Appreciations
View(s):She said we had to sing for our supper and made us mow her lawn!
Betty Boothroyd
On a trip to Sri Lanka: From left, Nihal Seneviratne, Palitha Weerasinghe and Betty Boothroyd
Nihal Seneviratne recalls his long friendship with Britain’s first female Speaker
As the news of the passing of Betty Boothroyd at the ripe age of 93 years filtered in, I felt a tinge of sadness as I had the privilege of knowing her for a period of 50 years.
My first contact with her was through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in the UK. Sri Lanka had frequent contact with the CPA because we were invited for their regular parliamentary events at Commonwealth Parliamentary Conferences and seminars every year.
At the CPA headquarters in London, Sri Lanka was fortunate to have a Lankan, Palitha Weerasinghe, who was earlier the Clerk to our Senate and following its abolition was chosen to be the Asst. Secretary General of CPA. As a Labour MP, Betty had regular meetings at CPA both with Palitha and myself, whenever I was in London on parliamentary business. As such I met Betty frequently and made close contact with her.
Betty had a close attachment and love for Sri Lanka and visited this country on many, many occasions. On one of these visits I had the privilege of hosting her for dinner at my home. Gamini and Srima Dissanayake whom she knew well were also present.
While attending a CPA conference in London, Palitha and I had the rare privilege of being invited to her home at Thritlow, a few miles out of London. I distinctly recall one morning when Betty told us “we had to sing for our supper” and asked us to mow her lawn before breakfast. I still have a photo of us mowing her lawn.
In later years, Betty’s health declined and she became weak and fragile. I was able to send her packets of Ceylon tea which she appreciated very much and she would phone to thank me. Although I phoned her regularly, it was increasingly difficult to have conversations. I also invited her here for a short holiday but she was not well enough to travel. She told me that she very rarely went to her London apartment to attend sittings of the House of Lords.
When I phoned her on one of my visits to London, she invited me to hear her maiden speech at the House of Lords which I was privileged to attend. Both in the Commons and the Lords she actively participated in parliamentary committees set up to help Sri Lanka. She was a great friend of this country who was of immense help to us.
A few words about her performance as Speaker. She presided over the Commons from 1992 to 2000. Announcing her death, the present Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “Not only was Betty Boothroyd an inspiring woman, she was an inspirational politician and someone I was proud to call my friend. To be the first woman Speaker was truly ground breaking. Betty broke that glass ceiling with panache. She stuck by the rules and had a no-nonsense style. Any reprimand she made was done with good humour and charm. Betty was one of a kind, a sharp, witty and formidable woman. I will miss her.”
I wish to quote from the obituary statement issued by the House of Commons; “Betty was the first female Speaker. That alone would be enough to ensure her place in political history but she was one of the most popular of the Speakers sitting on a large and uncomfortable chair. Being a woman of practical disposition, she placed on her table a copy of the political Bible, Erskine May, so that she could remain upright during debates.”
Betty once said “I never wanted silence in the House. I never wanted a morgue. I wanted a debating chamber.”
Her refusal to wear the Speaker’s wig had wide publicity all over the world. She declared long before her election as Speaker that the wig would be too hot and an uncomfortable distraction for what she knew would be a demanding role.
For her election for the Speaker’s post, as a Labour MP she needed only 30 Tory votes but she succeeded in getting 72. She refused to seek a feminist vote saying “Elect me for what I am, not for what I was born.” Her majority of 134 votes over a Conservative opponent gave her a position of great strength. The election was greeted with a burst of loud applause which she promptly said was unparliamentary.
(The writer is a former Secretary General of Parliament)
Trek to school and gems of wisdom
Emeritus Prof. B.L. Panditharatne
After a long illness bravely borne, Prof.Leslie Panditharatne passed away on November 26, last year. His remains were interred in the Catholic cemetery of the Pitipana parish.
He lived a life very much beyond the Biblical span ending it at the age of 92 years, blessed by a married life of 64 years. He is survived by his wife Ranee and two daughters Enrica and Dr Sherica, their husbands Aruna and Shanil and three grandchildren.
His father, Edwin Panditharatne, born of Catholic and Buddhist parents was from Seeduwa and was a Station Master in the Department of the Railways while his mother Annamaria Fernando came from a respectable family which could boast of a grandfather, a native physician who was buried in the church along with his wife, an honour now accorded to Archbishops only.
To his younger brothers and cousins he was Letchaiya or Leslie Aiya. I had a close and educationally fruitful relationship with him as a cousin. He was the fourth sibling in a family of seven with one sister as the sixth. He had his early education in his village school and Maris Stella College, Negombo. Like his older brothers he would walk all the way from home at Pitipana, a distance of three miles each way along with his best friend in his teen years, Vincent Fernando.
