REMEMBRANCE DAY 2024 (VIDEO UPDATED VER OF 2022)
Friends, just remember this-
"Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have"
This is the full list of 56 colleagues who have departed in chronological order. If you scroll down, you will see their photos.
Our dear departed
friends
1. S.R.
(Sunil) de Silva
2. A.R.K. (Russel) Paul
3. Dawne de Silva Paul
4. Bernard Randeniya
5. Niriella Chandrasiri
6. V. Ganeson
7. L.G.D.K. (Irwin) Herath
8. V.Kunasingham
9. B.L. Perera
10. B. Somasunderam
11. N.C.D.M. Gunasekara
12. K.Sunderampillai
13. Tudor Wickramarachchi
14. K.N. (Kiththa) Wimalaratne
15. Anna Ponnambalam Sathiagnanan
16. A. Satchitananda
17. N. Sivakumar
18. T.A. Dayaratne
19. Sidath Jayanetti
20. N. Balakumar
21. Kamali Nimalasuriya de Silva 14.4.2013
22. K. Sri Kantha – 15.9.13
23. P. Lucien Perera – 14.6.14
24. Priya (Gunaratna) de Silva – 8.10.14
25. Arul (Sivaguru) Balasubramaniam – 15.10.14
26. W. Punsiri Fernando – 15.11.14
27. W. Rajasooriyar – 6.1.15
28. M.P.C. Jaimon – 26.3.15
29. S. Vedavanam – 1.7.15
30. Farouk Mahmoud – 27.11.16
31. Janaka (JG) Wijetunga – 13.03.17
32. Manohari Navaratnarajah Shanmuganathan – 22.03.17
33. D. B. Mahendra Collure – 31.05.17
34. Suren Iyer – 13.10.17
35. Sardha Jayatilake Wijeratne (Passed away 3 years ago)
36. S. Sarvananda – 26.05.18
37. Sue Ratnavel Gunsegaram - 16.7.2018
38. Boyd Tilak (Chula) Batuwitage - 10.12.2018
39. Ranjit Kuruppu 9.4. 2019
40. C.D. (Desmond) Gunatilake 2.6.2019
41. Razaque Ahamat 7.7.2109
42. H.N.Wickremasinghe 8.11.2019
43. Kamini (Goonewardena) Ferdinando 31.1.2021
44. Lucky Weerasooriya jan 2022
45. Zita Perera Subasinghe 5.10.2022
46. V.P.H Rajapakse 15.10.2022
47. Mangalam Sabaratnam Krishnadasan 22.12.2022
48. Cecil Saverimuttu 26.1.2023
49. J. C. Fernando 18.04.2023
50. Navam Chinniah 03.082023
51. Philomena P Thiriviam 6.9.2023
52 subramaniam, indrani anthonypillai oct 2023
53. Asoka Wijeyekoon dec 22nd,2023
54. Sriani Basnayake Dissanayake 15.02.2024
55. Raj Wickremaskeran 23.4.2024
56. Bertram Nanayakkara 24.05.2024
2. A.R.K. (Russel) Paul
3. Dawne de Silva Paul
4. Bernard Randeniya
5. Niriella Chandrasiri
6. V. Ganeson
7. L.G.D.K. (Irwin) Herath
8. V.Kunasingham
9. B.L. Perera
10. B. Somasunderam
11. N.C.D.M. Gunasekara
12. K.Sunderampillai
13. Tudor Wickramarachchi
14. K.N. (Kiththa) Wimalaratne
15. Anna Ponnambalam Sathiagnanan
16. A. Satchitananda
17. N. Sivakumar
18. T.A. Dayaratne
19. Sidath Jayanetti
20. N. Balakumar
21. Kamali Nimalasuriya de Silva 14.4.2013
22. K. Sri Kantha – 15.9.13
23. P. Lucien Perera – 14.6.14
24. Priya (Gunaratna) de Silva – 8.10.14
25. Arul (Sivaguru) Balasubramaniam – 15.10.14
26. W. Punsiri Fernando – 15.11.14
27. W. Rajasooriyar – 6.1.15
28. M.P.C. Jaimon – 26.3.15
29. S. Vedavanam – 1.7.15
30. Farouk Mahmoud – 27.11.16
31. Janaka (JG) Wijetunga – 13.03.17
32. Manohari Navaratnarajah Shanmuganathan – 22.03.17
33. D. B. Mahendra Collure – 31.05.17
34. Suren Iyer – 13.10.17
35. Sardha Jayatilake Wijeratne (Passed away 3 years ago)
36. S. Sarvananda – 26.05.18
37. Sue Ratnavel Gunsegaram - 16.7.2018
38. Boyd Tilak (Chula) Batuwitage - 10.12.2018
39. Ranjit Kuruppu 9.4. 2019
40. C.D. (Desmond) Gunatilake 2.6.2019
41. Razaque Ahamat 7.7.2109
42. H.N.Wickremasinghe 8.11.2019
43. Kamini (Goonewardena) Ferdinando 31.1.2021
44. Lucky Weerasooriya jan 2022
45. Zita Perera Subasinghe 5.10.2022
46. V.P.H Rajapakse 15.10.2022
47. Mangalam Sabaratnam Krishnadasan 22.12.2022
48. Cecil Saverimuttu 26.1.2023
49. J. C. Fernando 18.04.2023
50. Navam Chinniah 03.082023
51. Philomena P Thiriviam 6.9.2023
52 subramaniam, indrani anthonypillai oct 2023
53. Asoka Wijeyekoon dec 22nd,2023
54. Sriani Basnayake Dissanayake 15.02.2024
55. Raj Wickremaskeran 23.4.2024
56. Bertram Nanayakkara 24.05.2024
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE
