London Reunion 2018

My Recollections of the London Reunion 2018 

By Nihal Amerasekera

I stepped on the treadmill of life on my first day at school and stepped off on my retirement. It’s been a long haul. Study, exams, career and family have consumed my time. All through those years what stands out are the friendships I’ve made. Friendships are one of life’s great gifts.

The London Reunion as it is called now is the brainchild of Pramilla Kannangara. She has used her exceptional organising skills for the past 2 years to gather the troops living in England for a summer meeting. Pram has the wonderful gift to collar and cajole her ‘victims’ to attend. Without Pram, the reunion would never have taken place. Satay House is a Malaysian restaurant close to the Paddington Station in a quiet street away from the heavy London traffic. The venue was chosen for easy access by public transport.

We gathered together around midday. The spirits were high and I felt I had stumbled into a time-warp. As always, some of us have not met since that fateful day in 1967. As we stepped in there were peals of laughter for the mistaken identities.The black mops of hair that once crowned young adolescent heads half a century ago, had now turned silver. But some have preserved the old order with a magic formula. Everyone was sprightly but for an occasional shuffle. Many remembered the faces but recalling names was that much harder. Such is the price of seniority nowadays!!

As we sat down to a sumptuous lunch, there was much reminiscing and great nostalgia. Having already chartered their mark as respected professionals, modesty ruled the day. Thankfully, a discourse on position, power, wealth and achievements never raised its ugly head. It was so wonderful to be together again. The merry disregard for noise regulations continued until the very end.

We give a special welcome and thank you to the friends who made it to the reunion. They came from near and far. It was lovely to see Mahes Nadarajah nee Singharayer. She came with her daughter Vino and grandchildren all the way from Manchester just to be with us. She hasn’t seen many of us for several decades. Sumathipala, who is now a regular at our blog, came with his wife Latha from Birmingham. No one recognised him except perhaps myself as we both converged on the restaurant together. He lives near the Edgbaston Cricket Grounds and we have vowed to meet again soon when I visit my son in Birmingham. They were seated next to me and were wonderful company. Haris  Boralessa has retained his full head of hair, a veritable luxury at our age. He soon got into his stride with his amusing tales about mutual friends. We thank his wife Harshi for being with us despite their busy schedule for that evening. Sushiela Kanagasabai was on her way to a wedding and looked gorgeous in her colourful saree and glistening jewellery. She looked more like the bride!! It was so good of her to come. Sunil and Sirima Abeysuriya are most supportive of our gatherings. Sunil has not changed since the Faculty days. He remains a fine raconteur. We love to hear Sunil’s stories as a doctor in several continents. Despite a mishap back in Sri Lanka recently, it was great to see Dharmani Makalanda and Amara looking so well and full of the joys of an English summer. Amara was clicking his camera in every direction and hopefully has captured some candid shots. It was great to see Sunanda (Jimmy) Wickramasinghe who shared his interests and experiences. He continues to work part-time in his surgery. We value his support for our reunion. It was so good of Indrani Subramanium to join us despite her difficulties and we must thank her daughter Rosemarie Moore for providing the support and transport. As many of us boys would recall Indrani was a bubbly girl in the Faculty. She has been a regular since our meetings began. Indrani is now much subdued just like the rest of us. Zita and Joe have always been enthusiastic supporters of the reunion. We did miss Joe this time. As on previous occasions, Zita moved around the tables to speak with everyone. There was at least one person who didn’t recognise Rohini Abhayaratne which surprised me no end. It was great to see Rohini who was in my alphabetical group all through the 5 years. I think our group got off lightly at ward classes and clinical appointments, thanks to her presence as the daughter of the Dean of the Faculty. I must say, to her credit, that Rohini wore that genetic connection lightly and conducted herself with great dignity. Many failed to recognise the slip of a girl who floated the long corridors of the GHC like a wispy cloud. Manil Katugampola (nee Hettiaratchi) is still slim and hasn’t lost that mischievous smile and her kind and thoughtful ways.

On this occasion we remember absent friends. Suren Iyer sadly left us so suddenly at the beginning of this year. We recall warmly his presence at our last Reunion and his humorous anecdotes of our Faculty days. B.T Batuwitage was a regular attendee of our meetings in London with his lovely wife Geetha. Last year we recognised he was unwell. We remember with affection Batu and Geetha at this time and hope the coming months and years will be kind to him. We send our best wishes to Geetha who is his ever-loving carer. Mahendra Gonsalkorale was away on a trip to the antipodes. Sanath Lamabadusuriya is a regular summer visitor to England. He attended the event last year but this time he had his family converge on him in Colombo. Shanthini Nalliah was on her way to Sri Lanka. We saw DSC Attale last year who has since remained incommunicado.

Then came the ever-popular photo call. Many pulled out their shiny smartphones. There was the all important group photograph. As so many photos were taken it was hard to maintain a natural smile for so long. Risus sardonicus comes to mind!!As gravity has taken over our lives, standing still for any length of time is a tough ask. Despite our infirmities and creaking joints, we managed to please the paparazzi.

We had a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the people with whom we spent five glorious years of our youth. Where have all those years gone? The Reunion has enriched my soul. Although the food was good and the company was jolly, like all good things it has its end. After the lunch the time was nearing 3.00 pm and we all started to get itchy feet. Asian goodbyes take time. This went on for a further half an hour, with hugs and kisses, until we finally dispersed. One cannot put a price on the friendship and camaraderie that we enjoyed. Those who did not attend missed something very special that money can’t buy. Our thanks go to Pram for organising such a wonderful event. Once again thank you to all those who attended. May we have the good fortune to meet again. It is Au revoir and not goodbye.

L to R: Rohini, Sunil, Sirima, Latha

 Latha, Sumathi, ND

Mahes, Harshi, Susheila, Pram

Back row: Mahes, Bora, Susheila, Sumathi, Sunanda, Pram, ND, Manil, Rohini, Sunil, Dharmani

                                                        Seated: Indrani and Zita    

 

Rohini, Sunil and Sirima