Speedy Dialogue- Pram and Speedy Episode 9

 Speedy Dialogues Series:

Episode 9  Mahendra “Speedy” Gonsalkorale

“The shoe is on the other foot!”

Pramilla Senanayake  interviews Speedy in this latest of his Dialogue series.

Pram: Good morning Speedy. You have all along been creative and come up with new ideas for the blog. One of them is the "Speedy Dialogue". Although you have succeeded in showcasing the achievements of some batch members, your own talents and creations have remained dormant.

So, no wonder then that there was a clamour for someone else to be the "Interviewer" and you to be the “Interviewee”. I don't know how that responsibility landed in my lap but here I am. 

Speedy: Good morning Pram. I was approached before but was a bit reluctant. But then I thought how I can refuse when so many of you agreed. So here I am too!   

Pram: I am so glad you did. Let me start with the usual opening gambit.  Apart from taking Medicine as your career and excelling in your finer specialities Neurology and Geriatrics, you have been actively involved in music, painting, literary work (mainly writing) and even poetry. What is the secret of your remarkable versatility? Did you take lessons in any of them? 

Speedy: I never had lessons in any of the ones you mention. Apart from going to school, the only lessons I have had were in Golf, a sport I took up seriously, really only after retirement. 

Pram: Yes, I heard you were a keen golfer like Bora. But I like to know what made you indulge in so many other activities, mainly of a creative nature. 

Speedy: It sort of happened Pram. As you know, I play the piano and that started as my parents bought a piano for my sister as so many middle-class families did in those days but boys were not supposed to play! I loved the sound of the piano and just sat on the stool (piano stool I hasten to add!) and worked out how to produce music. I must have been about 10 years old at the time. I found that I could play a “one-finger” tune if I knew it, with my right hand and soon got a very repetitive accompaniment going with my left hand, on its own first and one magical day, which I still recall with pride, I managed to combine both hands. The left and right which were like independent twins, now worked cooperatively! Later on I began to recognise chords and keys and the other intricacies of music. And now, if I can recall any tune, I can play it.  I changed to playing a Yamaha keyboard about 8 years ago and that is the best musical decision I have ever made as it gives me hours of pleasure and the ability to create and innovate. It is a one-man orchestra! 

Pram: That is fascinating. Did you then go on to learn how to read music? 

Speedy: No I never did, although I tried to teach myself to read much later on in life and I can read very simple music very slowly. It is one of my biggest regrets; I mean not learning to read music, especially after I developed a liking for classical music. 

Pram: Never mind Speedy. I have heard you play the piano and you do play it so well. 

Speedy: Thanks, Pram. 

Pram: Not at all and I do mean it. What about painting? 

Speedy: You may find this amusing but I got a distinction in Art at my “O” levels! I did it because my father thought I painted well and as we all needed the requisite number of Credits at our “O” levels to do Medicine, I sat for Art too. From then I used to paint with watercolours mainly and graduated to oils after I came to England. I went for a weekend residential oil painting class from Friday to Sunday lunchtime and learnt the basics. 

The reason I like music and art are because I just enjoy them. In my working days, it was a great stress reliever and now it is a great way of spending so much more time that is available in a most pleasurable and rewarding way. And Pram, I am sure we all do this when we find something we like to do and also discover that you can do it reasonably well, it acts as a feedback loop which gives you satisfaction and makes you persist. 

Pram: I can relate to that.  I always had a sense of duty to my fellow human beings and to my Country and my activities in that sphere give me a lot of satisfaction. 

Speedy: I know that Pram and we are all extremely proud of your achievements which you touched on when I interviewed you. 

Pram: Thanks, Speedy that is very kind of you. Moving on, I know you enjoy writing too and that you have quite a store of poetry, some of which have appeared in the Blog. Tell us what moved you in that direction. 

Speedy: That was through a series of strange coincidences or as our good friend Nihal (ND) would say, “The awesome force of destiny”! 