My thanks to Rohini Ana who wrote the lyrics for this song. It was published in 2022 but it is still most appropriate for today. Ijust brought the video up to date. I hope bloggers enjoy it on this special day
ReplyDeleteHi Mahen , This was written as a stand- alone poem if you remember ! Even though trying to sing a poem is not straightforward , you managed to do a near perfect job of it ! Your video was great and your voice captured the mood very well. Altogether it was beautiful . Your voice deserves a better song writer so you dont have to sing poems !!
DeleteThank you for all your efforts with Remembrance day - and thanks to all who shared their memories -Au revoir
Mahendra
ReplyDeleteLet me congratulate you for the rendition of this remembrance day song which I enjoyed. I must admit that I felt so sad that my eyes filled with tears.
How ever I am relieved that we are having a remembrance day and bringing up lovely memories of our departed batchmates.
Thank you very much for the efforts taken by you.
Chira
Chira, your unstinting support for the Blog is much appreciated.
DeleteMahendra
DeleteThank you very much.
Your enthusiasm in keeping the Blog alive and also the efforts taken by you on the remembrance day have been rewarded by the excellent response by our batchmates.
Long live our Blog !
Chira
ReplyDelete]Thanks, Mahen. 🍷 Cheers!
Thank you very much Mahendra. Your excellent contributions are greatly appreciated by all of us
ReplyDeleteMahen
ReplyDeleteAgree,it is both remembering those who have left us and celebrating our friendship.I enjoy recalling interesting,relevant events of the past and sharing with the batch.Stimulating to the brain , gives me a chance to appreciate and get to know people better.
You are doing a great job.please continue .Big wheel keep on turning.
At Savatthi, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, is anyone who is born free from aging and death?”
ReplyDelete“Great king, no one who is born is free from aging and death. Even those affluent khattiyas—rich, with great wealth and property, with abundant gold and silver, abundant treasures and commodities, abundant wealth and grain—because they have been born, are not free from aging and death. Even those affluent brahmins … affluent householders—rich … with abundant wealth and grain—because they have been born, are not free from aging and death. Even those monks who are arahants, whose taints are destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached their own goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and are completely liberated through final knowledge: even for them this body is subject to breaking up, subject to being laid down.
“The beautiful chariots of kings wear out,
This body too undergoes decay.
But the Dhamma of the good does not decay:
So the good proclaim along with the good.”
Wise words, Mahen! It is true that at death we are all equal - The beggar and the king, but our lives matter.
DeleteThe lives we lead influence others, more than we realize. I was made aware of this on my last birthday when my daughters gathered many messages from friends and relatives (the ones they knew) through the magic of technology and presented them to me. I was really touched!
When we remember our friends collectively as we have done here, we acknowledge their impact on our lives and they continue to live on in our hearts.
Dear Speedy
ReplyDeleteYou have truly created a precious Remembrance Day this year by your efforts. Your moving rendering of Rohini A's lyric is surely is the "Jewel on the Crown "
Your enthusiasm has motivated so many to share their precious memories with us. Ones journeys end is an inevitable reality that we all have to accept.
This day is not only one to remember our beloved departed friends , but also one to joyously celebrate our friendship which has stood the test of time. We are indeed "Friends for Life"
My heartfelt gratitude to Lucky who's brain child it was,and to you Speedy who lovingly nurtured it all these years.
