SPEEDY DIALOGUE SERIES- EPISODE 10 (IV) Chirasri Jayaweera-Bandara

 Episode 10-: Chirasri  Jayaweera Bandara (nee Mallawaratchi) (IV)

“Glimpses of my family and how my career unfolded”

Speedy: Good morning Chira. Good to see you again and let us start this time by going back to your beginnings and ask you about your parents as it will give us a glimpse of history.

Chira: Thank you Mahendra for giving me this opportunity. I do hope that viewers would find it interesting.

Speedy: I have no doubt they will and I am so pleased that you provided some photos too.

Chira: You are very encouraging! Thank you.

Speedy: OK Chira, over to you.

Chira: I shall start with my Father, Mallawaratchige Don Henry Perera He was a Staff Officer in the government service, and was from Kandy and studied at Dharmaraja College, Kandy.

My Mother - Juliet Clara Wijesinghe was from Panadura and studied at St. John’s College, Panadura. Incidentally, our batchmate Wimal Soysa’s father and his sister studied there as well.   Prof.MVP Peiris too studied here.

In fact, he was residing in my mother’s Mahagedera and going to school from there.( My mother used to say this) This school was very popular at that time a large number of very important people studied there.

Speedy: That was an interesting aside. I am sure you will touch on many colleagues with whom you had connections prior to entering the Faculty.      

Chira: Yes, you are right. There were many and I shall recall them as we proceed.  Coming to my Mother’s Family, my mother’s father was a Muhandiram, His name was Mapitiyage Adrian Peiris Wijesinghe    

My mother’s eldest brother was a Mudaliyar His name was Mapitiyage Walter Edward Peiris Wijesinghe. 

Speedy: Muhandiram and Mudaliyar were titles of honour in the colonial days, till 1956 I believe. Of course among them there were ranks such as Maha Mudaliyar, Gate Mudaliyar, Atapattu Mudaliyar, Court Mudaliyar and so on.

Chira: I believe so.                                                                                                           

My mothers parents and eldest brother.

His son, my First cousin, is  Dr  Nandi  Wijesinghe  (Mapitiyage  Nandimittra  Wijesinghe)  He went to the US and is a V.O.G.  in  Los  Angeles. He  is  married  to  Dr  Neelakshi  Gunawardene  from  our  parallel  Peradeniya  batch,  friend  of  our batch  Manel  Wijesundera  ( Owlie).]

Speedy: Owlie, please note! Of course, you knew that Owlie!

Chira: I am sure she does. In my mother’s family, there were  4  Males and  4  Females.

 My mother’s 2nd   cousins were Prof M.V.P.  Peiris  and  Prof  S.R. Kottegoda, who was our Lecturer and later the Dean  of  the  Faculty of  Medicine, Colombo.

 Prof. M.V.P. Peiris’s father and my mother’s father were 1st cousins with the same “Ge” name.

Prof. S.R. Kottegoda’s mother  (a Wijesinghe)  and my mother’s father were  1st cousins.

Speedy: How interesting! I am sure you know that Prof Kotte’s daughter Indira is married to my younger brother Raj. They live in Sydney but are frequent visitors to Sri Lanka.

Chira: Yes Speedy, I was aware of that. Prof  M.V.P. Peiris was  an  Ambidextrous  Orthopaedic  Surgeon   who  operated   on  Prime  Minister   D.S. Senanayake. He  was  President  of  the  Ceylon  Medical  Association  (SLMA)  and  a  past Minister of  Health.  His wife Doreen  used  to  consult  me  at my consultation room at my residence, which has been functioning since 1985. 

One of Prof Kottegoda’s hobbies was Photography and he had given me a beautiful photograph of squirrels.

Speedy: Yes, he was well recognised for that. His book on Flowers of Sri Lanka is a classic.

Chira: I have seen that book. The photos are beautiful. Coming now to my first Cousins on my Mother’s side :-  

1. Late Dr Gamini Wijesinghe, Consultant  Psychiatrist  known  to  Dr Vinitha  Perera, Consultant  Psychiatrist (our Peradeniya batch)  was married  to  Late  Dr W.D.H.  Perera,  Consultant Dermatologist.

2. Dr Nandi Wijesinghe,  Consultant  V.O.G.  Living  in  Los  Angeles  married  to  Dr Neelakshi  Gunawardene ( our Peradeniya Batch )  a  friend  of  Manel  Wijesundera.