The trek to school was punctuated by a boat ride close to the mouth of the Negombo lagoon. I used to walk behind the pair for some time picking up a few English phrases imbibing some gems of wisdom. Our teacher and Principal of the lower school, Bro. Nizier used to talk glowingly about him, his performance in studies. He lost his father in his mid-teen years but managed to continue his studies unfettered by financial problems due to the free education system introduced about that time.
After obtaining the London Matriculation qualification based on his performance at the SSC, he changed school and joined St. Mary’s Negombo in order to study Geography as one of the subjects for the University Entrance Examination. He then joined St. Joseph’s College, Maradana from where he entered the University of Ceylon, Colombo. At St. Joseph’s he had on one occasion dared to correct Fr. Peter Pillai’s anglicised pronunciation of Kegalle.
At the annual prize giving he won several prizes including the open prize in general knowledge. He specialised in Geography obtaining a second class honours degree. Soon he was recruited to the Department of Geography as an assistant lecturer. He then obtained a PhD from the University of London and returned to teach geography to the students following the general and special courses. He was soon promoted as a Reader and Professor.
A few years later he was appointed as Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya. Towards the end of his academic career he was appointed Chairman of the University Grants Commission. Prof. Panditharatne held two positions simultaneously as Director General of the NIBM and Chairman of the Mineral Sands Corporation.
After retirement from academic life his services were sought by the American College of Higher Studies, Dehiwela. It was during this time that he wrote and published several books on subjects like the fisheries industry in Negombo, the political geography of the town of Negombo, Urban Sri Lanka, among others. He also wrote his autobiography in two parts – “An autobiography –Account of our Family Life” and “Life and Times of our University days”.
Another noteworthy publication among his other research based papers, is a textbook titled “Introducing Basic Geographical Knowledge”.
He exuded a high degree of bonhomie to all around him.
May he rest in peace.
Dr. Leo Fernando
He was many things to many people, and to me a colleague and dear friend
Dr. Maithrie Rajapakse
Dr. Maithrie Rajapakse was my good friend and colleague and I was overcome with sorrow when he passed away a few days ago. I first met him when I started as a medical student in Peradeniya and had to report to him, as he was the Medical Officer at the campus Health Centre. I remembered him as a fair complexioned, brown-eyed doctor who exuded gentleness and friendliness.
Years later when I was appointed to the Teaching Hospital Kandy as Consultant Anaesthetist, I found that he was my only other colleague. I didn’t know then that this would be the start of a beautiful friendship that would last for years. He was delighted to see me – it wouldn’t have been easy for him to be in sole charge of the Anaesthetic Department. We worked together harmoniously, but of course we had our disagreements too. To his credit, I must say that most of the time it was he who would be the first to apologise. Our department found our banter quite amusing!
He was responsible for many improvements at the Kandy Hospital. He started the Surgical Intensive Care Unit in Kandy which benefitted not only patients from Kandy but also the outlying hospitals. He loved to teach and so started the ICU Nurses Training Course in the hospital from which the nurses gained a lot of knowledge and experience. Taking charge of the Post Graduate Medical Centre and the Medical Library were some of the additional tasks he undertook.
He also took on the mantle of the President of the College of Anaesthesiologists, the President of the Kandy Society of Medicine and Acting Director of the hospital in addition to his multiple tasks and did a great job of them all. He was a keen cricketer and most years captained the doctors’ team in the annual Kandy Law-Medical cricket match.
He was a strict disciplinarian and was very insistent that everyone should be punctual and keep up the dignity of the profession in attitude, manner and dress. Teaching took up much of his time and it was he who was responsible for starting post graduate training in anaesthesia in the Kandy Hospital.
Of him it could truly be said that he counted his age in friends not years. He was an extremely friendly and sociable gentleman and had the knack of making friends with people of all walks of life. He loved singing and at parties he would be the one to start off with his golden oldies. Our involvements in the College of Anaesthesia and the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine took us to Colombo frequently and I enjoyed these trips. He was the sort of friend with whom I could talk when I wanted to and stay silent also. On the way back from Colombo, he used to make frequent stops – to buy fish, pineapple, rambutan and durian and finally for a cup of tea by the roadside. Wherever we stopped he would strike up a conversation with the vendor and since we stopped so many times, a trip which would normally take three hours ended up being four and a half hours! To add to this, if he saw an interesting place he would make an instantaneous decision to detour.
A staunch Buddhist, his involvements with the temples and charities he supported were many. He started the Buddhist Doctors’ Association in Kandy and supported it with personal contributions. He was also very active in the Kandy Kidney Protection Society helping kidney patients and donors alike.
He was many things to many people – a loving husband, father and grandfather to his family, to medical officers and students an excellent teacher, father figure and role model, to patients, a skilled and caring anaesthetist. To me he was not just a colleague, but also a very good friend. Even after retirement we kept in frequent touch and I will miss him terribly. I know I will reach for the phone to talk to him and my heart will sink when I remember that he is no more.
My deepest sympathies go out to his loving wife Shanthi and his two devoted children Anuradha and Samadhi.
