Nada and I were a team

Down memory lane

By Roshan Peiris

"If I said black was white, they would not contradict me, for I was the eldest. I had two brothers and a sister. In those days they listened to me and never argued," says Maheswary Nadarajah with her expressive eyes and moon-shaped face.

Maheswary who married "Nada", K.C. Nadarajah an outstanding criminal lawyer of his time who became a household name when he took up the defence in the Arachchi Jayasinghe murder case goes down memory lane, to her childhood in Jaffna, her father's death, the "arranged" marriage and life in London.

She lived in Jaffna close to Prabhakaran's present home town and studied at Vembedi Girls' School. Later, she was a boarder in a Wesleyan-run School. In the boarding, she did not eat breakfast, but enjoyed only the other meals. "My mother used to send sweets and savouries which I shared with my close friends."

Unshed tears cloud her eyes, when Maheswary says softly, "My father died of diabetes when I was only 11 years old. Just before he breathed his last he called me to his bedside, pulled off his gold ring and said,'This and this very house are for you'.

"I was my father's first love and he indulged me, be it money or anything else I asked for."

Maheswary did well in her school exams and wanted to go in for higher studies, but "when I was just 15 years old, I was married to K.C Nadarajah, a cousin. Being much older, he used to carry me and look after me. He had qualified in London as a Barrister, then came back and married me. The father of M. Sivasithamparam, the TULF politician insisted that I be given in marriage to Nada.

"Though it was an arranged marriage, we led a very happy life together. We were, as I recall now 15 long years after his death, a team. He taught me to do his income tax work. I also worked as his secretary."

They had two children. Daughter Priyadarshini who studied at St. Bridget's and went on to study in London to be a Barrister like her father. She was also very good at Spanish and Indian dancing. "My son, Chitranjan, whom we call Raj, studied at S. Thomas' College and also in London and became a financial advisor."

Though the children studied in London, she says, "They were not confined to boardings. I took a flat in London and cooked three solid meals for them and looked after them. I took my daughter personally for the Spanish dancing lessons. They were lucky, they never missed their thosai, idli, string-hoppers and hoppers. I made it all for them. I used to be tired at times, but then I felt it was worthwhile."

Nada, who was based in Sri Lanka, visited his family frequently at Endsleigh Court where they lived. He took them in a hired car to places such as Wales. "He was a devoted father. Looking back I am proud that he trusted me with all his money and never asked me for accounts." And the tears came again.

"I always wore saree," mused Mrs. Nada and people often mistook her for an Indian. When she said she was a Ceylonese, they immediately spoke of Ceylon tea.

"In London some of us such as Sybil Kanagasunderam, Sarojini Kadirgamar and I pretended we did not know English. We offered tuppence for bus fare and an irate conductor would say there was no ticket for a tuppence and ask for five pence. We would then look puzzled," she laughs.

With pride she says "My husband was a self-made man. With the money he earned and a floating bank loan he bought two large houses in Colombo 7 and also estates. Even now I feel very proud of him. He never squandered money, but always thought of the future of his two children and me."

During the 1983 communal riots Mrs. Nada said there were 200 Tamil refugees housed at Royal College. Most of them were given mats and clothing. A hose pipe was also fixed for water. But the refugees were clamouring for tea.

"I called Mrs. Bandaranaike and told her the situation. She did not say whether she would or would not help, but within an hour tea was brought to the refugees. She was no longer Prime Minister, but she had enough clout to get things done," Maheswary says.

Recalling an ugly incident, she says, "During that time my husband went to Panadura to defend a Sinhalese waiter, working at the Galle Face Hotel and someone spitefully sent a wreath home addressed to me."

Though it is 15 years since her husband died she still mourns for him and every year on his death anniversary gives alms at The Home for the Aged on Darley Road.

"I have been exceptionally lucky in having a caring and loving husband and two very talented children. As I look back I am grateful to God for all that He has given me," she adds.

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