I must admit that although I read a lot and read widely, I have never done English Literature formally. At Royal, when you choose the Science stream, you cannot study English Literature as well. My mother was a big influence in our appreciation of English books.  She used to read classics such as The Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield to us. But my mastery of poetry is nowhere near Kumar’s or Zita’s. Let me tell you how I got into poetry. 

Many moons ago I was in Poland for a Parkinson’s Disease conference and met a man who was the son of a PD patient. He told me about a new EU website (called eMultipoetry) providing a forum for poets from EU countries to share their work and he asked me to join and see how it goes. He said writing poems is fun and can be mastered by anyone. To cut a long story short, I did start writing and have posted about 180 poems since 2009. I really enjoy it and it has led me to study and appreciate poetry in more depth. I also help a Polish friend in the same group who is an English teacher, with advice on his translations of poems into English. I have Skype meetings with him lasting 30-40 mins every Monday as far as feasible. He loves the English language and enjoys the discussions we have. 

Pram: That is an amazing story. What about writing? 

Speedy: Most have been Medical with publications in Medical Journals and Chapters in books. I have authored a Chronicle of the Gonsalkorale Family which runs into 100 pages with contributions from family members and for Private use only. 

Pram: That must have taken a lot of coordinating and work? 

Speedy: Yes, Pram, coordinating and cajoling! My brother Raj and I were the main ones and it is meant mainly for the younger generations, for posterity.  Like most Sri Lankan families of our era, we are a real “achcharu” now with English, Australian, Irish, Kiwi and Chinese blood! A good reminder to those who entertain this myth that they are a pure race, that in fact, we are all varying degrees of “achcharus”! My clarion call has always been that we are first and foremost human beings with the responsibility to our family, friends, neighbours and our community. Divisions on man-made criteria such as colour, ethnicity, religion, wealth, race, political connections have no place in a civilised society. If only Sri Lankans regard themselves as first and foremost Sri Lankans and not Sinhala Buddhists or Tamil Hindus or Muslim Catholics or whatever, our Homeland would be a far happier and peaceful place. 

Pram: I absolutely agree with your sentiments on humanity Speedy. I like to discuss another aspect of you. You have so many talents and several hobbies. If you were asked to select just one of them and forget the others which one would it be and why?  

Speedy: That is a tough one and I don’t think I can give you a straightforward answer. It is like asking whether I would prefer my arms, my legs or the rest of my body. These are part of me and I don’t think I can pick one out of music, poetry, reading, golfing, drawing and my other abiding interest which is philosophy on which I read a lot and think a lot. I have always been a curious person and I can still recall my dear mother saying “Why! Why! Why! Meyata mokakwath kiyanna baha why? why? kiyalamai ahanney.”  (Can’t tell him anything without him asking why all the time). Then she would say in exasperation “because I say so”. Every subject fascinates me. It could be History, Archaeology, Cosmology, Biology or just about anything. It is knowledge that I seek. It is knowledge that I find appetising.    

Pram: I am getting some idea of what is ticking inside that brain of yours Speedy! Using your many talents, you have played no mean role in keeping our batch together. Is it one of your passions? 

Speedy: Let me put it this way Pram. I have four things I am most grateful for. There are more I am sure but let me just pick these four for the moment. First and foremost my parents (I do include my siblings and close relatives). Secondly, to Sri Lanka and in particular to the free education system fathered by CWW Kanangara. Thirdly, my old School, Royal College for giving me a very rounded education (I hasten to add that I am not at all interested in snob value), and fourthly, my Medical faculty and all that goes with it including my teachers and my batch mates. The last one remains one of my most valued and I am impelled to maintain and foster contact between my mates, important people who made a difference to me. On the last one, I am sure that you and I have similar views. 

Pram: Indeed Speedy and as you know I do my bit whenever and wherever I can.  Talking of your old school, I was chatting to Sanath Lama and he said there were 38 Royalists in our batch. There were 5 from RC 1951 batch, 11 from 52, 11 from 53, 9 from 54 and you and one other from 55. You were one of two youngest Royalists! 

