The countdown to our 50 th Anniversary Batch Reunion 2017 has earnestly begun. As a build up towards the great event, yesterday's edition of the Sunday Island carried two articles connected to the Reunion. I wrote one myself -"Completing 50 years as Medical Doctors" and the other by our own Kumar Gunawardene who is a Consultant Cardiologist based in Brisbane, Australia. The latter article is about Kumar's Internship days in Galle and his close friendship with another classmate Sunil Ranjan (Sunna) de Silva. Sunna was the first of the 29 who have left us forever.
Please click on :
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=159857
(in case it fails to open, please go to Google and cut and paste the link and search.
OR go to Infolanka and see Sunday Island of 5th February. It will be under Archives)
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=159846
A lot of deafening silence even from our regulars! I think people are very busy and I know for a fact of many who read the blog but don't comment. So long as it is visited and revisited because they enjoyed the first visit, that is the main thing. As for me, I am eagerly looking forward to the Reunion.
ReplyDeleteKumar G , if you are reading this, please do contribute to the Blog as you have an appealing style of writing I enjoyed reading about you and Sunnna. I shall always remember Sunna as one of the most "dead-pan" faced people I have met;no surprise that he was a good Poker player!
Thank you Mahendra. Will contribute more as now I have some free time.I do enjoy your contributions very much too.I infact stared on a rejoinder to your interview with Cyril Ernest but lost the draft.Hope second time round will be better.!!!
DeleteSomething to look forward to Kumar! My breath is quite understandably much baited!
DeleteKumar, I did read your heartfelt article about Sunna in the newspaper, it was very touching. When I first met Sunna in the anatomy block , I was rather shocked at the many "Bloodys" and "buggers" that were interspersed among the few words that emerged from his mouth. "Bloody women" was a favorite phrase. (Remember, I came from an all female school!) But, I realized that he wasn't a scary person at all and we became friends. I got to know him much better when we were all hanging out in NYC in 1971. Later when we moved to Norwalk, Connecticut and he was working in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, I would get surprise calls from the coffee shop of the hospital, in the middle of my work day, because he happened to be driving by and wanted to say hello. I loved those spontaneous visits. I still remember the night when I got a call about his fatal accident. There was a violent thunderstorm to add to my distress and I didn't sleep a wink. He was a very special person and a good friend, and I still think about him from time to time. Thank you Kumar, for writing about him. Srianee
ReplyDeleteThank you Srianee.He was indeed a special person.S enjoyed sociolising with friends very much.Many were the trips we made on his mobiike in Galle visiting buddies..He is missed very much.
ReplyDeleteWhen I applied for the Paediatric post in the Colombo Medical Faculty, the head of the interview panel was Walwin de Silva ( Sunil's father) who was the Vice -Chancellor at that time . When I was leaving after the interview he asked me " who plays more billiards, my son or you " I did not reply , I only smiled,. I got the job! The rest is history !
ReplyDeleteSanath
Sunna used to visit me wherever I was in Sri Lanka. He had even come to Matara on a motor bike (more powerful than the Honda 50 he had as a student).
ReplyDeleteWhen we were 2nd MB students in 1962, on the evening we had the Block Concert, Sunna was on my pillion. At the Bambalapitiya traffic lights, a van belonging to EAP Edirisinghe knocked us from behind. Sunna was thrown over my head and landed on the road, but fortunately nothing happened to him. There were no helmets those days. The bike was slightly damaged and was repaired at a garage belong to the EAP Group at Cotta Road.
I had not met Sunil (Sunna) since we qualified and his early demise made that a permanent absence. But his face, his persona lives for ever as does those of other precious members we've lost. I am sure there'll be a Memoriam for for our dear departed members at the 50th anniversary get together and let us make it a point to 'be there' at these gatherings whenever possible in the precious time left to us. Zita
ReplyDeleteZita, you will definitely be missed at the reunion. I will write a more private communion later.
DeleteSrianee