It was late in the night, and I was about to go to bed. I was on the balcony of my apartment. The telephone rang. My brother Manoraj, an engineer, was calling from the other side of the world to tell me that Mother had just passed away. My Father was with her at the time of her death, along with my brother-in-law and an Indian nurse.
Mother was 87, and she had died at a Military Hospital in Karori, New Zealand. This was two months ago, far from Sri Lankan shores.
My mother hailed from Tangalle. She was the only child of the late Charles and Nancy De Silva. She studied at Musaeus College, Colombo. She spent the last 10 years of her life in Wellington, New Zealand, living with my sister and her family. My sister Dipunsara is a computer engineer and an old girl of Visakha Vidyalaya.
My father Victor De Silva was a former Assistant Commissioner of Elections, Kalutara District and Colombo District. He later became an advocate. At 90 years, he is among the last in a generation of distinguished citizens.
I should mention those who helped Amma in her last years – Ivan, Swarna, Ohlu, Ronald and Latha.
She will also be remembered by her grandchildren Ishal, Nikzztha, Owanaka, Rajiv and Nimesha.
A fitting epitaph for my Mother would be: “Everything she touched turned to gold.”
May Mother enjoy eternal rest.
Uparaj De Silva
Wickremaratne |
E-mail