Speedy: That is correct. The second one was Ravi Nadarajah. I don’t consider it really special to pass at the first attempt as I know that some of the best performers from Royal in our batch had more than one attempt. Of course, the youngest of all was a girl, namely Suriyakanthie. 

Pram: OK Speedy, this is a good time to talk about the blog which Lucky started. 

Speedy: I shall never tire of saying this. We all owe a deep debt of gratitude to Lucky who started the blog. I have assisted him in developing it as IT (Information Technology) is one of my main interests even when I was working. I helped to develop the IT system in our Directorate and Trust. I know I am boasting Pram but I did a part-time Course in Computation and Statistics at Manchester University while still working as a Geriatrician and obtained my MSc in 1990. I have expertise in web development. It was, therefore, a great pleasure to work with Lucky developing the Blog further and as you are aware, I am the temporary custodian till he is able to resume. 

Pram: Speedy, tell us in a few words why should we after over 50 years, hark back to a period when so much water has flown under the bridge. 

Speedy: My take is this Pram. It was one of the most crucial periods in our lives. We graduated from being boys to men and from girls to women. We have a strong bond and if people doubt that, just contact a person with whom you have not had much contact for a long time and just feel the petals unfolding revealing the beauty that lies inside. 

Pram: Most elegantly put Speedy. I would like to discuss an area which at times causes misunderstanding. This is about how a lot of us left Sri Lanka for greener pastures and in the view of some, amounting to abandoning our duty to the country which gave us among other things, free education. This started in the early 1970's many of us debated the rights and wrongs of leaving Sri Lanka and emigrating. Now with the wisdom of years behind us what are your feelings? Is it right to have left the country of one’s birth to serve the people of another country when our own is crying out for help? 

Speedy: This is an important question and there is no easy answer. I salute those who stayed behind because they firmly believed this principle, especially those who had the opportunity to obtain jobs abroad which were highly sought after but chose to serve Sri Lanka. I do not pass judgement on anybody who either stayed behind or left because they all had to deal with a multitude of factors which led to the final decision. Life is not simple. Most who left had very good reasons to do so, situations which some critics may not be aware of. Some who decided to stay back also could have done so for reasons that we are not fully aware of. To pass judgment on a single criterion is not fair. Not all those who stayed behind are patriots and not all those who left are deserters. One must look at each individual case. This much I shall state, some who stayed back have given yeomen service to our Nation and we should salute them. Some who left have fully realised their potential receiving International acclaim and reached heights. We should all be proud of them. Many continue to play a big role in helping their motherland. To use a famous metaphor used by a Buddhist monk in a slightly different context than he originally intended, “please do not focus on the two bad bricks in the wall but look at the whole wall”. 

Pram: From our batch, there was a mass exodus to the USA. Why didn’t you follow the masses and proceed to the UK? 

Speedy: I recall that period well Pram. I remember being advised by the Health Dept that there is no guarantee of employment after we finish our first job after internship. I was at Matale at the time and we were genuinely worried at being unemployed or being forced to open a private dispensary somewhere. Most of us thought of the USA because we had contacts and knew that if we passed the ECFMG, getting a placement in the US was guaranteed. I too sat and passed the ECFMG and also applied for and got jobs in Canada, USA, New Zealand and Australia. I didn’t go. Why? Was I a patriot devoted to serving Sri Lanka? No. Was I a young lad with trepidation on being on my own without family for the first time in my life? Yes! Was I lured by the prospect of earning big money? No. Was there any other reason I didn’t go? Yes. From the time I went to the wards after the 2^nd MBBS, I wanted one day to be a VP at General Hospital, Colombo. This became even firmer when I was HO to Dr Wickrema Wijenaike, one of my heroes. The way forward was to do well in the Finals, go to Matale as SHO and do the Part 1 of the MRCP because Matale had a good reputation for success. As there was a merit order at the Finals, I knew I had a good chance of getting Matale, where incidentally, I was privileged to work with one of the finest and most humane doctors I have ever met, Dr Ranjit Munasinghe, (who used to be Prof Rajasuriya’s Registrar). And then sit for the MD (as the MD was a requirement to be a VP in Colombo those days, the MRCP wasn’t enough) and after getting the MD, go to the UK get the MRCP and on return become a Physician. Maybe outstation posts at first but end up in Colombo as only a few had the MD. There is another big factor which people with short memories forget. The salary of a VP was pretty good in those days and life in Sri Lanka was generally not too bad. I had no desire or reason to deviate from the path I had in mind. I always felt that the five-year compulsory service order was fair and the least we could do in recognition for what we were given and it was one big factor in not leaving at that stage. 

