Twenty years ago, Malli wrote me a letter from the battlefield describing the hardships and triumphs he experienced with his brothers in the army. He described with humour the challenges of going to “bed” on a table in his army boots, and the pleasures of dreaming about his family, whom he had not seen for months.
Malli’s army camp had been recently attacked by the Tigers, and he had lost many of his colleagues. Despite the grim situation he faced, his spirits were high as usual and his commitment to his colleagues was evident. His letter is scattered with phrases like “api ithing nava gilunath, band choon”, and “even though I am entitled to a vacation, there is no way I can abandon our boys now and come home”.
He sent the letter mainly to cheer me up, because I was recovering from a minor ailment. Living in an army bunker in Jaffna, surrounded by death, my Malli was writing a letter to console me and urge me to get well soon and await his arrival in Colombo.
The irony of the situation was not lost on me then, but the significance of that letter is even more precious to me now. It is evidence of his strength and a testament to his humour, warmth and love for his family, colleagues and country.
Twenty years have passed since he wrote me that letter. The war he described then has not changed much. His hopes of victory, fear of defeat, and the desolation of death resulting from war remain true today. And yet time certainly has passed.
It has been nine long years since he decided it was time to take leave of us, and for nine years we have remembered him with great love and pride on his birthday. During this week of his birth anniversary, his family, friends and colleagues scattered all over the country and the world will take off their hats in silent honour of Malli, our personal hero.
Akka – Manisha Seneviratne |
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