Sunday Times 2
A dear devoted friend
View(s):Vajira Fernando
News reached us in Sri Lanka that Vajira Fernando, a very dear and close friend of mine had passed away peacefully in his sleep at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where he had spent the last 10 days. Our association goes back over 75 years when he and I together joined Royal Primary School at the age of five. Thereafter, we together moved to Royal College in 1945 and were there for nine more years when Vajira left to join the Technical College and I, the Peradeniya University. Though far apart geographically our bonding continued.
Vajira, though he was supposed to spend most of his time at Technical College pursuing his studies, was found far more often in the precincts and vicinity of the Law College. He had a special reason for that as that was where he spotted his ladylove Sonia Ferdinands. She swept him over completely and Vaji had only a single passion and determination in life – and that was to marry her. This he achieved in a few years time. I had never seen a friend so much in love as he was.
As our friendship grew, our two families too grew closer. In fact when Vajira and Sonia were living in Nugegoda, I persuaded my cousin living next door to me in Havelock Rd. to rent that house to Vaji and Soni. Soon our two families bonded very closely with their children Shani, Amal, Varuna and Namitha becoming very close friends with our son and daughter – a friendship which happily continues till today.
Vajira, after his studies joined Harrison & Crossfield as a junior accounts executive and spent all his working life there ending up as a very senior executive in their Accounts Dept. until he moved on to greener pastures in Melbourne. His pioneering and enterprising spirit knew no bounds and soon he joined his close friends, Devaka Rodrigo and N. Jayasingham, his colleague at Harrison’s, to set up an Aluminium Manufacturing Plant and even ventured to Jaffna to set up a coffee plantation. He devoted his spare time and all his energies to making these enterprises a success. Living next door to him at Havelock Rd., I had the privilege of getting to know all his brothers and sisters who used to drop in frequently. I am glad to say that I continue this association even today.
Vaji hailed from a most distinguished family. His father was Prof. P. B. Fernando, the renowned Professor of Medicine in the Colombo Medical Faculty and his gracious mother, Mrs. Anula Fernando, the founder of Anula Vidyalaya, the well known Buddhist girls’ school in Nugegoda. His brothers were Professor P C B Fernando, Professor of Physics in the University of Colombo, Professor Tissa Fernando, the Lincoln Professor of Sociology in the University of Vancouver, Lincoln Fernando, a dentist and Gemunu Fernando, who passed out as an engineer and later became an architect. His sister Padmini married Dr. Fernando, Sarojini married the late B. J. Fernando, eminent lawyer and diplomat and the youngest we knew as Baba married Anuruddha Polonowita, the famous cricketer.
If I may strike a personal note, I recall when as a 10-year old boy I had to be warded at Seamen’s Ward at the Colombo General Hospital diagnosed with influenzal bronchial pneumonia with signs of meningitis. It was Vaji’s father who so dedicatedly looked after me, my mother told me, at a time I was very ill and even unconscious. I survived thanks to Professor P. B. Fernando’s care and attention. I recall accompanying my mother to Prof. and Mrs. Fernando’s gracious Rosmead Place home armed with a dinner set to say a big thank you.
Vaji had the last word on this subject when I told him later that his father saved my life. He responded saying “that was the biggest mistake he ever made!” I am proud to recall that it fell to the lot of my brother, the late Professor Nissanka Seneviratne, to deliver the inaugural Prof. P. B. Fernando Memorial lecture in Colombo.
During our salad days as 10-year olds, Royal Primary staged Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Vaji played Minnehaha. I still cherish a 70-year old photograph of the cast where he sits in the front row next to Lalith Jayawardena who played the lead role. Dr. Ranjith Atapattu, Major General C. H. Fernando, Nihal Senaratne, Hema de Zoysa, Ubhaya de Silva, Geevaka de Zoysa, T. L. K. Mendis and I, all playing much smaller roles, are also in the picture. All these friends later joined us at the Royal Alumni Group of 1945.
Whenever I visited Australia over the last 20 years I never missed visiting Vaji and Sonia. They insisted that I stay with them at their gracious home and talk fondly of those halcyon days. It was as recently as October 2016 when I had the pleasure of spending a week or two with them when Vaji was being treated for peritoneal dialysis, an illness he bravely fought and finally succumbed to. Even while receiving treatment, he was mentally very active and insisted on taking me to a pub for lunch with his son Varuna, who devoted all of his time to look after his father.
I really enjoyed those four or five visits over the last few years when I spent quality time with him, often staying at his home. I will miss those long conversations and will truly miss a devoted and affectionate friend. But the memories, I know, will last as long as I live.
At this difficult hour I offer my heartfelt sympathies to his devoted wife Sonia and his loving children who did everything possible for him with such love and care. I will continue to remember him with love and affection. May he attain Nibbana.
Nihal Seneviratne