Pram: Tell me about your life in SL and in the UK advantages/disadvantages. I have heard you say you would love to live in Kandy. Please elaborate. Do you plan one day to return? 

Speedy: I am a pragmatist Pram. I adapt and do the best I can. I don’t live in an “it could have been- it might have been” world. If I remained in Sri Lanka, I would have adapted. One thing I know, as I experienced it when I was Neurologist at Kandy for just over a year in 1978-79, my Consultant salary then was not sufficient just to live an ordinary life.  I was forced to do Private Practice which I hated. Charging money from poor people who could ill afford it and charging money from rich people who could well afford it but had the expectation that I owed them a favour, was very tough. The very idea that my comforts depended on the discomforts of others was an anathema to me.  I did very limited PP, just at lunchtime and occasionally, during weekdays and none at weekends. I hated phone calls from influential people asking for favours. These are the things I never experience here. My NHS salary was more than enough to live comfortably. For some, it wasn’t enough but they had a very different concept of comfort, more like unsatisfied greed. The hardest thing was to deal with the feeling of guilt I had about not serving the people in my country of birth, one which gave me a free education. But even that was tempered by the way I was treated by the Health Dept when I returned. It took 2 months just to get the correct salary I was due. It took ages for my car permit to be organised and I certainly did not get comfort (from the Health Department), of feeling that I was somebody worth having back. But these are not the reasons why I went back (but they made it less difficult to feel guilty). It was to do with my marriage as you know but, even if I did not return in 1979, as things unfolded in Sri Lanka, I would probably have left later anyway. This is just my life and it shows the complexities of operative factors in our lives.  It is sad that some judge by just one criterion; did he stay in SL or did he go abroad? 

Pram: You have been brutally honest. Will you return to SL for good? 

Speedy: Very unlikely. Happiness depends not just on where you choose to live. I have two sons who are UK citizens and my place is with them. Even if I consider my siblings, apart from my eldest sister and next-generation kids, they are all in Australia and New Zealand. The UK is a very fair country and has treated me very well and I am quite happy here. 

You mentioned my dream of living in Kandy. I loved Kandy and I loved the climate and access to the cooler hills further up. My dream, and it is only a dream, is to have a very open plan house by a river or lake with a fantastic view and have living with me a faithful “Jeeves” like handyman who drives my car, shops and cooks for me (aided by his wife), and looks after me. He takes me to the Golf club where I meet all my friends and have a great time. Very feudal you may say and you are right! But I shall look after my manservant very well. I shall pay him well, I shall look after his folks in the village and be kind to him and treat him like a human being, not a “servant”. He and his wife will have their own section in my hypothetical house. (PG Wodehouse, by the way, is my favourite author). 

Pram: What great imagination! Speedy, what event or events in your childhood made the greatest impact on your life to make you the person you are today? And please tell me about your family. 

Speedy: My parents and their love and dedication without any doubt. I am what I am thanks to them and I know that they were proud of me. Such was their love that they told me in my visits home from the UK, that as much as they missed me they are happy that I am doing well although I don’t live in Sri Lanka. That was genuine selfless love. 

I have one sister and five brothers scattered in different countries and we keep in close touch and help each other in times of need and get on very well. I enjoy my visits to see them in Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. 