Suri
It was an honour and pleasure to follow Lucky
ReplyDeleteIts been a wonderful month of remembrance of our dear departed. Seeing those photos brings them back to life. Thanks to Mahen for managing this so well. I thank Lucky for starting the blog and bringing us together. Now it is our responsibility to keep the blog active by our input and support. We all know how fickle life can be.
ReplyDeleteI join you all in a heartfelt vote of thanks to Lucky, who I hope is reading some of these posts and comments. (Hi Lucky!). I think I need a short history lesson about the blog, Mahen or Nihal, when you have time. If I remember correctly it may have started as Lucky's personal blog which morphed into 'Colombo Med Grads 1962.' When I started making comments and actively contributing it was already cruising along at a steady speed.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mahen, thank you for taking over and driving it, uphill sometimes!
Srianee
DeleteOnly Lucky Abey will know the exact origin and how it all began. I think he started it all as a forum dedicated to our batch, while he was in South Carolina. I was in touch with him at the time but had no input whatsoever in giving it life or oomph. Much of the details of the pains and pleasures in labour and the delivery of the blog are lost in the mist of time. I have only a vague recollection of its early days when blogging was becoming the "WhatsApp" of the time. Lucky has always been a great communicator and he contacted by email as many batchmates as possible. I cannot for the life of me remember when and what I wrote in those early days.
The blog is a fine archive of the past issues. I'm sure Mahen could fetch some of the history. Lucky was a tough manager of the Blog. He was meticulous. I can remember being wrapped on my knuckles for my indiscretions. A worthy reminder of my schooldays!! It must be said Lucky managed the blog well without fear or favour. I am so very grateful for his wisdom and foresight in making the blog. I last met him in the Indian/Asian restaurant at the Cinnamon Grand in 2012 when we laughed about many things including managing the blog. He has a fantastic memory for detail and nothing got passed him unless factually correct.
We will forever be grateful to Lucky for this gift of the Blog. Thank you my friend for your friendship.
Nihal, Thanks for responding to my request. I'm curious about your indiscretions! 🤣 Anyway, I am in touch with Mangala Abey on WhatsApp and she has promised to get more details from Lucky. She said he did start it during his stay in SC. Stay tuned...
DeleteAll I know about the origin of the blog as is now called can be seen by clicking on the Archive tab on the blog
ReplyDeleteThe ColomboMedgrad1962 Blog was created by Lucky in Feb/March 2011. From about 2018, I helped Lucky to improve the front page and layout introducing such things as the panel on the Right showing comments and introducing tabs for easy reference. The tabs have evolved although sadly , few people seem to use it. For example, you can access the Batch directory, Archives, Links to other useful web sites etc. By 2019, I became joint Admins with Lucky and since 2021/2022, I have been managing it. I tried to make it more interesting by adding the Speedy interviews of colleagues, Bora's Banter etc!. It has been a great experience and a priviledge and Lucky gave me total control without any hesitation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, Mahen. It is good to know how it all began.
ReplyDeleteThe above comment was from me. I'm not sure why I became 'Anonymous" all of a sudden!
DeleteSrianee, may be you didn't choose the right option in "Comment as: ??
DeleteLucky, Just a line to acknowledge your foresight in initiating the blog and for having managed it so well over so many years . Even though you haven’t been seen in the blog, I hope you have a peep in now and then so you know you have not been forgotten. Many thanks Lucky - With my best wishes - Rohini
ReplyDeleteRohini, the success of the song is chiefly due to its lyrics. Thanks to you for allowing me to use your wonderful poem.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to read all the reminiscences, from this year's as well as past ones. We don't seem to have much about the following. Any offers?
ReplyDelete7. L.G.D.K. (Irwin) Herath
8. V.Kunasingham
9. B.L. Perera
10. B. Somasunderam
11. N.C.D.M. Gunasekara
12. K.Sunderampillai
13. Tudor Wickramarachchi
14. K.N. (Kiththa) Wimalaratne
15. Anna Ponnambalam Sathiagnanan
16. A. Satchitananda
17. N. Sivakumar
Mahendra
Irwin Herat: (from Suri). Irwin Herath was another batchmate who chose Anaesthesia as his speciality. I had the rare privilege of training him in Anaesthesia at Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital. I remember how we got carried away and started chatting about the good old days. He would call me Suri, to the horror of nurses in the OT. I was privileged to be his referee and help him secure employment abroad.
