Plus

Appreciations

He turned the Foreign Service into a meritocracy
Lakshman Kadirgamar
Of all the eulogies penned in memory of the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, mine perhaps lacks the immediacy which could only come from having worked with him. However, I write this in place of my late father, a career diplomat who held his minister in the highest esteem, and who would undoubtedly be writing this now, were he alive.

Mr. Kadirgamar deserves credit for turning the Sri Lankan Foreign Service into a meritocracy, staffed by a group of educated professionals whom, he hoped, would go on to serve Lanka diligently in their different missions. It brought my father a great deal of pride to work under such a man and to nurture, in turn, a new generation of diplomats to ever higher standards.

I had the honour of meeting Mr. Kadirgamar when he visited my father in hospital. Little did I know that both of them would be cruelly taken away before their time. My father succumbed to cancer last year. And now we mourn the loss of Mr. Kadirgamar, a visionary leader and champion of a united Lanka. May his ideals inspire us to move beyond our differences and towards the path of peace.

Jayaka Nakkawita

Thank you for being such a memorable friend
Dhulamba Sirimane
On October 10, 2003, our good friend Dhulamba, popularly known as Dhule left us silently at Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA, with his wife Ruwani and son Dhulantha by his side. His daughter Dhulani, residing in Sri Lanka was with him for four weeks prior to that and returned to Sri Lanka a week prior to Dhule’s passing away.

Dhule will always be remembered by his family, his extended family and his friends for his good heart, cheerfulness, positive attitude and unbiased behaviour. Dhule associated with people of all walks of life. Social status, race, religion, caste, wealth, academic merit etc., were never a criterion for his association with people.

He was born to a well-known Sinhala Buddhist family. His father and uncle were in the legal profession and reached the peak in their profession. Dhule attended Royal College up to his Senior School Certificate. He was proud of his school and of his class of 1958, and always kept in touch with most of his classmates.

On completion of his Senior School Certificate, he wanted to pursue a career in the tea industry and started as a creeper at the most prestigious Lipton-owned Dambatenne tea estate in Haputale. If not for the political complexities at that time, Dhule would have continued his stay at Dambatenne and retired there.

Dhule had friends scattered all over the world; he knew most of them for over forty years and continued to be in contact with them. He had lots of good friends, including friends from his school, neighbourhood, the planting circle, the armed services, and friends he met at different clubs he was associated with.

He never spoke ill of people or showed any animosity towards anyone. If he disagreed on anything, he always offered his opinion in a humorous manner.
Dhule, thank you for being such a memorable friend, and leaving behind so many good memories.

Friends

A father figure, he gave us inspiration
Meeran Sahib ALIF
News of the recent passing away of Meera Sahib Alif, a well known and highly respected figure in the Muslim community, was received with a deep sense of sadness by all those who knew him. An Attorney-at-Law by profession, Mr Alif held the post of Cabinet Secretary during the 1970-77 period. He also served as consultant on housing to the United Nations office in the United Arab Emirates and was considered an authority on condominium property law in Sri Lanka.

As founder director of Amana Investments as well as Ilma International Girls’ School, Mr. Alif played a pivotal role in the formation of both these institutions. "Uncle Alif" as he was so affectionately referred to by all staff at Amana was a father figure, ever willing to offer sound advice and guidance to those who sought it. In many ways he was an inspiration to us members of Amana's staff. He was a visionary, totally dedicated to the overall welfare of the Muslim community.

The occasions where he would silently serve the poor and needy were numerous, but possibly not known to many. Mr Alif was a strict disciplinarian and strove to achieve perfection in all his endeavours.

Ever conscious of his duty towards his Creator, the late Mr Alif never compromised on his daily obligatory Salat which he used to perform with unfailing regularity. He was a voracious reader and despite his advanced age, showed no visible signs of mental fatigue.

Azad Zaheed

She was a caring chemistry teacher
Rita John
It was with much sadness that I read the obituary of N. Rita John last Sunday.
Ms. John was a much loved and respected teacher at St. Sylvester's College, Kandy, my alma mater, having joined the tutorial staff in 1961 or thereabouts.
She taught us chemistry in the Senior Form and some of us were fortunate to be under her tutelage when she was the class teacher of the university entrance, first year class.

Ms. John was in the prime of her youth when she joined St. Sylvester's, soon after her B.Sc at the Peradeniya University and looked more a schoolgirl in a saree than a graduate teacher.

She was of slight build, charming and cheerful at all times. She was very simple in her ways and always sported a 'thilagam' to match her saree. Needless to say, she was much admired by all the young boys of the school. She simply could not be strict with her bunch of mischievous wards yet pin drop silence fell whenever she raised her voice and said "Now, that's enough!"

She took a personal interest in each of us, taking particular care of those who lagged behind needing extra attention. When the G.C.E. (O/L) results were out in 1963, she predicted that I would get the chemistry prize that year and eventually I was the proud recipient of a valuable chemistry book, which I later learnt, was personally selected by her.

Ms. John, counts among her many students, doctors, engineers, accountants, lawyers, teachers and many eminent citizens, who will gratefully remember her silent contribution to their present station in life. This charming and respected lady has now joined her contemporaries, Nirmalan Kandiah and Berty Nillegoda.
May the Lord grant her eternal rest!

Grateful student

He lives on in thousands of grateful hearts
Dr. Pramod Ranatunge
Dr. Pramod Ranatunge, the eminent cardiologist of the Colombo National Hospital passed away on September 11 and was cremated at the General Cemetery, Kanatte, Borella on the following day amidst a large gathering of mourners.

I met this affable doctor for the first time on April 9, 2001. On this day I had a chest pain and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Cardiology Unit. This soft-spoken bespectacled baby-faced doctor dressed in a well-pressed trouser and a neatly ironed shirt with a matching tie came upto my bed, spoke to me and put me at ease. He examined me thoroughly, went through the E.C.G. reports and finally said that I had got a mild heart attack and treated me. I asked someone who this doctor was, and he told me that he was Dr. Pramod Ranatunge.

I was in hospital for two days. For the next six months, I was his patient and attended his clinics at the Cardiology Unit. During this period, we became friends, with much more than the rapport of a doctor and patient.

Dr. Pramod Ranatunge hailed from Yamtampalawa in Kurunegala and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Wickramasinghe Ranatunge. He had his secondary education at Nalanda College, Colombo, before he entered the Medical Faculty.

omewhere in July last year, Dr. Pramod Ranatunge fell sick. He was taken to Singapore for treatment and after his return, he attended to his patients at the Cardiology Unit and limited his private practice to 10 patients a day at the Asiri Hospital. Recently he got a relapse and passed away. Though his golden hand had activated thousands of hearts which had threatened to stop in patients of all ages and specially in young children, there was no one to give life to him.

The thousands from all walks of life who attended his funeral bore testimony to the love, respect and appreciation of grateful people for this affectionate gentleman. His wife Kumuduni and daughter Tharusi would have held his hand and cried in anguish. Be assured that both of you will never be alone. The blessings of Dr. Ranatunge's patients whom he treated and looked after are with you, and both of you are assured that you were holding the hand of one of Sri Lanka's most famous sons. He was a man in a million.

Ananda Jayasena

Back to Top

Back to Plus