Appreciations
View(s):“Unforgettable that’s what you are”
Joan Vyvette Atukorale (nee Arnolda)
My aunt Joan Atukorale, the third youngest of 12 siblings (nine girls and three boys) who passed away this month grew up at “Aintree”, 42nd Lane, Wellawatte to a very happy, loving and exuberant family. She turned 90 years young on November 22, 2021 and enjoyed Christmas with immediate family. With the closure of borders and COVID restrictions, we were unable to help her blow out the 90 candles.1931, the year she was born, was the era of the “Silent Generation”. Contrary to the name, children of the Great Depression (born between 1927 and 1946) were expected to be seen and not heard! Having revelled in the highs of the Roaring Twenties, parents faced great economic hardship and struggled to provide for their families during the economic instability of WWII. Parents tended to be very patriotic and ambitious and worked hard. They married young and had children young. They lived before technology, the advent of computers, the internet and therefore preferred to communicate face to face.
The name Joan rocked! She was the music maker, dreamer of dreams, mover and shaker of our family. In her nineties she still sang hits of yesteryear and humorous bailas.
She was always beautiful, the only family member to be crowned a Beauty Queen and the tomboy of the family who broke a leg in a motorcycle accident. Although her birth flower was chrysanthemum, she preferred to adorn her hair with a “konda-mala” of fragrant and beautiful jasmines. Unlike one of the bearers of her name, Joan of Arc, she preferred to love rather than make war!
Her love of food and culinary skills are legendary. Family Christmas recipes passed down from generation to generation were made with loving care and kept the flames of love burning, No one made Christmas Cake, Plum Pudding with Brandy Sauce, Breuder and Love Cake – quite like aunt Joan. The ingredients in her life’s delicious recipes were the people she loved, memories she cherished and the dreams she was able to see in her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. It had been all been worthwhile.
She was our own Family Master Chef: Lamprais wrapped in banana leaves – cooked to perfection; Bola de coco (coconut cake -”bolo” in Portuguese for cake); Bolo fiado (layered cake of sweet pastry rounds alternating with cashew nut, sugar and rosewater and thickish syrup; Borowa (semolina biscuits); Foguete (a tube of deep fried pastry filled with a mixture of pumpkin, sugar, semolina, cardamom and rosewater.
In spite of the loss of her beloved Uncle Terrence at the prime of his life, the loss of her son Trushan and wife Sonali, she soldiered on. Aunt Joan witnessed so much change, incredible events over 90 years sharing many remarkable experiences. Her stories reflected a life well-lived. She embraced change and continued to relate to the new and old alike. Her energy inspired us – she approached everything with a sense of childhood delight and taught us how to see the lighter side of life.
We’d rather not count the candles she had on her cake but the smiles we shared – not the wrinkles, grey hair or aching bones, but instead, laughter, experience and adventures. Nothing can tarnish those wonderful memories.
Alix and family
He used his writings to promote peace and harmony
M.Y.M. Meeadhu
With the peaceful demise of “Meead Sir”, Sri Lanka, particularly the Sabaragamuwa Province has lost another patriotic citizen, gem of a scholar of Tamil and English literature, talented teacher, man of versatility, popular poet of English and Tamil and above all, a devout Muslim who effectively used his writings and teachings to promote peace and harmony via unity in diversity in this beloved isle.
In one of his poems he wrote:
Oh! Thinking human!
What’s the colour of your blood?
Is there any other colour than red
In your blood?
Then why do you boast of your race
Or ethnic superiority?
That thinking is absurd and irrational
Don’t you realise this truth
Proved by modern scientists?
Why do you call others as those of
Low birth and caste
Since blood is red for all?
Just think for a moment
Liberating yourself from
Irrational ideas of discrimination
Between a man and another man
All human beings are one race
Sans minor differences of caste and birth
So let’s all call ourselves as brothers
And sisters of one mother.
And lead a life of peace
And harmony
He used the power of his writings to promote discipline and morality to build a productive younger generation in this beloved nation.
He had written many books in Tamil and English, of which his book on “The Art, Cultural and Literary Traditions of the Muslims of the Sabaragamuwa Province” is a rare gem.
