Appreciations
View(s):Indranee Hapugalle
She imparted lessons far beyond the ivory keys of the piano
In my childhood I had the good fortune to come across some people who added so much colour to my life that without them my life might have turned out to be very different. One such person was Indranee Hapugalle under whose guidance I first learnt to make the piano ‘sing’.
I met her for the first time some 13 years ago at her then residence ‘Tichbourne’, where my mother had taken me for what was to be my very first piano lesson.
She decided to call me by my first name Venetia instead of my more commonly used second name Maithrie while I decided to address her simply as ‘Miss’. Thus began a relationship that ran through my entire childhood.
Miss had a petite demeanor and a gentle nature to match. She was sweet-tempered and patient, and had a soft and calm voice.
In the early days I was not the easiest student to handle and had my fair share of mischievousness that took the form of attending classes with hardly any practice.
Yet I never remember receiving a scolding from Miss – she would only deliver a gentle reprimand: actually a misnomer to use, for the chiding often had an affectionate overtone.
Only in rare instances was a complaint lodged with my mother; though a resort undertaken with utmost reluctance, it had the desirous effect of getting me back on track!
It was only her patience and gentle approach in teaching that kept me from running away from the piano in those early difficult days, for which I am eternally thankful to her.
Miss always believed in challenges and chose for me pieces of a high standard whenever I had to perform at concerts or competitions.
Each year she meticulously prepared me for many examinations – when the date drew near, it was customary to have two lessons per week instead of the usual one lesson, and as a final touch, she would send me to her daughter, my present music teacher, to create the examination atmosphere and help me bring out my best.
Through her efforts I learnt to face examinations without undue pressure and to take on challenges from a young age. She made me experience the joy and satisfaction which comes through hard work and that helped me immensely in many areas later on, including in my studies.
Ms. Hapugalle was a lady of great character and strength. She took on every challenge fate had in store for her with a smile on her face. She imparted to me lessons that reach far beyond the ivory keys of the piano into the realities of the world.
In her own unique way she laid out a way to live one’s life to the fullest with character, strength, courage and humility while facing whatever life brings with perfect grace and serenity.
I was truly blessed to be one of her pupils.
- Venetia Maithrie Jayamanne
W.M.D.A. Bandara
A pillar of strength to the village
‘Know what to do and do it’ was his motto and he abided by it in all his activities- social or personal. He was a teacher, principal and Director of Education.
Teachers, principals and parents who came to him with their problems went back relieved.
Sometimes the problems were not easily solved but his explanation of the procedures to be followed made them understand, even if they had to wait some time for a possible solution.
He lived in the village where he was born and bred and was a pillar of strength to the villagers.
He was unfailingly generous and when the residents had no one to turn to in a crisis – a sudden death, a natural disaster or illness or needed a vehicle to take a patient to hospital –he was always there.
He had a strong belief in Buddhism and members of the Maha Sangha were his closest associates. He saw to the needs of the temple in the village. The roof of the Dharmasalawa was on the verge of collapse and his generous contribution gave it a new look.
He always conducted himself with grace and dignity and his soft-spoken words and sincere smile made any occasion pleasant. His loss will be felt badly at gatherings of friends and the meetings of the Dayaka Sabhawa which he chaired.
He died at the age of 76 after ailing for some time. His cremation was done on a pyre designed to the wishes of the Sangha in his village.
May you attain the eternal bliss of Nibbana.
-Padma Keragala
(sister)
Deepthi Guneratne (nee Soysa)
She was kind beyond measure
Deepthi akka was the livewire of the extended Soysa family. Be it a family wedding, party or an alms giving, she was the one who kept us all entertained with her funny stories.
It was a treat to be in her company and there was never a dull moment when she was around.
Born as the elder daughter to Percy and Claribel Soysa, she had her entire education at Visakha Vidyalaya, Bambalapitiya.
After completion of her Advanced Level, she decided to pursue a career in Chartered Accountancy and joined an audit firm, where she met her life’s partner Lal Gunaratne, and married him at a very young age.
Thereafter she sacrificed her studies and career to be a good housewife and mother. They had three beautiful daughters Eranthi, Nuwanthi and Dilanthi, who not only excelled in their studies, but in extra-curricular activities too, at Musaeus College where they were educated.
It was Deepthi akka, (of course with the assistance of Lal aiya), who was a tower of strength to the daughters, being constantly with them, supervising their studies, and accompanying them for all their classes etc.
In addition, it was she who did most of the household chores by herself, (having no domestics around) and managed to keep a beautiful home and garden as well.
It is comforting to know that she lived long enough to see all her daughters passing out with flying colours from their respective universities, and being well employed.
She and Lal aiya were proud parents when they had very elegant weddings and gave their three daughters away in marriage.
It is a pity that her sons-in-law and grandchildren did not have a longer and joyous association with her, since she passed away at an early age of 63.
Deepthi akka was fun loving, cheerful and witty, and had a heart of gold. When a relative or friend was sick, she was the first person to be at the bedside with the patient.
She has stayed with many who were hospitalized caring for them at every turn. Shopping was her other passion. There would not be a single shop down Hill Street, Dehiwala that she had not shopped at.
She loved to dress well, and whatever the occasion she was well attired, and always had the matching shoes and handbag. The fact that she was struck with a terminal disease did not dampen her spirits.
She was cheerful to the end. She cared for her house and garden even with difficulty till she could not do it anymore. She was present at every family party and wedding, forgetting her ailments and pain, because she loved being with us.
It was like yesterday, when I had the surprise birthday party for her, little knowing that it would be the last birthday she would be with us, and the last occasion she would visit my home.
