Appreciations
View(s):Mel Gunasekera
Little did I know that Saturday night, February 1, 2014, when you hugged me saying “Hi Priyanthi Akki” that it was your farewell embrace. That in a few hours, early next morning God was preparing to call your name and take you to His heavenly home. February 2, 2014 turned out to be the darkest day of our lives… Our hearts were shattered when we lost you, Meli.
You did not go alone because our hearts broke and our lives went with you. You left us beautiful memories. Your love is still fresh in our hearts Meli, although we cannot see you, your laughter rings in our ears. We know that you are always present in our midst. Our family link is broken, and without you around us, nothing seems the same. But we know and believe that one day when we meet you in God’s presence, our family chain will link again.
Meli, we’ll always remember your infectious laughter, your caring heart. Nothing can replace you Meli in our lives and in our hearts, you live on forever. You were always so good, unselfish and so kind-hearted to everyone, rich or poor. You always had a good word, and I always remember at times if I was annoyed with someone your spontaneous reaction was to calm me down and help me see something good in that person. You had a kind word for everyone, and never held grudges. This was an exceptional quality you had. You were honourable, upright and just to the end, sincere and true, in heart and mind.
You left behind beautiful memories and we miss you Meli at all our family events. No one knows the bitter pain the family has suffered since we lost you. Life has never been the same. Your memory lingers each time we walk into your home, your picture hangs near the front door and your smiling pleasant face, and twinkle in your eyes, breaks our hearts as it hits us that it is now only a memory.
That morning just before the brutal killer took your life away, you woke up as usual and arranged your bed. Meli, your room and bed remains as you left it….untouched to this day. One year and three months have passed since that sad day. Sometimes when I stand outside your bedroom, I tremble and tears just flow. You left us without any warning. Just when your life was bright and successful, God called you from our midst, to His home of eternal rest.
Aunty Manel’s heart is bleeding, Marcus Uncle is lost without you, Dayan weeps in silence. Aunts and uncles cherish the love you showered on them. We, your cousins grieve for you. Friends may think our wounds are healed, but they cannot see the sorrow concealed within our hearts.
As your birthday dawns on the 14th of May, we pray to Our Lord Jesus and His Blessed Mother Mary, to give strength and courage to your loving parents Aunty Manel and Uncle Marcus, and your beloved brother Dayan, who instead of being able to kiss you Happy Birthday, are faced with the trauma of having to go through the ordeal of re-living your final moments in this world in the court of law. May God cover your family with His power and strength and I believe you are watching over them from your heavenly home.
God blessed your life with the gift of music, and you gave back this gift to God a hundredfold as an accomplished pianist and violinist, and by singing in many choirs be it in the parish church, in school, with the Past Bridgetines, Choro Contempo, Voice of Praise Choir, music was so much a part of you. Your generosity and willingness to help me out, whenever I needed an Alto voice in my choir “Inspiration” gave me the assurance that I had someone to depend on. When you returned from your studies in London, where you played an active role in the University choir and orchestra, you shared with me, all the lovely music scores, which you played and sang in your University Choir saying “Priyanthi Akki here are some music books, and choir music which I used at College, it will be more useful to you now, especially my book of carols.” Now at my choir rehearsals when I open the book and see your name written on it, in your own handwriting, I’m filled with pain and sadness. But I believe you are singing in the heavenly choir….
Meli, you died beloved by all – because you were loyal and true to all those whose lives you touched. We believe that we shall see you face to face in God’s presence one day. Until that day may Jesus and Mother Mary hold you in the palm of their hands.
-Priyanthi Akki
Gamini Punchihewa
He traversed the
length and breadth of
the country
The news item in the Sunday Times of April 19 about the passing away of Gamini de S.G. Punchihewa — better known as Gamini Punchihewa would have saddened many who enjoyed his writings on places, people and events of bygone days of Sri Lanka. Like W.T. Keble, R.L. Spittel, R.L Brohier and D.T. Devendra, Gamini went in search of places little known to others. Apart from his eight books, his feature articles to the English newspapers written over a period of 45 years on subjects such as ancient civilizations, legends, folklore, songs, heritage, fauna and flora of the island were fascinating reading.
