By Nihal Amerasekera
It is with great
sadness, and an enormous sense of loss I heard the news of the demise of our
dear friend HN Wickramasinghe.
I feel greatly
honoured to write an appreciation for the life of HN whom I respect greatly as
a close friend and a professional colleague. We both entered the Faculty of
Medicine in Colombo in 1962. Although being at the opposite ends of the
alphabet according to our surnames his inborn ability to make friends easily shone
through. We soon became friends enjoying a tea-punt in the common room in the
presence of a retinue of his friends. For a big tall man HN was surprisingly
soft spoken. He was witty and charismatic with a vigour and energy that were
contagious.
HN was a fine
sportsman, a born leader and played Hockey for the University. He captained the
Royal College 2nd XI cricket team and the star studded 1st
XI Hockey team in 1959with great success.
I was surprised and
delighted to see him in the Paediatric ward in Kurunegala to start his
internship in June 1967. For the following 6 months we were to save lives
together. I couldn’t have asked for a better colleague. It was such a pleasure
to work with HN as he was conscientious, caring and a kind doctor. I remember
it so well on our first pay day when we did a long walk to the Kurunegala Rest
House after work and enjoyed several pints of beer. This became a regular
ritual until he left Kurunegala. He was great company at anytime but more so
after the amber nectar. We became closer during the internship. He never
indulged in hurtful gossip, recrimination or sniping and had a good word for
everyone. His commitment, honesty and dignity touched all those with whom he
worked. With HN’s gregarious and affable personality he had no interest in
grumbling and complaining about work or people. This enhanced his popularity as
a person.
For my next 6 months I
proceeded to Surgery and HN to Obs and Gynae. But we remained in touch enjoying
the many parties they had at the famous quarters called AmbarukSevana where HN
stayed in Kurunegala. When I hear CT Fernando’s song AmbarukSevanallay I am
reminded of HN and Tudor Wickramaaratchi who sang it at the top of their voicesto
reverberate in the stillness of the night. Sadly they are both no more.
After internship HN
left Kurunegala and I stayed on. I recall our farewell
party at AmbarukSevana and the sad goodbyes. In such situations HN gets very
emotional and I could see him wiping a tear as he left us on that fateful day.He
was one of the few in our batch who never wanted to join the hordes that left
Sri Lanka in the 1960’s and 70’s with the so called brain drain.He proceeded to
become a successful General Practitioner in Hanwella. Here he joined the Lions
Club to support the local community.
The last time I met HN
was when RS Jayatilleke invited a few batch-mates to his house for drinks and
dinner. This may have been 15 years ago. HN was broader than before but he had
a full head of curly hair lightly greying at the edges. He was his usual self,full
of wit and humour as we reminisced our time together in Kurunegala. HN did
complain about his knees that caused him pain.
We all admire his dignified and reserved
personality, sense of duty, integrity, courteous manner and sense of humour. He
had passion, determination and simple human decency in greater measure than any
person I have ever known. He was an inspiration to work with, and a joy to be
near. HN was the most wise of counsellors, the most loyal and supportive of
colleagues, and the best of friends. In the end, what gives a life meaning is
not only how it is lived, but how it draws to a close. HN had a quiet and
peaceful end to his life. He would live in the hearts and minds of everyone who
knew him.
It brings me great sadness to think I will not be
seeing the ever smiling face of HimathlalNissankeWickramasinghe again.
Our condolences go to Nelun, Hiranthi and Dushani
and the close family at this time of loss and grief.
May he attain the Ultimate Bliss of Nirvana
It is nice of you to write a message of condolences to a good friend and a batch mate of ours.
ReplyDeleteBy the way you have mentioned inadvertently that we entered medical Faculty in 1967.I am sure it was purely because of mind was disturbed by the sad news.I am sure everyone will remember the year of entry as 1962.Lastly I associate myself with all the appreciations expressed sofar by our colleagues.
Thank you Sumathy for the correction which I accept with great humility. Sanath Lama too pointed this out. I have asked Lucky to correct it for me. How can I ever forget that memorable year - 1962 which changed my life forever!! A slip of the finger at a time of grief while writing about my friend HN and those precious years together.
