REMEMBRANCE DAY - MAY 30th 2026- FINAL
Added on 1st June 2026
This appeared as a comment from ND, and I think it is a fitting way to conclude Remembrance Day 2026 posts on our Blog.
"We are coming to the end of our month for remembrance. Our grateful thanks to all who joined in to remember. We always remember our friends throughout the year and pay our tribute to those who have departed this world. The blog is our place to meet and greet. The reunions in Colombo and London keep us together.
Our faculty years are a distant memory now, but one we can never forget. I hope we will stay in touch with the many portals and forums available".
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It was really good to see the number of contributions by colleagues, and my thanks to all of you who commented, and not forgetting the silent majority who accessed our Blog but did not post a comment. I hope you like this video, which I have produced by editing the one I did for 2025 (music and images). It has been updated and modified suitably.- Mahendra "Speedy" Gonsalkorale.
Mahen
ReplyDeleteThank you for that lovely evocative montage. Enjoyed the imagery and the music enormously. The photos of our dear departed pals did take centre stage bringing a mixture of joy and sadness. Joy as they were once in our lives during those happy youthful years. I saw the video multiple times and paused the clips allowing those images to bring back memories of a happier time. Once again I saw their cheeky grins and heard their loud laughter walking the long corridors of the GHC with their stethoscopes round their necks.
I love that Christian concept we will all meet again one day. Until then its
au revoir and not goodbye.
Thank you, Nihal. I enjoyed producing it, and as you noted, it was a mixture of sadness and joy to see the images scrolling up. It is chastening to note that 40% of our batch (at least because we have lost contact with probably 4 or 5 whose whereabouts are unknown), have passed away. I hope more esteemed colleagues will respond with comments, including any special memories.
ReplyDeleteI must add that the only ones who are excused from sending comments are those who have left Planet Earth, as we know of no method by which they can send a message!
ReplyDeleteMahendra, thank you very much for your excellent production, which I enjoyed viewing with plenty of nostalgia and a mixture of happiness and sadness.
ReplyDeleteMay all of them attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana or it's equivalent, depending on their faith; Rest in Peace, Moksha and Fana.
Dear Mahen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this beautiful video including the quotations, photos and your lovely original music. It is only when you look at the photos that it hits you! So many have left us. some far too soon. Thank you also for re-posting the one from 2019, with lyrics by our reluctant poet, Rohini Anandaraja. We all appreciate the time and effort you put into this effort.
As we remember our friends who are gone, I think we should also make an effort to stay in touch with those of our batch mates who are sick and somewhat isolated.
To all my learned friends
ReplyDeleteThe Blog has been a fine forum since it began 2010/11. It has had its peaks and troughs but became a fine forum for news and views of our batch. There has been a few heated debates with a rise in BP. But overall this has been a friendly forum. As we have all learnt to forgive and forget.
As we have discussed the Blog is now in its inevitable decline. What come to mind is that poignant song by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman "Its time to say goodbye". Goodbye is one of the hardest things to say at any time. I hope the forum will continue until the last to leave switches off the light. No doubt it will be in my mind to contribute when I can and must.
We are at an age when there are many things we must do and create time for. Multi tasking is more difficult now and everything takes that much longer. Looking after our health takes time and effort. I go through these myself.
With my very best wishes.
REKINDLING MEMORIES
ReplyDeleteThank you Mahen and Nihal for continuing the Annual Remembrance Week.
This has given me an opportunity to highlight fond memories of those who are no longer with us.
Tilak Dayaratne: one of my closest friends at medical college. We spent many a happy hour drinking Lion Lager at the Savoy Hotel, Wellawathe. He had a lovely singing voice and was a gifted artist. He looked the part - in sunglasses, riding his motor bike. He was admired by many females particularly at the Bamba flats where I lived. Although by nature shy, he was able to mesmerize a few of us in the canteen with his interesting stories.
Johnny Chandrasiri: very studious, maintaining a meticulous set of lecture notes. In the latter part of our final year, Kumar and I invited him to be our unofficial room mate at the Blom. He willingly accepted our invitation as he was very fond of COD. He loved COD unaccompanied by ketchup, mushy peas or vinegar. He was a great asset and a contributing factor to our success at the final hurdle.
