MEMORIES OF SOME OF OUR CHARISMATIC TEACHERS - No:1
Prof D A Ranasinghe (1908- 1981)
He was the Ceylon representative
of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists from 1963 to 1974 and
an invited examiner in London in 1969 and was President of the Sri Lanka
College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He was a member of the National Health
Council and advisor on family planning, serving as Chairman of the latter's
council for eighteen years. He was a proponent of vaginal hysterectomy and
published a report on a thousand cases.
He was twice married, first to
Beatrice Samarasinghe, by whom he had three children, and secondly to Anne
Ranasinghe in 1949, by whom he had four children. Anne was a freelance writer
and executive secretary of Amnesty International South Asia Publications
Service. She was Anneliese Katz when she married, the daughter of a Jewish
family in Germany. She left for England soon after the Nazi anti-Jewish pogroms
began. After schooling, she trained in midwifery and met and married Dr D. A.
Ranasinghe who was a postgraduate student. They came back to Ceylon and led a
successful life, raising their seven children while he led a very successful
professional life.
Sometime after her husband's
death, Anne began writing poetry. Most of her poems have been on the Jewish
experience and the Holocaust. Her poetry has won many accolades and awards in
Ceylon and Germany. She has been a live wire of the English Writers'
Cooperative and associates closely with writers of all ages and persuasions.
Anne Ranasinghe passed away in December 2016.
Prof Ranasinghe was a prize-winning
tennis player, an expert rifle shot and an enthusiastic bridge
player. Other interests were cricket and soccer.
He retired in 1975 but was still
Chancellor of the University of Colombo when he died on 31 March 1981.
Prof Ranasinghe’s name lives on
with the annual Prof D A Ranasinghe Memorial Oration in his name by the Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists.
He and his wife Anne are also
remembered for charitable activities in their names by their children. A recent
event (July 2021) reported was a project initiated by their daughter Kushlani Amarasuriya
at Apeksha Hospital.
“Despite numerous obstacles,
including COVID-19, the paediatric unit at Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama Cancer Institute, is benefiting from
a much-needed expansion of facilities thanks to a project initiated by Kushlani
Amarasuriya in memory of her parents, well-known author Anne Ranasinghe and
Professor DA Ranasinghe.". "
We were fortunate to have been taught
by the tall bow-tied and smartly dressed Prof Ranasinghe with his distinctive strong
voice and I am sure you will recall his unique didactic style of lecturing with
“lists” and “phrases” which we were asked to commit to memory- not the modern
way of teaching but nevertheless very effective for passing exams! We all recall
his “5 causes of this” and “7 causes of that” with his fingers clenching as he
recites “a, b, c, d, e”. At oral exams when the candidate offers 4 causes correctly
and is struggling to remember the 5th, Prof would raise his middle finger
(cause “c”) and say “what about this!”. He certainly was a character and we were
privileged to have been taught by him.
Mahendra Gonsalkorale.
Mahen
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fine tribute to Prof Ranasinghe and his wife Anne who lived full and happy lives in Sri Lanka.
He was an excellent teacher who set out to teach us the common and important issues and problems in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. In those days many of the doctors became DMO’s in distant places. It was his aim to make us manage the common problems with safety and a sound knowledge. I believe he succeeded in his aim to improve safety and quality of care in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
During my professorial appointment I learnt my Obstetrics and Gynaecology well. His didactic notes were useful and pretty comprehensive.
He belonged to the old school and resorted to teaching tactics that were aggressive which was the accepted norm in the mid 20th Century. His registrars behaved like the gestapo adding an extra tier of fear. This created an unpleasant toxic milieu in the ward which no doubt furred up our coronaries. In the 21st Century, now we know there are better ways teach and learn with mutual respect.
I feel he did his best for us and thank him for his contribution to our medical education.
Mahendra
ReplyDeleteExcellent tribute to Prof Ranasinghe. Well done. Your memory power is very good to remember his phrases and the numbers associated with each topic.
We are fortunate to have been taught by this great Professor.
I appreciate very much the project initiated by his daughter Kushlani to kelp the children at the Apeksha Hospital.
Chira
Labour pains - “There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation."
ReplyDelete“Ranaya’s” appointment reminds me of the 10 deliveries we had to do. We all realised its importance. More in haste than ignorance I decided to try my hand at delivering these precious packages at Castle Street. The stork seems to prefer to deliver the precious cargo in the dead of night. In the delivery room was the senior midwife in all her regalia. Her retinue were in attendance ever ready to oblige the madam’s every wish. She barked her commands loud and clear and was the Queen of the Labour Room. She reminded me of those Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales and the ones who flew on a broomstick. In fairness the Labour Room needed a strong hand and she controlled the situations brilliantly.
