Appreciations
View(s):We’re sisters for life we promised, but now you’re gone
Gwendolene Mercia Gauder (Nee Brohier)
My dearest sister Gwendolene Mercia was taken by the Lord to her heavenly home on June 13, last year. Better known as Gwenie, she was born in June, got married in June and also died in June (St. Anthony’s Feast day –June 13). Although she has gone from our sight, she has not gone from our hearts and thoughts and prayers. Just hours before the Lord took her away, she held my hand and asked me to pray for her and that is what I have done. I will continue to pray till I am reunited with her.
She and I had always been very close. Although she was two years elder to me, we were like the twins in the family. I have twin brothers elder to us, but everyone said that we were more the twins, always dressed alike in our younger days and we even looked very much alike. After our parents’ deaths in 1970, it was Gwenie who took over the responsibility of running our home for the four of us who were unmarried at the time. The older three siblings were married and living on their own. She maintained a beautiful home. We gave our earnings to her, like we did previously to our mother. She ran the home and always cooked delicious food and cared for us like a mother. She was the best cook in the family in addition to her caring and affectionate nature, making those she met for the first time comfortable and warm in her company. She cared for us all like a mother.
As time went on, my brothers got married and moved out. She too got married and I continued to live with them till I married and moved away. Over the years, we never missed a day in calling each other and having long chats. After I gave up working, I used to visit her twice a week and spend the day with her, every Tuesday and Friday and she looked forward to those days. All special occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, parties with visitors from abroad or any family functions were always held at her home, that was a home of homes, where the delicious spread of food was always prepared in time and guests and family warmly welcomed. She and I planned the menu together and all preparations were done by her and her alone. We miss her dearly.
She was my special sister, my mother, and a wonderful and caring friend to me, she and I never kept anything away from each other. She was also my dancing partner, at any family gathering or parties. Dancing without my dancing partner Gwenie, is no more.
I know some day we will meet again, so till then my dearest sister rest in peace in the arms of Our Lord Jesus and I know our Blessed Mother Mary will always be there to take care.
Never thought I’d lose you,
But here I am, standing alone,
Without you by my side,
We’re sisters for life we promised,
But now you’re gone,
I don’t know what to do, without
you.
Your ever-loving and sorrowing sister Maureen
An entrepreneur and jewel of a human being
Lal De Alwis
It was with profound sadness that I learnt of the passing away of Chandra Lal De Alwis, former Managing Director/ CEO of Chemanex Ltd, one of the most successful entrepreneurs/technocrats; I have ever come across. Lal departed from the world, leaving a permanent void in the hearts of everyone associated with the rubber and chemical industries in Sri Lanka. His demise marks the end of an era of 40 years as a high profile entrepreneur, encompassing the rubber and agro-based industry in the country.
My association with Lal commenced in the late 1970s, when the sole supplier of the bleaching agent namely RPA 3 that was used to make water white latex crepe rubber, Du Pont Company, a leading chemical manufacturer in USA suddenly announced its withdrawal from the market owing to health and safety reasons. This announcement was a bolt from the blue which posed a big threat to the rubber estates in the country that were the sole suppliers of this premium grade of rubber to the world. There was no alternate chemical available to be used for this purpose.
The Minister of Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka at that time gave a deadline to the scientists of the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) to discover an alternate chemical to be used for this purpose within three months. Even though, this directive was an impossible task to be accomplished in three months, we, the scientists of the RRI took this formidable challenge with grit and determination and invented a chemical, which is now available in the market to be used in the printing ink manufacturing industry, capable of bleaching pigments in rubber latex, thereby making the rubber produced pure white.
However, this new product had inherent drawbacks at the time of introduction to the market. This product innovation was available as a solution in petroleum oil and also it had an obnoxious smell, exposing the workers handling the chemical to giddiness and other health hazards. According to the World Health Organization, it was carcinogenic which was injurious to humans. Hence, the scientific community at the RRI worked hard to resolve this challenge and convert this new chemical to a water soluble form, which was easy to handle and free of health hazards.