He was first employed in the Gal Oya Development Board and subsequently in the Mahaweli Authority – that gave him the opportunity to gather much of the information that he presented to his readers through his writings. Accordingly it was not surprising that his writings bore the stamp of authenticity.
Although his writings were in English his knowledge in classical Sinhala literature was visible in his writings. Very often he used to quote from Sandesa poems such as Mayura which dates back to the Gampola period and folk poems.
His last publication published in 2008 was Wanderlust – it contains 11 chapters including: Historic Tale of Matara; Galle – Citadel out of the past; Totagamuve Sri Rahula Rajamahaviharaya; Origins of Devol Deviyo; In quest of Ehelepola’s exploits; Veera Puran Appu; Saradiel; Makulutenne Raja Maha Viharaya etc which show the vast array of subjects he wrote on from pre-Buddhist times to the British period.
He was born in Kataluwa 83 years ago and had his early education at Mahinda College, Galle. His father was Mudliyar A. de S.G. Punchihewa who served the government in different positions and in 1940 retired from the post of Press Examiner Sinhala and English.
Mudliyar Punchihewa is remembered by the extended Gardiye Punchihewa family as the patriarch for taking the initiative to form the Gardiye Punchihewa Gnathi Samithiya way back in 1943. After nearly 73 years it is still active with about 450 members. Gamini himself was very much involved with the Society and the last position he held was that of Patron. While working in the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo during his leisure hours, the research he did in the National Archives resulted in tracing back the genealogy of the Gardiye Punchihewas to 1742.
In the introduction to “Wanderlust” Gamini says though domiciled in Embilipitiya and living in retirement he continues his freelance writing career by visiting places to collect the desired information. That means there is still material since 2008 which remains unpublished.
With eight books and many articles published, the service he rendered to unearth and document Sri Lanka’s past and recent history is unparalleled. It is pity that I cannot see anyone who can take his place in the immediate future.
-P.G.Punchihewa
Professor Ariyapala Ekanayake
Dear Thaththa this is for you!
It has been one year since you left us on May 12, 2014. As the world celebrates Lord Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana, we celebrate your life of 81 years and death.
Memories of you still linger and the loss, the void created by you will never fade.
We know how much you loved us, your deeds showed it. You were a principled man, who fought for justice and for the betterment of the people around you. Sacrifices you and Amma made to make our lives better were many and we are grateful for that. You taught us by example to be better citizens and instilled values that made us what we are today.
You had your feet deeply rooted to the ground and you lived a simple life throughout your 81 years. You were our hero, our advisor and we looked up to you. Apart from us, your own children, there were many other lives you have touched. Your kind deeds and generosity towards mankind was plenty and unsung.
You were wise and your words of wisdom were something we all looked upto. You touched so many lives and they are all grateful for same. So many whom we met at your funeral were testimony to your kind actions and words.
It is not what you have done for us but who you were and how you lived despite enormous hardships that you had to go through, that make us happy in celebrating your life.
We can never forget you, vivid memories of you and Amma are in our minds, but we take solace in knowing that you are now free of the worldly suffering. We will try to live your legacy and make the world a better place to live
Thank you for the memories!
Dear Thaththa, enjoy the niramisa suwaya the enlightenment forever now!
-Chandini, Wasantha, Hemakantha, Nirmala, Nilmini, Priyantha, Kosala, Melani, Dineeth, Savini, Miura
Capt. Emile Jayawardena
I would only be the Captain’s son
In our home town of Moratuwa
People always called him Captain
He flew Spitfires and Dakotas
In the Golden Age of aviation.
I certainly could never be the pilot that he was
I probably would never be as good a human being either
I would only be the Captain’s son
I wish I could tell him this, but I can’t
He is long gone
That is what is so sad about it
I am sure those of you who have lost loved ones
With things unsaid, would know what I’m talking about.
-Capt. Elmo Jayawardena
HAMZATHUN NAZUHA
An ode to my sister
The month of May marks your tenth death anniversary
An irreparable loss putting us into grief and misery
Choose to express my sentiments in verse though not a poet
As the painful memories of you keep on running riot
My brother and I saw you on the morning of 5th May
The hospital scenario was not that happy and gay
Evening came the news that you had crossed the Great Beyond
An innocent, useful life extinguished by God’s magic wand!
