Appreciations
View(s):HEMA JAYASINGHE
Facing challenges confidently, standing her ground firmly
Mrs. Hema Jayasinghe, a much loved and respected principal of Visakha Vidyalaya passed away on February 25, 2015 aged 87 years.
She was very well preserved physically and mentally and remained active, leading a full life until that fateful day she visited her elder sister and on returning home, sustained a fall. This was complicated by a brain haemorrhage, from which she did not recover despite the best of medical management.
Mrs. Jayasinghe was born in Kandy to a highly educated family. Her father Mr. Abayaratna was the founder principal of Vidyartha College, Kandy.
Her mother and sisters were teachers and lecturers. She was educated at Girls’ High School, Kandy and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colombo and the Master of Arts degree in education from the University of London.
Upon her return to Sri Lanka, she obtained a post-graduate diploma in education from the University of Colombo.
She was appointed principal to Maliyadewa High School Kurunegala in her 20s and thereafter transferred to Pushpadana Balika Vidyalaya in Kandy and from there to Girls’ High School.
Mrs. Jayasinghe was the first Sinhala Buddhist principal to be appointed to Visakha Vidyalaya. This was 50 years after the school was founded by the great philanthropist Mrs. Jeremias Dias.
Up to that time the school was headed by American, British and Indian principals. Mrs. Jayasinghe was appointed in July 1967 after the retirement of Mrs. Susan George Pulimood, the longest serving principal of Visakha for 22 years in whose period Visakha rose to become the leading girls’ school in the island.
Mrs. Jayasinghe accepted the post with much reluctance, though handpicked by the then Minister of Education I.M.R.A. Iriyagolla. Her hometown was Kandy and her husband was a lecturer in the University of Peradeniya and her third child was only three months old.
With the new appointment, she needed to set up a new home in Colombo. However, she had no choice in the matter as government servants are transferrable.
She came to a school already in full bloom under an indefatigable and remarkable predecessor, Mrs. Pulimood. With unflagging determination and finesse, she steered the school through the next 16 years enhancing Visakha’s image considerably.
Mrs. Jayasinghe was surrounded by senior vice principal Miss Chandra De Zoysa, other senior teachers, a very active Old Girls’ Association and the School Development Society.
However, in spite of her young age of 40 years, she remained calm, undaunted, unruffled, faced challenges confidently and stood her ground firmly. With her skilful administration and tact, she won the respect, co-operation and confidence of all around her.
Religious activities always took pride of place at Visakha under the guidance of Venerable Narada Thero and Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Thero of Vajiraramaya with weekly bana and annual sil programmes.
After she took office, Vesak was celebrated in a grand style with interclass Vesak lantern competitions. I remember how I learnt the art of making atapattam, lotus and star koodoos as a grade 11 student from my classmates as a result of these competitions.
During her term from July 1967 to June 1983, our alma mater grew tremendously in stature (in numbers, buildings and facilities) and in prestige.
Visakha excelled in academic performance, sports and other extra curricular activities such as speech, drama and music. Parents thronged to admit their daughters to VisakhaVidyalaya.
Mrs. Jayasinghe will be remembered by generations of Visakhians with much gratitude for three special achievements established during her era.
Firstly the construction of much needed permanent buildings, secondly the establishment of our own playground and thirdly the construction of the Jeremias Dias memorial hall.
Lack of proper accommodation for the swelling number of students was a major problem she had to solve. She was full of admiration for the teachers who worked under trying conditions in temporary buildings and yet managed to produce such splendid results in the GCE O/Level and A/Level examinations.
I recall our O/Level classes which were temporary buildings with cement floor but roofing of aluminum sheets covered with cadjan to keep off the heat and walls made of asbestos sheeting.
A stock joke among the schoolboys of our era was that “Visakhians came from pol athumadu”. However, we had the last laugh as students from the pol athumadu produced better results than those who came from posh Colombo schools with far better facilities!
When I recently “went back to school”, in uniform in May 2015, I found that all previous temporary structures were replaced by solid three-storeyed permanent buildings.
Mrs. Jayasinghe also realised the need for our own playground. The area between our school and the kovil land and the proposed road was just sufficient for a two hundred metre track.
After numerous negotiations and considerable effort, Mrs. Jayasinghe was able to hold our sports meet on our own grounds for the first time in 1974. This was a landmark in the history of Visakha.
The planning and the construction of the Jeremias Dias Hall was the most major and ambitious project undertaken during her time. The profit from the golden jubilee celebrations in 1967 (Rs. 4 ½ lakhs) formed the nucleus of the hall fund.
From then on, Mrs. Jayasinghe was inundated with the task of collecting funds, consulting architects and engineers, drawing plans and going through arduous details that such a mammoth project entails.
Finally with the patience of Mr. U.N. Gunasekara the loyal engineer and contractor (whose daughters Srimani and Susila were Visakhians) work was resumed.
