Appreciations
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His adventurous spirit and humour will brighten up our memories
Dr. Daya Rodrigo
It is with deep sadness that I say goodbye to my cherished Daya mami who passed away on 22.2.22, after a short illness. While his family misses him deeply and will always grieve his loss, we rejoice in the fact that he led a truly charmed and fruitful life and left this world with minimal suffering.
Daya mami spent the last few months of his life in his favourite places – the jungles of Yala and Wilpattu – and in the company of his favourite people – his wife, children, grandchildren, sisters, and extended family. A few days before his passing, he was delighting in the sight of thousands of flamingos in Mannar, and enjoying a boat ride on the river in Wilpattu.
As a skilled, conscientious and dedicated surgeon, he spent his life restoring health and hope to others. Many of his patients remember him with great affection to this day. He was widely respected by his colleagues, while consultants of today – once his medical students – carry on his legacy with pride and gratitude.
To his family and friends, he was known for his infectious passion for the jungle and nature, his knowledgeable chats on various topics, his impeccable integrity, and his generous, sincere and jovial personality. He was someone who loved to be surrounded by those he loved (of all ages!), and had a story and anecdote for every occasion. He had many diverse interests, from photography to reading to technology, and would spend hours each day listening to myriad debates and lectures on his laptop.
The love he shared with my aunt, Nalini, was palpable – a warm and close relationship of 55 years that inspired and blessed us all. We are grateful that his spirit lives on in his beloved children Nirmala and Asanka, and his adoring granddaughters Sanya and Aiyana, in whose lives he was totally involved.
He will always light up our memories with his sincerity and “contentment” (his favourite wish for everyone), funny stories and jokes, his hearty chuckle, and his adventurous spirit. We have been truly blessed to have known him.
Ayesha Ratnayake
Missing you my precious sister
JUENNE DE JONG (NEE MORTIER)
My precious sister, the child you are carrying, my granddaughter, is now a mother and has given me my first great-grandson.
This is life. Had you been alive you would have spoilt him like you did all children. I remember how inconsolable you were when you lost your second baby, a little girl and I carried her little coffin on my lap.
Our life then, yours, our brother Ralph’s and mine were fraught with sorrow but somehow we stayed united through it all till finally Ralpho and you decided to go abroad, which was the best thing you did with your seven kids. At least they had a life there in Australia.
God decided to take both of you – Ralpho at the beginning of March last year and you on the last day, leaving me bereft.
We will meet again precious sister of mine; till then know that I love you and miss you with all my heart.
Your Titta (Karen)
A life-long learner and life-long teacher, he was a man for all seasons
Professor N.D. Samarawickrama
The recent demise of Professor N.D. Samarawickrame – affectionately known as Samare to his Peradeniya friends – was sudden and shocking and caused enormous grief. He was hale and hearty; he advised us to keep safe from COVID-19. Alas! Ironically he himself finally became a victim.
Samare was born in 1943 at Mederipitiya, a beautiful village bordering the Sinharaja rainforest. He was the “Loku Ayya” to his five brothers and four sisters born to R.D. Samarawickreme, village headman and Laura Senanayake.
Samare was popular among students and teachers and excelled in both curricular and extracurricular activities in his alma mater the Deniyaya Central College.
He joined the Colombo campus of University of Ceylon in 1964 and was among the few selected for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Peradeniya University.
Peradeniya University is a paradise. Samare’s eyes were opened inside as well as outside the library. Samare, the loner was no longer a loner. He was at ease in the lecture room, the library, the gym and of course, the famous lovers’ lane. He enjoyed university life fully. He was the first from rural Deniyaya to graduate from a university.
He was affectionate to all irrespective of age, rank, relationship or position. His welcoming smile and resounding laughter were his hallmarks. His affection and closeness were reflected through a “yo’ added to a name of a friend: Sunil was Sunilayo; Madure Madureyo; Parane Paraneyo; and Justin Justiyo. He was never good at pretence. He was a model of sincerity.
Samare earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Second Class (Upper Division) in 1968. He joined the Department of Economics, University of Peradeniya and served in various capacities until the day before his passing away. Samare was educated at prestigious universities in UK (Manchester and Surrey) and in USA (Boston University). He completed his doctoral degree at the University of Colombo with his pioneering research on “Industrial Accumulation in Sri Lanka: Impact of Policy Shifts”.
This thesis was published by Gyan Publishing House, India and remains until now the only exhaustive critical study of the early phase of Sri Lanka’s industrialisation policies.
Samare remained in Sri Lanka teaching thousands of University students. He served as a senior lecturer in economics and management at the University of Sokoto, Nigeria. He spent 2005 as a Visiting Senior Fellow at the School of Economics & Finance, College of Law & Business, University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia.
He used to recall his memorable short visits to the Sun Moon University, Asan, South Korea in 1997 and the Faculty of Economics, Saga University, Japan in 2008.
While he was in his final year, his father passed away. As the eldest son, he gave his mother immense support to bring up his brothers and sisters. One of his brothers fondly recalls: “He was not only a brother; he was a father to us too.”