M.Y.M. Meeadhu, was born on June 24, 1940 in Hemmathagama, Mawanella to a respectable family in the beautiful village of Dumbuluwawa that is naturally landscaped with a pond (close to his home) and a range of mountains. His parents were Mr & Mrs Yousuf to whom he was devoted. Meeadhu showed his brilliance in poetry when he was a child and one of his early poems was published in the Paalar Kalakam kids club of the Thinakaran in 1953. He shone in the classroom, passing his public examinations with flying colours and subsequently got a teaching post at Dippitiya M.M.V in 1959.
A product of the Government Teachers’ Training College of Attalachenai, he successfully completed his teacher training and taught in different areas of the country showing a keen interest in various subjects ranging from English, Tamil, Political Science to History and other related subjects. He learnt four languages – Sinhalese, Tamil, English and Arabic. Teaching was his passion and he blended his lessons with literature. He retired in 1991 after 33 years of service, having taught at his alma mater Al Azhar M.M.V, Hemmathagama and his village school Dumbuluwawa Arafa Muslim M.V. among many other schools.
In 1992 he took wing to the Maldives to teach English. After his retirement, he rendered his services as an English Lecturer for the University of Peradeniya, where he had completed his degree in 1970. He started to contribute both in English and Tamil to national newspapers, local and international magazines and his work has been published in Kalaimalar, Vasamilla Malarizu, and Educational Digest. His articles have appeared, in the Daily News, Sunday Observer, The Island, Thinakaran, Veerakesari etc.
Although Meeadhu was well versed in different genres of English and Tamil literature such as drama, short stories, literary reviews, folk tales etc, it is his poetry he is known for. He has written over 200 poems in Tamil and around 150 poems in English. A rare accolade was when he was selected as one of the best poets in a competition organized by a literary club in USA.
In addition, he was a blogger who has posted a number of literary, historical and religious articles in his blog. There are also 12 beautiful English poems for children on his blog http://mmeeadhu.blogspot.com/
He helped found a library in his village – the Al Falah library to widen the knowledge of the children, youth and others of this area.
He was also chief trustee of the Dumbuwawa Jummah Masjid for many years and founder member of many welfare associations including the Muslim Pensioners’ Forum. His pure intention was to help people of all walks of life when they needed support.
For his great contributions in the field of language and literature, Meeadu was awarded the title of Badru Uloom by the Ministry of Muslim Cultural Affairs in 1993. In 1997 he was felicitated with the title of Illakiya Shemmal by the (Malayaka Kalacchara Shangam) Hill Country Literary Association. Undoubtedly, a red-letter day was in 2004 when he received the award of Kala Poosanam by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
He is survived by his beloved wife and six children.
May Almighty Allah give him Jennathul Firdaws.
N.U. Abdul Razzak Udayar
Fond memories of his loving care
R.G. Premaratne
R.G. Premaratne who was in charge of the Dharmaraja College Hostel Sick Ward for over four decades, having joined in the early 1960′s during Warden B.A.S. Wimalachandra’s time, passed away on January 5, 2010.He hailed from Mawanella and made the Lake View hill his home.
My earliest remembrance of him dates back to 1966 when I was admitted to the sick ward with mumps. And thereafter I along with fellow Rajan hostellers came under his loving care on numerous occasions either when ill, for wound dressings or with a bogus stomach ache for a dose of ginger spirit (this gave us a kick!).
Mr.Premaratne was always immaculately clad in white sarong and shirt. He took us to Dr. Nihal Karunaratne’s Peoples’ Dispensary at Trincomalee Street for consultation and medicine and ensured that every sick child got the proper medication as well as taking our temperatures twice daily and serving us with a cup of Horlicks.
He had his room in a corner of the sick ward. I have nostalgic memories of listening to the mandolin played by him at night.
Mr. Premaratne was a multi-faceted personality and also worked in the College Library; he was a bookbinder and could repair water pumps, was the electrician etc. thus saving money for the hostel.
He used to relate to us the past glories of the hostel, about the school’s great sportsmen. He was a custodian of Dharmaraja culture.
My thoughts are with his wife Mrs. Kalyani Wijenayake and daughter Manori.