The completion of this hall was the culmination of years of effort on the part of the OGA, SDS, staff and students who fulfilled the task of collecting the building costs which soared daily.
Mrs. Jayasinghe personally undertook numerous visits to likely donors who responded generously. Finally, Rs. 4.5 million needed to complete the project was collected.
This was due to contributions from the President’s Fund, Visakha Board of Trust and the Public Trustee. The completion of the Jeremias Dias hall in 1983 was another landmark in Visakha’s history and stands as an enduring monument to her efforts.
I was the second head prefect to serve under Mrs. Jayasinghe. Rohini Welianga who preceded me unfortunately died of cancer during her period of school captaincy.
This entailed me to carry on my period for over one year. Although there were many official duties attached to the head prefectship, I recall with gratitude that Mrs. Jayasinghe allowed me to carry on my academic activities uninterrupted during school hours.
Mrs. Jayasinghe was a role model for any girl to follow. She combined the roles of a wife, mother, academic and a principal with ease, excelling in every field. She gave birth to her fourth child during her period as principal at Visakha, a very rare feat indeed!
Little did she realise that her second daughter who was only three months old when she became principal at Visakha would become head prefect two years after she relinquished her post. She remained principal at Visakha until 1983 when she was promoted as Deputy Director General of Education.
Mrs. Jayasinghe will be remembered with much gratitude by generations of Visakhians for the yeoman services rendered to Visakha Vidyalaya and for helping to mould the characters of generations of Visakhians, instilling in them correct values, ethics and morals, to face the challenges of womanhood and the challenges of a rapidly changing society.
She looked after her husband Dr. Jayasinghe with great devotion after he sustained a stroke. They had four children and five grandchildren upon whom Mrs. Jayasinghe had a profound and endearing influence.
When Mrs. Jayasinghe looked back on her 32 years of noble service as principal and later as Director General, Education, she would have experienced a sense of great achievement, much satisfaction and complete fulfilment. May all the merit she accrued during her lifetime help her to attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana.
-Dr. Anula Wijesundere nee Samaranayake
SARATHCHANDRA MADDUMA BANDARA WICKREMASINHA KIRINDE
Ars Gratia Artis was his motto in life
Most would wonder who Sarathchandra Madduma Bandara Wickremasinha Kirinde (1930 – 2009) was, however the name Stanley Kirinde, locally and internationally is synonymous with the world of art.
Just as the Latin expression, Ars Gratia Artis – “Art for art’s sake” – is used as a motto by the US film company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and appears in the circle around the head of a roaring lion in its motion picture logo, Stanley Kirinde used his easel and brush for art’s sake but unlike the lion he never roared. He was gentle as a lamb, and a cultured one at that.
Stanley’s seventh death anniversary fell on February 13.
Not possessing too much of an interest or knowledge of art or artists, I shall make known to the best of my ability and knowledge the impressions I have of Stanley the human being.
Having closely associated with him for over a decade until he passed away, he was to my mind, the epitome of the sterling, worldly qualities a homo sapien could possess.
However, the technicalities in his field of art, and that of his contemporaries be it George Keyt, Harry Peiris, members of Group ‘43 or Lionel Wendt, I will leave it to the experts to explore.
It was a privilege and pleasure to know Stanley, his pleasant wife Iranganie (aka Ira), family of two sons Kumar (wife Chandani and grandsons Bhanuka and Rahel), and Ravi who is living in the UK.
Ira played the ideal role of mother hen in the artistic, sometimes borderline bohemian Stanley’s life-style. Of course not for him were late nights, nor were spirituous excesses his wont.
However, life was centred on his almost 24/7 love for painting. So naturally there was chaos, with newspapers, books, unfinished canvases, and paints etc., strewn around the house.
Hence Ira had to keep a constant vigil and an almost maternal care over her husband regarding worldly affairs and his health. Stanley would have been lost without her and indeed it was a symbiotic association between the two of them.
Gradually it dawned on me – who had no clue of the art world – that Stanley is a legend with the easel and brush. Indeed he had made a name for himself in his chosen field from the tender age of 15 years when he bagged the first prize at the All-Ceylon Education Exhibition in 1945. Then the floodgates opened until his peaceful demise at the age of almost four score years.
Today, his works of art have been commissioned by Presidents of two countries. Stanley was requested by the President of India, K.R. Narayanan to paint his official portrait which now hangs alongside previous Presidents of India at the Rashatrapati Bhawan, India’s official Presidential residence.
It was a signal honour for a Sri Lankan. Sri Lanka’s first President, J.R.Jayewardene, on more than one occasion requested Stanley to paint past historical events of our country, one of which now hangs at the President’s House in Kandy.