Samare had a chance encounter with Chandra Rajakaruna, his batchmate and popular teacher, at a friend’s place a few years after she left Peradeniya. It was love at first sight, and it was a marriage made in heaven. Chandra became his lifelong companion and beacon. They were blessed with two sons – Sachithra (a medical professional domiciled in USA) and Madhubasha (an IT professional living in Peradeniya). The grandchildren brought immense joy and happiness to Samare and Chandra who were devoted and adoring grandparents.
We all enjoyed their lavish hospitality at their mansion built with a beautiful view of the Mahaweli river on a hillock in Hindagala, next to the campus.
Samare was both a life-long learner and life-long teacher. He loved sharing his knowledge with his students and peers. He was dedicated to university teaching – he taught at the Universities of Peradeniya, Colombo and Rajarata. He was the first Head of the Economic Studies programme at the Dumbara (Polgolla) Campus.
He retired in 2008 but, it was by no means the end of his prolific academic contributions. He contributed to the Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, as a postgraduate thesis examiner, and was a member of the Board of Study in Economics & Management and University Council – the governing body at the University of Peradeniya.
He was a man for all seasons. We shall always remember Samare as a dear brother, true friend, father-figure, loving husband, devoted father and grandfather, teacher who dedicated his life to the promotion of standards of university education in Sri Lanka, an amiable and generous host, and above all, a kind human being with roots on the ground.
Samare! Your gentle captivating laughter still rings in our ears.
Dear departed friend: Rest in peace! May you attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!!
Campus friends
Sirima and Brighty Jayasekera
You brought music to their lives in more ways than one
Sirima Jayasekera
‘Symphony for a Child’ a unique charity concert organised annually in London since 1999 brought together renowned Sri Lankan and foreign musicians and artistes. As the name suggests, its objective was to make a difference in the lives of children through music. The livewire behind this effort was an exemplary Sri Lankan, Sirima Jayasekera who passed away on March 2, at the age of 90.
Although she migrated to the UK, it did not deter her from serving her country and her people. Her demise is not only an irreparable loss to the children of Sri Lanka, but also to those who enjoyed the blessing of knowing and loving her during her active service to her fellow beings. It was with a great sense of love, dedication, and commitment that she concentrated her energies towards this cause until she was well into her late eighties.
Her fund-raising efforts reached out to the most vulnerable in society. Aunty Sirima’s unstinted commitment and boundless energy saw 20 annual concerts being held in London and Sri Lanka. The proceeds of all these concerts have gone to help improve the health and education of the children of Sri Lanka.
The children’s ward of the Maharagama Cancer Hospital was the beneficiary of £4000 raised through the first Symphony for a Child concert held in 1999.
In addition to the Cancer Hospital Maharagama, she has funded the Educate a Child Trust in Kalutara. The Brighty Jayasekera Endowment Fund at the Infectious Diseases Hospital Angoda, which she created in memory of her late husband Brighty, supports the medical, educational, and nutritional requirements of HIV positive children – a project that Uncle Brighty was keen to establish. She also helped build a ward for children at this hospital.
Aunty Sirima’s unstinted commitment to her cause irrespective of caste, creed, race, class, or any other consideration was exemplary. In 2011, supported through sponsorship by a dedicated group of open-minded Sri Lankans from all communities, she donated toVaazhvaham, a school of 40 visually impaired children in Chunnakam, Jaffna.
Aunty Sirima’s idea of national reconciliation went far beyond just collecting money in distant Colombo and donating it to a cause in Jaffna. She personally visited the school and invited a student Kulendran Jegatheesan to perform at the concert. She firmly believed that genuine efforts to help and acknowledging the kinship we share, would pay rich dividends in promoting future peace and prosperity for all. To the surprise of everyone present Kulendran started singing a Sinhala song at the concert that was not in the programme. Poignantly the song spoke of “What I’d see if I had eyes to see”.
There is a lesson to be learned from the life of Aunty Sirima. That personal contact, commitment, sincerity and genuine concern are the vital ingredients necessary to trigger a positive response in any exercise conducted in the name of national reconciliation.
This tribute would not be complete if I did not mention her benevolence in funding individuals with her own personal funds. She funded the education of Namal Yapage from Weerawila with the proceeds of the project until he was 16 years old. As the project policy was to fund only children under 16, Aunty Sirima and Uncle Brighty took over helping him with their personal funds until he completed his PhD in Civil Engineering.
I would like to end on a personal note. Aunty Sirima was my music teacher from the time I was 13 and treated me as one of her own daughters. Her children Shanti, Sudantha, Keshani and Arundani became my new-found siblings and Uncle Brighty my second dad.
When I encountered financial difficulties while reading for my Master’s degree in the UK, it was she who came to my rescue. It is with a deep sense of gratitude, love and devotion that I write this tribute to ‘Mum’. May God keep her safe and happy until we meet again.
Shiranee Dissanayake
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