ReplyDeleteKunasingham: (Suri). I do remember with deep affection. He sat next to me during Physiology lectures ( Karunaratna , Kunasingham ) He was indeed very shy, always gentle and soft-spoken. I remember vividly how Dr Ratnavale got Kuna to walk with a stiff knee, and then add on a foot drop... clearly demonstrating the circumduction walk of hemiplegia.
Sivakumar: (Rohini A 2012) Sivakumar of our batch included in your unreachable list sadly passed away in Auckland NewZealand even 10 or more years ago of multiple medical problems
Just informing you.
Anna Ponnambalam: (Kusuma Ruberu). She passed away on the 13th of March, 2011 after a prolonged illness.n her professional career, Anna worked mostly in Zimbabwe (1976-2004) at the clinic on Aberfoyle tea estate, where her husband Gnanamuthu Sathiagnanan too worked. She moved on to working in the Infectious Diseases hospital in the nearby town, and after a few years, set up her own practice as a GP. She also worked at a mission hospital in Lesotho from 2004 to 2006. After her husband passed away, she moved back to Sri Lanka in 2007, where she continued to work at Navajeevana until she fell ill in early 2010. Anna was very fortunate to have two daughters who sacrificed a lot to be with their mother and look after her during those final difficult days.
K.Sunderampillai: (Lucky). Karalapillai Sundarampillai who had his medical practice in Kotahena also met with his death in bizarre fashion when a flying galvanized roofing sheet hit him during a heavy thunderstorm.
K N (Kiththa) Wimalaratna was an excellent sportsman at Royal College and Colombo University, excelling in cricket and hockey. In 1960, at the Royal-Thomian cricket match, Kiththa took three vital wickets in the second innings; our best fielder, Perayerawar, dropped a "sitter" at cover point ,off Kiththa's bowling. Michael Dias captained Royal and Lareef Idroos was the captain of STC. Harsha Samarajeewa was a member of our team.
ReplyDeleteIn 1965, The University cricket team won the Sara Trophy for the first time, by the narrowest of margins (0.02 points). The team was captained by Carlyle Perera. The following year, in 1966, when Buddy Reid captained our team, we were the Runners-Up to Bloomfield, again by a very narrow margin and because of an easy dropped catch. Kiththa was a member of both teams.
He had two brothers, Parakrama and Sarath, the latter of whom played cricket for Ananda College as well as Ceylon. He was a couple of years junior to us in medical school. In our Final Year, I lost to Kiththa in the billiards final.
Many years ago, unfortunately, Kiththa drowned in his own swimming pool in Los Angeles. I gathered that Sarath married Kiththa's wife later.
Sanath
DeleteI have played golf with Indi/Pera and Michael a few times in the past. Occasionally Michael used to remind Indi of the dropped catch and its consequences.
A few days ago I attended a funeral, met a classmate of yours at Royal, Susantha Abeykoon.
Michael Satchie lived in Wellawatte and I knew him quite well. He used to travel on a motorbike, during the medical school days. He was very fond of playing Bridge and Chess. Unfortunately during the 1983 communal riots, both his parents were killed in their own residence, off Hampden Lane, Wellawatte.
ReplyDeleteSatchie had polycystic disease of the kidneys and died of renal failure. His younger brother who was also a doctor, died due to the same medical problem.
Kunasingham was a good friend of mine. He was an excellent sportsman, excelling in Hockey and Soccer; he represented the country in one or both sports. He married the sister of a friend of mine who lived down Elvitigala Mawatha, Narahenpitiya. I remember visiting that house when Kunam's son was born and developed neonatal jaundice. During the 1983 communal riots, their house was vandalised. I introduced Kunam to a lawyer friend of mine so as to obtain compensation. As the attackers had political connections ,they got away with it.
ReplyDeleteIn the mid 1990s, when I spent sabbatical leave in Worthing, I spent a week-end at Kunam's residence in Kent. When I was there, ,he invited Ranjan Wattegedera and hid wife for dinner. I also met Jeyasingham there.
Bora, I remember Sudantha Abeykoon very well. His father, M Walter F Abeykoon, was appointed as IGP (1959-63), by SWRD B, when he was the Prime Minister. It was a bit controversial at that time because he was a civil servant and he was from outside the police force. Sudantha qualified as an engineer. He married Dilsiri Seneviratne who was few years junior to us and later was a lecturer in Community Medicine in the Colombo Medical Faculty.
ReplyDeleteI last met Pera at Kanatte when I attended Tissa Wickramasuriya's funeral. He left for London few days later and died suddenly.