Since our parents’ death you became the household head
Caring for brothers and performing all work before going to bed
The domestic chores, dawn till dusk, you handled with dexterity
And made delicious meals for the table and proved your versatility
Indeed, you played the role of a caring mother to all the siblings
For quite a long period so as to earn the Almighty’s blessings
You performed to perfection with great zeal and in good faith,
Quite oblivious to your forlorn life and the cruelty of fate.
You willingly served every soul with utmost devotion
At festivals and to visitors you gave the best attention
Amidst, you never forgot the poor and the destitute
Sacrificing yours, you were lavish, earning their gratitude.
When a beggar was turned away, you got offended and angry
For you believed it to be a charitable act to feed the hungry.
You naturally had a soft corner for the poor and the needy
And had the urge to give and give and were never, ever greedy.
Your generous and kind nature gave you time to spare
To treat our domestic pets with loving and tender care
Your giving special attention to the sick pets was a hallmark
And feeding the abandoned kittens with milk was a landmark
Whenever, I suffered from severe headaches and refused to eat
You were there with a hot cup of Nestomalt, oh what a treat
Whatever problems cropped up, you took it in your stride;
You never nursed a grudge and I reminisce it with pride.
Ten years have sped; not a day passes without my thinking of you
Every minute, every hour, every day, my thoughts are with you
In fact, your fragrant memory is tattooed in my heart,
Becoming forlorn and desolate when you had to depart.
-M. Azhar Dawood
MUDITHA SEIMON (NEE COORAY)
In memory of a darling friend who touched our hearts…
Muditha
A beautiful personality…
Full of smiles…
Ever so humble with an overwhelming energy…
Knew her roots and knew exactly where she wanted to go…
So ambitious and a go-getter…
Most of all such a loyal friend…
It was in a trance that we, your closest friends had to come to your funeral just over a year ago. So unbelievable it was since we all came to your wedding back in 2002, July 23rd, visited you when you were first pregnant and yet again after the twins were born. Hey Muditha…we were supposed to see it through to our 80th birthday and dance with our walking sticks!!!
Having spent so many memorable and happy moments with you, it doesn’t feel right to linger on your “passing” but instead we wish to celebrate and cherish your “life”, the life that you spent with us.
Oh… those loud and unforgettable get-togethers! With our non-stop conversations. It was always a survival of the verbally fittest with the ultimate bliss of outwitting each other. You, a born speaker with a great sense of humour, it usually took us an arm and a leg to outwit you Muditha…
Ironically when we all visited your home a couple of months after you passed away we all tried our best to act normal and pretend as if nothing had changed. But Muditha …something ‘had’ changed. As it was your framed photograph that silently looked upon us from your living room instead of the usual bubbly You…
Ours was a friendship so unique and strong that time, distance and circumstances did not matter. It was amazing how we managed to catch up instantly after many months of silence. How comfortable it was to feel that we did not have to say the right thing.(Infact we always said the wrong things!) We never had to be perfect.
Finally Muditha, thank you so much for lighting up our lives for the 15 years you spent with us and the true friendship you have shared with each one of us. We all love you and miss you very much.
-Your buddies from the nostalgic Uni days in Kelaniya: Hans (Hansika),Angie (Angelo),
Gai (Gayangi),Mai(Mayanthi),Cha (Charuni),Sam (Sampath),Puma (Piyumi),Kala (Kalani),Era (Eranthi), Enoks (Enoka), Peumi, Nadeesha, Vindya and Aruni
J. C. Kariyawasam
My life, my everything
To some you are but a name,
To others, the memory of a loving friend
To me you are a part of me, my life, my everything
Without you by me, my world will never be the same.
Precious in my mind are the memories we shared together
during the 64 years of our beautiful wedded bliss,
the saddest part of living this lonely life without you
are those special things about you that I so sadly miss.
This tribute to you my steadfast life partner
A model husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.
May your life be happy and serene for ever
Which you rightly deserve,
I wish my Karma brings us again together
In Sansara so that our closeness prevails,
Till you finally achieve the Supreme bliss of Nirvana
After your journey through Sansara comes to an end.