ReplyDeleteOf all the good things I have mentioned about HN two qualities standout
ReplyDelete1. His loyalty to his friends. The ability to stand by his friends even in their absence
2. Easy going attitude to life. Great person to have around in the stuffy and stressful workplace like a hospital
Nihal, as usual, you have written a warm, sincere, and heartfelt tribute to our friend 'HN.' Now I know what names those initials stood for, but no one in our batch ever called him by his name. Like you Nihal, I was also at the other end of the alphabet, so I never was part of HN's "Sig group,' clinical rotation group, or anything like that. But because I sat next to Ganesh, who was HN's good buddy I felt connected. Yoga and HN made their presence felt even though they were sitting way back in the auditorium, close to the rafters. I got to know HN a little bit better when I met him and Nelun many years later at reunions and gatherings whenever I visited Sri Lanka. I remember having some long talks with him. He talked a little bit about his health problems, not in a complaining way, but in a very 'matter of fact' manner, accepting the situation, and dealing with it as best as possible. I can only think of positive adjectives to describe him; friendly, kind, humble, cheerful and fun-loving. He will definitely be missed by everyone who knew and loved him. My deepest sympathies to Nelun and the rest of his family. May he attain Nirvana.
ReplyDelete(I apologize to all for being silent for several months, but I was a bit preoccupied. Nothing serious.)
Srianee
DeleteSo lovely to hear from you after such a long absence. This did worry me but you often disappear into oblivion and reappear with renewed vigour.
True, we all have lost a good friend. I wish I was there at Kanatte to say my final goodbye.
Cest la vie
Nihal, I promise not to 'disappear into oblivion' again!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteFrom Zita
ReplyDeleteI was greatly saddened by the news of our batch mate H N Wickramasinghe’s passing. Now, reading Nihal’s appreciation in his usual beautiful and eloquent diction, my mind goes back to the unforgettable figure and persona of our batch mate HNW, I appreciate the chance to have shared our rigorous years of medical training with this special person. It’s the end of a journey, the closing of a page in a beautiful story, the loss of a beautiful life from this earth but he lives for ever in our souls. My sincere condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.
Zita, I think when people "live forever in our souls" it is a form of Eternal Life. After I heard about HN's death I felt the need to talk to someone who was close to him, so I called Yoga. Yoga was also very sad, and reminisced at length about how much fun he had with HN and the rest of the gang. He said that because there were no girls in HN's family, they felt free to breeze in and out of HN's home, and HN's mother welcomed them. I think we both felt a little bit better after our conversation.
ReplyDeleteSrianee
DeleteYou are so right. I felt totally bereft when I received the sad news. I called a mutual friend in SL who enjoyed that happy year in Kurunegala with HN and I. We had a long conversation reminiscing those sublime years of our youth. We both felt so much better at the end our chat. None of us are here forever. We must celebrate a life lived well than be sad. Easily said than done!!
Dear Srianee and Nihal, you both speak out thoughts just like I felt when I heard the sad news of HN's loss. There are some people in our batch who were not just batch mates but real, living, unforgettable personalities who we think of even after 52 years of having been there in that unforgettable 5years of our lives. This is because some like HN had a special place in the batch. They had unforgettable personalities, traits, a presence which was unique. So let us all share that feeling now about HN and so many others with whom we relive some happy parts of those years. Zita
DeleteMinor correction. JC told me that HN did not captain the RC athletic team.He had captained the hockey team as well as the 2nd eleven cricket team. He had not got colours in athletics.
ReplyDeleteMadame Srianee,
ReplyDeleteAu revoir!
I know you mean Bienvenue or bonjour
DeleteA fitting tribute by ND - Nihal.. I didn’t know HN that well but recall looking up to him at Royal because of his sporting prowess. Always polite and good to all his friends. I did know of his joint problems and of course thanks to Pram and Lucky, I have met him several times in my trips to Sri Lanka. He will be remembered as a decent human being and an as an example to emulate. His heart was definitely in the right place.
ReplyDeleteMahen
DeleteMany memories come to mind as I think of those Kurunegala days, some hilarious some sad and many just simple recollections . Hopefully I will get the opportunity relive them in the not too distant future. We all assume our friends will be there for us and postpone those important visits, phone calls and texts. This is not always true. Make the best of the time we have got to be close to friends and family. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?
Thanks,ND,I agree Bienvenue is more appropriate,as Srianne has appeared after a long spell of hibernation.Hope to see something in German from Srianne.Nice to see you in touch with your French.
ReplyDeleteSumathipala
DeleteIt is so good to see you on the blog. My French is far worse than yours. I know nothing and have to google to find out. I am more upset about my Sinhala which has disappeared at an alarming rate. I can read but writing seems a hard task. The price I pay for life in exile and such infrequent visits home.
Take care my friend.
