations
View(s):DR. REGGIE SEIMON
He used the talents God had given for the welfare of all
It is with profound sadness that I write this appreciation of my life-long friend, classmate in school, batchmate and roommate in the university, accomplished eye surgeon, leader in the field and acknowledged teacher of ophthalmology in Sri Lanka, benefactor of patients, man of vision, and great gentleman Dr. Reggie Seimon.
We hailed from the same village Kuda Paiygala .We were in the same class seated next to each other at Holy Family Convent, Kalutara, Holy Cross College, Kalutara and De Mazenod College, Kandana. We travelled together to Holy Cross. We were so close that once when Reggie failed to get into the train I jumped back from the moving train and injured myself. We were rivals in the class but were great friends. Our friendship was strengthened by our being leaders of the Jolly Rangers Sports Club of Paiyagala.
At De Mazenod College we were boarders in the College Boarding. We were among the first three to be selected to study medicine from students who had studied for the A’ Levels at De Mazenod.
When we were in the University we were at Aquinas Hall (Catholic Hostel) at Havelock Road (now a women’s hostel of the University of Colombo).
As intern medical officers we worked together in Galle in 1962. Very soon Reggie was well known in the partying circles in Galle as a musician proficient in a variety of musical instruments. Inevitably he was always invited for parties. I gladly did his on-call work when he was away.
From the inception of his medical career Reggie wanted to be an eye surgeon. He pursued his objective with single minded determination and qualified FRCS. He also wanted to be of great service to the people of Sri Lanka.
He worked as consultant at Batticaloa and then in Kandy from 1975 to 1997. In Kandy he made a name as a very humane doctor who treated all patients alike both in the government and private sector. In his private practice he charged only Rs 50 as his consultation fee. People flocked to him from all over the island, even from Colombo.
He founded the Sri Lanka Eye Foundation (SLEF) to improve facilities for eye surgery in Sri Lanka. The SLEF built the 200 bed Centre for Sight in the Teaching Hospital Kandy. It was his brainchild and was fully funded through donors. The SLEF built 16-bed wards in Puttalam, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala, Mahiyangana, Polonnaruwa and Hambantota and provided equipment for eye surgery to many hospitals. Medicines prepared by SLEF were sent free to eye units in the country. SLEF also did health education on prevention of blindness especially regarding burns of the eye due to chunam in betel leaf packets and against consanguineous marriages which have a potential to produce blind children.
Reggie was a great teacher. He even went to extent of inviting his trainees and other doctors to his home on during the week-ends on a regular basis to teach them and Indira his beloved wife readily provided hospitality.
He was a talented musician who produced his own CD of instrumental music and donated the proceeds to help patients who underwent cataract surgery.
He organised eye camps all over the country. The persons who had cataracts were transported to the Centre for Sight, given sight free of charge, and sent back home.
Reggie was President of the Lions Club of Kandy, the Ophthalmic Society of Sri Lanka and the College of Ophthalmologists. The foundation lecture of the Ophthalmic Society of Sri Lanka and the Kandy Society of Medicine Oration have been delivered by him.
Though Reggie and I followed different careers in the medical profession we were in close touch and helped each other always.
I was his best man when he married Indira in 1965. Later our families were close. We used to visit each other wherever we worked.
In 2007, Reggie and Indira lost their only daughter Ruwani, who was a very accomplished singer, choir leader and voice trainer.He never got over her loss.
It prompted them to emigrate to Australia in 2011. He wanted to live near his only son Samantha, who is a general practitioner in Adelaide. His decision to leave Sri Lanka evoked many letters of appreciation of his great work in the national press.
Reggie and Indira visited Sri Lanka every August and our families met for a meal.
He bore his terminal illness with great fortitude. He kept his trust in God our Father. He was thankful to the Father for giving him time to prepare to meet Him.
He is a person who used the talents the good God had given for the welfare of all. I am sure that Our Father will reward him with a place in His heavenly abode.
Our sympathies are with his beloved wife Indira and son Samantha
-Dr. Lucian Jayasuriya
The shining light in our family
A few days ago, in Adelaide , Australia, my brother-in-law Reggie passed away after a short battle with cancer. He was married to my only sister Indira. A few days ago, they stepped into 50 years of married life. Reggie would have been the ideal son-in-law my late father wanted for his only daughter. They were from the same hometown of Paiyagala. Both became doctors under difficult circumstances. Both were very honest and their integrity was unquestionable. Both were stubborn and fought valiantly for what they thought was right.