3.  Dr Anura Samaraweera  was  living  in  California  and  now  back  in  Sri Lanka. He  is known to  Lalantha Amerasinghe  as  they  had  worked together at  Palali  Army  Camp  during  the  war 

Speedy: Thank you, so many interesting connections. What about your Father’s family?

Chira:  My  father’s  father died  when  he  was  14  years old.  It was his uncle G.D.A. Abeyratne, mentioned below, who looked after him.

My father’s mother was Lucy Perera (housewife). She was a lady who always wore long skirts down to the ankles, at home.  When we were  very young  my  brother,  sister and  I  used  to  play cards  with  her, and always win, with hints off the reflection  of  her  cards  on  her  spectacles!

Speedy: Isn’t that cheating!

Chira: Well, I suppose so but don’t you think we were clever too!

Speedy: Ok, I shall grant that.

Chira: Thank you. This photo shows my father and family; my father’s mother, wearing a long skirt and my father is standing next to his sister.

Speedy: I am glad you are showing these photos as it reminds us of the type of attire in those days; a good lesson in history.

Chira: I am glad you think so. You would have noticed my mother’s mother too wearing a long skirt in the earlier photo.

My father’s sister’s son is  Dr Nihal Munesinghe  mentioned  below.

Mentioned  below also, Dr Mahima Mallawaratchi’s father (youngest in the family who changed his name from Perera to Mallawaratchi their “Ge”name )  is standing on the extreme left. He wanted my father and other members to change the name. My mother had said that people will call her by both names and didn’t like it. Then all the family members decided to name their offspring Mallawaratchi. That is how my family members and all my first cousins are Mallawaratchis! 

Speedy: This has been the experience of so many families. Ranjit Dambawinna for example was a Perera and  he  took his “ge” name, Damabawinna.

Chira: My  father’s  mother’s  younger  brother  was  Ganewattage  Don  Alexander  Abeyratne, who  got  his  M.A. from  England, (after getting there by sea).  He was  the  1st  Principal  of  Vidyartha  College,  Kandy  and later  Dharmaraja College,  Kandy.

Speedy: That is another thing which people forget. Travel by sea to England was the norm in those days.

Chira: That is true. These days of course, Air travel is the norm.

His  daughters   (My father’s first cousins) were:-

1. Hema  Jayasinghe (nee Abeyratne)  was  Principal of Visakha  Vidyalaya, Colombo. Later Deputy Director,  Ministry of Education.

I  mention  this  as  quite  a number  of  our  batch  mates (both  Colombo  and  Peradeniya) studied  at  Visakha  Vidyalaya.They are  Manel Wijesundera,  Late Priya Gunaratne, Manil Hettiaratchi,  Surangani, Sujatha Maligaspe, Kusuma, Late Kamali, Neelakshi, Chula, Chitra, Late  Srimathi.                                                                           

2. Chitra  Abeyratne  was  Principal  of Anula  Vidyalaya,  Nugegoda  and later  Principal of Musaeus  College, Colombo.

Lalani, Nisha and Padmini had studied at Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda.

3. Late Rani  Kitulegoda  (nee  Abeyratne)  was  headmistress  of Anula  Nursery. My son and my sister’s daughter attended Anula Nursery when she was there.

4. Nalini Kappagoda (nee Abeyratne) Consultant Pathologist, was  married  to  Late Dr M.B. Kappagoda,  Consultant  Eye Surgeon, living in Sydney,  Australia. I met them when they came for the S.A.A.R.C. Eye Surgeons’s  Congress in 2000 in Sri Lanka. I met her again when I went to Australia in 2006.

His  son   (My father’s  first  cousin), the Late  Chandrabanu  Abeyratne, who was a  Major  General  in  the  army  was  married  to  late Shiromani  Seneviratne, Dental Surgeon. Shiromani studied at Methodist College and was one year senior to me.  Our batchmates from Methodist  College  will  remember  her.

My  first Cousins  on my  Father’s side are:-

1. Dr Nihal Munasinghe  who is from  the  1st  batch  of Medical  Faculty,  Peradeniya,  built  Medicare  Hospital,  Campbell  Place,  Borella. He is known to our batchmates  from  Peradeniya. I channelled and did surgery there.  Our batchmate, Dr Drahaman had practised there as well.

2. Dr Mahima Mallawaratchi, is a Physician  living  in England. Her brother Mahesh ( from  STC ) owns  Malkey  Rent  a  Car at  Pamankada, Colombo.

