Appreciations
View(s):An innovative and multi-faceted engineer
Don Gunasena Athukorala
Don Gunasena Athukorala passed away peacefully in Sydney on February 22 at the age of 99 years and nine months. His funeral takes place on March 5 at 4.30 p.m. in Sydney.D.G. Athukorala was a onetime Chairman of the State Engineering Corporation following the legendary previous Chairman A.N.S. Kulasinghe. He joined the SEC in 1962 when it was formed and soon became deputy to Mr. Kulasinghe. The SEC was at that time the choice of young engineers who noticed the pioneering work done under the guidance of Kulasinghe and Athukorala and chose to join.
After his retirement from the corporation he assumed the post of Director of the Headworks Division of the Mahaweli Authority and became the founding director.
Apart from his prowess in the field of engineering he somehow found the time to write a short treatise on the Buddha’s principle of Relativity which is based on the doctrine of Paticca Samuppada or dependent arising. This book is regarded as a brave attempt to throw some light to solving the mystery of the combination of thought, memory, emotion, intellect and consciousness that we refer to as the mind. He was 86 when he authored this book.
Don Gunasena gained his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the University of London in 1950. He acquired his professional qualifications and membership from the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE) of UK in 1955 after finishing his practical training at Wilment Brothers & Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick and Partners.
In the 1960s the government began a programme of rapid industrialization and the SEC undertook huge industrial complexes such as factories for steel, tyres and cement. The SEC was responsibe for constructing the Colombo Planetarium and also constructed the hemispherical shell for the famous chaitiya at Kalutara.
After a change of government, he left for the UK and worked for Sir William Harrow & Partners with a short stint as a field civil engineer with Esso Petroleum in Libya. In 1972 on his return to Sri Lanka he worked for the Mahaweli Development Board and in 1977 he rejoined the State Engineering Corporation for the Accerated Mahaweli Diversion Scheme and public housing programmes under the Gam Udawa initiative.
Don Gunasena will be remembered by civil engineers as competent and innovative engineer who introduced modern construction techniques to the country. He undertook all these engineering projects with flair and took an abiding interest in developing the professional capabilities of young engineers who worked alongside him.
Prof. Lakshman Jayatileke who was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and later Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya had this to say about Athukorala: “Above all Don Gunasena Athukorala will be remembered for his pristine character with uncompromising integrity and good intent. His technical competence combined with integrity made him exemplary for future generations of engineers.”
I first got to know him many years back. That was the era when proposed marriages were almost the order of the day. I distinctly recall the day he walked into my mother’s home at 200, Havelock Road to meet my sister Iranganie who very shyly came to the verandah. The rest is history.
They had three children- Aravinda, who is in the UK who set up his own institution Korde Associates Ltd (KAL); Ruvini, a double accountant who was the one who spent most of her time looking after her father and the youngest Prasanna, an investment banker who with Ruvini shared the responsibility of looking after and caring for their father so devotedly
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana.
-Nihal Seneviratne
One of a kind
ADMIRAL BASIL GuNESEKERA
Once a Naval officer in uniform
A gallant young man, his motto ‘Perform’
Handsome one they called him
All heeding to his every whim.
Grit, poise with a never say die attitude
Utterly adventurous and never
liked solitude
Bold as brass and completely unafraid
His personality for the Navy
was clearly made.
Claiming numerous awards for his hairbreadth escapes
For years’ generations will have these tales on tapes
And even after the most exhausting trips
He is (was) ready for another with a smile on his lips.
Full of warmth, pride and affection
Enjoyed family and friends on any occasion
And if you looked deep into his eyes
You would have seen a man who is (was) wise
When guests arrived no matter the time of day
‘Stay for a meal’ he would always say
Never over-anxious and always an optimist
And every item he ticked off on his bucket list
Sharing the same passion for food we did
He and I from challenges we never hid
I spoke of him in my motivational talks
How much his ways influenced my thoughts.
A man with such strong self-belief
From his daring ways we have had no relief
At 89 a piano he tried to lift
And would you believe, it really did shift.
Full of compassion, he was loved by one and all
As he appreciated anything however small
And this is why, when he breathed his last we did not cry
As he gently drifted in his samsaric journey by and by
A man like him, I think is rare to find
To me, he is still the same gallant
One of a kind!
Hiranya M. Fernando (Granddaughter)
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