People and Events

• Touring Sri Lanka at 97
• Happy birthday

Touring Sri Lanka at 97

She has clocked just three years this side of being a century. Mrs Heijman Groot is an amazing woman full of guts. She made her way to Sri Lanka with her daughter of fifty six and her son, all the way from Holland.

Mrs. Groot has both curiosity and unusual stamina. She has travelled before to Indonesia, Tunisia, Morocco, Venezuela, the Gambia, France and Spain.

"I heard the people were very kind hearted and friendly in Sri Lanka. Besides I heard it was a beautiful country. So my being ninety seven years old was no barrier for my visit to Sri Lanka."

Mrs Groot is amazing. In Sri Lanka she travelled to Sigirya which might have daunted a much younger person and then Giritale and Polonnaruwa.

She also took in her stride a visit to Kandy, Dambulla, Nuwara Eliya, Hikkaduwa, Tangalla and of course travelled extensively in Colombo. She said, "I enjoyed my stay and I loved all the many savoury and sweet dishes that are prepared here". Mrs Groot is a widow with four children.

The eldest son is 79, next a daughter 75, another son 68 and the youngest a daughter 56 who accompanied her. Mr. Mervyn Fernandopulle of Airwing Tours looked after her and AirLanka too helped.-R.P.

Happy birthday

By Chamintha Thilakarathna.

Millicent Gertrude Karunaratne has been a witness to many interesting events this century from colonial rule in Ceylon to Independence and the jubilee celebrations.

One of the few survivors of the previous century, she is said to remember every minute detail of the past which she relates to grand and great grand children. Millicent or "Milla" is the eldest in a family of eight and she turned a hundred last Friday (31st July 98).

Born into the Aluthmawatha walauwwa in Mutwal in 1898, Milla was always more interested in house work than any other subject. Her father Richard Weerasekere was Interpreter Mudliyar at the Supreme Court.

"She left school at thirteen to nurse and tend to the needs of her bedridden mother and her ailing father," said her daughter Ms. Maurice Gooneratna who is looking after her at presen.

But Milla recalls giving up school as a sacred duty and not as a sacrifice. " I used to take care of my parents when I was young, and as it is said in the Bible in the fourth commandment, Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee," Milla said with strong belief.

Milla married Felix Karunaratne and the couple had three daughters (Felix had two by an earlier marriage) and raised her family in the same Christian faith. Celebrating her hundredth birthday, she wanted her family to gather around her with cake.

"She has no worries because she knows that we will have a celebration," said her daughter.

With a sweet tooth particularly for curd and honey, Millicent is quite healthy and does not take any medicine at all. Her age has not had any ill effect on her sense of humour either.

"My husband teases her a lot and she is ready with a counter attack. She is quite humorous but in recent times she has refused some of the daily routine like watching television and turned to prayer," added her daughter.

With grand daughter, Priyaneel Antony by her side, Milla seemed to have no worries in the world. Asked how long would she like to live she replied, "until Jesus calls me to my eternal rest."

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