Sunil Wijeratna - an exemplary dual citizen
Sunil Wijeratna, my beloved cousin passed away in Zurich, Switzerland while convalescing following surgery in Colombo, after a nasty fall he faced in Kandy in February 2020. After the surgery in Colombo, he was flown to Switzerland by an air ambulance arranged by his two sons, Norman and Ranil Wijeratna, who live in Zurich as Swiss citizens.
Both are high calibre professionals in engineering and technological fields, and are married and have children. Sunil was in hospital in Zurich until he passed away in mid-October. He telephoned me from the hospital a few days before demise, he was my favourite cousin. We were in touch with each other for many years.
Sunil migrated to Europe in 1973, selecting the best country globally and settled down in Zurich and worked for a leading Swiss finance company CSC as data base administrator and worked many years for the company until retirement in 2010 and returned to Sri Lanka, his home land that he loved much.
He married a Swiss woman, Magdalene and raised a family of two sons, educating them quite well to become professionals. Sunil while working in Zurich made regular visits to Sri Lanka and never forgot to visit our ancestral village Ematiyagoda, Godakewela. He had an immense love and respect for the ancestry and particularly the grand old Wijeratne Walawwa in Ematiagoda where many of us were born and raised during early years.
Sunil was a unique person in more than one sense. This is evident in what he did in Sri Lanka after his retirement and his decision to settle down in Sri Lanka. Given his well-funded retirement plan and savings, he could have stayed in Switzerland or any other country of his choice. His choice was Sri Lanka despite the other dazzling foreign lands which might have been more attractive for retirement. Having decided to return to Sri Lanka to settle down, guided by his patriotic feeling and immense love for the country, his unique personality amply reflects in what he did in Sri Lanka.
He purchased the ancestral Emiitiiyagoda “Wijeratne Walawwa” from Ranjan Wijeratne, my other cousin who migrated to U.S.A with his family. This Wijeratne Walawwa was built in 1870 by three Wijeratne brothers, all were our grandparents - Lokku Bandara, Madduma Bandara and Tikiri Bandara Wijeratnas.
It was built on a well-designed architectural plan, using local material obtained from surrounding lands they had owned, using a beautiful site overlooking a narrow valley with paddy lands they had developed by then. The living quarters of the Walawwa are spacious and well planned with a Medamidula,measuring 40 x 80 ft, perhaps the largest one in Sabaragamuwa. The large roof is 21 feet high resting on ten elegantly designed pillars standing in the large, open verandah, measuring 60 x 20 ft. all on raised ground above the front garden. The unique feature of this building is that no metal or cement was used for the building. Roof tiles and terracotta floor tiled were made at the site, selecting the best type of soil and clay.
The family history indicates that the Walawwa was built to last for five generations or more. The pride of this Walawwa complex is the Bo Maluwa built on a three-tier platform, well laid out Bodhi Gara on the east, facing the Walawwa to serve as the family shrine. It enshrines a Bodhiya brought from Anuradhapura and planted in early 20th century. Daily pujas were held there since then.
Sunil no doubt got to know this family history and indeed fell in love with this grand Walawwa and its related ancestry and got the Department of Archaeology to recognise the Bo Malluwa as a historic site.
He used his foreign exchange savings to renovate the Walawwa first, and maintain and manage it, for comfortable living and causing no structural alterations. He got the access road repaired and obtained electricity, telephone connections and running water to the living quarters of the main house, adding specially designed new furniture, to suite the old grand charm. Having brought the old Walawwa to a comfortable living place, he employed a group of workers for the maintenance of the premises and the large garden and Bo Maluwa. His sister Naranjana (Chuty) who came to live in the Walawwa, did an excellent job of managing the place while Sunil financed the operations, to maintain the old grandeur and its charm ensuring safety and comfortable living.
The workers did daily tasks of cleaning, clearing and cutting grass and were on a monthly wage which was far above the prevailing rate in the village. Being the pay master, Sunil looked after the workers well, and even got their houses renovated and in two cases, he financed constructing two new houses built on their own lands. He even gifted a piece of land that had a two roomed house built on Sunil’s ancestral property. Feeling sorry for them, he even ordered milk tea be given with tea served at midday and raised their salaries periodically and all were given one day a week free.
Sunil donated more comfortable desks and chairs to the village school which our grandparents had started way back in the 1880s. He got the school shrine room renovated for daily pujas for the schoolchildren. The village temple that was also built on a large land donated by the three Wijeratne brothers in the 1890s, planted with coconut and a paddy field added to it, which was developed by their own labour.
Sunil knew this family history and its traditions and never forgot to observe strictly as the occasion demanded. When new year comes in mid-April, Sunil made it a point to be present and play the role as the chief host in style and grace, never boasting that he came to own the grand Walawwa built by the ancestors.
He was keen to observe the auspicious times set for various things to be done during Sinhala New Year, giving gifts to everyone, including village visitors and his workers and their families. Sumptuous meals and drinks were served during the New Year celebration at the Walawwa in Emitiyagoda for New Year. Sunil often arranged a trip to a distance place, either to beautiful coastal area or the mountainous up country and sometimes both combined to take a few days off as a holiday, inviting the relatives and the guests to join.
I was always invited by Sunil. He met all the costs during such holiday trips, and never letting anyone to be inconvenienced during the trip and always stayed in comfortable accommodations.
The last trip we did was to Pasikuda and Baticoloa in the east coast and Jaffna in the north, visiting Naga Deepa and Jaffna Fort, seeing the effects of the battle against terrorism. Sunil and I visited the restored Jaffna public library, spent some time in the reading room.