Reggie was a fine human being. He was very generous and financially helped family, friends, assistants and patients.
His great passion was his chosen profession of Ophthalmology. His stated goal was to cure all the treatable blind of Sri Lanka. To this end he worked very hard in the state and private sector for more than 40 years. He trained so many of our Ophthalmic surgeons to work in the outlying areas of this country. He obtained funding for buildings and equipment for the newly opened eye units all over Sri Lanka. But in my mind his greatest achievement was that he only charged Rs. 50 as consultation fees from his patients for 40 years.
Reggie was a multi talented-personality. He had a beautiful voice and played a multitude of instruments. The piano, keyboards, accordion, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, oboe and guitar are some that come to mind.
He was a good soccer and badminton player.
Most of all he was a fine family man. He was the shining light in our family. We will miss him very much. Personally, the dull sadness in my heart that started when he told me about his affliction one year ago will never cease. I will miss the chats, the advice and the good times. Reggie you were my mentor, my role model and my friend. I have always admired your life and the heights you reached. Goodbye my beloved Machan.
Your life and times reminds me of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” as it did for your unique daughter.
“I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried,
I’ve had my fill; My share of losing,
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say not in a shy way,
No, Oh no, not me
I did it my way.”
-Dr. Jayantha Cooray
ANNE ABAYASEKARA
Remembering the lady with the lamp of conscience
“Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write”–John Adams
Anne Abayasekara, the grand old lady of letters, left us last Sunday morning. She was 89 years old, and was physically, intellectually and emotionally robust to the end of her earthly days; as her post-Christmas email to me testifies. During this long, fruitful and productive life, she was many things to many people. To her family she was a home-maker and mother to seven children. To the literary world she was a writer, columnist and journalist for seventy years. Within the Christian church she was a mentor and role model. And to the community she was a professional counsellor and friend. Those whom she has touched and influenced in these spheres of life will no doubt have much to say about her remarkable role and contribution, in both her personal and professional life.
Anne with her husband Earle
To me she was and is the keeper of our conscience.
In the decades that have gone by, as the conscience of many hasfallen by the way due either to fear, expediency, fatigue or compromise, Anne Abayasekara remained as constant as the northern star. During these years she moved beyond journalism. Her literary output, oft times a lone voice, cried out against violence, injustice, inhumanity and oppression. At a time when many were silent or silenced, she remained undaunted. Refusing to be cowed by the culture of indifference and self preservation, her pen and keyboard kept up a relentless campaign for the truth, for compassion and for integrity.
Anne Abayasekara was the daughter of a liberal age and a liberal heritage. Her education, her religion and her values made her hypersensitive to the moral, political and ethical degeneration that has come to dominate life and the prevailing world view.
Many around the world remember with gratitude the principled stand that she took in her writings beginning in 1983, when she stood alone against the prevailing tide of mainstream opinion. With the wisdom of hindsight we can claim her not only as the voice of our conscience, but also as a prophetess of what was to come.
In the years of darkness that was to follow, she never lost heart, never lost hope, would never give up. Though just a flicker in the night, the flame of conscience that she carried for us remained a visible and ever present lamp. If someday the future brings the dawn of a new beginning and better days, it will not merely vindicate the faith in goodness and truth that Aunty Anne clung to. It will also remind us that through the darkest of days she carried the flame of conscience almost alone, with little encouragement and no glory. Her mission was to carry the lamp of conscience for all of us, including those unborn.
-Jayantha Somasundaram
Jayanthi K. Wickremasinghe
A devoted wife, friend and advisor
Jayanthi K. Wickremasinghe nee Rajapathirane passed away on April 7, 2014 at the age of 58 after a brief illness. She was a brave soul who confided about her illness to only a very few friends as she shunned sympathy in any form.
She graduated from Sri Jayewardenepura University having studied at Sujatha Vidyalaya and St. Paul’s Milagiriya. She worked for Ceylon Tobacco and Markfed and later as Personnel Manager of an engineering firm for several years.
She was a high-spirited girl, full of life, always with a smile. She had an array of friends and relatives who never ceased to admire her courage and forthright approach to life. She could not do enough for them, always inquiring about their welfare, advising them and going out of her way to assist them. She never abandoned any complex problem, until it was completely solved. People respected her judgment and antagonists feared her presence as she would not stand for any injustice. She solved many a land problem, tenant problem and financial issue of friends.