-Your devoted wife
Lilian
M.B.MATHMALUWE
Essayist beyond compare
With the passing away of M.B.Mathmaluwe, the last candle has flickered out in that once-bright chandelier of Sri Lanka’s bilingual intellectuals. We became friends about a decade ago but, strangely, we never met. We wrote and spoke of books and men over the years. I will miss his epistles in his meticulous handwriting or neatly typed on an ancient typewriter. Writing about him I will draw on my reviews of MBM’s books – Selected Writings (2004), The Buddha and Emperor Aurelius(2007),Musings of Old Age on Books and Events.
I first came across the by-line ‘M.B.Mathmaluwe’ in a newspaper article he wrote some years ago about field trips by British Government Agents – which reminded me of my own experience trudging the hills of Walapane with R.H.D Manders, the last British G.A. I presumed it to have been written by an extraordinarily literate, Kachcheri official of yore.To my great surprise, a few weeks later, I read a most perceptive article on the American poet Robert Frost by the very same MBM. It did not take me long to discover that he was a distinguished retired school principal, happily anchored and active in his home town of Matale. Thus began a friendship carried on by mail and phone – that sadly ended with his New Year greetings. I learnt that he had been an alumnus of the Teacher Training College at Maharagama in the ‘glory days’ when Regi Siriwardena and Douglas Walatara were on its staff and happily interacted with their students.
MBM’s writings are an overflowing ‘punkalasa’ of essays he contributed to newspapers over the last six decades. [He confessed to me that his essay writing began in school competitions to have the best essay read at Assembly !] His essays show a deep interest in the Buddha Dhamma. Its missionary spirit and its pre-Mahindian influences in Sri Lanka. His essays range from the sacred to the profane. His writings on Robert Frost, D.H.Lawrence, Emily Bronte, Tolstoy, Pasternak, Martin Wickremasinghe and other giants of literature show a refreshingly original approach. He has also written in praise of the little magazines, both scholarly and literary, such as ‘Community’, that flourished in that brief ‘Indian summer’ of the 1940s and 1950s when they could rely on a cohort of English literati such as Regi Siriwardena, Godfrey Gunatilaka, Mervyn de Silva and Jayantha Padmanabha and others of the ilk. He writes interestingly on makers of modern history such as Buddhist activist Walisinha Harischandra, D.S.Senanayke, archaeologist H.C.P. Bell and Nehru [round whose love-life he tiptoes delicately].
Writing on music and drama in modern Sri Lanka he not only handles such giants as Sarachchandra, Amaradeva and Lester James Peries but speaks with understanding of of the work of the youthful icons Bhatiya and Santush. He also wrote on agriculture and water management, folklore and village politics displaying the catholicity of his interests, the originality of his perceptions and clarity of expression. He has been a personal friend of the late poet Upananda Karunatilaka whose poems (in English) of love and loss are, sadly little known. The Sinhala poet Ariyawansa Ranaweera has also been a friend and MBM introduces, to the ‘English reader’ his poetry of abundant humanity and simple domestic happiness.
What more can I say? I have lost a friend but Sri Lanka has lost its finest English essayist.
To conclude, I quote from his nostalgic account , vintage Mathmaluwa, of a footpath in the jungle –
“….dwell for a while on the sounds, sights and many lingering perfumes that would accompany many a lonely traveller all along his journey. Once the traveller enters it, the jungle would hold him in thrall. The thick foliage of the overhanging branches of the massive trees standing on both sides would almost entirely hide the sun and whatever little sunlight sweeps down would cast and light a dappled patchwork of shadows on the soft sands of the winding path, thickly strewn with dead leaves.
Except for the occasional sound of a bird or beast, silence would overwhelm the traveller which would not only be heard but even felt. The ceaseless screech of the cicadas forever heard, but never seen, one would know is a part of this silence, as one takes over where the other left. Suddenly a wind would arise and sway the overhead branches of trees and a shower of dead leaves would come down on the traveller. The subdued roar of a river not very far, but seldom seen, could be heard and he would be wading a stream of crystal clear water winding its way to meet the river, and on its sand strewn bank,an endless procession of little yellow butterflies in their tens of thousands would rest a while to suck the ooze on the white sands ….while the traveller continues on his lonely trudge”.
Mathmaluwe’s long trudge in Samsara is now over, and Nibbana awaits.
-Tissa Devendra