Speedy: That was most interesting. Let me ask you now to talk about you and your own family.

Chira;  Thanks, Speedy. I  started  my  education  at  The  Girl’s  High  School,  Kandy  and  I  was there till the  2nd standard. I won the Class Prize that year. I also obtained a Certificate stating Very Good for Painting from The Royal Drawing Society, UK, when I was 8 years old.

Speedy: Well done Chira!  I can see how early in life you showed your artistic talents!

Chira: Thanks Speedy. But I started painting only a couple of years ago. My father came to Colombo on transfer.   I attended St. John’s Girl’s School Nugegoda for one year.

Speedy: I remember that as we lived in Nugegoda in Melder Place at that time too. (On the left, a photo of the entrance to Melder Place now)

Chira: Yes, I remember you and your sister Nelum and brothers Daya and Nihal. We used to play a lot together and had a lot of fun.

Speedy: We certainly did. We touched on this in a previous episode.

Chira: Yes we did. After that I moved over to Methodist College, Colombo. I have gone up to the stage to receive ‘A’ reports from the Principal Miss Robins on many occasions. I won many prizes at Methodist College including Rosemary de Alwis  Memorial Prize. Rosemary was a cousin of Bora’s.

My Parents and the three of us lived at  No.  6  Melder  Place  Nugegoda after we came from Kandy.

 

(This Family  Photo was taken in 1968)  

Speedy: How many brothers and sisters have you got?

Chira: I am the eldest of three. My brother D.P.Mallawaratchi Studied at St. Thomas Prep and St. Thomas College Mt. Lavinia. My sister  Dhammika studied at the same schools as myself.  She is married to Ranjith  Ekanayake, retired Brigadier in the Army.

Speedy: I remember both well. We called your brother Matchchi.

Chira : Yes, that’s him. That was because I couldn’t pronounce Malli properly when I was very small and the name got registered! Dayalal obtained his BSc. from the Engineering Faculty, Peradeniya,  MASc. (Master of Applied Science)  from  The University of British Columbia, Vancouver,  Canada.   A  Civil  Engineer. He was a President of  the Institution of  Engineers. He married  Prof. 

Channa Ratnatunge’s sister  Malini  MSc, Graduate worked at the  C. I. S. I. R.

My  sister and  I studied  at  Methodist  College  Colombo and travelled to school in a private car owned by Mrs. Wijewardena.  The  Vanguard  picked  us  up  from  Melder Place  and  on  the  way  picked  up Swyrie and  her 3 sisters Gemini,  Ramani  and  Preethi from  Kirillapone. Later my Father arranged a  school bus which started from the top of  Melder Place, Nugegoda. 

Swyrie and her 3 sisters also travelled in it to Methodist College.   A small girl called Noeline living at the top of Melder Place too joined us. She was teased by tying her Schoolbag to her plat, and guess who the culprit was?  Swyrie !

Speedy: And now let us talk about University and medical education

Chira; I  entered  The  University of Colombo from  Methodist  College, for a 6  Months  course  in  Zoology . Ours was the  last  batch  to follow  this course.   Sura,  Sunil, Bora, Sanath, J.C.. Patas, Senerath, Bertram Nana, Lucky, and Cassim also followed this course.

For the  Zoology  course,  we  had  only  two  lectures  and  a  practical  class every  week.  I  used  to  play Bridge  with  my  friends  Vinodhini  Chanmugam  and  Jemima  Jesuant, (both  from Methodist College) from  the  Science  Faculty. 

I  met  them  in  England  later on  when  I  went for  my  Postgraduate studies. I   visited Jemima’s  place  in  Hong  Kong  in  2008.  Sadly, they are both no  more now.  Those from Methodist College  will  remember  them. I  used  to  play  Badminton   and  represented  the  Colombo  University.  We   played against the Peradeniya  University  and won  the Tournament in 1961.  I played mixed doubles with my brother (from the Engineering Faculty) as well, during that period.

Speedy: This is news to me. I had no idea that you were good at Sports!

Chira: Well, now you know! Only Badminton and Table tennis. ( not in school)

The other memory I have of that time is how after  I entered Medical College I used to travel in a Private car with Late Priya Gunaratne, Late Kamini Gunawardene and Padmini Gunawardene .

