FOREVER 62 GROUP- Lunch on Dec 4th 2025.
I am sure you all know that Pram has been THE key figure in promoting regular meetings of our batchmates in Sri Lanka. These happen once a month. Also, whenever overseas friends visit Sri Lanka, she does her best to arrange a social gathering of batchmates and spouses. She has been doing this for years.
Pram says, "It was held at the library. Cinnamon Lakeside. We had a few 'visitors" Bunter, H & H Boralassa & Shanthi Nalliah."
When she visits London, she does the same, and ND, Bora and I are always happy to assist her. Three hearty cheers for Pram!
I am posting the latest meeting photos, which Pram sent me. Keep your brain active by attempting to identify everybody! Update: Just added names in the penultimate photo)
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| L to R. Mahendra(Suri), Senarath, Hemantha(Senarath), Lama, Kusum, Bandula J, Bora Lalantha, Srianee, Harshi (Bora), Swyrie, Pram, Chira, Shanty Nalliah, Suri |
Thanks Pram for those lovely photos and thanks to Mahendra for posting them. I like very much to think they are all ‘Forever 62’ but some are less recognisable than others. This is perhaps because I am not a regular visitor to SL and have not seen them for so many years. We all have changed including myself. There are some who never change and remain the same as I saw them entering the Block in 1962. I’d rather not mention the names lest I get into trouble!!!
ReplyDeleteAll the plates on the table are empty. The food must have been excellent!!!
Speaking of 1962 and the Block I had the good fortune to speak with Cunningham alias Upali Wijeratne this morning. He is full of life sunbathing in Queensland, Australia. We were in the Jeewaka Hostel in 1966/67 which was then in Turrett Road opposite Liberty Cinema. We cycled to GHC late in the evening to see patients. On our way back the Policeman stopped Upali for not having a light in his cycle. Upali showed him the torch and said I do have a light. The Policeman said the light has to be fixed to the cycle. Upali said the torch is fixed to me and I am fixed to the cycle. The Policeman saw the funny side of the story and also saw the stethoscope and waved him goodbye.
Susil Attale was spending a few days with Upali Wijeratne. I spoke to him too. He said how glad he was to see our “Forever 62 – in July” and the fun and the laughter when we meet.
I spoke with Nalin Nanayakkara few days ago. He is moving back to SL and will be in Kotte. There you have another Forever 62 member early in the new year. Nana and his wife were generous hosts when I visited him in his luxurious house with an orange grove and a fine swimming pool in Corona, California.
Nihal, thanks for your update encounters with Cunningham, Nalin and Susil. The Upali-Policeman encounter was hillarious! Much deeper than looks at first. Extending Upali's thinking, we are all "fixed" to each other!
ReplyDeleteI have added the names of the attendees on the last photo to make it easier to identify them. You can now appreciate how difficult it must be to identify culprits in a Police Parade!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mahen for the names. It is so lovely to see my batchmates and their spouses all together. I simply cannot believe the great dispersal of 1967 was so long ago. It is a great tribute to Pram that so many are able to sit together for a meal. Although I'm not there is person I'm there in spirit. Long may it continue.
Do raise a toast for absent friends who are now scattered all over the globe and to others a little further away.
Mahen, thanks for posting these photos. It's always fun to meet old friends and share old stories! Nihal, I love your story about 'Cunningham.' I'm glad the policeman had a sense of humor. Please share more of those anecdotes. You have a great collection of them and you remember them!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I am no longer a "Visitor!"
I applaud Pram for organizing these gatherings, which she manages to do roughly once a month. Thank you Pram!
My contact with Cunningham brought back many fond memories of Jeewaka. Dinner time there was a welcome break from the books. There was an unwritten rule that dinner was served at eight and we all were expected to take part. This was a time for some light banter and a time to bond. Many had stories to tell and anecdotes to relate. Medical College was a hotbed of gossip and there was never a dull moment. We had our own court jester to lighten the proceedings. He said: a pharmacist mistakenly put some GUANETHIDINE tablets into a bottle of BENDROFLUMETHIAZIDE. The THIAZIDE was greatly offended and said to GUANETHIDINE “I say you are very ISMELIN”. As you know ISMELIN is a trade name for Guanethidine.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed these meetings which I attended a few times when I was on holiday in Sri Lanka. One thing I would wish for is for Pram to reorder the attendees from time to time during the sit down meal, to encourage more mixing and chatting.
ReplyDeleteFor exmaple, if she gets up and says, "I shall now divide you into 3 groups, A, B and C which I shall call now by going round in order. Could those in Group A, please carry your plate and move 2 places to your Right (or Left). After some time, she could say " Could group B now move x places to your Right"- and so on. Just a thought! Any comment from you Pram or others?
Mahen, I appreciate your suggestion, but I don't think that the attendees would like to be "managed" that way. It is a fact that when we are at a restaurant table it is not easy to speak with people who are the other end of the table. But at this venue (The Library) since it is our own private space, we were able to shout across the table from time to time. It happened a few times on Dec 4th. Some of us had better luck at being heard at the other end of the table!! It worked out well! Hope to see you at one of our gatherings in a few months.
DeleteAccept what you pointed out Srianee. I agree with you that these meetings should be spontaneous and not managed. It was just a thought on how better interaction could be facilitated at these meetings.
DeleteHi Mahen
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the photos sent by Pram.I never get tired of listening to the stories from our medical faculty days, even though I may have heard them before.
The meal was delicious and most enjoyable to meet the batch mates.A big thank you to Pram