Born in the village of Deegala, in the Dumbara Valley as the eldest in a family of seven boys and a girl, Stanley actually started sketching from the tender age of around four years. Pieces of paper, walls, floors and any surface that took his fancy were not spared.
A piece of chalk he carried in his pair of shorts much to the chagrin of his family, especially of his sister, who was his constant companion. Even her text-books were Stanley’s drawing books!
However, being the eldest he was the apple of the parents’ eyes, and escaped being reprimanded for his antics, and which habit he continued until practically he drew his last breath.
As Stanley once commented about his mother’s attitude towards him: “She always thought I was a bit queer and would say “it’s the vapours from the paints makes you do all those funny things!”
Believe it or not, Stanley hated going to school. Reportedly he used to hide under beds to avoid his problem. Eventually he was forced to attend Trinity College at the ripe old age of nine years.
I can actually picture him as Shakespeare described in the Seven Ages of Man: “…Then the whining schoolboy with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail unwilling to school.”
Yet, he made the necessary effort to enter the University of Peradeniya, barely aged 20, to read for an honours degree in history. Of course he had illustrious contemporaries at Trinity, including Lakshman Kadirgamar, who must have been an inspiration to Stanley, and they remained very close and life-long friends.
Stanley held many important and responsible posts in Government in the administrative service, and as expected, performed his duties with integrity, honesty and skill.
He was not only appointed as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence in 1982, and a few years later held the office of State Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Shipping, and so on, until he retired from Government service after a distinguished career of 35 years. Another feather in his cap was when Stanley played a key and a satisfying role in the establishment of the Kotelawala Defence Academy around the same time.
In the meantime his alma mater Trinity College was not forgotten. Many were the occasions he did his duty for Trinity whether touching up fading paintings in the College chapel or any other similar requests by the school. His paintings are commonplace in most Government offices around the country.
Indeed one of his oil paintings adorns the wall of the Cathedral of the Anglican Church at Bullers Road. The tributes and accolades he has received from all and sundry in appreciation of his skill are too numerous to mention, that eventually culminated in his being awarded the title of Deshabandu by the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.
A colourful biography, titled “The World of Stanley Kirinde” by Dr. SinharaRaja Tammita Delgoda was yet another tribute published during his lifetime when his friend Lakshman Kadirgamar played a pivotal role in its production and distribution. However all such honours lay lightly on his shoulders. That was Stanley – a gentleman and an artist par excellence.
May his travels in Samsara be short and comfortable.
-Mahinda Wijesinghe
SAVITHRI DEVANESEN
I felt a deep empathy with her
“For within her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, incisive, unsullied, lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, shrewd, irresistible, beneficent, friendly to human beings, steadfast, dependable, unperturbed, almighty, all surveying, penetrating all intelligent, pure and most subtle spirits.
For wisdom is quicker to move than any motion; she is so pure, she pervades and permeates all things. She is a breath of the power of God, pure emanation of the glory of the almighty; so nothing impure can find its way into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light, untarnished mirror of God’s active power, and image of his goodness.
Although she is alone, she can do everything; herself unchanging, she renews the world, and generation after generation, passing into holy souls, she makes them unto God’s friends and prophets; for God loves only those who dwell in wisdom…” (The book of Wisdom 7/22-8/1).
In moments of silent reflection and prayer, when I did meditate upon treasured memories of loved ones gone before, and my thoughts in particular were heavy as I felt the deep loss of my beloved Norma amma, did I chance to come upon these stanzas from the holy book of wisdom…
A life so rich, near unparalleled in goodness, silent greatness, profound love – for God and humankind, as that of Norma amma’s seems truly epitomised in these words of ancient wisdom…
All those who knew her, be they great or lowly, yet experienced the touch of her noble spirit in some form… would surely behold her – as one with these attributes – as enshrined in these stanzas… and continue to sing praises and thanksgivings to her.
Yet to me a simple niece, this great lady – Savithri Devanesen – constantly… and for ever… appears as ‘my beloved Norma amma…’ One of the four ammas we were gifted with, for so they were – four beautiful sisters, each unique in attribute – yet bound together by unshakable bonds of rarest sterling…
They all became an amma to us – in thought word and deed; yet, may I be forgiven as I say ‘Norma amma’ became a very special amma to me, for she was my God mother…It became a blessed relationship which pervaded my life since childhood to the last of her days… and surely will be for mine..!
I believe I do first recall her amidst the wonderful Christmas celebrations at Westland house and at other family occasions, those early years of childhood; yet I clearly recall the gradual interest she took in my affairs and in my future well being, as I grew into adolescence; Thus, the touch of her love gradually became an integral part of my life…She it was who perhaps brought me my first saree – of palest pink and silver jari – I yet recall…a colour trend my amma would continue to dress us in.
Her numerous loving gifts extended to Indian jewels, accessories, clothing, and once even to a rich benares brocade of white…perhaps, with her visions of a happier day for me.
