| Plus |
|
|||
|
Appreciations Hareen
de Saram
All too soon
a year has flown past! It certainly could not have been by default
that the three different sets of Anglican clergy who officiated
at the funeral services at home, the Cathedral and the crematorium
chose to sing that beautiful hymn, 'What a friend we have in Jesus'
as a farewell tribute to Hareen. To his many
friends who were gathered around his casket, the constant thought
would have also been 'What a friend we had in Hareen'. Hareen was
a unique character. He touched the lives of everyone he associated
with. He had a large heart and was a great host. The many friends
and family who flocked to the Intensive Care Unit to say ‘hi’
and ‘bye’ bear ample testimony to his camaraderie. His home was
home to all of us. His many college mates will recall with gratitude
the days they spent at his home at the Regent Flats. Those of us
who were Kandy based could always stay over when we travelled to
Colombo for matches and debates. Hareen's dad
and mum were gracious hosts who made us feel at home. So were his
three sisters. Though in pain
and highly sedated, one of the things he made sure was that we had
purchased the tickets for the Bradby. The trip to
Kandy had become an annual pilgrimage, an event Hareen looked forward
to, not so much to watch the rugby, but to renew friendships with
his old buddies and relive the memories of his mischievous school
days. If anyone lived
life to the fullest, with malice to none, it was Hareen. He was
a dutiful son, brother and uncle. The love and affection with which
he looked after his mother until her demise was indeed a testimony. Though Hareen
is no more, his memory will linger forever. Farewell my friend,
until we meet again. May the angels sing thee to eternal sleep. Long, long ago
in Nugegoda, we walked down Church Street Nugegoda had
just one tarred road, Church Street with only seven houses, separated
by cool shady jungle. Church Street went over the railway line to
the one big store - Simmon's Store. The only approach
on tarred roads were from Kohuwela via Pamankade or down Cotta Road
through Kotte and Mirihana. Gravel paths
led off Church Street to residences through the jungle and one of
them which we called "the Red Road" later became High
Level Road. And so, long
ago, Linda Pieris and I walked down Church Street in a group of
girls and one boy. Linda and her younger sister Violet came from
just round the corner from their father's house. Our group was
led by my elder sister and her best friend Pansy Ingram who lived
opposite our house with her widowed mother -- in Mr. and Mrs. Lucas'
house, who were their relatives. The youngest
Lucas girl, Esme, was one of our Church Street gang. Renee Solomons
and her sisters came from across the Kohuwela junction on the Kalubowila
side, Vincent Perera and his small stepsister, Lily, joined us and
further down the tall Pieris sisters, Letty and Beryl. From the Red
Road came my classmate Gnanapooshani and her younger sister, Jayapooshani,
and from a side lane Doris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Pieris.
Led by my sister
and her friend walking briskly with their long-stocking legs, we
younger ones meandered leisurely on a road that was ours, to St.
John's School where Miss E. Bultjens was the most amiable and kindly
principal. At that time
Nugegoda had no buses or cars (we walked), no electricity (we used
oil lamps), no pipe water (we had wells) and pits and buckets for
sewage. Linda learnt
the violin from the well-known teacher Adrian Daniel. Linda had innumerable
relatives who were always busy with something or other, and her
anecdotes kept Esme and me interested all the way to and from school. Through many
years I have been listening to Linda especially in the last years
when I lived alone in my father's house. Linda was very
knowledgeable on all matters, reasonable and matter of fact. Time passed
after our days at St. John's. We lost parents, family members and
friends. Linda and violet
took up interesting hobbies -- flower making and dressmaking. Linda's flower
making turned into a great venture and she had pupils learning the
art. Violet, too, started dressmaking classes. Whatever Linda and
Violet did was done to perfection. She gifted flowers and Violet
sewed my daughter's wedding outfit. Gradually time
took away family and friends, and I was alone at "Green Lodge"
with my only surviving brother in Kandy with his family, my daughter
in Ganemulla with her family and Linda just round the corner as
of old – with her daughter Ranita and her family. Linda would
visit me weekly, sometimes twice. Sometimes on her way to see Violet
she would step in for a few minutes. She did not
use her car, but walked. She would sometimes bring me cake or snacks
made by her family help Alice and I would make us tea, and we would
talk – Linda telling me of radio programmes of people being
interviewed, what was said and done by politicians. She was knowledgeable
and I listened. She would say, "How can poor people live?"
and she cut down expenditure and donated more to charity especially
saving cattle from slaughter. She would tell me how her Buddhist
friends went on pilgrimages especially to Meethirigala. And then old
age claimed us – slowed our footsteps, dimmed our eyesight,
flawed our memory and dizzied our balance. We needed props, we had
to be very cautious when walking, so we cut our visiting. Linda who used
to telephone me about TV interviews of people curtailed her calls.
She missed her independence – she had always been active. Now
she said, "We have lived too long." Walking from
Nugegoda to the Thimbirigasyaya temple as she and her family had
done in her school days, now seemed an unbelievable feat. Then one day
she asked me to write out her last wishes for Ranita and her husband
Gemunu to carry out. Besides some gifts to her family and Alice,
she wanted a very quiet funeral. And they respected her wishes on
March 15, this year. She was an
extra sister to me and I miss her. A faithful Cambrian Wimal was an
unassuming and a simple man of God. He was a true follower of Jesus. Wimalasiri
was a full-blooded Cambrian. He was a man who loved fun and humour,
and was always ready with anecdotes and wisecracks which kept those
around him in laughter. As a churchman, Wimalasiri made useful contributions
on varied and at times controversial issues concerning Anglicanism
and church life ranging from ordination of women to homosexuality. He held the
position of Church Warden, Lay Representative and Editor of the
Jubilee Souvenir. In politics,
Wimal followed leaders of the calibre of N. M. Perera and Colvin
R. de Silva. In memory of this unique man who rose to be the Deputy
Principal of his alma mater, I call upon all Cambrians, past and
present to salute him with some lines taken from the college anthem, "Among
our ancient mountains Quietly and
lovingly she departed from us At the time
of her death, Cordelia was in retirement, having been a teacher
for 35 years. She maintained a spotless home for husband Rennie,
daughter Natalie and son Kurt. Whenever anyone visited her home,
she would welcome the visitor with her quiet smile, make the person
comfortable by offering the best chair and be there to talk and
listen. To Cordelia,
giving was a way of life. In spite of a condition she had during
the latter days, where the slightest exertion made her breathless,
she accompanied her daughter on a pilgrimage to India. What a wonderful
sense of humour she had ! When Cordelia and Rennie celebrated their
25th wedding anniversary last year and her only brother Colvin gave
the toast, Cordelia, with a deadpan expression said: "Now I
shall have to find someone else for the next 25 years". These
words have become prophetic because Cordelia is back with her creator. Having been
a teacher for 35 years, how many lives she must have touched and
helped? Having brought
up two children to be well-mannered, responsible citizens and been
a tower of strength to Rennie, she was also an active social worker.
She enjoyed the simple things of life, like music, dancing and helping
those in need with her store of knowledge and experience. She went
away quietly and lovingly, the way she lived, the unassuming spirit
she was. It is people
like Cordelia who through their quiet, serene and tranquil lifestyles
bring a sense of balance to this hectic charade that we call life.
Perhaps, God,
seeing that she has accomplished her mission took her away maybe
to give her permanent rest. To my darling
daddy |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