She was always proud of the achievements of her batch mates and proudly said that Arts gradates reached the highest places in academic life.
She would often speak of her childhood, singing and reciting poems she had learnt from memory. She knew the entire Sinhabahu recitals by heart. Her religious knowledge and practices were astounding, almost on par with that of her mother, who was a teacher. She enjoyed simple delicacies and nature, so much so that on long journeys she would make wayside stops to have a home-cooked meal on ‘kehel kola’. She adored animals, saving and caring for many a wounded bird, or giving tender care to newborn calves and mother cows. She loved feeding my Regiment mascot, the baby elephant ‘Kandula’.
She enjoyed the good things in life like healthy organic food, watching clean films and teledramas, travelling, seeing the scenic beauty of our land, collecting ideas for gardens and landscaping. She visited houses and hotels to see their architectural beauty and enjoyed collecting ideas for her own beautiful home. She loved hiking, swimming and basketball for which she had University colours, also playing the occasional game of golf, shooting and camping.
She was the perfect hostess and her unique style made all visitors to our home feel comfortable and at home. She was in her element hosting birthday parties, farewell parties and Christmas parties. Her friends and relatives never missed coming home for the genuine warmth she gave them. Her annual almsgiving to priests at home was praised by them for its sincerity and perfectness. She was also a great hostess at parties and functions during my military career.
She always helped the sick and elderly spending a lot of time with them and often brought them home to care for them. She looked into the welfare of the priests in the temple making endless donations and would advise friends and neighbours on domestic issues. During ‘Bana’ the monk became emotional talking of her virtues.
She was to me a devoted wife, friend, advisor, mother and a person I couldn’t do without. She had everything ready for me for a peaceful retirement. I miss her ever so much.
How is it that some are born to enjoy long life while others pass away in the full bloom of youth.
May she attain everlasting Nibbana.
-(Husband) Gemunu Wickremasinghe
Lena Fernando
She lived and led an incredible life
On December 6, Lena Fernando passed away peacefully at her residence in Croydon, UK. Even at the age of 93, it was all too short lived, as her gift for life, still ushers invaluable meaning to the generations beyond her time. She was strong willed and resolute. Courageous and kind. She did what she loved.
She was also many things in life. A loving wife to the late Anthony Xavier Fernando, a wonderful and inspiring mother to Llavan, Gerard, and Majella, “Xavier Teacher” to students at De Mazenod College Kandana, where she taught Math and English and also a people’s representative having successfully represented the Municipal Council of Kochchikade in the 1960’s as an elected representative from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, then under the stewardship of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
Even though she had to migrate to the United Kingdom with her family in 1969, she remained a regular visitor to Sri Lanka. Lena was patriotic and deeply committed towards the betterment of her mother land and its people. Quite often, she used to ask her sons, “What can you do to help and improve Sri Lanka?” Today, her vision drives her children in different capacities making momentous contributions, not just to Sri Lanka but to many other countries and communities across the world. Her youthful exuberance, curious and open mind were firmly instilled upon her three children, as all of them went on to excel in their chosen fields.
Not for her the stereotypes, the norms and beliefs that people blindly follow. Instead, she questioned and understood meaning. She personified equality and treated and taught the same not just to her own children but to her students also. As a teacher, she did not favour the “good” children over the “not so good” ones. Instead she focused on the strengths of each child while being aware of their weaknesses.
Her sense of justness and pragmatism was etched in how she approached her politics too. She was the rare kind of politician, a true representative of her people in Negombo and Kochchikade. Upon her settlement in the UK, she became a supporter of the Labour Government as well.
Lena was religious too. While she was a good Roman Catholic, she believed that everything she did every day was the prayer, a cause for good. She did not moderate herself just for Sunday morning church and her interest in religion wasn’t just limited to her own faith. She was a student of other faiths and beliefs too and respected them equally.
Lena Fernando lived and led an incredible life. She shared a deep compassion for those around her and touched the lives of many. And while her loss is mourned, her life will be celebrated as she was the embodiment of rare virtues and an epitome for boundless love for humanity.
- A family member
Alec Robertson
An eloquent propagator of the Dhamma
The 12th death anniversary of Deshabandu Alec Robertson fell on December 31. His passing away was lamented by all Sri Lankans as well as his numerous foreign friends and acquaintances, who had at some time or other benefited from his guidance, friendship and exemplary life and more than anything else from his deep understanding and propagation of the Buddha Dhamma.
