Rajah Salgado:
An illustrious son of Panadura
One of the most illustrious sons of Panadura, akin to the ‘last of the Mohicans’ of his era, passed away last week having lived the most fulfilling ninety four years. Rajendra Tissa Salgado, better and aptly known as ‘Rajah’, was born literally a ‘prince’ to one of the most well-known families in Panadura, as the only son of Richard and Bella Salgado. Contrary to his birth right, he led the most down to earth, simple and humble life that makes him a unique human being. He left a larger than life legacy of humanity for his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to be proud of and emulate.
Though commendable in their own right, his claim to fame was not being one of the pioneering batches of graduates in agriculture from the University of Ceylon, or his skilled tenure in management in plantation companies, both in the private and public sectors, or being the Chairman of the Salgado Bakeries. It was as the selfless social and religious worker who devoted his life to help the underprivileged and religious institutions in Panadura.
His lifelong commitment as the Trustee of the Walapola temple and as a devoted daayaka of Rankothvihara spending every Poya day supervising the Seelaviyaaparaya for over sixty years was legendary. As the Trustee and President of the Home for the Aged in Panadura, he was the guardian angel to the hundreds of aged residents who loved him dearly and eagerly awaited his weekly visits. The yeoman service he rendered for years as the Treasurer of the Panadura Bauddha Maha Sangamaya and as Patron and former President, of the Scouts Association of Panadura, Horana and Bandaragama was borne out by the endless mourners of all ages, classes and creed who flowed in to pay their respects to his remains last week. These are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of his social commitments to Panadura.
He lived an exemplary life to the fullest by showing what humility really meant. A man who was born into a family of luxury and fame but never wore it on his sleeve. He instead underplayed his riches and family status throughout his life and in action. It is this simplicity that made me call him ‘thaththa’ when I became his daughter-in-law thirty six years ago, by marrying his elder son.
Since I joined the family, I watched in awe of how he took care of his wife, Swarnamali like a precious cargo throughout the 67 years of their journey as husband and wife. He would often relate to us the story of how he set eyes on her when she was just a preteen on a merry-go-round in Nuwara Eliya while she had been completely oblivious to his admiring eyes. They married young and needless to say were one of the most handsome couples I have ever seen.
Though belonging to a bygone era where husbands expect wives and domestics to do all the housework and be pampered, I watched in disbelief how thaththa woke up early in the morning, opened all the doors and windows, partook in his daily religious observances, made the bed tea and greeted amma every single day, with devotion, before stepping out to his office. When I joined the family, I was aghast to see thaththa packing my lunch and his sons’ lunches, while amma was fast asleep. This was a non-verbal mutual arrangement between them as he encouraged his wife to continue with her passion of smocking until wee hours in the morning. For him, this was normal. They were an inseparable couple, who stuck by each other through thick and thin, come what may. Their universe was impenetrable and unshakable, until his demise.
The fact that he was able to socialise with his group of close friends, who loved high spirits, while he was a teetotaler, not in the least feeling out of place was remarkable. He would join the cheering with a glass of water in his hand while joining the clicking of whiskys and arrack by the rest! My older son Artha would always say that his grandfather was the ‘tallest man’ in the room, both metaphorically and figuratively.
This was even when Artha overtook him in height. I feel his six grandsons and one and only granddaughter adore him unconditionally for what he stood for and the values he lived by. He simply lived by example and never by empty rhetoric.
The only reason he seemed to be reluctant to leave this world was because he was paranoid that the social work he carried out would not be continued with the same devotion and dedication by the next in line.
But once he delegated his responsibilities to those whom he felt he could rely on and they proved worthy of the trust placed in them, he was ready to go.
It is the well lived life of this devoted family man, righteous social worker and simple human being that I celebrate in this tribute.
Sandya Salgado
Shamala Louis:
A dedicated teacher
The life of a loving sister was snatched away from us on June 28, 2019 and I do not know whether to call myself fortunate or unfortunate to have been standing by her bedside holding her hand while her life was ebbing away.
My sister Subo and I were looking forward to visiting our sister Shamala in the US. Shamala akka turned 80 last year and her health condition was not very stable. Since both of us have not seen her after 2016, we decided we should spend some time with her.
She was admitted to the hospital the day we were to visit her, and we spent time with her at the hospital. As she saw us, her first request to Subo was to say the prayer for the dying and even when Premi spoke to her, she had said, please pray that God should call me soon. When we saw her in the hospital, we never knew she will leave us so soon. She was fine except for a few issues. Our happiness of being with her was short lived. We went there on June 18 and on 28, she was gone. Coincidentally, June 28 was our mother’s birthday and God chose that day to take her into his fold.
The only happiness and memory Subo and I still cherish is, the privilege of being by her bed side when she closed her eyes. The entire family, Shibani, Wellington, Liza, James and both of us were around her holding her hands and Subo was saying the prayer for the dying and we could see tear drops rolling down her cheeks. She had the pleasure of listening to her grand child Shevan singing to her before she closed her eyes. Shibani and Wellington provided her the best they could, the best medical treatment and a comfortable and happy life for the past six years she spent with them.
Shamala akka, born on August 4, 1938, was the first grand child to the Benjamin family and the first born of Constance and Raju Rajakariar. Having had her education in Jaffna, she commenced her teaching profession at the Little Flower Convent in Bandarawela. Her dedication and commitment in this field took her to the heights of principal of Wellawatte Tamil Vidyalaya. She was married to James Louis and had two children Shibani and Shehan.
Shamala’s life was not a bed of roses. When Shibani was 14 and Shehan 8, she lost her beloved husband and strove hard to bring up the two children. Being a single mother, it was not only a tough task to go through the rugged path to raise the two children, but it was also a life of sacrifice. When both children were well settled in life with two lovely partners, Wellington and Rajika and three adorable grandchildren - Elizabeth, James and Shevan, she faced another tragedy of loosing her 35-year-old son Shehan in 2009. This was a great loss to the family. With Shehan’s death, her health started deteriorating.
Shamala was the team leader in the family and mother figure to her three sisters Premi, Subo and Puvi who looked up to her for advice and guidance. Shamala akka cared and looked after our dad until he was called to eternal rest at 91 after the demise of our mother.
A few days after her death, her old school, Wellawatte Tamil Vidyalaya, now known as Wellawatte Ramakrishna Vidyalaya, had a special memorial service for her. It is gratifying to note that even after 20 years of her retirement, the school still valued her services. Akka, you were a committed daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grand mother and teacher and your parting has created a great vacuum in our family. Another vital link is detached from the family. You are in a special place with God now where there is no grief nor pain.
As in the hymn ‘In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Puvi Domingopillai