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Appreciations He lived a life of faith, morality and liberality Alec Robertson Three months have passed since the death of Deshabandu Alec Robertson, veteran broadcaster, prolific and popular public speaker on Buddhist subjects. He was an exceptional personality who served the cause of the Dhamma for over five decades and the void left by his passing is already being felt in Buddhist circles such as the "Servants of the Buddha", which he served as Secretary, President and Patron, the Colombo YMBA and many other organisations where he was a much sought after speaker and participant in Dhamma discussions. So popular
was he that to be called upon to deliver half a dozen talks on a
Vesak or Poya day at different venues was nothing unusual for him.
He responded to all invitations readily and cheerfully and always
lived up to the expectations of his audience. In the early
days, he spoke only in English but soon developed a fluency in Sinhala,
- a remarkable achievement for one who was neither Buddhist nor
Sinhalese by birth. Other than
for the yeoman services he rendered to the organisations mentioned
above, Alec will be remembered as a member of the panel and later
Chairman of the popular programme ''Buddhist Forum'' broadcast every
week over the SLBC (formerly Radio Ceylon). In all these activities,
he showed a profound knowledge of the Dhamma and an ability to deal
with any knotty issue entirely from memory citing the Word of the
Buddha from the original texts so as to leave no doubt as to what
the orthodox position was. This devotion to orthodoxy was largely
due to the influence on Alec, in the early years, of erudite monks
such as the Theras Kassapa, Piyadassi, Soma, Kheminda etc at the
Vajirarama, Bambalapitiya as also elsewhere, from whom he learned
the golden rule of putting any statement or idea besides the Dhamma
and Vinaya as found in the texts and accepting it only if it conformed
and not otherwise. The present
writer has fond memories of halcyon days in the ’50s and ’60s
when, after an inspiring lecture at Maitriya Hall, a few of us friends
would walk (after some light refreshment at a popular resort no
longer in existence) to Soma Thera's room at the Vajirarama and
discuss late into the night on Dhamma alone and nothing else with
no frivolity or idle chatter tolerated. Friends and
associates will remember Alec as a friendly and genial character,
cheerful, easily approachable and ready to improve his knowledge
and share it with others at any time. As a public servant at the
Auditor General's Department and later at the SLBC, he worked unobtrusively
and well but his real mission in life was to propagate the Word
of the Buddha which he did admirably both in this country as well
as on some lecture tours abroad. Honours came to him in due course
as an appointed Member of Parliament and the title of ''Deshabandu''
being conferred on him but all these lay lightly on his shoulders
and did not affect his essential character in any way. He remained
the same simple man. He enjoyed a peaceful and harmonious family
life with Jaysumana and the children who are certain to miss his
influence and guiding hand. The life of
Alec Robertson can he summed up in a single phrase from the Mangala
Sutta "Atta Samma Panidicha". He had set himself on the
right road, with the guiding principles of faith, morality and liberality
that he practised all his life. Assuredly, he will have a good rebirth,
in conditions conducive to further progress along the Path and in
the shortest possible time, attain his final goal. The special
moments he captured will remain forever Goofy van Dort
was quite a character - strong in opinion, inflexible and sometimes
even obstinate. He was assailed by moods - high and low, full of
fun and laughter on occasions, cynical and touchy at other times. I knew Godfrey
when he was a young man and visited his Aunt Rene who stayed with
my grandmother in Pamankade - though much later in life I got to
know him better. He worked in the National Insurance Corporation
for many years. Should he have seen anyone he recognized in the
corridors or offices of the establishment, he would saunter up to
them, and ask, "What can I do for you?" or "Can I
take you to the person you have come to see?" leaving his desk
to take the visitor as requested. Goofy had an inborn sense of "PR"
and would go out of his way to be of assistance. Goofy was an
interesting man to converse with and he would entertain his listeners
with a run of anecdotes, jokes and stories - some quite exaggerated
and obviously fictitious. He had an insatiable
desire to see and know more of our island, its deep back-blocks,
little towns and villages, places of historic or religious significance
and he would probe my knowledge. A memorable
holiday we once shared was in Diyatalawa, at the Survey Camp. Goofy
lapped up all I showed him in the hills around - "Adisham",
"Lipton's Seat"off Haputale, the road down to Badulla
and the Duwa Temple; the wooden Bogoda Bridge, Ravana Ella Falls
and the spectacular Ella Gorge. The camera,
which was part of the man, had its open shutter at every turn. Roll
after roll of film emerged from that trip. Godfrey van Dort was
undoubtedly an expert with his camera - an extraordinary photographer. He was proud
of the award he once won for his picture of "Stilt Walkers",
at a Japanese photographic exhibition. At every function in the
Dutch Burgher Union in recent times, Godfrey stealthily moved amongst
the crowd with his camera - be it a children's party or in our Elders'
Home, the occasion of a special lecture or Founder's Day. He captured
moments of significance, which will remain on record. Godfrey was
not only the "unofficial photographer for the DBU, he was also
jolly "Mr. Santa Claus" or the stately "Bishop, St.