My highly principled Uncles had a great effect on me on deep subjects such as morality, religion and fairness. One area I had a disagreement with my lovely parents was purely because as a young idealist, I disagreed with the “servants” being addressed in a different way and why they had to eat separately. You can see how the Marxist philosophy had such a great attraction for me – each according to his need, classless, equal opportunity for all, no racial discrimination! As I matured, I began to realise the inherent weaknesses in human nature, the desire for power, wealth, position, adulation and a few more which contaminates my ideal pond filled with crystal clear water. I also realised the importance of context and time. Our servant thought I was mad to suggest that she eats with us! 

Pram: Speedy you have received numerous compliments via the blog from many batch members including ND, “that you are one of the nicest guys I’ve met” enough to give you a swollen head! What religion or philosophy guides you? A lot of us regard you as a multitalented, intelligent, kind and modest person; a rare breed indeed. 

Speedy: I am not sure whether I deserve all this Pram! One of the features of being a Human being is that we love to be loved. It is innate I think and we do a lot of good things because of that. We are all interconnected and in my view, “you cannot be happy unless your neighbour is too”. I am not suggesting that we do good things because we want to be loved but it is something that cannot be separated – the two are intertwined and nobody in my view should apologise for feeling good when they do good.

As for religion, I have pondered on philosophy and religion all my life and have no clear answers. Pram, I have to apologise to you that I cannot conceive of an all-powerful, all-loving, all-merciful God. I have no quarrels with those who do and I am the first to admit that millions have found solace in it and the very fact that such a belief is so widespread and so steeped in history shows that it has immense appeal. I cannot honestly call myself a Buddhist either although a lot of Buddhist Psychology and its moral and pragmatic aspects of how people should live are very attractive, I find the principle of a continuing consciousness manifesting as a series of births hard to fathom and accept. I am, I hope, humble enough to admit that I am fallible and that my beliefs, whether obtained from external sources (extrinsic), or internal self-realisation (intrinsic), may be false.

My own belief (whether its true or not), is one which if universally adopted would lead to a reasonably content life and a Harmonious Society and that belief is this. All philosophies and religions show paths to the “mountain or land” of contentment or happiness and it is not necessary to tread one particular path which is the right and ONLY right one.  The need to coerce and convince walkers in other paths that they are being misled is thus removed. This would result in a better society. If somebody says, “how do you know?” I would respond “I don’t”. But what I believe is that there appear to be certain moral attributes which are universal. I believe that whether there is a God or not, those who lead the life I suggest (many paths to a goal), would not be disappointed. BUT…. I shall never know. Wiser people throughout recorded history have looked for answers. It has nothing to do with intelligence. 

I accept the theory of Evolution as fact as for me the evidence is overwhelming. I struggle with the question of why we should be moral if we don’t believe in Religion and my conclusion is that moral behaviour is evolutionary and favours survival. Throughout evolution, Mankind (Humankind) discovered the value of cooperation and sharing.

Pram:  You wrote a fascinating article on “what is in a name”. What prompted you? 

Speedy: I have always been interested in the question of identity and how important it is to a person. The Ego is there in all of us and your name is inseparably intertwined with your sense of identity and self. As Dale Carnegie said, “Remember that a person’s name is to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language”. Sadly, many people do not realise that clinging to this contrived self-image of beauty or importance or authority is the very cause of misery. The happiest people are those who have “lost themselves”.

Pram: I believe you are the architect and the brains behind the SLLS (Sri Lanka Literary Society). How did this come about? I have in the recent months tuned into the SLLS zoom sessions on Sundays. You have brought in some super lecturers, a diverse group, on topics that are very informative and fascinating. How do you find these speakers?