Such was her giving… many of these yet being treasured and preserved with love. Yet, perhaps crowning this treasury remain her many, many letters to me, of love, advice, enquiry, thoughtfulness, kindness and wisdom…oft- sharing deeply in our life’s joys and sorrows, and empathising with each others needs.
A life time of rich interaction, it was with the crowning glory of her unique Christmas messages which brought us ever near the humble manger and its powerful message that ‘poverty and its many faces of deprivation’ are ever amongst us. I treasure her powerful writings and feel a deep empathy with her challenging messages!
Yet, above all I recall in deep humility and gratitude, her several telephone calls to me, when I was placed in unforeseen circumstances of the possible loss of home.
‘You called me Norma amma, you offered me a home.. a place beside your bed if need be, in your own room. Your expression of loving and giving, of a shelter which was not even your own, must remain more than twice blessed… nay thrice blessed- and be recorded in golden script in heaven.
Yes, Norma amma you were and yet remain a treasured part of the love in my life… for which I bow my head in gratitude.
Reading through the beautiful narrative tribute of Dayalan aiya to ‘Amma’ at the thanksgiving celebration on May 7, 2015, he entitles it ‘A Love Story’
Yes – I have tasted of that love…Within my heart, I know most surely, that you are a treasured part of my ‘love story’. May you be ever blessed within the mansions of heaven.
-Your loving god-daughter Mithrani
ALAGIAH KINGSLEY PATHMANATHAN
An admirable administrator has gone to his rest
The news of the passing away of Alagiah Kingsley Pathmanathan, former Government Agent and District Secretary of Batticaloa was a real shock unable to be digested for quite a few minutes time.
The previous Sunday December 2, 2015, I saw him at the wheel of his car driving very comfortably and relaxed for his regular Sunday religious observances. This proved beyond doubt that he was physically fit and robust and not subject to any form of physical illness. Yet he passed away peacefully.
Writing a tribute to Mr. Pathmanathan is not an easy task because he was an intensely reserved person. He was a classical example of a straightforward administrator in all respects.
Thus the Batticaloa District has lost a unique personality who stood by his principles and was unshaken by any forms of threats. He played a pivotal role in the development of the district throughout his career. He served the public with great dedication.
Mr. Pathmanathan was the Government Agent and District Secretary of the Batticaloa District from the 1994 to 2000. It was a period full of turbulence in the district due to the ethnic conflict amidst the war situation between the militants and the government forces.
In the period from 1982 up to his retirement – the district underwent a series of conflict situations. To my knowledge he was in the public service from 1956 to 2000 –an approximate period of 44 years in various capacities serving in most parts of the province.
He began his career as an English teacher and then was in the General Clerical Service in 1956. He passed the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in 1971 and started service as DRO/AGA of Nedunkerny up to 1976.
In 1977 he was transferred to Batticaloa and served as Asst. Government Agent, Valaichenai and then to Kaluwanchikudy from 1977 to 1979. While he was serving as the Asst. Government Agent he was found to be very energetic and vigorous in his official duties and he was handpicked by the National Housing Development Authority and appointed District Manager to implement the Special Housing Programme in the District of Batticaloa.
From 1979 to 1989 he served as the District Manager of the National Housing Authority not only for Batticaloa but also to Amparai District and he was responsible for the successful implementation of the programme and gained fame and reputation during that difficult period where civil administration faced a series of impediments and obstacles.
Thereafter in 1990 – when the North East Provincial Council was functioning – there was a dearth of senior administrators in the Province and he was selected and appointed Senior Assistant Secretary to the Ministry of Provincial Education and thereafter up to 1994, he served in various capacities such as Deputy Secretary to the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, Ministry of Power and Industries, Ministry of Public Administration etc.
During this period he also functioned as Asst. Commissioner Motor Traffic, Director of Social Services, Commissioner of Probation and Child Care and Acting Director of Textile Industries, and Provincial Health Services in addition to his normal duties at that time. All these posts came to him because of his efficiency, integrity, reliability and honesty all of which were inborn from the inception of his career.
I must recall an incident that illustrates how he was an administrator unshakable to outside interference. It was during the period when he was the Government Agent/District Secretary, Batticaloa – the militants’ interference with the civil administration was at its peak and he became a victim of a pistol-gang and had to be hospitalised in Batticaloa and Colombo. Fortunately he survived this attack.
He continued his service relentlessly even after and never ran off from the district as some others did. Thus his courage and bravery were indelible for his public service career.
After his retirement in 2000, he served as a Consultant and Co-ordinator of an Asian Development Bank funded project for a short period and continued in the social services and religious activities in the District.
The District of Batticaloa has lost a person of great calibre and this void cannot be filled. Whilst expressing my heartfelt condolences to his family members, I pray God that may he find eternal peace. May his soul rest in peace.
-Retnam Shivanandarajah