Sunil being such a large-hearted employer took his employees on these trips, enabling them to enjoy as well and to worship at the Naga Viharaya.
We were to meet again in April 2020, but it was not to be, as Sunil had that fatal fall in Kandy in early February, 2020. Sunil passed way on October 14. Today the grave of my beloved cousin Sunil lies not too far from that of that of his dear wife in a village at the foot hills of beautiful Alps. Though he passed away so suddenly, he has left a beautiful imprint of love generosity in the heart of many. May he be blessed by the Supreme bliss of Nibbana!
Bernard Dissanayake
Fifty years of teaching music
Pushpa Senaratne, one of the most experienced Western Music Teachers (Pianoforte) in the island completes 50 years of her professional career in February. She received her primary education at Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya and Sujatha Vidyalaya Colombo. While being a student in these schools, she took part in Kandyan dancing, music and stage plays and won several prizes in singing and stage acting competitions.
She mostly excelled in Kandyan Dancing which she started at seven and later Bharatha Dancing and Ballet Dancing under the late Somabandu. Pushpa was a regular member of the school choirs while at Dharmapala and Sujatha Vidyalaya.
Her parents identified Pushpa’s interest and talents in the aesthetic field at early age and was trained Western Music under Roveena Unanthenna of Kohuwala.
While studying for her diploma in Western Music, she started her teaching profession in February 1971. Pushpa has served as a Music Teacher in number of schools in country. St. Peters College, Negombo, St. Mary’s Convent, Matara, Sujatha Vidyalaya, Nugegoda and Christ King College, Pannipitiya among the schools. She also taught music at Thajudeen School in the Maldives for two years.
Pushpa is a registered Music Teacher in four institutes: Institute of Western Music and Speech, Trinity College of Music London, Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, London (ABRSM) and London College of Music (LCM).
A function to felicitate her 50-year career in teaching Western Music will be held on January 31 in Pannipitiya. Pushpa will also launch a book on poetry at the event.
Lionel Sirimanna - a great teacher
A beacon of light in English education in Sri Lanka – W. Lionel Sirimanna, passed away on January 24, 2020. It was with great sadness, that winter morning in the UK, that I received the news of his death.
I first met “Sirimanna Sir” in 1994 when on recommendation from late Capt. Lionel Samararathne (another great teacher), my father enrolled me in his English tuition class in Maharagama. From that day for the next 26 years, he was a teacher, mentor, and a friend to me.
Sirimanna was born on June 9, 1938 in Kandy and was educated at Kingswood College. He began his teaching career in the Government schools in 1961, in Gampola. After teaching in several schools, he underwent further training at the Teacher Training College, Maharagama until late 1968.
He joined Polonnaruwa Bakamuna Mahasena Maha Vidyalaya and continued until 1978 at various schools, as an English trained teacher. Starting in 1978, he pursued his graduate studies achieving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1980. After graduating, he served in various government schools, including St. John’s College, Nugegoda. Such was his versatility that while at St. John’s in addition to leading on the English language teaching, he founded the College Cricket Team and acted as the Master- in-Charge of Cricket and coached the first XI Team.
From 1984, he taught as an English teacher in Oman, where he proved himself to be a talented educator. It is said that such was his reputation as a great teacher that upon hearing of his intended return to Sri Lanka, the Minister for Education in Oman flew in to request him to stay on. But, fortunately for us, the call of his island home was stronger!
In 1991,after returning to Sri Lanka, he joined the National Institute of Technical Education in Dehiwala as a Lecturer. Simultaneously, he started tutoring English and English Literature privately, his students ranging from young ages up to O/L classes, as well as professionals. He spent the next 22 years providing education to pupils from various walks of life.
In this endeavour, he was one of a kind in that he lived to teach – “English adds lustre to life” was his motto and those of us who studied under him are living proof of this. However, he also taught us that “English is not all, but discipline and goodwill shall rule us all”, exemplifying the qualities he sought to inculcate in his students.
He was such a gentleman and cared for the education and the welfare of his students so much that he taught many students free. Not being satisfied with just delivering knowledge in the classroom, he revived the English Day programs in 1996 (having previously conductedthese in the late 1980’s) and annually organised them until 2013. Through this practical approach to English education, he upskilled students to navigate the rapids of life.
The education he gave us helped us through many challenges and helped us thrive in our professions. He used to say that the students were like uncut diamonds and that he cut and polished them. Many of those diamonds he produced continue to shine in society in Sri Lanka and abroad.
Capt. Lionel Samararathne once said, “There are those who become teachers by accident and there are those who are born to teach- Sirimanna is of the latter kind”. Despite all the praise and accolades Sirimanna remained a humble person and never advertised his classes; humility was a virtue he preached and practised.
I still remember the first day in Sirimanna’s class- it was unlike any other tuition class that I had attended. It started with reciting the Five Precepts. Next, we went on to practise Speech Patterns and Speech Cards.
He invented the five stages of a verb as a method to deliver and absorb grammar knowledge easily. He invented novel methods to teach the language. Under his tutelage, I was able to win English writing competitions at the SAARC regional level twice.
Sirimanna Sir educated, guided and empowered us. The yeoman service he rendered to the student community and English education in Sri Lanka is well beyond praise. He was not just a teacher, but a parent and a friend all in one. I and many others will miss him every day for the rest of our lives. But I am sure; we will meet again, for I cannot believe this was a chance encounter in the journey of Sansara. Dear Sirimanna Sir, I bid you farewell, until we meet again in Sansara. Nilanka Ranasinghe