A tale of romance spanning 65 years
Ivy and Charles Jayawardane, who met when Ivy was just 15 and Charles 25, have a tale of romance that reads like the script for a black and white film. Almost seven decades (and gala 65th wedding anniversary celebrations) later their tale is as fresh in their minds as the day they met, and the love and regard they hold each other in is clearly just as strong.
Ivy and Charles Jayawardane: Celebrating almost seven decades together
“We met on the train,” recounts Mr. Jayawardhana. In 1945 Charles, one of the first trained and recruited planters of Ceylonese origin, was on his way to Wattegama; Ivy, a young girl of just 15 was with her family returning to Kandy. The young Charles didn’t pay too much attention to her, laughs Mrs. Jayawardhana. “He immediately struck up a conversation with my father and they became very well acquainted,” she says. Ivy’s father invited Charles around for a visit and a close friendship was sealed between Charles and her family. Sometime later, on a visit to Charles’ family estate in Hunnasgiriya, Ivy and her sister accidentally wandered off the track and were separated from their party. Charles was more than a little alarmed – it was then, he says, that he realised his affection for the young Ivy Wickremasinghe ran a little deeper than he may have realised.
Later, Charles would make regular visits to Ivy’s school in Matale, even sending letters signed off as ‘your loving uncle’ to avoid the nuns’ suspicions. The families remained good friends; “my grandmother was quite fond of you,” Mrs. Jayawardhana reminds him and he chuckles-“of course she was fond of me, she thought she could palm off one of your unmarried aunts on me!” Although there was some opposition to their union at first the couple prevailed and won the parents over. “I remember my father saying that he would give his permission because he loved me and valued my happiness,” recalls Mrs. Jayawardhana.
They wed on the 16th of June, 1950 at St. Anthony’s Cathedral in Kandy. A short video of the ceremony depicts Charles, handsome in a white morning suit, taking the hand of Ivy, demure but radiant in an elegant saree and veil. Following the reception at the Queen’s Hotel the couple left for their honeymoon around the country and recounts with particular enthusiasm an ‘eighth wonder’ that was served to them in Sigiriya-a flambéed sweet omelette that they laughingly remember to this day.
The Jayawardhanas were on the move for the first decade of their marriage-Charles was an estate superintendent and was constantly relocating for his job. Ivy was only too happy to accompany him – she had taught before marriage but decided that it would not be feasible to continue working with her husband’s job. “It was wonderful,” she smiles. “We tried to travel every weekend before the children were born.” Their first child, Kamanika was born in 1952 and their son Cryshantha was born later that same year. Two more-Dilrukshi and Priyangani (fondly known by all and sundry as Kukoo instead) followed.
Today Ivy and Charles proudly claim an extended family that encompasses not just their children and their families, but also the many friends that they have made over the decades. “No one leaves our parents’ home without being well fed and looked after,” laugh Priyangani and Cryshantha. On one wall of their home in Mirihana (where they have lived since 1972) hangs a tapestry that a longstanding friend has painstakingly created-a family tree that charts Ivy, Charles, their children and grandchildren.
Their third child Dilrukshi tragically passed away in 1988, and they have accepted into the family fold “another daughter” who met and married their widowed son-in-law Viraj. It’s this warmth and generosity that embodies who her parents are, says Priyangani. “They’ve created a lasting legacy and have been an amazing example of a great marriage-not just for us, but for our children as well.”
Marriage is after all about give and take, say the Jayawardhanas. “We committed ourselves to each other and have done so from the start,” says Mrs. Jayawardhana and her husband nods in agreement. “These days young people run away at the first sign of trouble and that’s never the answer. Of course we’ve had our troubles but somehow muddled through it all, and we thank God for our good health and the amazing children and grandchildren we’ve been blessed with.”