When this new chemical was launched to the rubber industry, there were resistance from the plantation sector to accept it, reverting from the oil soluble toxic form to the water soluble and health safe form. Then, Lal De Alwis, who was the General Manager of Chemanex Ltd at that time took the firm decision to help RRI to fully implement this new chemical to the crepe rubber industry facing all kinds of challenges from the distributors of the oil based toxic chemical. Thanks to his untiring efforts, RRI was able to fully substitute this new safe chemical manufactured by Chemanex Ltd in the crepe industry in the whole country. This helped RRI scientists to win the prestigious Institute of Chemistry Gold Medal in 1985, and the Presidential award for research too subsequently. In turn, this innovative development helped Chemanex Ltd too to increase their annual turnover a few fold within a couple of years. RRI being a research institution did not have the facilities to test research findings at a commercial scale and it was Lal who came to rescue the plantation industry. It would be a gross injustice to Lal, if his name, which is worthy of emulation is not mentioned in this regard.
He was a devoted Buddhist who lived according to the teachings of Lord Buddha. He held numerous positions in the temples and many other social organizations.
I had the privilege of learning the rudiments of facing challenges of market competitions and marketing a new product thanks to the indomitable support and advice I received from him. He was extremely honest and his heart was absolutely soft. He was courageous and objective in his endeavours.
His death is an irreplaceable loss to the Rubber industry in particular and to all Sri Lankans in general.
May he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana.
Dr. L.M.K Tillekaratna
The story of IAS cannot be narrated without talking about this great lecturer
R. Banuthevan
Only a few people who walk this planet can inspire us by their deeds. On top of that list was a person with a large heart locked in a small frame. I am referring to R. Banuthevan, lecturer “par excellence”, who crossed the great divide last month leaving us all sad and grey. Equally affected are the thousands of grateful students who studied at his feet. His commitment and dedication to duty as a lecturer in Economics and Management was the stuff of legends.
Whenever Banu entered the lecture hall, pin drop silence prevailed throughout his lecture. Students really didn’t fear his presence, but it was due to sheer eagerness of listening to him. He never brought books, notes or even a slip of paper into the classroom, but delivered his lecture with consummate ease and poise. With his spellbinding oratory skills he bestrode the stage like a colossus.
I developed close bonds with Banu from the time he joined the lecture panel of the Institute for Accounting Studies (IAS). He really never applied for a position as a lecturer and he was quite happy mentoring “A” Level students in Jaffna where he found no peer as a lecturer. The year was 1987. IAS had superb lecturers for all subjects but one. The weak link was Economics and we desperately needed “a market leader” to fill the gap. That was when I first heard of Banu.
Enticing him to give up his career in Jaffna and come to Colombo was a Herculean task. When I sent an emissary to meet him in Jaffna with the proposal, his response was curt. It was a clear no with no further hopes. Repeated contacts really annoyed him and once he sent a message to me stating that although I was prepared to buy him, he was not prepared to sell himself. No amount of pecuniary benefits could lure him.
However, after some months again I managed to make contact with him and this time luck was on my side. He reluctantly agreed to come to Colombo and have a one-on-one discussion. Once we sat down to talk, it took less than 15 minutes for him to flash the green light. Once he made up his mind there was no looking back. I knew that he was truly set for a long haul.
He was really quick at taking decisions. From the time he joined IAS, I cultivated an abiding friendship with him which blossomed over nearly 22 years. Even though he retired, he continued his close contacts with IAS until he migrated to Australia.
In the twilight years of his life he was a happy and contented person, living amidst his beloved wife and two children. Both his children are professionals. His daughter Bhanumathy is a doctor and son Ravichandran, a management accountant. He enjoyed the success of his children as well as his students.
Banu was a strict vegetarian, teetotaller and non-smoker. He was deeply religious and always engaged in social welfare activities, but he projected a low key image shunning the tinsel of fame.
It is really not necessary to embellish his stature by writing at length as I would be stating the obvious.
“To gild refined gold and to paint the lily.
to throw a perfume on the violet
To smooth the ice
and add another hue unto the rainbow
is wasteful and ridiculous excess”
The poetic wisdom of Shakespeare says it all !!
It is with much gratitude I recollect the yeoman service Banu rendered to IAS in particular and the Accountancy profession in general. The contribution he made towards lifting IAS to its present position is truly exemplary. The story of IAS cannot be narrated without recourse to the story of Banu, because they are inextricably intertwined. The panel of lecturers, the administration and past students of IAS join me in wishing him happy journey on life’s way and seeking Devas to bless his soul.
Lal Nanayakkara