By Nihal D. Amerasekera
The news of the demise of yet another
friend from our medical school days brought great sadness. It is indeed a stark
reminder of our own mortality. Cecil Desmond Gunatilaka hailed from that fine
school by the sea. It may have been the sea breeze and the sound of the waves
that made him so good-natured, understanding and gentle!! I remember Desmond
from the rag by the Block to our final goodbye on the steps of the Faculty lobby
in 1967. In all those grueling five years he saw no evil, heard no evil and
spoke no evil, but was not without a sense of mischief. He was urbane, cultured
and immensely polite. We remained good friends all through the Faculty days
meeting often in the Common Room for a chit chat. Desmond was a quiet but
lively person and maintained a sense of fun contributing to the laughter and
humour that was endemic in the medical school. The examinations gave us
nightmares. Desmond took them in his stride, prepared meticulously and sailed
through seemingly effortlessly.
I heard he completed his internship in Ratnapura
and joined the mass emigration to the USA which was emblematic of the time.
Then we lost contact until out of the blue I received an email from San Jose,
California. It took me back when he said he was a pulmonologist. This wasn’t a term we use in the UK. I
remember asking him if he specialised in the left or the right lung. I could
only imagine his chuckle. I gather that Desmond was greatly liked by his patients
who have written glowingly of his professional care and attention.
This may have been towards the end of the
1990’s when he asked me how to apply for entry into Oxford University. He was
keen to send his only son to that great institution. I managed to gather some
information for him. Then I heard no more about it although there were
occasional e-mails. He took his professional work seriously, seemed happy in his
job and enjoyed family life. Then again, the communications stopped. Perhaps we
both were busy with our professional lives and family issues. I heard no more
from Desmond.
I always assumed we will have the good
fortune to meet again but sadly that was
not to be. His demise brings me great sadness. None of us can hold back the
night. We pass on our condolences to his wife and son.
May he find eternal peace.
Thank you,ND for your excellent words of appreciation of Desmond,whom I new from Medical School days.Looking at the picture,I doubt very much whether I would have recognised him,if I were to meet him,prior to his departure from this world.By the way,Desmond's room mate was Kolla(Collure)at Ratnapura General.Desmond was lucky to do the two major appointments(Medicine&Surgery)at Ratnapura.Those two should have gone to me,as I was on the top of the order of merit.The acting MS Caral Jayasuriya intruduced a raffle system,in order to assign the respective branches,instead of applying the merit system.I had no bad feelings for Desmond and we remained good friends.After all it was not his mistake,even though his intension was to get the two major branches of Medicine,which he succeeded,at the end.ND!don't tell me that I continue to mourn about the failures in life during the days bygone.
ReplyDeleteSumathi
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. You both have done well despite the order of merit saga. Desmond was a fair minded guy in his dealings.
In my playlist on Spotify is one of my favourites from 1968 "Do you know the way to San Jose" by Dionne Warwick. When I play this it will most certain bring back memories of my friend Desmond who lived and worked there on the San Francisco Bay area close to Silicon Valley.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that I appreciate the interest and participation of Sumathi in our blog. Thanks Sumathi, you are honest and refreshingly candid.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucky for posting all the emails you received from colleagues expressing their sadness.
ReplyDeleteI too was shocked hear of Desmond's passing away. I had spoken to him a couple of months ago when I hada relative of mine who was visiting from Australia. he was very helpful and my relative was very impressed of Desmond.
ReplyDeleteI am told there is to be a memorial service on the 16th the details I don't have at the present moment. Will pass on the information as I receive them.
Hi Patas
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you as we share in the sorrow and also celebrate a life well lived. Desmond was indeed a gem in a sea of pebbles.
Sorry you can’t make it for the London reunion but if ever you come to our great city do let us know.
Meanwhile take care my friend
Hello. I apologize for intruding upon your discussion, but I just wanted to thank you all for the kind words and well wishes regarding my father--in this post as well as across this blog. It truly means a lot to hear these special memories during this difficult time.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested in the memorial service, here are the final details:
Please join us in celebrating the life of C. Desmond Gunatilaka, M.D.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Lima-Campagna-Alameda Mission Chapel
600 South 2nd Street
San Jose, California 95112
Viewing at 11 a.m.
Service at 1 p.m.
(Also special thanks are in order to Dr Amerasekera, as I did end up studying at Oxford for a year. So the advice offered to my father at the time clearly helped!)
All the best,
Timothy Gunatilaka
Dear Timothy
ReplyDeleteThank you for your message. So pleased you were part of that great British institution, Oxford University. On behalf of the Medical Faculty batch of 1962 we pass on our condolences to Josephine and Timothy. We will celebrate the life of our dear friend and be with you in spirit for the Memorial Service
Kindest regards
Nihal
Nihal, Thank you for writing this beautiful appreciation. Desmond was a very nice guy, but from the comments I have read, not so good at communicating via email. He was really well-mannered and gentlemanly while in Med School and later. (I have added a comment to Kumar's post as well, so I won't repeat myself.)
ReplyDeleteTimothy, if you are reading this, know that your father was well-respected and fondly remembered by his classmates in Medical School. My heartfelt sympathies to you and you mom for your loss. May your father Rest in Peace. As Nihal says we will be with you in spirit as you celebrate his life in San Jose on Saturday. (I am writing from the east coast, USA). Srianee
Srianee
ReplyDeleteGreat to have you back on the blog, even briefly. When we reunite in London next Wednesday we will no doubt recall those happy but uncertain times in the Faculty and the decades that followed to arrive here as septuagenarians.
Take care
Hallo Sir Im viraj work from Colombo medical faculty Anatomy department.Sir I think make to book anatomy history.Sir I want to you anatomy history Please sir can you help me.
ReplyDelete