 

(Photo  in  Signature Book  Medical Faculty 1962)

I  studied with Manil Hettiaratchi, Primrose and Nisha. Lalani and Padmini used to join us.                                                                     

My studying was made difficult because I  used  to  get  severe  Migraine  headaches  But  my wonderful mother helped me by reading  my  Text  Books  and notes to me. I  used to lie  down on  bed,  close my eyes  and  listen  to  her.  She was a Tower of strength to me.

Speedy: I am sure she was. We must never ever forget the love and guidance we received from our parents.

Chira: I quite agree Speedy. In my final year, I stayed at the Women’s Hostel down De Saram Road, Colombo. Pram and Dole (Piyaseeli Dolawatte) were in the next room and Manel (Owli) was in the opposite room on the 2nd floor.

Speedy: For reasons unclear, the hostel was known to us as the Hopper House!

You then graduated with the MBBS and started your internship, right?

Chira; Yes, that is correct, and no comment about the name!

My first appointment was with Dr Misso, Surgeon at the General Hospital, Colombo.  Swyrie  and  Zita  also worked with me.

Speedy: I was HO to Dr Misso too but he retired during that time and I completed with Dr Burhan or Dr DFDS Gunawardena, I can’t be sure.

Chira: Dr Misso was a thorough gentleman but I remember that time for another reason; because of a gruesome incident. I received a call from ward 1   G.H.C. saying that a man was hanging from the roof.  It was a  terrible sight to see this man who had undergone a  prostatectomy a  few days before.  I was “on-call” and had to face a number of inquiries into this incident.

Speedy: What a scenario for a young doctor to face!

Chira: It was awful. I had good friends who supported me. During this appointment, I  shared a  room with  Pram in the quarters above the  Radiology Department  GHC.

My second Appointment was with Dr Rajanayagam V.O.G. at the Castle Street Hospital for Women. Colombo. Bernadette  used  to  share  my  room  in the quarters  when  she  was  on call.

Speedy: Any other notable events you would like to share with us?

Chira: I was Bridesmaid many times. The first time was to  Anoja Wijesekera,  my  oldest  friend  from  Methodist College since  standard  4.  She married Dr Nanda Atukorale  Dermatologist, who is sadly no more The second time was  to Primrose and the third  time was to  Piyaseeli  Dolawatte (Dole). There was a saying, “third time  a bride’s maid,  never a  bride”, but  I  broke it,  and became  a  Bride  in  1979  after  I  returned  from  Overseas Postgraduate leave! 

Speedy: Good for you Chira! Old wives tales I call them.

Ok so you did your internship and then, what followed?

Chira: After Internship, my first appointment was at The Homagama Hospital.  Late Sardha too worked with me.

This was a milestone for me as I bought my first car and used to drive to Homagama Hospital.

Speedy: Your first car is something you never forget. Mine was a Triumph Herald which I bought from my brother when he went to England. I was so chuffed and proud of it.

Chira: Yes, I was so thrilled when I got it. Let me related an interesting story about my car. One day when driving to the hospital there was a traffic block, there was no movement of vehicles towards Homagama at all. Suddenly a man opened the rear left door and got into the car. I got the shock of my life!  I didn’t know how to get rid of this man. He offered to show the way to the Hospital via a side road. He got me to turn the car to the left and as we proceeded a fair distance, I saw a hospital attendant standing at a bus halt. I stopped the car, thanked him for his help and told him that there is a person from the hospital that I could go with him. I heaved a sigh of relief! Ever since that day I used to lock the car from inside.                                                                                  

Speedy: What a story! You must have been scared out of your wits!

Chira: I was and still shudder when I recall it.

Speedy: And what was next?

Chira: Next was my Eye Hospital appointment, from May 1971.  I   worked with Late Dr Velauthan.    Kusuma had worked at the Eye Hospital just before I went there. 

Vasantha Ovitigala worked with me at  Eye Hospital. I went to see Vasantha’s first baby with Benita Stephen (Thoracic surgeon’s wife), when they were living down Kynsey  Road, Colombo.  Vasantha is married to  Karu Jayasuiriya. (former Speaker)  That daughter married  Naveen  Dissanayake, Gamini Dissanayake’s  son.                                                                                                                                  

Speedy: The next stage is your postgraduate career and how you became such a well-known and respected eye surgeon in Sri Lanka. Please take us through that period

Chira: Thanks for your kind words Speedy. I left for the U.K. at the end of February 1976 on No Pay Study Leave granted by the Government to do the Diploma in Ophthalmology and the FRCS in Ophthalmology.