Desmond Goonatilike
Having lunch with him in the college canteen kept us up-to-date with the local and national gossip. We used to tease him and affectionately referred to him as the editor of the News of the World.
REKINDLING MORE MEMORIES
ReplyDeleteDesmond Goonatilike
Having lunch with him in the college canteen kept us up-to-date with the local and national gossip. We used to tease him and affectionately referred to him as the editor of the News of the World.
JC Fernando
One of the most popular members of our batch. He was a good baila singer and exhibited fine rhythm on the dance floor.
As a school boy, he had been an excellent middle distant runner. He won many a race at the Annual Public Schools Athletic Meetings.
Occasionally he used to give me a lift to Havelock Town on his Honda motorbike. The journey always started at the canteen where I would buy him a cup tea punt - a fair transaction. During our internship, we shared a room for six months at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. He always kept the room neat and tidy and would get very annoyed if his tidy bedclothes were disarranged by intruding couples. He would often ask me why was his bed was always the preferred choice and never mine. I would teasingly reply that lady preferred the smell of your aftershave lotion.
Suren Iyer: I hardly knew him at Medical College but, we became close friends after meeting at numerous social events in the UK. Suren and his wife Sweeney were a loving couple who were very enthusiastic dancers. I can still picture them doing the rhumba to their favourite Sinhala song Kandula Ithin Samaweyan.
I remember Suren telling me how Harshi and he were in the same class at Ananda College Lower School. Young Suren took a bet with his mates to slap Harshi on her cheek. He successfully executed the task, leaving Harshi in tears. Harshi cannot remember this incident. Perhaps she has blanked the trauma!
Rekindling - the finale
ReplyDeleteLareef Idroos
We were classmates at STC. In fact, I sat next to him on the same bench for three years from 1954 - 56. We had a perfectly civil relationship but somehow, never became close friends.
He became a famous schoolboy cricketer and had an exceptionally successful season in 1958. A very sensible person who did not lose his head despite enjoying enormous popularity. He combined studies and sports very successfully.
As a medical student, he enjoyed dancing, particularly the Latin American dances. I understand that he taught some of the girls in the batch the cha cha cha.
Many years later, he spent four at our place in the UK when he attended a course on renal transplantation. He mentioned to Harshi that he had hardly spoken to me at medical school. However during this period, we developed a close friendship.
I kept up this friendship and whenever Lareef visited the UK, we would watch cricket matches together at Lords. Indeed, even now when I go to Lords, I always think of Lareef. Harshi and I were lucky enough to celebrate his daughter’s wedding in Sri Lanka 2020 (just before Lockdown).
I had a long conversation with him only a few days before he passed away. All we talked about was cricket. Lareef: may you rest in peace.
Kumar (Con) Bala – A very close friend at medical college. We went on many trips together which were interesting, eventful and memorable. What stands out in my mind are our trips to Chilaw, Nuwara Eliya and Jaffna. A very popular guy who happened to know somebody wherever we went in Sri Lanka.
Both of us emigrated to the UK at about the time and we kept in touch. He was pivotal in bringing our batch together in the UK. He organized a Mediterranean cruise and a Transatlantic cruise from South Hampton to New York. He was a very generous and hospitable person.
Rekindling - Addendum
ReplyDeleteSue Ratnavale: as with Suren, I barely knew Sue at medical school but got to know her very well in later life as she was very close friends with my wife Harshi. On her trips to the UK, she always spent a few days at our home. I found it easy to have a conversation with her and particularly enjoyed listening to her speaking fluent Sinhalese with a Sinhala accent. She was simple and down to earth even though she hailed from an affluent family. She was much admired by the boys in the batch.
Navam Chinniah: he was part of our Sig group which consisted of Siri Cassim, Johnny, Chellapa and Chitta. He related very funny and interesting stories, had a good sense of humour and was always smartly dressed. Following his first class at the third MBS, he threw a party for 50 of his batchmates at a local Chinese restaurant. He invited me and because Kumar Gunawardena was a good friend of mine, asked him to join as well. We had a great time and enjoyed a sumptuous dinner.
