Indrani Anthonypillai ( nee Subramanium) passed away
I just received this sad news from Pram Senanayake.
"Dear friends just heard the sad news that Indrani Anthonypillai ( nee Subramanium) passed away in the UK. I have been in close touch with her. Spoke to her even 4 days ago. Her brother Bala, who was also our batch, is in the USA and is flying over to The UK for the funeral. Her daughter Dr Rose & her son in law Dr John brought her to all the London reunions. We will miss her".
I shall post more details when I receive them.
May her Soul Rest in Peace.
It is with such great sadness I received the news of the demise of Indrani, a pillar of our London reunions and a valued member of our 62 Batch. Despite her infirmities and difficulties, she never missed a reunion being so well supported by her daughter and son-in-law. At the meeting she chatted with everyone and became so much a part of the community. We often talked about her brother Bala as he was from my end of the alphabet and spent much time together.
ReplyDeleteIn the batch when she was around there was never a dull moment. Indrani always had things to talk about and make us laugh.
We will miss Indrani dearly. Her smiling face lit up our meetings. It was such a pleasure to remain in contact despite the passage of years.
I wish to pass on my condolences to John and Rose and the rest of the family at this time of grief.
May her Soul Rest in Peace.
Thanks to our London Mini unions organised cheifly by the energetic and enthusiastic Pram, i got to know Indrani very well. Her daughter Rose and son-in-law John were so kind to bring Indrani in their car for all the London events because they understood how much these meetings were importnt to Indrani. She was very religious and always saw the best side of people and had a strong sense of "belonging" to our Batch. Indtani was also a ferquent attender of the zoom series run by the SLLS (incidentally, SLLS Zoom series recommence on the 22nd of October with a talk by Dr Uditha Jayatunga on "" Intelligent Design as Proof of Creation"- and it is a pity that Indrani won't be there as I am sure she would have not just tuned in but would have made a very useful contribution in the following discussion).
ReplyDeleteI also met her with Bala when he visited her in the UK some time a go.
She was a totally genuine person who understood people and contributed in so many ways to shed her kindness and generosity to all she enountered.
I shall miss her sore;y.
May she Rest in Peace as she surely will, in the Heaven she was so sure of.
I was saddened to hear about the death of Indrani 'Subs' as we called her. She was. a lovely person who made the effort to attend almost every reunion that we had. I was quite friendly with her in Medical College. We were both in the SCM (Student Christian Movement which was also nicknamed Society for Courtship and Marriage!!). She was friendly and always ready to share a good joke! I met her at the London reunion many many years ago, and several times at some of the Sri Lanka reunions. She also attended a SLMANA dinner dance many many years ago when a contingent of our batch mates flew over to attend the event. We had a mini reunion of our batch the night before at a NYC restaurant which was very enjoyable. (I have a photo somewhere - inaccessible at the moment.) I believe Con-Bala, Mahesan Richards and Yoga were responsible for arranging that - Thanks guys! She also showed up for an afternoon tea which I had at my apartment in Colombo prior to one of our Sri Lankan reunions. I think JC (bless him!) twisted my arm to organize that, but it was really fun. Kudos to Rose and John for bringing Indrani to the London mini-reunions. In spite of her declining health Indrani made the effort to stay connected and enjoy life. That's what all of us should be doing! Indrani, you set a good example. May you rest in Peace.
ReplyDeleteI realized that our last three posts have been obituaries! I am guilty of not commenting on several posts prior to that. Mahen, I completely missed your one about medical education - so sorry! I will try to rectify that. I hope regardless of the distractions of our lives we will keep the blog going.
ReplyDeleteIt is a bit like an old car to which one has become attached. The engine dies, you get it restarted and you sputter along. It may stall again, but you try to keep it going. Sometimes you leave it in the garage for many months, but take it out for a ride when the weather is good! So let's not give up on the old buggy. It helps us stay connected with friends, share our creative efforts, and express opinions, whether others are interested or not!
Thanks for your comments Nihal and Srianee. I shall maintain the Blog as long as I can and react to situations as they arise. This might be some good or bad news about our colleagues or posting anything that is sent to me by colleagues of relevance to us. If I spot anything in the news or web that might be of interest, I shall post on the Blog. Is shall offer "water" with no expectation that it would be consumed, although the consumption could happen without our knowledge!
ReplyDeleteMahen
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have written the obituary of the blog a couple of times, on reflection realise how wrong I was. It is the only forum dedicated to our batch of 62 and focussed solely on matters related to our beloved community. Long may it survive and ride the vagaries of the ebb and flow of life and the endless vicissitudes of our fortunes.