An outstanding lay propagator of the Dhamma and Buddhist scholar, Deshabandu Alec Robertson was born on October 30, 1928 and died on the last day of 2002 at the age of 74. He did not have degrees in Buddhism but his knowledge of the Dhamma was acquired by wide reading of the Suttas and learning and discussing the Dhamma with lay Buddhist scholars and at the feet of scholarly Buddhist monks including Ven.Nyanatiloka and Ven. Nyanaponika Theras. He had the ability to fluently convey the message of the Dhamma both in English and Sinhala and had ready and appropriate quotations from literary giants such as William Shakespeare and John Milton in the former.
Born to a Catholic family he became a Buddhist by intellectual conviction as a teenager. His father in latter life became a free thinker and had a large collection of books on leading religions including Buddhism. The young Robertson read these books and convinced himself of the validity of the Buddhist identification of the central problem of life as Dukkha or unsatisfactoriness and the way to overcome it – the priceless Noble Eightfold Path enunciated by the Buddha 2600 years ago.
Mr. Robertson was closely and actively associated with the Servants of the Buddha Society founded in 1921 which continues to meet every Saturday evening at Maitri Hall on Lauries Road, Bambalapitiya. He was first the Assistant Secretary and then Secretary of this Society.Subsequently he served as its President for 30 years from 1968 to 1998 when he relinquished office due to declining health. Yet he continued as an Adviser of the Association until his demise. As President, he usually delivered the first Saturday Dhamma talk of the month. He often emphasised the importance of discussion and raising of questions to clarify doubts, quoting the words of the Buddha as recorded in the Mangala Sutta as follows:
“Kalena Dhammasavanam
Kalena Dhammasacacca
Etam Mangalamuttamam.”
“To hear the Dhamma at the opportune moment
To discuss the Dhamma at the opportune moment
This is a Supreme blessing.”
In the 1950s and the early 1960s late Ven. Kassapa Thera (formerly Dr. Cassius Pereira) presided at the evening meetings of the Society. Mr. Robertson acknowledged the training and guidance given to him by the Ven. Kassapa Thera at Maitri hall that stood him in good stead in preaching the Dhamma.
Mr. Robertson was connected with broadcasting for around 50 years delivering talks and participating in discussions on the Dhamma over the SLBC. He was first a member and later the Chairman of the very popular Buddhist radio programme, the Buddhist Forum. Several well-known Buddhist scholars participated in this forum. In 1979 he joined the SLBC on a full time basis as Programme Organizer for Buddhist activities and remained so until his retirement from public service in 1988.
To me personally he was a kalyanamitta in respect of the study of the Dhamma and encouraged me to deliver talks at the Servants of the Buddha Society. He introduced me to the Buddhist Forum where after his retirement I was Chairman for a considerable period. He also appointed me as President of the Servants of the Buddha Society when he gave up this role due to failing health.
Mr. Robertson has a large number of publications on the Dhamma to his credit. These included “Buddhist Attitude Towards Christianity”, “Nibbana-Happiness Supreme”, “The Triple Gem and The Uposatha”, and “Buddha-the Healer In Comparable”. He also contributed Buddhist articles to journals and newspapers. To the Buddhist Annual, Vesak Sirisara, he contributed articles on a variety of subjects over an unbroken period exceeding 20 years.
In his younger days, Mr. Robertson travelled to many parts of the country to deliver Buddhist talks in Sinhala on the invitation of Buddhist organisations.
In 1989 President Ranasinghe Premadasa appointed Mr. Robertson as a Member of Parliament on the National List of the UNP to represent Buddhism and Buddhist cultural affairs. Thus, he served the Supreme Legislature of the country from 1989 to 1994. He served as advisor on Buddhist Affairs to both President Premadasa and President D.B. Wijethunga.
In recognition of the yeoman service rendered to the nation and Buddha sasana by Mr. Robertson a commemorative stamp in the denomination of Rs. 5.00 was issued on October 30, 2013 by the Philatelic Bureau of the Department of Posts at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo 7. Ven. Dr. Mirisse Dhammika Thera delivered a brief sermon and an account of the services rendered by Mr. Robertson for the cause of the Dhamma.
May this dedicated servant of the Buddha realize early the supreme bliss of Nibbana
-Rajah Kuruppu