Speedy: The real architect behind the SLLS is my good friend and colleague Dr Ruwan De Soysa, a Paediatrician. I gave him all the support and encouragement he needed and together with my other colleague, Prof Niroshini Nirmalan, we work as a Team. The idea for conducting Zoom meetings during the pandemic came from Ruwan. We get good speakers purely through connections. We would pose the question “Do you know somebody who knows somebody who would be a good speaker?” When you approach a person that way, your chances of success are high. Also once the ball gets rolling, it becomes even easier and we developed a reputation and people felt honoured when invited. I like to refer readers to our Website I created.

https://sites.google.com/site/srilankaliterarysociety/

 Pram: I believe Bora’s Banter is another of your creations. I enjoy these sessions very much. Have you anything else up your sleeve right now?

Speedy: One thing I know is that you need to keep innovating. You cannot rest on your laurels (or on your haunches!). Ideally, it should be a combination of your own imaginative thinking and views sought from others. The latter approach proved rather difficult and I had to think of ways of keeping the interest alive. Among things that worked were “Creative spot”, Speedy Dialogue, Speedy interview, and the one you referred to, Bora’s Banter, One which did not work was “Max Koral Korner” where Max (me) came out with philosophical thoughts. Philosophy and Religion doesn’t work with our audience! They love gossip, peeps back to Faculty days involving our Teachers, personal recollections such as the ones our ND excels in, and Biographies of much loved people. I tried a discussion on pets and it was a limited success. I am always open to ideas Pram!

Pram: Being a Buddhist and being so far away from your home country, how do you keep your spiritual needs well looked after? 

Speedy: I think I dealt with this earlier to some extent. I would hesitate to call myself a Buddhist. I am a great admirer of the Buddha but I shy away from rituals and organised Buddhism. I am best described as a confused agnostic!  I try not to just think of material things and one of the most important ways of looking at my what you call “spiritual needs”, is to have an active social life. As I told you before I believe we are interconnected.  My circle of friends and neighbours, my extended family, the various Charities I support are things that I value. But at moments, we are alone, even when we are surrounded by people. That is the way it is. I don’t look for purpose or meaning because for me it is unanswerable.

Pram: Speedy, I was talking to Zita about your interview and she told me that you have traveled to many countries. Is travel one of your hobbies?

Speedy: I would hesitate to call it a hobby Pram but I do like visiting other countries. My working days took me to various part of the world for conferences (USA and Europe mostly) and as a family we enjoyed going to France. Since I have been on my own I travel with a singles group and the nice thing about it is that I have made a lot of friends and we keep in touch with each other. I also produce holiday videos with backing music composed by me on my Keyboard and my friends love them. I upload them to my YouTube channel (Mahengee). It gives me a lot of pleasure and I love  the fact that they all enjoy them.

Pram: You must send me the link for some of these. Have you produced any on Sri Lanka?

Speedy: Yes I have. Our family had a big party in December 2018 where we hired a hall and I provided the music on a hired Yamaha Keyboard and speaker system ably supported by my brothers, sister and family members who came from NZ and Australia. The younger generation was also there and it was wonderful to see how the cousins immediately gelled and enjoyed each other’s company. I produced a set of three videos which are all on YouTube. I am very lucky in that our family has stuck together and we keep in touch and help each other when we can and the need arises. Skype and now WhatsApp have helped.

Pram: That is fabulous! I also heard that you went to Peru with a group?

Speedy: Oh! That was with a group of friends involved with the Meththa Charity that we support. Our group meets every year at a venue in UK, about 40 and even 60 at times and we do sponsored walks. I am the main organiser of the walks (they call me “Nade Gura”) and we do three walks during the period Friday to Monday. We have a lot of fun with games, sing-songs and all kinds of social events. We run a bar and all the money go to the Charity. The bar is stocked by all of us bringing contributions. The Charity is the Meththa Foundation which is dedicated to providing “limbs for the limbless” in Sri Lanka. I can refer readers to the website:-

http://www.meththafoundation.org.uk/

We couldn’t do that because of COVID last year and we raised funds through two Zoom events I helped to organise.

Pram: That is a great idea and I am so pleased to hear how you guys are helping Sri Lanka. 