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
Dr. Carmeline Fernando
She rendered great service to the education field
S.K.L. Dayalatha Fernando
S.K.L. Dayalatha Fernando was born on February 18, 1942 in Ahangama to the family of a renowned businessman in Ambewela, Nuwara Eliya – S.K. Charles and Jeslin Alwis Wijewickrama.
She was educated at Sariputta Maha Vidyalaya, Ahangama and Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya, Weligama. She graduated from Peradeniya University and obtained her master’s from the Kelaniya University. She was trained in education management at the National Institute of Education and also obtained a diploma in Education.
Dayalatha started her career as an English teacher at the Bandaranaike Girls’ School in Ampara. Later she served at several schools such as the Kesbewa Balika Vidyalaya, Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Kotte and Wellawatte Maha Vidyalaya.
She was later assigned to the Pirivena Education Unit at the Ministry of Education She was appointed a project officer when Bogida Premaratne initiated a meditation programme for teachers. She also served as a teaching instructor for the Western Province. Subsequently she was appointed Head of the Primary of Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda. After rendering a long and dedicated service to uplift the younger generations she retired from the public service and later assumed duties as Principal of Visakha Nursery School.
Dayalatha had an inherent ability to win the hearts of all who came into contact with her. With the knowledge and skills she gained from the free education system, she rendered a great service to the country, its people and the Buddha Sasana.
She also successfully conducted the family businesses of her father during this time.
She married Heras Fernando in 1971. They have two sons, Kasun who is a banker and Nandun, a lawyer.
She passed away on December 27, last year at the age of 80.
May her journey in Samsara be short and may she attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
Kalyani Fernando
A beloved friend and one-of-a-kind human being
Dinesh Schaffter
15th February 2023 marked two months, 60 days, 1,440 hours, 86,400 minutes, 5,184,000 seconds of darkness, sorrow, sadness, and grief caused to the family, friends and loved ones of our beloved Dinesh Schaffter, forever changing the landscape of their lives.
Dinesh was a rare, one-of-a-kind, gem of a human being. He was introduced to me in or about 2010 by my late father, who adored Dinesh until his last days. Four days before my father’s demise in February 2018, we had to attend an inquiry in Nuwara Eliya for one of Dinesh’s company matters. Being aware of my father’s ailing health and knowing that he was adamant about appearing in the inquiry, Dinesh arranged for a helicopter from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya and back, and informed us that my father should not travel on the road for almost ten hours. Not only did my father enjoy appearing in the inquiry which happened to be his last, he also enjoyed the adventurous helicopter ride.
This was Dinesh. An absolutely caring, loving human being. In this selfish society, he was an absolute gentleman par excellence who thought about other people and was a ray of hope to many.
In the span of over a decade where he was an integral part of my life, Dinesh was one of the most honest people I have ever met. He had no agendas, he was always extremely fearless, very truthful, very forthright, often strict, extremely genuine, brutally honest, highly confident, ingenious, full of integrity, understanding, non-judgmental, sometimes stubborn and adamant, extremely kind and full of love. It was a combination of qualities that I had never seen in anyone else. He was a loyal friend who only expected truthfulness, sincerity, and honesty in return.
Dinesh was the heart and soul of the Schaffter family and his loved ones. Listening to his voice would brighten anyone’s day and he always had a solution or advice for anyone who sought his advice, whether it was commercial or personal.
I had my last lunch with Dinesh on 2nd December 2022. He was his usual flamboyant self. He was extremely happy and was looking forward to his holiday in the UK before Christmas and was updating me regarding his plans to move to the UK this year and how everything depended on him. I spoke to him the day before he was murdered, and we discussed many pending matters which needed to be attended to after his return from the UK after Christmas. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I am certain he had absolutely no idea that his life would end the next day.
Having said that, he always advocated for preparedness and planning for his family and friends. It was one of his ways of always taking care of everyone and should not be construed in any other way than his core character to be kind and caring. It is disappointing to say the least, that many reports have misrepresented actual circumstances. In my opinion, his confidence in himself and the love he had for his family outweighs all such challenges.
If a ship were sinking, Dinesh would have been the last person to jump, that was his character. He would have ensured that everyone else was safe before saving himself. Dinesh always wanted to be there for his family and loved ones. Dinesh enjoyed the challenges of life.
Dinesh was my pillar of strength after the demise of my beloved father and was always there for me whenever I needed him, just one phone call away. He was more than a friend and a brother to me, and indeed he is irreplaceable to many. He lifted us when we were down. He lifted our spirits when it was needed. He taught me how to fight life’s hurdles and face life’s problems. His contribution to our firm and family is immeasurable and we will always remember him with gratitude.
They took our Dinesh away from us so suddenly and forcefully, but no one can take away the beautiful memories each of us have of him, memories which are immortal and which we shall cherish and keep in our hearts forever.
Dinesh will always live within each and every one of us as a legend and a hero.
-Pranavan Neelakandan
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