She was really touched by my gesture, and I still recall her parting words, ‘Savitri nangi, you have always been a sister and not a cousin to me”.
It is two years since she left us, and we all miss her terribly and think of her often. The void left by her could never be filled.
May you not be subject to an untimely death again during your journey through sansara, till you attain the supreme bliss of nirvana.
Savitri Silva (nee Soysa)
PIYA GAMAGE
He was known for his easy laughter, sincerity and bonhomie
Were I to mention the name Piya Gamage to a person living in Sri Lanka I would almost invariably be faced with a look of puzzlement.
Amongst Sri Lankan-Canadians, though, especially those ‘pioneers’ who arrived in Canada from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, Piya was a giant.
Oddly enough, Piyasena Dodampe Gamage, despite the very Sinhalese moniker, was not even Sri Lankan! He was born in Bentong, a small town east of the Genting Highlands, on October 4, 1929, to Sinhalese parents who had emigrated to work on Malaya’s railway system.
He was brought up in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, in a flat above the iconic old Globe Silk Store, the destination of many a bargain hunting tourist from Sri Lanka.
A clever lad, Piya was fluent or near-fluent in English, Sinhalese, Bahasa Melayu, and Tamil by the time he was in his mid-teens. Piya was a boy scout at a prestigious school in KL, an institution he entered on scholarship.
He was sent to the UK to be trained as a teacher and, retaining his ties to the scout movement, Piya was chosen to attend an international scout jamboree.
Upon his return to Malaya, young Gamage, adept not only at languages but also at mathematics, was chosen to go on a scholarship to New Zealand to train as a Chartered Accountant.
His CA qualification in hand he needed a bride and that’s where those old Sri Lanka ties came in. In 1962 Piya travelled to Ceylon to see his proposed bride and was married within the week.
Enter into his life the lissome Nanda Hippola, then a student at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.
Singapore beckoned after marriage but, back then, that city wasn’t the great commercial titan it is today. In 1967 the young CA and his wife migrated to Canada.
Piya and Nanda plunged into their new lives with gusto, embracing life and opportunity to their fullest extent.
Few Ceylonese lived in these northern climes back then but Piya was the consummate internationalist and his hard work, intelligence, easy laughter, sincerity, and bonhomie won over the locals.
The Lester Pearson and Pierre Elliott Trudeau governments of the late 1960s and early 1970s saw the approaching demographic crunch and greatly liberalised the immigration system and embraced multiculturalism, encouraging many other skilled and open-minded Ceylonese to emigrate to Canada’s big cities (and damn the long, frigid winters!).
By the mid-1970s there would have been a few thousand Ceylonese in Toronto but fewer than a couple of hundred in Ottawa. Nevertheless, Piya and a few others such as Michael Seneviratne, Rohan Basnayake, Nelson Wijeyesekera, Ranjith Perera, and Norbert Seripala (another Malayan, interestingly) saw the need for an association of Sri Lankans in Ottawa and I remember going to the first informal meeting one freezing, snow-whipped February night at a church basement downtown.
About 30 people were present, a good turnout. Well-spoken Piya took a leadership role at the meeting and a decision was made that evening to work towards forming an association.
The Sri Lanka-Canada Association of Ottawa was formally instituted in 1976 with Piya as its first President. It is still going strong.
But Piya also saw that there was a need to attend to the spiritual needs of Buddhists in an overwhelmingly Christian country (as Canada was then).
So this strong Buddhist, who had served as a samanera in his childhood, was the elemental force that formed the Buddhist Association of Ottawa, perhaps the first such body in Canada.
Later, when Piya moved to Windsor, eventually as Director of the government tax office in that border city, the Sri Lankans there prevailed upon him to organize a Sri Lankan association there; so the Sri Lanka Association of Windsor was born with Piya as its first President.
And again Piya took the lead in the formation of a Buddhist Association in Windsor. He also strongly supported the viharaya in Detroit, just across the river in the US.
He nursed them to be the valuable community resources and nuclei they are today.
As you can see the Sri Lankan community in Canada owes Piya Gamage a great debt. But Piya was also a marvellous human being. He made friends for life.
Wrote his friend Christie Richards: ‘He was never influenced by creed, ethnicity, position in life. He treated everyone as human beings.
He took on the sorrows and concerns of others on his own shoulders and always gave solace and good advice to friends and strangers alike’. Numerous are the occasions when he went well out of his way to help a friend, indeed friends of friends.
He was a sparkling speaker with an impish wit and an irrepressible intellectual curiosity. He was quick to smile and had an endearing laugh that punctuated his conversation.
He was passionate about his faith, about being a good father, and about his beloved golf game. You could see that he enjoyed life.
Piya and Nanda were warm and hospitable and many of us who were fortunate to be their friends remember the delectable rice and curry repasts that we enjoyed at their table.
I fondly remember the many nights I spent in their lovely home in Windsor as I drove to Chicago from the Ottawa Valley.
Piya is no more. He leaves behind Nanda and two accomplished daughters, Shantini and Nimali, as well as grandchildren, siblings, and numerous friends who looked up to him and will miss him dearly. He had just celebrated his 86th before he passed away.
He did not suffer much in his last days, a great blessing, and he was surrounded by those he loved. Describing Piya one could quote The Buddha:
‘It is like a lighted torch whose flame can be distributed to ever so many other torches which people may bring along; and therewith they will cook food and dispel darkness, while the original torch itself remains burning ever the same. It is even so with the bliss of the Way’.
Being a Buddhist he would have wished to attain Nibbana upon passing from this earth. For the exemplary life he led Piya deserves such a conclusion.
- Asoka Yapa