Appreciations
View(s):Although diminutive in stature, you inspired us all to reach great heights
Sophia Weerasinghe nee Gunawardena
Sophia Weerasinghe nee Gunawardena – affectionately called “Soph” by Thaththa, and all her siblings, “Amma” by Mallie, Wathsala, Sunil and me, “Achchi ” by Lalendra, Buddhima, Saradha, Oshan and Anisha, lived a very serene, fruitful life and breathed her last on November 6, 2019 at the ripe old age of 97 years.
Her fondest memories were of schooldays at Southlands under the famous Miss Ridge. She would rattle off all the names of her teachers from the Nursery -Mrs Pinto to Miss Livera, her Geography teacher, with much gratitude, in spite of the knocks on knuckles for bad map marking! Being a keen observer of the world weather forecast on foreign news channels, she would often say “I still remember my geography, thanks to Miss Livera!”
There had been much laughter and mischief at Sinhala drama practices at school when the teacher in charge who brought a variety of fruits couldn’t find any the following day as the girls had relished them. Singing Christmas carols was another favourite pastime, as she had very willingly joined her Christian friends to sing hymns in the school church. Yet, her most cherished memories were of Miss Ridge – her leadership qualities, visionary outlook and her prowess as a Principal. We were often told of all the great feats this unique lady had carried out in a quiet and unassuming way.
A treat Amma had enjoyed most was the weekend Ms Ridge hosted the House Captains and Deputies at the Principal’s bungalow. It had been a fun-filled two days with games, singing and walks on the ramparts. Later in life, she kept in touch with the school through the Old Girls’Association of the Colombo Branch and never missed the annual get-together. She looked forward to the singing and the dancing and encouraged others to join in the fun.
Amma was very fortunate to have had three very close school friends, who were very loyal to her- Demathie, Mallika and Gladys. She once told me that if it was possible they would give a helping hand even from their graves if she were to ask for assistance -so close was their bond. All three were exceptional ladies whom I had the good fortune to associate with. There were others too- sisters Pearl and Mallika, Nalini Kularatne, Sujatha Bibile and so on.
Writing letters was Amma’s forte, a skill she had acquired at school. She wrote to Arun Dias Bandaranaike at ‘Wild Asia” to congratulate him on his commentaries on wildlife, to congratulat Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala of Mount Everest fame and many others! A prolific contributor to ‘Funny Caption’ in the Sunday Island newspaper, she had many commendations. The Crossword Puzzles and the ‘Jumbled Words’ activities kept her going after Thaththa’s death. It was like going back to school –she would pore over the Oxford Dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus for hours until she managed to complete her task.
Amma was a simple lady with unassuming ways, yet took great pride in her heritage. She often used to say that her parents had trained her never to send anyone away without giving them a meal. She was the happiest when she could give a scrumptious meal to those near and dear to her which she did in style, always with a white table cloth aand neatly laid table. Serving rice to the guests, she reminisced, was a tradition from the South. Her doors were open to all and she was generous to a fault, giving her special chutneys, malay pickle, brinjal pahi, homemade jams, semolina pudding and passion fruit in sugar syrup!
She loved her family- Gressel akka, Lillika, Measton, Basil and Olson. Sis Violet (who was like an elder sister to her) Rani Akka, and many others from Galle were often very fondly remembered. Aunty Vije’s visits with her family all the way from Kandy, her generous gifts and greeting cards made the twilight of Amma’s life happy indeed. A call from Rupa and visits from Tissa and Mahasen always brought back happy childhood memories. Amma’s experiences at ‘Thistle Court’ living with an extended family had helped her to understand circumstances many couldn’t fathom and these I believe had moulded her personality. She never spoke ill of anyone and always saw the better side of human nature.
