There once was a guy named Lucky,
Doing Community Medicine he was happy.
In Sri Lankan shores he travelled afar
For preventive medicine and community care.
In time he succumbed to his itchy feet,
Flew to foreign shores more ambitions to meet.
To Malaysia, Carolinas, and around in the states
He cruised all over- no time did he waste.
A promise he made to himself while afar,
To return to his motherland- his heart lay there.
Though it certainly was a tricky affair
In those times in Sri Lanka when nothing was fair.
He settled himself down with pride and flair
His message to others was in the air !
Having dug his feet in , he needed a dare-
He started a BLOG! for us everywhere.
It reached million hits, he was as pleased as Punch-
Mahen, Nihal and Zita, your 'numbers' were 'crunch'.
Razaque ,Srianee, Sriani and Kumar
As well as Lama, joined their talents to share.
So did our quiet but talented friends
Indra, Ranee, Lucky Weera from United States.
Cyril Ernest, Sumathi - not the least- though late,
Appeared in the blog of this Lucky Abey !
Right now there's a lull, so It's time to cheer
The blog's maker who'd wonder what's gone so queer!
Have his friends abandoned him? oh dear oh dear !
This cannot be true - so don't shed a tear.
WAKE UP dear bloggers ! It's no time to snooze!
Get your pens, paint brushes, and play the 'Blues'.
Lucky's had a good rest and is ready to move
Lets not wait till in grief he goes on the booze!
By Rohini Anandaraja
P.S. The above is just a few lines written in fun - some details may be inaccurate.
Most Importantly, I vouch for Lucky's sobriety !
This blog is about new entrants to the Colombo Medical Faculty of the University of Ceylon (as it was then known) in June 1962. There were a total of 166 in the batch (included 11 from Peradeniya).Please address all communications to: colmedgrads1962@gmail.com.You may bookmark this page for easier access later. Header image: Courtesy Prof. Rohan Jayasekara, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (2011 - 2014). Please use the search bar using a key word to access what interests you
Rohini
ReplyDeleteYou have put our thoughts into poetry gracefully and elegantly. A wake up call, a tender soliloquy, that's been a long time coming. You are indeed an immensely talented poet, musician and a writer amongst much much more. I wish you can find the time in between your myriad of jobs to entertain and enlighten us. Thank you.
Congratulations Rohini! You are so talented. Your poem was superb. Please find the time to continue writing more poems.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I met your elder sister at Keels Supermarket a few days ago, and I told her that I am in contact with you via e-mail. Hope you enjoy the occasional jokes!
Sriani
I knew a girl called Rohini,As a child,was she naughty?,
ReplyDeleteDuring lectures,she was a bit dosy.
She found the the exams easy, and afterwards, was gaudy and jaunty.
Carried out duties keenly and never felt lonely.
Met her future husband in a city ending in rocky.
I,am sure she was not haughty,but appeared to be uppishly
Cooked food that were tasty.
She has written about Lucky,validly&warmly,in a language that is salty.
Danke Schon.
Rohini, that's absolutely fabulous! Your talents know no end! And what a timely message to our Blog readers and batch members everywhere!
ReplyDeleteThanks for thinking about this timely message brought to us with the panache of a true poet. We expect more from your pen or 'fingers on the keyboard' these days and long may our Blog live thanks to Lucky and Mahendra and some key figures in our batch! from Zita
Rohini, you continue to amaze us. Thank you for putting your pen to paper and letting us into your thought process and talents.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff.
ia
Dear friends, I haven't ever woken up to such a barrage of kind words and compliments in all my life ! Makes me wonder whether there has been a conspiracy while I was fast asleep, to surprise me on waking !
ReplyDeleteMy sincere thanks to each one of you for being so kind and generous in your comments. I have so enjoyed the great contributions you have all made over the past years, and if the few words I've written have in any way entertained
you, I am pleased.
Not the least- My sincere thanks to Lucky for his expertise and dedication to to maintaining this great blog ! Cheers !
Hi "Anonymous", I know of only one person who'd have known me from my
ReplyDeletemischievous school days, through my dosey med school years, and also after graduation to my kitchen, to taste my mediocre cuisine and say it was tasty !
I am fairly certain as to your identity, but shall consult you prior to divulging it to the blog ! I know our friends in the blog will be delighted with your appearance here, just as I am - Welcome my dear friend !
Rohini, please divulge the name of this person ASAP.
ReplyDeleteI am dying to know who he/she is.
Sriani
Sriani, Shall do as soon as I've managed to contact her!
DeleteI have failed so far.
You might in fact be able to guess!
Iam sure she won't mind if I let you know, but I don't think it's fair for me to release her name in a public domain without her permission.
