Appreciations
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A beautiful Rose who spread her fragrance for a brief
moment At each monthly club meeting, she was supportive of the ideals of Zonta in her charming and friendly way. Little did we realize at our last meeting, that she would not be with us at our next meeting. Srimani was a dedicated member of Zonta Club I of Colombo. With her usual sense of compassion towards the less fortunate, she was ever willing to help the Club with our on-going projects which empower women to improve their status. She would be in the forefront of organizing fund-raisers for various projects, by obtaining maximum sponsorships and assisting with the arrangements, giving her energy, experience and time to the fullest. Service to the less fortunate was Srimani's greatest love, and to this end she spared no pains. At a club event, her daughter Serela, without hesitation readily consented to entertain the members and guests with her beautiful singing. Srimani showed keen interest when she joined other club members to see that the women and children at our Homes - the Ragama Preschool, and the Methsevana Home for Destitute Women, were not forgotten during the festive seasons - Christmas and New Year. Srimani gave generously, participating joyfully. Through these acts of kindness and her sterling qualities, she drew many closer to her in friendship. She was a shining example to our members, winning the hearts of those with whom she was in contact. When Zonta Club I decided to launch the first Golden Z Club I in our region (India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), she joined a few of our members to address a group of female medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, on the values of membership and service. Srimani was extremely enthusiastic about the idea of creating awareness among these young University students, who were in turn, greatly impressed by her charm, simplicity and dedication to serving the community. Like a beautiful rose in full bloom, she spread fragrance for a brief moment whilst with us, until she was cruelly snatched away leaving a void in our midst and in our hearts. We grieve with her beloved daughter Serela and the rest of the family over the loss of a caring and loving person. We shall always remember her for her graciousness, simplicity and humility. May she rest in peace. Members of Zonta Club I of Colombo He
was so many things but most of all a great dad In England, he almost set his friend's house on fire, trying to cook for the first time in his life. In 1976, he visited the US for a conference on Astronomy. Afterwards, he travelled the country on the Greyhound bus, seeing the land and meeting different people. In Texas, he acquired a cowboy hat from a friend and wore it all the way back to Sri Lanka. In New York City, he went to the top of the Empire State building and he sent home a postcard describing the huge skyscrapers he saw. He came back and told my mother about the variety of foods he had eaten on his trip, often describing them in great detail, and wanting my mother to reproduce them. One time I remember him bringing home a Mexican cookbook and we had many Mexican dishes at home. When I was 11, he and I went to England and he took me to many places, the Tate Museum, the British Museum, the Kew Gardens, the Natural History Museum, where he would always point out interesting things to educate me. He was well read and knowledgeable in many subjects. He had many interests ranging from astronomy, botany, fossils and gems to history, music and food. He was always pointing out facts to us, whether it was the characteristic and different adaptation of plants and flowers by day or the constellations and planets by night. Once he dragged the whole family and a friend across Sri Lanka and across the southern part of India on a train, just to see a total eclipse of the sun. He said it was a lifetime event and we should all see a total eclipse of the sun at least once in our lifetime. He was a carefree and outgoing person and made friends with many people, in many different places. My father was many things, an educator, discoverer, inventor and adventurer, but to me he was a great man, the greatest dad one could ask for. I miss him dearly and wish that he were here to influence his grandchildren the way he influenced and changed my life. Shermali Gunawardena A firebrand
politico who worked for the people Anil had his entire education at Royal College, under the strict discerning eye of E.L. Bradby, the last of the British pedagogues at Royal. After a short stay at the University of Ceylon, Colombo, soon Anil was seeking greener pastures abroad and found his way to Britain where he joined the Middle Temple. He passed out as a Barrister and was enrolled soon after. It was in those early formative days that Anil showed a distinct penchant for left of centre politics and found himself closely involved with a young Labour Movement. He joined the British Communist Party in 1946 and the British Labour Party in 1948. Possibly the early beginnings of his association with Trotskyite politics in Ceylon came from there. Unknown to many, Anil cut his teeth in Municipal politics and contested a seat at the Colombo Municipal Council elections. At this time, also involved in local politics were stalwarts Dr. N.M. Perera, Vivienne Gunawardene, T. Rudra, Dr. Osmund Jayaratne and Robert Gunawardene and Anil joined the progressive groups of the area, working for the amelioration of the conditions of the poorer sections of the community. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party which had in its ranks distinguished politicians of the ilk of Dr. N.M. Perera, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonawardene and Bernard Soysa, welcomed into its ranks the young, dashing and debonair Anil and gave him the nomination for the Agalawatte seat. The Young Turks of the Sama Samaja movement referred to him as the Aneurin Bevan of Sri Lanka - being the stormy petrel of the movement. He won the Agalawatte seat in the historic elections of 1956, which swept the present President's father into political leadership. After the tragic assassination of the then Prime Minister in 1959, 1960 witnessed the only year in which two General elections were held in the short space of 3 months, March and July - Anil was successful at both elections, representing his old Agalawatte constituency and was invited to join the third Cabinet of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike in June 1964 as Minister of Communications when the LSSP allied itself with the LSSP. In March 1965 he won his seat from the same constituency again, but sadly had his election declared void two years later. In 1970, when the Coalition Government of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected to power, he was given the onerous post of Chairman of the Ceylon Transport Board. He served in that post till 1975 and worked with utmost dedication and enthusiasm and commitment to provide the harassed traveller a better service. I recall with nostalgia, one Saturday when I visited the Pettah Bus Stand at 2 in the afternoon to drop a passenger, I saw Anil himself, in the searing heat supervising and directing the taking of passengers and the dispatch of buses. In later years Anil resigned from the LSSP, of which he was Secretary and joined the SLFP. Soon after, in May 1983, when there was a by-election, he won the Matugama by-election by defeating the UNP candidate. Seated in the Opposition ranks, Anil performed a useful role, speaking articulately and examining issues with a focused mind. In his long span of 27 years in Parliament, his final years were spent as Deputy Speaker. In later years he was chosen to be Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Austria with accreditation to the United Nations and the Balkan countries of Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzgovenia. He worked a lot for the revival of Buddhism and immersed himself in the activities of the Maha Bodhi Society, becoming its President in later years. He was deeply committed to any cause that he undertook. He had a great vision for a united Sri Lanka, which regrettably he did not see because of his untimely passing away. Nihal Seneviratne |
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