Hello Bora
DeleteGreat to see you after a long lapse. Thank you for those wonderful, poignant and memorable sketches of our mutual friends which in a way briefly brought them back to life. Where have all those years gone?? Take care.
Best wishes - ND
Hi Bora, so pleased to see you back on the Blog. Your recollections brought back vivid memories of those you described. JC was on such person as I had kept in touch with him till his sad demise. Whenever I visited Sri Lanka, seeing JC and Sura was compulsory. He never really "grew up" in many ways and that was one of his most likeable features. Miss him a lot.
DeletePADMINI GOONEWARDENA
ReplyDeleteThe following comment came as Anonymous when Padmini G passed away. I wish I knew who he/she was but I am posting it again as it is so valuable. She sat next to me in the Physiology Theatre as a "G". I met Padmini at our Sri Lankan reunions and remarked how much she had changed- much more extroverted and fun loving judging by her energetic dancing! Here is the comment:-
I am so saddened to hear of Dr G’s passing (as she was lovingly known by her Pediatric Resident students). Dr G was my mentor and professor while I was in my Pediatric Residency at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune New Jersey from 1985-1988. She was loved and respected by all of us and she inspired the love for Neonatology in me during the time I rotated through this department. I later went on to my Perinatal-Neonatology fellowship and have been practicing Neonatology in Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami Florida since 1990’s.
I will always remember that, at the end of each rotation in the NICU she would invite the first, second and third year residents out for dinner in appreciation for our efforts during the month’s rotation. May God bless her soul. She will always be in our hearts.
Mahen, thank you for copying and posting this lovely comment about Padmini, by one of her former residents. Padmini and I spent a lot of time studying together while in Medical College, and then later as co-house officers under Dr. Balakumaran at Ratnapura. She arrived in New York City /New Jersey a few years after I did, but I wasn't aware of her arrival until much later. We only reconnected at our first big reunion in UK.
DeleteAfter her father's death she took over the parental role and did a lot for her younger siblings.
Mahen
ReplyDeleteWell done for remembering this anonymous but worthy tribute to Padmini G. Such tributes remembered after such a long time is worth its weight in gold.
Well done indeed Mahen .
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you. I am glad you enjoyed the videos. The 2019 with your lyrics is one of my favourites
DeleteMahen , My comment was in appreciation of your thoughtfulness in posting the fine tribute to Padmini G , endorsing Nihal’s comment.
DeleteI enjoyed the videos too - Thank you -
Hello Rohini
DeleteGreat to see you on the Blog and welcome. The fine montage with your lyrics and the imagery and music by Mahen has become a timeless classic. It captures a plethora of memories. Well done once again.
After reading all the tributes, for our dear batch mates, today on Memorial Day in the US, I needed to remember some of our batch mates who passed on recently.
ReplyDeleteRajesekeran Wickramasekaren and his dear wife Lehka.
Wicks as we all called him came to the US qualified as a Cardiologist and was the consultant to many of us. He was quiet, unassuming , brilliant and even in the long standing illness was capable of giving the best advice. He unfortunately developed idiopathic Pulmanory fibrosis, had a lung transplant, and while on immunosuppressive therapy lost his sight and some hearing. In spite of all this he continued to be concerned with others. I consulted him after I was diagnosed with severe Aortic stenosis, he advised me regarding the optionss for treatment and even the invasive Cardiologist I should go to. He called me regularly after the surgery inquiring about my health. He was a good friend, greatly missed.
Sadly hardly 6 months after he passes away his wife was diagnosed with the same condition. She was a live wire, full of fun and she too will be missed.
Ravindra Nadarajah
Nada as we all remember him came to the US after most of our batch mates who settled here. We were in Rochester NY where we both did our residencies. Though he was fully qualified surgeon, with a vascular fellowship, he went through another 3 years of grueling training in Surgery and subsequently Thoracic surgery. He followed me to California and we worked in the same hospital and we lived a stone throw from each other. Ravi like Wicks was quiet, unassuming in spite of all his talents. Sadly shortly after he retired he developed Dementia and rapidly deteriorated.
