Appreciations
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Your
reputation lives on Selva was only 47 years when he met with his death. If one had Selva as a friend, one had a faithful friend for life. Selva specialized in Geography at Peradeniya and passed out in 1957 with flying colours at the top of his batch. My friendship with him started in 1959 when he was absorbed into the Geography Department as an assistant lecturer. Our friendship blossomed when we both pursued our post-graduate studies at the London School of Economics in the early sixties. We moved closely together meeting regularly at the Research Common Room, the L.S.E. cafeteria or at the canteen of India House next door, for our meals. He showed extreme concern over my excessive smoking and lack of attention to my nutrition, always admonishing me to cut down on my smoking. He would often, after the library closed, take me to his flat in Maida Vale and prepare a meal of chicken curry and rice and urge me to eat my fill - "Machang, you can't burn the candle at both ends, smoking and working hard as you do; you must eat well". After dinner he would spread out his formidable looking maps and graphs and try to initiate me into the intricacies of the application of aerial photography to land use studies. Although I could not comprehend much of that, his research interests in agricultural development, land use and colonization stimulated my own research into planning of the economic development of Ceylon. On his return to the country, consequent to his being axed due to departmental exigencies he provided leadership to the teaching of Geography in the Tamil medium, which had just started at Peradeniya. He plunged into his teaching with such fervour and dedication for which he earned the everlasting gratitude of his students. At the same time he pursued his research with so much enthusiasm and energy that he eventually earned an international reputation for himself in the area of arid-dry zone land use, agricultural and settlement development. Selva persevered in his research which had been cut short earlier by proceeding to the L.S.E. again to do his Ph.D. Selva was eagerly welcomed by his supervisors at the L.S.E., namely, professors Rees Rawson and M.J. Wise, and he was awarded the Ph.D. for his thesis based on his field work on land use and colonization which was acclaimed as a noteworthy contribution to knowledge by his examiner, the renowned B.H. Farmer of Cambridge. He was a great hand at doing field work. I knew personally he had to do it all by himself with the assistance of one or two volunteers working long hours in the villages with little care for his meals or his living conditions. Unlike now when academics do field work on a consultancy basis backed by ample funding and employing field investigators, the field work those days was virtually a labour of love of the researcher at his personal cost and sacrifice of comforts. Selva's academic career development through teaching and research took a new turn when he spent three years at Ahmadu Bellow University in Nigeria. He was able to introduce new courses of lectures on regional Geography which were new to that University, continue with his research and touch his students with a deep commitment. He was soon acclaimed as a distinguished academic at that University. Selva was richly rewarded when he was appointed Professor of Geography, University of Jaffna in 1977, but the great service that he could have rendered at that University was so cruelly cut short when he met with his death barely two years after he assumed office. It is to the credit of his courageous wife Dayanithy that she was able to complete the building of the house that Selva had started and educate and bring up the children. Going down memory lane many endearing personal qualities of Selva come back to my mind. Victor Gunasekara who was just about to complete his Ph.D. at the L.S.E. bought a new Ford hatchback car and invited Selva, me and his brother Robert to tour the length and breadth of U.K. from Southampton to the Northernmost tip, John O' Groats. Selva was the one who always kept a stock of dry rations and cooked our meals on the waysides while the three of us lolled around, exchanging wisecracking. Memories of Selva will thus live in us confirming, "rupam jirathi machchanam, nama goththam najirathi!" the body will decay for sure; the name and reputation will not decay so.
Buddhadasa Man
of integrity and a brave son of Lanka After his A/L he joined the Sri Lanka Army as a volunteer officer. His ambition to save the motherland was so strong that he then joined the Kotelawela Defence Academy to be a regular officer. There he underwent another three years of intense training, where he was well equipped to command a platoon. Even in the battlefield he was a dedicated soldier, who won the hearts of his fellow soldiers. Once when he visited my home, I presented him a Nellie plant. As the plant was not healthy enough, I promised him a better one on his second visit. His last words "uncle, I doubt, who knows whether a servicemen would return" still echo in my mind. On his return after leave he took part in "Operation Aghnikeela", and he became another brave soldier who sacrificed his life for his motherland. Mother Lanka lost a son of integrity and the Sri Lanka Army lost a brave and intelligent serviceman, who could have definitely risen to the top most ranks in the Army in time to come.
Jayasinghe To commemorate Capt. Buddhika Ramanayake, Capt. Pallage, Capt Mahindawansa and Cadet Officer Siriwardhana, from intake XIV of KDA who sacrificed their lives to safeguard Sri Lanka , their batch mates will gather at Abaysekararamaya - Negombo on May 29 for a pinkama including an alms giving to the Maha Sangha. Treasure
trove of memories Amidst
four grey walls, me, a lonely woman, just sits and wonders, But
every night and every day A bright
shining star You were - a perfect gentleman, who never in thought, word or deed, inflicted pain of mind on anyone! You were brilliant in your studies and imparted your knowledge and help to anyone who asked for it and always adhered to the rules of the game. You were well loved by your teachers and classmates and all who knew you. We feel privileged to own you as a son and grandson, and thankful to God that as long as you lived, you never knew pain, hardship or unfriendliness because you gave no reason for anything but love. You were the bright and shining star, helping your loving parents and sister to do what's best. Aileen Solomonsz |
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