Medical students had to compete with the student midwives for the deliveries. It was an exhausting night all round. In the melee there was a young student midwife who collapsed in a heap seeing blood and hearing the laments. My chivalrous colleague was there to revive her and may have even offered mouth to mouth!! Fortunately there were many deliveries. As the night wore on and in the wee hours of the morning there were fewer takers. I managed my required number in a single night and yet another box was ticked on my journey to the finals. My grateful thanks go to the senior midwife who was on duty all night and managed the Labour Room so efficiently. My greatest tribute go to the mothers on that important night. They showed us why “The purpose exceeds the pain" by their broad smiles after the event.
Nihal, I still remember the first time I assisted in a delivery. It was an awe inspiring experience which is firmly embedded in my memory! There are certain things in life that one never forgets.
DeleteI too recall the need for 10 (or was it 12?) deliveries but if I remember correctly, there was room for manipilation as all that was required was for the student's name to go into the register in the labour room. Kind and helpful colleagues who interpreted "honesty" with considerable laxity, added names of absent colleagues to the register till the magical 10 (or 12) was reached.
DeleteJust to build on this, when I was an SHO at Matale doing my obs stint, the midwives had to notify the on call doctor when there was a breech dekivery as they were deemed complex enough to require a doctor to peroform the feat. When I was called on the first occasion, I told the midwife that I haven't got a clue and would you please be kind enough to guide me and teach me! I think they appreciated it.
Mahen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. I liked "Ranaya" even though I did not like his didactic style of teaching, and the fact that he expected us to regurgitate his "5 causes of this and 7 causes of that" verbatim. There is something to be said, however, for memorizing facts and recalling them quickly. (He will probably turn in his grave if he can see the students of today who resort to Google on their smartphones for everything.) What I liked about Prof. R was the fact that even though he was strict and may have scolded us, it was never in an insulting or demeaning manner. He treated us as adults and expected us to behave that way. He afforded us some degree of respect. It was in contrast to the other OB/GYN professor who took pleasure in insulting and terrorizing his students. (I have heard many stories from our Peradeniya colleagues about the "other guy").
Prof R also took his other administrative responsibilities seriously. As some of you may know, our house on Rockwood Place was next door to the Bloemfontein hostel, and there was only an ancient wall that separated the two properties. Once after heavy rains the wall collapsed and the only remaining thing separating my family from the rowdy "Bloemers" was a pile of bricks! Naturally, this made my mother nervous, and I don't remember if she called someone in charge, but a day or two later Professor Ranasinghe showed up at our front door and said "Mrs. Fernando, don't worry, I will take care of it and see that it is rebuilt." He cared about people, and perhaps it was after that encounter that I developed a "soft spot" for him.
I will share this post with one of his grandsons who now lives in NJ. Perhaps he may add some of his own memories to our exchange.
I agree with you Srianee. He was oldfashioned and his methods will not be seen these days but his heart was in the right place. But even he had that "senior" complex which almost all doctors had those days with one notable exception, Oliver Pieris who was ahead of his time and treated us as mature adults.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the tribute to my father. I'll try and post the link on Facebook. B safe and well.
ReplyDeleteIt was very nice of you to post a comment Annanda. Wish you all the best
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for remembering my father. I never knew him well as he was always at the Colombo hospital working or teaching. My fondest memories were when he took me at the age of 6 and 7 years to the Girls hostel for evening dinner cooked by the students Parippu and Bath curry. We sat on benches at the tables and ate while my father had arranged for a nice SLkan man from the Canadian Embassy to show black and white comedy films like Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. They were wonderful evenings and I was very spoilt by the then medical students !
ReplyDeleteRenuka, thank you for sharing this story. Your father was like many fathers of his generation. He left the child rearing duties to his wife! He did take his responsibilities for supervising the medical hostels seriously, when he was assigned that task, in addition to his duties as a Professor of Ob/Gyn. I'm not sure what the exact title of that role was. It was sweet that he took you along when he visited the women's hostel. Some of our classmates may have been there.
DeleteHere in the US they have a special day; "Take Your Child to Work Day" when companies welcome the children of their employees, so that the children can see what the parents do all day. Obviously, it depends on whether the workplace is safe for kids etc. So your father was a bit ahead of his time, when he took you along on these evening visits to have dinner with the medical students!