Anil Ellepola
My dear old pal I will never forget you
Ronnie Carron
My former classmate and close friend, Ronnie Carron passed away in Australia. I came to know Ronnie when I joined St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy after being at St. Anthony’s College for a considerable period of time. I took an immediate liking to him and our friendship blossomed as the years went by.
Ronnie, always dressed in immaculate white, was the monitor in our class. He was strict but at the same time ever ready to have boyhood fun. This was a time when the Laza Cinema (later called Odeon) was fairly close to our college. We purchased the cheapest tickets for the show – the gallery tickets for Rs. 60 each. Whenever there was a good movie at the Laza, some of our classmates made a beeline to watch it and enjoy ourselves. However, since we did not have much pocket money at that time we often wondered how we could purchase our tickets. Ronnie came to our rescue by going round the class and collecting money from some of the other classmates, and off we went for the shows after school closed.
Another incident I recall was how Ronnie, myself and our mutual friend, the late Phillip Perera went for the Novena at Santa Maria Church in Kandy. Apart from the prayers and singing, we also admired the pretty girls who were in church.
I often visited Ronnie at his residence in Padiwatte which included a tasty lunch prepared by Ronnie’s mother. Ronnie’s wife, Tania who is related to Ronnie was staying with them at the time and she possessed a manual typewriter. Since I was following classes in typewriting at that time but did not possess a typewriter of my own Tania very kindly obliged me with her typewriter which I used to practise on at Ronnie’s place.
Once Ronnie took part in a talent contest and chose to sing the old Jim Reeves song “I Missed Me”. Now we will all miss him in our lives!
Ronnie and Tania married almost at the same time that my wife Krishni and I wed. We visited each other and spent pleasant times together. Ronnie later migrated to Australia with his family but we kept in touch. Ronnie and Tania visited us at our Rukmalgama home whenever they were in Sri Lanka on vacation. Later, I was very upset to hear that Ronnie had developed cancer and was in and out of the hospital. During this time I was compelled to stop working due to ill health which put me and my family in a poor financial situation. It was then that Ronnie even in spite of his grave illness sent me money to help us keep our home fires burning. I told Ronnie that he was such a genuine and faithful friend to have helped us while he was suffering himself so much.
Finally the time came when I had to telephone Tania to inquire about Ronnie which I did as often as I could.
On September 21, another classmate of mine, Brian Mack who is also in Australia called to tell me that Ronnie had passed away. I was devastated! I had lost a fine, genuine and loyal friend! Ronnie, my dear old pal I will never forget you and how precious you were to me. I will now miss you and will still remember you singing “I Missed Me”!
Now rest with the Lord in eternal peace and be happy that you have not lived your life in vain.
Sunil Fernando
He led by example
Allan Eustace Gunawardena
On January 27, it will be a quarter century since our dearly beloved father and grandfather Allan Eustace Gunawardena slipped the surly bonds of this earth and entered God’s heavenly home. During these past 25 years we have felt an immense void, and a sorrow-filled emptiness.
An illustrious product of Wesley College, Colombo, he played a leading role in the affairs of the Wesley College Old Boys Union, and was elected to be the Vice President of the Union. Today, a prize is awarded in his name for the best student in English literature in Year 11 at Wesley.
After some years of public service in the Treasury, he became a highly respected school principal at a private school in Colombo. He took a keen interest in developing the school, and worked tirelessly, both as a teacher of English and as the principal, to help mould the students who came under his tutelage.
As a father and grandfather, he had endless love for us. He was a loving and faithful husband to our mother and grandmother, and they were fortunate to celebratetheir golden wedding anniversary in 1994. He had high values and led by example. We hope that his sound work ethics, depth of intellectual curiosity, unflagging loyalty, humility, and abiding sense of goodness and decency, are traits that will remain with us and we will be able to live up to the example that he showed us year after year.
Ever sorrowing daughter and grandson
The family will miss you dearly
Noel de Silva
My smart, handsome brother-in-law Noel was a student of Royal College and a boxer. He was an avid reader and had a very good command of English. In his schooldays, he would avidly read all the library books.
He entered my only sister’s life through Cupid’s arrow and they had a joyous life together. Unfortunately the family had to let you go reluctantly after just a night’s stay in hospital.
May you be born again and be my loving sister’s husband until both of you attain the bliss of Nibbana.
Lalitha Weerasekara
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