Nikolaas". He played those
roles with aplomb - varying his style, his expression, for the part
he was taking. As the roly-poly Santa in red cloak and fur he bounced
around kissing the old ladies of the Home for great giggles and
with the children on St. Nikolaas' Day he sat them on his knee and
tenderly talked to them as the sober Bishop. Goofy will
be remembered by many - for a long time. Bobby: The empty
desk tells the story Several decades
of work at the Electricity Board had in a strange way enlightened
Bernard Andrew Nicholas Fernandez to be one of the best and most
dependable night sub editors. The title may
be strange to those outside the main current of journalism but those
in it know that the night sub editor carries a huge responsibility
as the last line of defence. Bobby played
that role with dedication, commitment and excellence at the Sun
group of newspapers and later at Wijeya Newspapers Limited. Educated at
St. Patrick's College, Jaffna, Bobby came out with a command of
the English language - a skill that is seldom seen today even at
the highest levels of education- universities. He also had
a balanced awareness of current affairs along with a commitment
to hard work, giving him all the plus points for a top grade sub-editor. Unfortunately
some of the occupational hazards of journalism also bugged Bobby
and had a negative impact on the last years of his career. But friends
and colleagues would even today prefer to remember the Bobby who
volunteered for (and did well) the night editing few others could
do and the Bobby who was a faithful friend especially when things
went wrong. Veterans like
Bobby Fernandez who made an immense contribution to professional
journalism never had a byline in an era when ‘buylines’
are seriously damaging the ethics of journalism in a market society.
Though not
having the fleeting fame of bylines, Bobby Fernandez will be remembered
in journalism long after bylines are bygone. The smile from
beyond To remember
a person in the deepest sense is not just a matter of recalling
to mind but of living as that person lived and doing what that person
would want us to do. Essentially
religion for Rexaline Andradi was a personal and growing relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ. She seldom went to an institutional
church during her last few years mainly due to illness. But she
grew in her relationship with the Lord through hours of personal
prayer, deep reflection on the holy scriptures and silent selfless
service to others. On April 9,
as the family gathers at the Balcomb Place Chapel for a Eucharistic
service of thanksgiving for Rexaline Andradi, she too would be there
in spirit and would give her graceful, heavenly smile as she sees
family members living in the way she wanted them to. To follow Jesus
essentially is to love one another as he loved us with a selfless
sacrificial and ever forgiving love. Rexaline Andradi like the Blessed
Mother was a quiet but dynamic disciple of the Lord, loving others
without expecting anything in return and always being ready to forgive
and forget. In the last two years of her life with her youngest
child in Gampaha Rexaline Andradi's closest friend was her grandson
Gayan. As we mark
her 90th birthday we remember the heartfelt tribute the little boy
paid to his beloved grandmi. It goes like this; "My darling
grandma was very old, but I think she was the best woman in the
world. I called her my little flower girl when she came to Gampaha
with her heart problem. “A beautiful
flower in my garden was broken by Jesus in September 2001. It was
my darling grandma. She was very sweet and kind. She was a grandma
of 15 grandchildren and great grandma of 9. Her beautiful sweet
smile gave us a lot of love. I love my grandma forever and ever." A generous philanthropist
Mr. Rajan was
Chairman of both the Sun and Asoka Group of Companies, having diverse
business interests ranging from manufacturing and tourism to the
import/export trade. The achievement that made Mr. Rajan most proud
was the Surya matchbox that he developed from scratch, which captured
the Sri Lankan market. I met him for
the first time about seven years ago at the Central Province Chamber
of Commerce and Industry. As Chamber President in 1999-2001, he
established a successful business school, improved the finances
of the Chamber and made many changes for the benefit of its members.Mr.
Rajan was honest and straight in his dealings. He was a strict disciplinarian
and his large workforce was aware of that. However, he always gave
them a sympathetic hearing when they had problems. Kandy residents
will long remember Mr. Rajan for his philanthropy and leadership
in community service. His wife Jeeva
and daughters Gowri, Ahalya and Ashwini survive Mr. Rajan. His family
will miss a loving husband and father, his friends a sincere colleague
and his workers a sympathetic boss. |
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