She also got on fabulously with her in-laws and always had a good word to say of Thaththa’s sisters and brothers. She would recall Loku Akka’s curt comments with a twinkle in her eyes, Cal Aiya’s dependability, Esther’s kindness, Harriett’s genuine advice, Jacob’s banter at the dinner table, Percy’s unwavering loyalty, Bertie’s sense of humour, Galdy’s talents, Vernon’s gratitude, Ernie’s entertaining interpersonal skills and she appreciated their allegiance to “Justo”, her husband.
Amma had rare qualities indeed. She was very content with what she had and never complained. A maid who served her for a long period once said that Amma used to admonish them if they grumbled. Her advice to them had been to manage with what was available. Her domestic helpers are ever so thankful to her for the training they had received and appreciate the gifts given by her.
Her “never say die” attitude was truly infectious and she was a tower of strength to all of us at times of great duress. Though diminutive in stature she had the ability to inspire us to reach great heights, through her words of wisdom and her aphorism “we can do it”- a steadfast positive attitude. Amma, you were a beacon of light, a ray of hope when we were in the dumps as you had a way of overcoming obstacles in your own unique style.
Thank you for being you, and for all that you did for all of us. “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
May your journey through samsara be joyful! May you attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!
Saroja
An affable priest who gifted us with a church
Rev.Fr. Bruno Daniel
This November, we commemorate the 23rd death anniversary of Fr. Bruno Daniel. His life was dedicated to prayer and service to others. He was the epitome of kindness, gentleness, compassion and graciousness. His smile was infectious, and his patience had no bounds.
Fr. Bruno had his education at St. Patrick’s College, Jaffna and later St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1950. His first appointment was in 1953 as the Asst. Warden of Hostels at St. Anthony’s College, Kandy. He served this illustrious institution for many long years taking on diverse roles such as Scout Master of the 4th Kandy Scout Troop, Bursar and Warden of Hostels. His contribution as the Bursar was immense, maintaining a healthy financial control to manage and upgrade the facilities and the welfare of the school community. I remember when I had to act as the acting bursar as he had to be hospitalized for a heart ailment. He was worried whether this added workload would affect my health and he took over the position as soon as he was able to return to the school.
He was appointed as the Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Church, Rajagiriya, in 1982. With Fr. Cletus Chandrasiri, the present Bishop of Ratnapura as his assistant, they did yeoman service to enhance people’s devotion and community spirit. Perhaps this period can be considered as the crowning phase of this church as remarkable strides were taken for the upliftment of the church. In November 1984, the foundation stone was laid for a new church. A model of the semi-circular new church was set up in the old church for the parishioners to view and for the purpose of collecting funds. Fr. Bruno worked tirelessly seeing to every little detail in its construction. I have personally encountered his enthusiasm, attention to detail and visionary wisdom during my many visits to meet him during this period. His efforts helped enable the celebration of the first mass on the Christmas day of 1985 in the new church.
Fr. Bruno later served as the Superior of Adisham in Haputale. In 1994, he left Sri Lanka to serve at the Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, New Jersey, USA, which also belongs to the Order of St. Benedict. He left us to be with God in November 1997. We are all indebted to this supreme individual who added a new church on Sri Lankan soil and who touched the hearts of so many of us in a blessed way.
R.N.A. de Silva
Thank you for some wonderful memories
Sabanayagam Mahendra
Sabanayagam Mahendra, my dear brother-in-law who passed away in London on September 4, was an inspirational figure to his family members and the many friends he made during his 93 years of life.
Erudite, articulate and above all, kind and decent, Mahendra as he was fondly known, was always on hand to advise in any capacity, whether financial or personal. The number of people he helped in Sri Lanka and England where he lived most of his life is innumerable.
When I was about to join the family way back in 1973, Mahendra played a big part in arranging my wedding ceremony by kindly transporting us around personally to sort out various matters. This kindness which he extended so willingly when he didn’t have to, left a lasting impression.
Having had the pleasure of knowing Mahendra for 47 years, and as mentioned in his eulogy by his son- in- law Howard, I never saw Mahendra get angry or raise his voice at anyone.
