‘Tikka’ and the holiday warrant”
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The voice at the other end of the phone was a tad imperious, “Tilakaratna. Can you bring my holiday warrants if they are ready?”“Yes, they are ready,” I answered briskly. “Can you come and collect them from my desk?” There was a click as the call was disconnected and I resumed my work, which was to manage the issue of concessionary railway tickets and holiday warrants to the Central Bank staff.A few minutes later, my immediate superior, T G Punchiappuhamy (TG) called me. “What did you say to Dr. Tilakaratna?” he asked. “Take his warrants and go and apologise to him. Go now! Immediately!”
I neither knew Dr. W M Tilakaratna, nor where he could be found; but from the urgency in my Boss’s voice, I gathered that the man must be somebody important. Some kind soul directed me to the Economic Research Department located in the upper floor. This was a whole new world. Unlike our open plan office at the Secretariat, here were individual rooms with saloon type swing doors, ensuring privacy, but with no sense of isolation. So, there I was standing outside Dr. Tilakaratna’s room, clutching the set of railway warrants and the issue register, while I could hear my heartbeat virtually pounding in my ears.
At his command, “Come in,” I opened the swing door to see Dr. Tilakaratna at his desk – nothing like what I had imagined, just an average type of guy with a chubby, smiling face and a disarming manner. My Boss must have explained that I was “still wet behind the ears” because there were no recriminations. “Sir, I am very sorry. Here are your holiday warrants,” I said humbly. “Why don’t you sit?” he asked me and I did so, sitting gingerly on the edge of a chair opposite his desk.After ensuring the warrants were in order, Dr. Tilakaratna leaned back on his chair ready for a chat. He was delighted when I told him that I was born and bred in Matale, because that was also his parental home town, but what really charmed him was that I was a past pupil of St. Agnes’ Convent.
“I also studied at Matale Convent,” he told me. “Do you know Sister Mary?” I assured him I did. “One day she tied me to my chair, you know,” he said gleefully, adding that it was probably because he was the naughtiest boy in the class (upper kindergarten, I believe).All the stress and tension drained away as we reminisced about some of the more noteworthy pranks we used to get up to and spoke with nostalgia about the nuns and teachers who had impacted our lives. I left Dr. Tilakaratna’s presence, marveling at this man, so high up in the Bank’s echelon, spending a little time to put me at ease. That day I had just met a man who was destined for high office, one of the stars in the Bank’s firmament and of the public service in general.
Dr. Tilakaratna (affectionately known as “Tikka”) joined the Central Bank in 1953 as a young economist, where he came under the influence of Dr. B.B. Das Gupta, the first Director of Economic Research – a former Professor of Economics at the University of Ceylon and one of the most eminent scholars of that time.Proceeding on a Central Bank sponsored scholarship to pursue his post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics, Dr. Tilakaratna went on to read for his PhD from the University of London. In 1957, he submitted his Thesis titled, “Agricultural Credit in a Developing Economy – Ceylon.” It was a seminal work which reflected the role of credit in an agrarian economy. This has been published under the Central Bank’s Research Series.
After a stint in two nationalised ventures, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Transport Board, Dr. Tilakaratna reverted to the Central Bank as the Director, Economic Research in 1964, which post he held until 1968. His appointments as Assistant Governor in 1969 and as Deputy Governor in 1975 marked his rise in the Bank’s hierarchy. Between these two appointments, Dr. Tilakaratna served as Alternate Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).After retiring from the Central Bank in March 1978, Dr. Tilakaratna assumed the post of Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning. He also became, by virtue of office, a member of the Monetary Board. When he completed his term of public service in 1986, Dr. Tilakaratna served as Senior Advisor to the IMF.
(The writer can be contacted at toniethirupathy@gmail.com)
Arthur Ranasinha ‘days’
In last week’s column, the surname of Sir Arthur was misspelt. It should read as Ranasinha and not Ranasinghe in the entire article.