I was allowed only 3 Sterling Pounds and 10 Shillings exchange on my Passport. I was not given any allowance from the Government. I had to earn my own living and study on my own all by myself. There was absolutely no teaching or any guidance and nor any advice given to me as to how to set about studying for these exams. I had to ask others and study, A Herculean task!

I told my daughter Anjali who just passed her local Final M.D.Ophthalmology exam. that she is very lucky that her training was excellent for a period of 4 years with 4 exams. They were given Lectures; Clinical Lecture Demonstrations and periodic assessments and Workshops conducted by our College of Ophthalmologists which helped them. They did group studies as well. In contrast, for me it was a case of self-study without any group studies and no training at all. I also had to earn my living in UK.

Speedy: That was the norm for no pay study leave which I too went through. You were set afloat in a foreign country with hardly any resources, clutching references received form your bosses and had to use all your ingenuity and skill to navigate and finally reach the shore with that much-wanted qualification. It was a case of triumph for optimism over fear.

Do carry on Chira. I couldn’t help reflecting on that time period.

Chira: I couldn’t agree with your more Speedy. Talking of what happened after I went to U.K., I first worked as a Clinical Assistant  at Moorfields Eye Hospital London and Western Ophthalmic Hospital London. I passed the Primary FRCS in 1976.  

Next, I worked  as  SHO Ophthalmology, at The  London  Hospital,  Whitechapel   England. I  obtained  The Diploma in Ophthalmology in 1977.  (D. O.  Lond)

I was SHO Ophthalmology  in Sutton General Hospital when I obtained the F.R.C.S. (Eng ) in 1978 and worked as Registrar at the Royal Surrey County Hospital Guilford, England and came back to Sri Lanka in May 1979.                                                    

I was  in  the U.K. for  3 years and 3 months. I used to visit Pram in Wembley and later in St. Johns Wood,  Manil Hettiaratchi in  Blackpool and later in Dulwich,  Wimala Sothinadan (de Silva) in Colchester. I visited Bernadette in Wakefield, Primrose in Kent and later Granthum and  Zita in Southend-on-Sea.

Speedy: After gaining all your qualifications, you came back to Sri Lanka. Take us through your next phase.

Chira: Yes, I came back to Sri Lanka in May 1979 and was appointed   Consultant Eye Surgeon  Kegalle Hospital.  When  Cassim got a transfer to Eye Hospital from Kandy Hospital, I got a transfer to Kandy Hospital in Oct 1979.

Speedy: We just missed each other as I came back to England in April 1979. I was the first Consultant Neurologist in Kandy from December 1977 and set up the Unit from scratch.

Chira: That was great! It is a pity that you had to go back to England but I know you had good personal reasons to do so.

Speedy: Thanks for your understanding Chira. I gather you married in that time?

Chira:  Yes, I got married to Ranjit Jayaweera Bandara in Oct 1979. He did Geography Honours at the Peradeniya Campus. He went to UK and obtained the Charter in Personnel Management.  He worked at the C.I.S.I.R. and later at the State Mortgage Bank Colombo, as A.G.M. He did the LLB at the Open University and worked as a Legal Adviser to the S.L.I.I.T. Colombo.

Speedy: And your next jobs in Sri Lanka? 

Chira: I worked in Kandy Hospital for 5 years. Dr Reggie Seimon was the other surgeon there. I came to Eye Hospital Colombo as Consultant Eye Surgeon in Oct 84 and retired in Feb. 2001.

Speedy: Any special memories of that time?

Chira: Not a pleasant one Speedy. I was in the  Operating  Theatre, Eye  Hospital when the Central Bank Bomb blast occurred in Jan. 1996. Many casualties were brought. Prof Sheriffdeen wheeled in Mr Lalith  Kotelawala with cut injuries all over his body mainly the upper part including his eyes. I started suturing him and Dr Saliya Pathirana (Retinal surgeon) took over as his retina was involved.

Later Mr Lalith  Kotelawala  built  The  Golden   Key  Eye  and E.N.T. Hospital,  Colombo.  Dr Saliya  Pathirana is  in charge  of the  eye department.   

Speedy; You developed special expertise within Ophthalmology. Tell us about that.

Chira: I went with other Consultants to Hyderabad and Madras to follow workshops on Cataract Phaco emulsification  Surgery in 1999.  Cassim also joined. This is the latest  technique to remove a cataract by emulsifying the cataract and  sucking it out with the  Phaco machine. 

