More on Birthdays

What prompted me to write this brief article was the series of comments following the publication of Sarva's official Obituary.

When I compiled the Batch Directory, I had to leave out the dates of birth for obvious reasons. Firstly, you will recall that I got your consent before placing the information in the public domain. Some gave their consent and some did not. That explains why there are so many gaps, missing information etc. Moreover, I had to restrict such information to a bare minimum due to lack of space.
But it is a pity that all members are not making use of it. I get so many e-mails and telephone calls to get members' contact information. That is okay and I always oblige. But what you can do is to archive the document for future reference. I always try to update it whenever new information comes in. In fact, I will shortly post the updated Directory on this blog's "Latest News" section. All you have to do then will be to look it up on the blog.

Going back to the subject proper now that it has been opened up (particularly the discussion on who the youngest in the batch is) I shall try to write a few words. I must confess at the outset that this information may not be accurate and I am recalling from memory what I know. As in any medical batch, we had members whose dates of birth ranged from 1936 to 1944. Those who were born in 1944 are obviously the youngest. I can count them based purely on information that falls into my lap: Mahendra Gonsalkorale, Suriyakanthi Karunaratne Amarasekera, Srianee Dias Fernando, Virginia Swan de Vos, Manohari Navaratnarajah Shanmuganathan, Ravi Nadarajah, Padmini Karunanayake Wijeratne. I doubt very much that Vedavanam was born in 1944. I think it was 1943.

In my opinion, I must also add that being born in the 1930s is nothing to be ashamed of. It shows their perseverance, dedication and determination to enter the medical profession. I know of some who had no choice but to seek employment for a short period prior to embarking on a medical career because their families simply could not afford to put them through medical school. On the contrary, such individuals should be admired and cheered all the way.

I was born at the tail end of 1941 and I wish to explain very briefly why I happen to belong to the middle categories. I had already lost three solid years when I finally entered the Medical Faculty along with you all in June 1962. Until December 1956, I had breezed through all exams. But I failed to get five credits at one and the same examination which was the December 1956 Senior School Certificate (SSC) exam. That was also the last batch of students whose medium of instruction in all schools was compulsorily English. We had to do mathematics, all science subjects and even Buddhism in English.

According to prevailing rules, students could still continue in the bio stream (or incorrectly termed "medicine") if he or she managed to get four credits and get the fifth at a subsequent exam. I got the required five credits at the very next exam which was held in July 1957, but by then, I had already lost an year. Thus, I ended up in the HSC (Lower VI) in January 1958 to prepare for the University Entrance exam in December 1959. Further disaster was to follow because I got passes only in Botany and Zoology. Another year was lost! I repeated the exam in December 1960, but only to follow the so called 6 months course at the Science Faculty starting June 1961. Incidentally, the six months course that we followed was to be the last. All successful candidates  were admitted "Direct" to the Medical Faculty from June 1963. By that time I had lost three years. Had I passed all examinations in one shot, I would have graduated in March 1964.

During our time as medical students from 1962 to 1967, there were many 21st birthday parties, especially those of females. Carefully screened "boys" were invited  to some of these parties, but they were attended mainly by close friends of the birthday girl concerned. Although I did not attend any of these parties, my bosom pal Sunil Abeysuriya used to give me a ball by ball commentary of the event because his sister Sura attended most of them. That way, I was always kept updated with the latest gossip and so called inside stories circulating in the batch.

Now dear friends, I have a feeling that you have been itching to say something while reading through the above article. So, now you have the opportunity to make unlimited comments in the appropriate place.