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| Nihal Amerasekera and Indra Anandasabapathy |
After Fifty
Years by Nihal D. Amerasekera
Indra and I
hail from that great institution on Baseline Road in full view of the Welikada
Prison. We were berated by our teachers that if we don’t tread the straight and
narrow pathwe may end-up in the ‘hotel’ in front of our gates.Despite the
generous offer of free food and lodging in the ‘hotel’ opposite we managed to
find gainful employment in a more salubrious place not too far fromthe noise
and grime of Punchi Borella. Perhaps we missed out meeting some of the
illustrious and colourful characters that walked the corridors of that
‘infamous hotel’.
Indra was
always a clever, quiet and studious guy who avoided the rough and tumble.
Despite the dirt and stains of the laboratory practicals he managed to always
be dressed immaculately in a brilliant white unstained shirt and trouser. The
creases on his well ironed trousers were strikingly sharp and could slice a
loaf of bread. He maintained this sartorial elegance all through medical
school. Who could forget his skill in identifying the carpal bones while they
were still in his pocket!!
We have
kept in touch on ‘Facetime’ over the years seeing ourselves grow older and
wiser. Sometimes from Florida and at other time from his house in Staten Island
we have talked in all weathers. It is such a pleasure to speak with Indra. I
was thrilled when he said he was visiting London and we decided to meet in
Busaba off Oxford Street. It was indeed a great pleasure to meet Rani for the
first time. In the past I only knew her as the creator of those wonderful
paintings and the passionate gardener who maintained an immaculate garden,
indoors and out.The photos of their plantsin the blog gave us such great
pleasure. They have a tremendous love of nature and wildlife. Rani’s kindness
and pleasant friendly manner made it a wonderful meeting. We then proceeded to
an Italian Coffee shop when Indra and Rani had Devonshire Scones with clotted
cream with the coffee. The conversation continued from international politics,
to Sri Lankan cricket and our lives in retirement.
In the
middle two photos it seems like I am planning to raid the cashier’s till behind
me!! It may have crossed my mind. Frommy pose and
demeanour in those photos you may have thought that I dominated the
conversation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indra still maintains
the careful precision of an anaesthetist waiting to wake us up. Although
measured, Indra is a fine raconteur and helped us enormously to reconnect and
recall those great years at school and the Faculty. It was amazing that we
remembered so much despite the years. The enchantment of those years in old
Ceylon still seem to haunt us.
Both Rani
and Indra are kind and considerate and it was hard for me to say goodbye.The
tears welled up in my eyes as I hugged them.As I write this note, their
generous invitation to visit their home still rings in my ears.What struck me
most about Rani and Indra was theiramiable honesty and their modesty despite
their many achievements. I wish them both good health and happiness in the
months and years to come. May we have the good fortune to meet again.
Glad you two met. Would have Tried to come but in NZ and Australia
ReplyDeleteDo not miss the south island tour or drive through- Queenstown,Milford sound, the forested area with giant ferns in the north - used in Lord of the rings.
DeleteSouth island is way prettier than north.
ia
ReplyDeleteSumathi
Nice to you two(duo),at least in photos.Indra was my friend,HO at Ratnapura General.He never forgot to visit me at Deniyaya,just before the Insurrectio, erupted.He was with Desmond and late Dr.kandiah(senior).He revealed about his departure to States,alone with Desmon.I am isolated in Midlands with hardly any contact with our old mates.Londoners are lucky as the London being the hub of the air travel industry.
I am sure Mahendra(Speedy) might have met Rohini,in Auckland.
Sumathi, you should write about your experiences during the JVP insurrection.
Deleteia
When I was a registrar to US Jayawickrama in the early 1970 his SHO was arrested by the police during the insurgency. He seemed a nice guy with strong left wing attitudes but kind to his patients. I was sympathetic to Che Guevara and his struggles for a just society and had many books at home about him which I was advised to destroy. I hasten to add I was never a part of that ruthless cult which nearly destroyed our democracy. I recall the disruption of life at the time and the uncertainty nearly 50 years ago. How time has flown!!
DeleteLucky
ReplyDeleteThank you for publishing our photo. I will write a short account of our meeting soon. It was such a pleasure to see Indra and Rani.
Indra, I thought you were a Peterite. When did you cross over?
ReplyDeleteSanath
Trust Zita to be always late to comment! Well, better late than never, I like to thank Nihal for that wonderful profile of our batch mate Indra Ananadasabapathy after a brief meeting with him in London after all those years. I am very happy to read these details about him as recently we've just been admiring his photo contributions to the Blog and paintings of his wife, Rani. It's great to know that our batch mates have achieved such a lot became such great people in their own right and are still contributing something valuable whether it be art, photography or friendship. Thanks for posting this Nihal and Lucky. from Zita
ReplyDeleteThanks Zita. It was great to see you today at the Reunion in London. We must meet again when Mahendra is back and with Joe his usual self.
ReplyDelete