My apologies and thanks for your efforts to keep the blog alive
Even the tiniest flicker of light at the end of the tunnel is reason enough to continue the joureny. Thanks Pal
DeleteA picture paints a thousand words. How very true. Indrani’s photo brings her back to life and to a heap of memories of life in the faculty. The sexes did not mix freely in those distant days. Not even in the highest seat of learning. But there were a few girls like Indrani who boldly broke convention and spoke to the boys in equal terms. She gave her opinion without fear or favour and also to her credit gave as good as she got in any controversy. Indrani was fun to be with and had many humorous stories to relate from faculty life and the wards.
ReplyDeleteAs we left the faculty in 1967 our paths never crossed. I attended the London reunion but I cannot recall seeing her there. It was such a great pleasure to see Indrani at the London Reunion in St Johns Wood on the 13th of March 2017 and thereafter at every reunion we have had in London.
The London Reunion has now acquired a legendary status and has entered the batch folklore. It is the brainchild of Pramilla Senanayake. Every year for the past 6 years she has used her exceptional organising skills to gather the troops living in England for a summer meeting. Pram has the wonderful gift to collar, cajole or even twist the arm, if need be, to attend our gatherings. The Satay House has been our favourite venue, a restaurant close to the Paddington Station in a quiet street away from the noise and grime of heavy London traffic.
Pramilla has been the initiator and prime-mover of the London Mini-Reunion. Although she was the chief organiser, Pramilla had the wonderful ability to maintain a low profile all through the proceedings. We all owe her a great debt of gratitude. These gatherings have been fabulous events of friendship of our batch and all our friends who joined us. We will forever remember the happiness and the laughter that filled the dining hall at our gatherings. We still feel nothing can keep Pramilla away from London. May we have the good fortune to see her again.
We admire greatly Pramilla’s efforts to remain in touch with both Indrani and Zita in their final illness providing friendship and affection at this most difficult time. Even the covid epidemic couldn’t prevent Pram from taking a train journey to pay a visit to Zita. On behalf of the Batch I wish to thank Pramilla for her kindness.
Fully agree with you on Pram and her enthusiasm and dedication to keep in touch.
ReplyDeleteMay I add my thanks to Pram for keeping us connected, in UK as well as in Colombo. I'm looking forward to some mini reunions in Colombo. Fingers crossed! Mahen and Nihal, your efforts at keeping the blog alive are greatly appreciated as well!
ReplyDeleteI remember well the vibrant personality of Indrani Subs as we knew her then. She was always cheerful and friendly , and it is nice to know that she had caring family with her to the end. My sincere sympathy to Bala and the rest of her family.May she rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteHi Rohini, I was going to send you a WhatsApp message about Indrani Subs, when I saw that you had posted a comment here. She was a positive force among the girls in our batch, wasn't she? I admire her that she didn't 'stop living' even though she was quite sick these last few years. She made every effort to meet her friends. I did exchange emails with Bala, who was happy to hear from me. May she Rest in Peace.
ReplyDeleteHarshi and I were very sad to hear that Indrani has passed away. I did not really know her while at medical school, but, through our batch reunions, she became a close friend of ours. When her brother, Yankee Bala, visited her a few years ago, she invited us home for lunch. Likewise, we invited her along with her family in 2021, together with Pram to our home. We had also invited Mahen and Nihal but they could not make it. She was a lovely person, easy to talk to you and good company. I especially admired her resilience, which perhaps stemmed from her deep faith in God. Special thanks to Pram for organizing the regular mini reunions at which Indrani was a regular attendee. We will miss you Indrani. You were a very sincere friend – completely genuine. Both Harshi and I will treasure the time that we have spent with you.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to see Rohini and Bora adding their commiserations to Indrani's family.
ReplyDeleteMy very sincere condolences to Rose and John, regarding the demise of Indrani. I communicated with them earlier via WhatsApp.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add to Pram's exceptional organising skills. For the last few years, she has formed a " Forever 1962 Group and we have met monthly over lunch/dinner. Our next meeting is on the 27th of October 2023, at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel. The other participants are, Senarath J and Hemantha, Harsha and Eulalie, Swyrie, Suriyakanthi and Mahendra, Indra and Rani, Bandula J.,Gita Jayanetti, Chira Mallawarachchi and Sura Fernando
The funeral will be held on the 27th of October at St Luke's Church in Watford
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind remembrances. Yes, the funeral service will be 12.30pm at St Luke’s Church Watford WD17 3EG. Anyone who wants to come in person will be most welcome. The service will be one hour with some finger food after (please RSVP drsjrmoore@hotmail.com for catering purposes) If we manage to get a video link we will forward it in due course. Best wishes Rose (daughter)
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