ND,My spoken Sinhala is not too bad,but I prefer to converse in English with our Sinhala community,in UK,I know that some of them think that I have transformed into a Black-Englishman.Back in SriLanka,reading Sinhala news papers was a nightmare as I found lot of words used were "Greek" to me.There was a teacher in my old school who insisted that we read the Editorial in the Times paper,in order to master Queen's English.
ReplyDeletea bientot!
Sumathy
ReplyDeleteI had a fine Sinhala teacher at school one of those Arya Sinhala dress guy. He was brilliant. We did really well in the subject in the public exams. From the 6th form we all neglected the language as there were more important subjects required for medical school. Leaving SL was the final straw. Marrying a Chinese meant I didn’t use the language at home. My fault of course!!!! But I’m happy. I just wish I can read Gunadasa Amerasekera’s Rathu Rosa Mal and enjoy it as much as I did so many years ago.
English is a universal language. There is another called Esperanto.
Take care my friend
ND,What about Mandarin and Cantonese?.I am aware that Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong.Mandarin is the widely spoken language in the world.Spanish and Arabic are some where in the top.English may be the second widely spoken language.By the way,we all had to do Sinhalese for the SSC and GCSE(Compulsory).
ReplyDeletelook after your,health during the winter months.
With all due respect to those who indulge in making regular comments, please refrain from commenting on a different topic altogether (in this instance languages)particularly under an Appreciation. It takes the gloss off a well written Appreciation and also as a mark of disrespect to the deceased individual.
DeleteBlog Administrator
Lucky, I don't think any disrespect was meant. As Sumathi said below, they simply digressed and got carried away. People often do this when commenting on other topics. But, I get your point, that when it is a comment on an appreciation, we should try to stay on track. HN may be chuckling wherever he is right now.
DeleteReminds me of mountains and mole hills
DeleteJust to make an observation on the nature of blogs and comments. It is quite usual for bloggers to post comments and refer to matters not directly related to the topic of the post. It is a good way of friends exchanging views, ideas, experiences which are of interest to them. Needless to say, there are accepted norms such as not using offensive or abusive language. If bloggers feel restricted, there is a real danger that it will no longer be used for the friendly and interesting manner in which it has been used. In this particular instance, I personally could not see any sign of disrespect for our much valued and missed colleague HN in any comment thread on the topic. I suppose sometimes we are all guilty of becoming too sensitive with no desire to reprimand people although it could be misconstrued as such. So there! I have said my piece, a bit longer than my previous pithy one and I hope we can resume normal business with Lucky entrusted with the unenviable task of being Blog Administrator which he has carried out with distinction.
DeleteNext to a sincere compliment, I think I like a well-deserved and honest rebuke.
ReplyDeleteLucky,We have not neglected the well deserved appreciation of the deceased,HN.We get carried away at times with some sort show off our knowledge of other Linguistics.I wish all the reader will my thousand
ReplyDeleteapologies.
It is no disrespect to speak about other topics at the end of an appreciation. After all people speak of all sorts of things at the funeral house, funeral parlour and at the cemetery. HN must have a good laugh from wherever he rests about the mad nonsense we write about. Patronising is a harsh word to describe this. To give it a more elegant twist it is "Much to do about nothing".
ReplyDeleteThough not from the Colombo batch of 1962 (shipped off to Peradeniya even though lived a half a mile from H,N.) I got to know Himal well as we were in Royal together. In fact I was the best man at his wedding to Nelun.Through him became friends with his batch mates such as Yoga, Ganesan, Tudor, Suren, Lama(Royalist) etc.
ReplyDeleteWas greatly saddened to hear his death. My condolences to his family and friends.
M.G.Perera
MG, good to hear from you! Yes, HN was a well loved member of our batch and will be missed greatly by his friends. I hope you will visit the blog regularly and add your comments from time to time, on other more light hearted posts.
DeleteSrianee
MG,good to hear from you after a very long time. At RC, Channa, Drahaman, Halin, Samaraweera (Pol Adda) and you passed in all four subjects at the university entrance examination and were selected for the first batch at Peradeniya. Those of us who failed in one subject had to follow a six month course in the failed subject at Thurstan Road.. My father scolded me for failing in one subject but eventually you all graduated in January 1967 whist we graduated in March 1967. The delay for you all was because the Peradeniya buildings were not ready. I told my father that if I passed in all four subjects, he would have not had me in his house for the last five years!Your batch was not offered employment by the MoH at the end of the internship and were offered a few hundred rupees to be attached to a GP, so as to be trained in general practice. It is ironical that the very first batch from Peradeniya was not offered employment. That was the catalyst for the brain drain as many sat for the ECFMG and went to the US.When we graduated we were offered internship.
ReplyDelete