Let me keep trying to contact her !
Sriyani Dissa-Nayake,
DeleteMarried a Bas-Nayake,
Enjoyed,the company of Nayakes,
Stuck-up as a Nayake.
Always,proud of her Ancestry,
Exalted to a status of an "OLD AUNTY",
Don't call her an agony Aunty,
Waiting another call from Anandi.
Methuselah!
Dear Mr/Ms Methuselah,
DeleteI take objection to be referred to as "stuck-up" !!! I may enjoy the "company of Nayakes", but I don't like the next line!
By the way, I was an "Agony Aunt" for 16 years, when I had an agony aunt column in the "Sirikatha" newspaper about 25 years ago. Now I am an "Old Aunt".
Sriani
'Ah,'quoth HE,withdraw the part"stuck-up"with thousand apologies.
DeletePraise thy LORD,YAHWEH.
Oh! My dear,Sriyani,
DeleteI had a lover,called,Priyani,
We,went on a Sawari,
When,she lost,her,Hawari.
Andare
Rohini, I hope you realise how important it is to satisfy Sriani's curiosity. Please divulge the name of this anonymous writer without keeping such a large number of blog viewers in suspense. Not that I myself am keen to know who it is!
ReplyDeleteLucky
Lucky, see reply to Sriani -
DeleteLucky, I am so sorry I missed the humor in your comment that followed Sriani's on the 18th !
DeleteOh come on Rohini! You are rather slow on the uptake. At least you knew that it was written in good humour.
DeleteI am certainly not the anonymous writer. But I was also keen to know who it could be!
Rohini;My dear mischievous,grow up.
DeleteYour friend did not request you to expose your naughty bits.Enjoy a sense of humour.
Rohini, that was priceless and entertaining! I have been rather busy preparing the Souvenir for the 35th Anniversary event of the SLMDA (Sri Lankan Medical and Dental Association in the UK). It was a challenging task and I am deeply satisfied that I was able to do it, by the deadline required by the Printer at 4.45am today!
ReplyDeleteComing back to your poem, you have displayed your poetic talents in no uncertain manner and we need some more!
I do hope that your "wake up" call will galvanise people into action.
Long live the Blog!
Thank you Rohini for sharing your poetic talents.
ReplyDeletean endearing tribute to Lucky and a wake up call to others.
Manel, my sincere apology for leaving you out of my verse- it was something I wrote quickly off the top of my head with no in-depth checking of facts. In fact Lucky who likes to get things just right had to chase me to get a title for it while I was chasing the RC Rugby events! That is the trouble he takes to maintain the standard of the blog ! Please accept my apology for my lapse. I appreciate your kind comment and It's great to hear from you - Many thanks.
DeleteIt is my duty as the Blog Administrator to explain matters when needed. Regular bloggers (especially those based outside Sri Lanka) might wonder where Sanath Lama is these days and why he is so quiet.
ReplyDeleteAs with most blogs and bloggers, when a post is a week or two old, viewers tend to read comments under the latest post, but not read older posts and comments. But please note that Sanath had made a long comment under Rohini Ana's previous contribution (Dr. Rasalingam's Appreciation published on September 4th) wherein he has explained his prolonged absence, apart from adding to what has been said about "Ras" by Rohini.
Of course you know that Razaque and Lucky Weerasooriya are unable to contribute more often due to ill health. On top of that, LW had to move temporarily from Fort Myers in FL because of Hurricane Irma. You might also recall that Srianee (Bunter) flew to Peru in the first week of September and we have not heard from her since then. It so happened that my daughter Dilushi who lives in Virginia Beach, VA also went on holiday to Peru about the same time. She had to change flights in Miami on the way in to South America, and she was stranded in Lima once Irma hit FL. It is common knowledge now that the Miami Airport was closed for days. It was with much difficulty and after some delay that Dilushi got her return journey re-routed via Chicago and Canada. Thankfully, she is now back at home. I have a feeling that Bunter too had to change flights in Miami as she was flying in from CT. I have sent her an e-mail but not received a reply yet. As explained by Speedy (vide his comment above), he had been quite busy with another important matter.
So you see folks, the blog serves many purposes. When a regular contributor is "missing in action", other "regulars" begin to wonder!
To conclude this long comment on a happier note, I have now discovered (mainly through private e-mails) that many members of our batch do visit the blog regularly although they don't contribute. I must also take this opportunity to thank you all for keeping the blog going and giving a much needed wake-up call to others in the batch. I do appreciate your efforts to keep my enthusiasm alive at all times through your much valued contributions and comments!
This being a fairly long comment, I hope you won't mind if I publish it as a separate new post as well.