Speedy: I am very proud of our group. We have no silly divides and when we sing we sing Sinhalese, Tamil and English songs in complete harmony. Some of them are also members of the SLMDA (Sri Lanka Dental and Medical Association) which also does a lot to support medical and dental education in consultation with associations in Sri Lanka. An example of many, are the Communications skills workshops we have run. 

Pram: One idea that occurred to me for the blog is to publicise a bit more about what our brothers and sisters outside Sri Lanka are doing to support their Motherland. I am sure we don’t know enough and it is gratifying to learn about these activities.

Speedy: That is a great idea and I hope I can get your advice on how to set about it.

Pram: Of course Speedy, delighted to help you with that. And, finally Speedy after that fascinating discussion, could I ask you about things you are very proud of?

Speedy: Firstly, my areas of sadness - the failure of my marriage, and the lack of more tangible contributions to the people of Sri Lanka, although there are a few. And on the subject of my successes, my two lovely sons, my achievements as a Neurologist and Geriatrician, my contributions to develop my Specialty and my contribution to the European Parkinson’s Disease Society (of which I was a Board Member), my interests in Art, Poetry, Writing, Painting, Drawing and Philosophy. I feel that I have contributed to Humanity as a whole and that my life has been managed reasonably well.  And last but not least, a subject I didn’t want to explore with you today but I shall just say this – it is the way I handled my divorce and the continuing amicable relationship I have with my ex-wife. This has helped not just the two of us but my children and family as well. When things go wrong, don’t make it any worse. I am a firm believer that when faced with a burning ember, the one who suffers most is the one who holds on to it – let go!

Pram: Thank you so much for being so honest and I hope I did not put you through an ordeal. My apologies if it was too long but there was a lot of ground to cover.  Finally, I would like to hear your advice as a fellow batchmate to all of us.

Speedy: I don’t want to sound like a preacher but since you asked me, I would say these.

·       Believe in yourself and develop your own strengths and be aware of your weaknesses.

·       We are not alone, never; we are a part of a community and we must love ourselves and love one another in the same way. Loving-kindness is the word Buddhists use and the closest Christian saying I can refer to is ”Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (Jn 13:34).

·    Some of you are living abroad but there are plenty of ways you can still help your Motherland.

·       Do not dwell on material gain and personal glorification: these are evanescent.

·       If you find solace in adopting a faith, please do so, so long as you don’t harm others.

·    Never forget that we are the combined products of our genes, our upbringing and our social  milieu and be patient and considerate to those whose behaviors are often subconsciously influenced by these factors and which may be hidden and unknown to you, or even to them. Be patient and forgiving.

·    Remain physically and mentally active and protect your most valuable asset, your health.

·     Finally, we are so privileged to be Doctors and we must never ever forget our duty to our patients which must override personal gain of any kind. 

Pram: Very wise words indeed. Thank you so much. 

Speedy: It was my pleasure Pram. I do hope I we haven’t bored our readers. Could I conclude this interview with a poem I wrote on retirement which is quite apt for our stage in life, and if you don’t mind Pram, also with one more poem which I called “Realisation”? 

Pram: Please do Speedy, by all means. Thanks again. 

Retirement

Wheels turning rapidly

Blurred images passing by,

No time.

All too brief acquaintances

Forever catching up,

No time.

Deadlines, projects, meetings

Rushing about on wheeled things,

No time.

Finishing, only to start again,

Is this living?

Stop before it’s too late!

 

And now,

Slow down.

Time to pause, to reflect, to notice

Time to absorb, to learn

Time to indulge, to take, to give, to appreciate

Time to be detached,

Slow down.

Time to rediscover Nature.

The sheer peaceful beauty of trees.

The delightful sounds and sights of birds.

The living tapestry of the transforming sky

Time to treasure all things beautiful.

Slow down,

and live again.

 

Realisation

Fresh innocence of heavy snow.

Serene eerie silence I know.

Then in the bright glittering sunshine,

a blinding reflection on eyes of mine.

In a flash, my turbulent mind

fettered with doubts and shadows,

the dead leaves obscuring the purity of meadows,

becomes illuminated with clarity divine