We as a family will miss Mahendra’s quiet yet mischievous sense of humour which kept us on our toes, just as we will dearly miss his comforting presence and strength in good times and bad.
I last spoke to Mahendra two weeks before he passed away, and I am eternally grateful for having had the opportunity to do so.
Rest in peace, Mahendra, and thank you for some wonderful memories.
Angela Fernando
He did much to expand the vistas of Sinhala studies
Prof. P.B. Meegaskumbura
Professor P.B. Meegaskumbura, who passed away on October 20, after ailing for some time, is well known among Sri Lankan scholars as an academic who has contributed immensely to expand the vistas of Sinhala studies. His research and publications include studies of the many branches of Linguistics, the study of Sinhala Classics, Buddhist History, Semantics, Stylistics, and the Society and Culture of the Veddhas. Whatever he wrote, whether in Sinhala or English, bore the hallmark of high quality.
Punchi Banda Meegaskumbura was born in Ravanagoda, Kotmale in 1938. During his primary education in the village school, he had the good fortune to obtain his first lessons in Pali and Sanskrit from his uncle, Ven. Ravanagoda Dhammapala Thera. Subsequently he attended Handunawe Central School and later, Walala Central School where he mastered the English language which was the medium of higher education at the time. In 1958, he entered the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya.
Reading for the Special Arts Degree in Sinhala, Meegaskumbura ‘topped the batch’ at the final examination held in 1962. He was soon recruited to the academic staff. Attracted to linguistics studies, then taught by Prof. D.E. Hettiarachchi and Dr. M.W. Sugatapala de Silva, Meegaskumbura launched his first research work which was about the Noun Phrase in Colloquial Sinhalese. This study, earned him the M.A (research) in 1966. For his doctoral, studies he proceeded to the Deccan College of the University of Pune. He worked on a dissertation entitled, Proto New Indo-Aryan Phonology: A comparative Re- construction of the Phonology of the Parent Indo-Aryan Language based on Sinhalese, Sindhi, Bengali, Oriya, Gujarati, Marati, Punjabi, Bhojpuri and Hindi, which earned him the doctorate in 1970.
Returning to Peradeniya, Dr. Meegaskumbura was entrusted with the task of teaching the courses in Historical Linguistics earlier taught by Prof. Hettiarachchi, which he did with great skill and dedication. He was also va ery active teacher in the ISLE Program conducted at Peradeniya in collaboration with several University Colleges in the US. He also worked as Visiting Professor in the Beijing Institute of Foreign Languages in China (1985-86) and in SOAS, University of London (1994-5). In 2018, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Asian Research Institute in Jerusalem, Israel.
An excellent translator, he has translated into Sinhala several scholarly works, most notably, Prof. John Holt’s The Buddha in the Crown : Avalokitheshvara in the Buddhist Tradition of Sri Lanka (1994), Prof. David Blundell’s Masks: Anthropology of the Sinhalese Belief System) (1997) and Prof. Hajime Nakamura’s The Way of Thinking of the Asian Peoples (2003).
Prof. Meegaskumbura has been an ideal guru who has given silpa dana (gift of knowledge) to over forty generations of students in Peradeniya. He has selflessly spent his time, knowledge and energy in the service of others, especially in editing their writings. At times this extended beyond the correcting of language and this is gratefully acknowledged by those who thus benefitted. Professor Meegaskumbura receives our salutation as a teacher who upheld humane values and was a savant of high distinction.
One of his last scholarly undertakings was the editing for a second re-printing of the great 12th century Classic Visuddhimarga Sanna, first edited by Ven. Matara Dhammarama Thera in 1929. He added a lengthy introduction and the complete work extended to 1226 pages. This work was published a few weeks before his death by the Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy which he diligently served as a member of the Governing Board.
We can truly say of Prof. Meegaskumbura, (slightly changing the aphorism) rupan Jirathi maccanan- kusala dhammam najirathi (the form will perish with the flesh but meritorious deeds will never perish).
May he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana.
Prof. K.N.O. Dharmadasa