Speedy: You had several spells in the UK after you became a Consultant. Where and when did you work?                                                       

Chira: While working in Govt.  Service  we  were  entitled  to  take  6  months overseas  leave  every  5 years. I made use of this and  worked   in  the U.K in the  latter  halves  of  1986,  1992  and  1998.        

Speedy: You have some special memories of Wales Chira. Tell us about it

Chira: It happened like this. In 1992,  I worked as Locum Consultant Ophthalmologist, Isbity hospital, Gwenedd, Bangor North Wales.  While I was there, Ranjit and the two Children came  to  Bangor, North Wales and spent 3 months with me.   My children went to school in Bangor and they even learnt the Welsh language! The other memory of that time is that Primrose, Upul and children  came  to  Bangor North Wales and spent a weekend with us.  We visited  Anglesey with them.

Speedy: I see. Must have been great to have them. I gather also that you gained some more special experience in the UK?  

Chira: Yes Speedy, it was so nice to be with them About my special experience, when I went to U.K.in 1986,  I  learnt  the use of the Laser and obtained experience in  Laser treatment..

At that time Sri Lanka did not have a single Laser machine. When I was the President of the Ophthalmological Society of Ceylon in 1987I started a Laser fund. I organised several   Programmes to raise funds. 

Speedy:  That was great! What sort of fundraising programmes were they?

Chira: Different sorts, some of them were T.V. and Lion’s  club programmes.

And also working in UK in 1992 and 1998 as a Locum Consultant, I gained experience with more modern and advanced instruments and techniques which helped me to purchase certain items and improve my techniques in Sri Lanka.                         

Speedy: I think that system of granting postgraduate leave was mutually beneficial. It motivated the doctors to enhance their knowledge and expertise, and at no real cost to the Government. It also gave them and their families an opportunity to visit other countries.

What an incredible journey Chira! Now I would like you to sit back and relax and talk about your own family.

Chira But of course! Is it Ok if I have my cup of tea now? Do please help yourself too. Hope it has not gone cold.

Speedy: Of course Chira, please do and thanks for my cuppa too.

Chira: You are most welcome. 

Coming to my children, I have two and they are both doctors. My son Anju studied initially at St. Thomas Prep. Kollupitiya and later at Royal College, Colombo.

Speedy: I didn’t know that! How interesting because I too went from St Thomas Prep Kollupitiya to Royal College.

Chira: There you are! He then studied Medicine, like you too! But at The Kursk State Medical University, Russia (in English). He is currently working as M.O. at the National Hospital, Colombo in the Orthopedics Unit.  He is interested in Photography and is now a Professional photographer doing weddings etc. as well.

My  Daughter Anjali  initially studied at  Methodist College, Colombo and later at Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo. She studied Medicine at the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. She passed her Finals M.D. in Ophthalmology in January 2021. At the moment she is working as Senior Registrar at the Eye  Hospital, Colombo.

Speedy: You must be so proud of them, and rightly so. It is even more interesting after reading Sanath Lama’s recent post on Medical Education. Your experience is a good example of how private medical education (cost borne by the parents), have benefitted Sri Lanka.

Speedy:  Chira,   How about grandkids?

Chira:  My son has a 9-year-old son and a 4 year old daughter. (photo of them as kids)

Speedy:  They must be a hand full.

Chira:  Yes, they are very naughty. They are living down the lane and I am very busy babysitting them very often especially these days because of Corona outbreak and no schooling.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us Chira. Before we finish, I hope you won’t mind doing a follow up where I like to discuss not only your achievements in the field of Ophthalmology but your achievements at the Eye Hospital, and perhaps some more drawings too?

Chira: Yes, I am quite proud of my achievements and as for drawings. I am very happy to oblige.

Speedy: That’s great! I shall give you a little break and invite you again soon.      

Chira: Thanks very much Mahendra- I have slipped back to Mahendra! Hope you don’t mind.

Speedy: Not at all Chira, after all, you knew me as Mahendra first! Who would have guessed that the two of us who were kids in Nugegida would end up as Batchmates. As Nhial would say, it is the "awesome force of destiny"!

That was fun! I enjoyed this session a lot. It will also, be a kind of flashback of their own lives for many who will surely read and enjoy this with some degree of nostalgia.

Chira: Thanks Mahendra, I really enjoyed it too. You have taken a lot of trouble and I appreciate very much your effort.  Thank you for giving me this opportunity and I hope that the Blog will continue to flourish. All the best!

Speedy: It has been my pleasure and thanks again for sharing.