Lareef Idroos
Though I knew Larif at the school by the sea STC, we became friends while in the University, 6 months Zoo, and then Medical school. But we became close friends in the US. He was not just a friend , but someone who extended his care and friends ship to the extended family. I have many fond memories of Larif spending time at his home and watching our children grow up and they developing a close friendship. I had the privilege of having dinner with his dear wife Nabila, recalling the happy times we had the dances and parties we attended, and Larif true to his faith, maintained all the traditions and his love for cricket and his Alma Mater. He too will be truly missed.
A quick mention of Asoka , Lubber, Wijekoon, he was a study Partner with speedy and me , and will remember him dropping him off at 3,4 in the morning.
Priya Guneratne , one whom I got to know more after the diagnosis of Cancer. She I always felt wa quiet but someone who had kindness and genuineness inn her heart.
May all our batch mates who have passed on rest in peace,
Rajan ( Patas )
Hello Patas
DeleteIts lovely to hear from you and thanks for your wonderful memories of your pals. Wickramasekeran I last saw in a Zoom meeting many years ago. Ravi Nada and I were at the same table at our last London Reunion of the 1990's. Lareef I met in 2012 at the Cinnamon Grand. How time has flown since we were medical students with all our lives before us. Take care my friend. With best wishes. ND
Hi Patas,
DeleteThank you for sharing those touching memories of Wickramasekeran, Nada , and Lareef. Sadly I had completely lost touch with Wicks and Nada I shared some of my memories of Lareef of whom I was very fond in the Blog. I'm so glad I was able to keep in touch with him.
I was not aware of your
medical problems Patas. Pray that you will be given the faith and strength to cope with all it's challenges.I have so many delightful memories of our time together as batchmates and of course all the SCM activities.... Picnics, Carol Services etc. I also have so many precious memories of your cousin Padman - we worked together ln Farnborough Hospital Kent.
Suri
It is lovely to read the outpouring of memories of our departed colleagues by so many of us that are still around. It is really important to stay in touch. Aside from those who contribute regularly it is great to see valuable narratives by less frequent contributors like my good friend Rajan (Patas). (I am sorry that I didn't write about specific people this year, because I was a bit preoccupied with travel arrangements etc. ) BTW, Rajan, it was great chatting with you while I was in the same time zone as you recently. I also managed to catch Vish. I hope you will both make a trip to Sri Lanka before too long. Perhaps you could travel together!! (With a younger family member in tow!)
ReplyDeleteHi Rajan, it was good to see your post and your recollections. Those were the days! We were a happy bunch and it is amazing that a lot of us have kept in touch. I always remember with a great dealof fondness how you, Lubber,myself and at times Vish met in the small room at the backof our garage at Edward lane and studied togther (not just medical topics but more importantly, matters concerning the opposite sex!).
ReplyDeleteKumar,
ReplyDeleteDear Mahen, Nihal et al,
It was good to see the Remembrance month gather momentum after a slow start.
ND your post was splendid as usual. It spoke volumes not only of your friends , but also of yourself. Your capacity to make and keep lifelong friendships and cherish them long afterwards; remembering helps to delay the third and final stage of death, when there is no one alive who remembers you or speaks of you.
I have turned to generalities as it has become painful to write about friends with whom I have had strong bonds.But I will compose , hopefully in the near future a post about Kumar Balachandran who passed away this year. We were close during my sojourn in the Bloem; it was an enclave and hence perhaps the silence.
Kumar
Hello Kumar
DeleteAs I have said so often I just wish yu were with us on the blog more often and frequently to read and enjoy your wonderful and well constructed prose. Thank for those comments.
The last few laps of the journey of life is the hardest. Losing friends and those personal struggles make them tough. But we have no choice but to endure the pain. We must also enjoy life, friends and family when we can.
How time has flown!!!
We are coming to the end of our month for remembrance. Our grateful thanks to all who joined in to remember. We always remember or friends all through the year and pay our tribute to those who depart this world. The blog is our place to meet and greet. The reunions in Colombo and London keep us together.
ReplyDeleteOur faculty years are a distant memory now but one we can never forget. I hope we will stay in touch with the many portals and forums available.
Thanks, Nihal. I have added your beautiful comment to the main body of this post as a fitting way to draw this year's Remembrance Day to a close.
DeleteMahendra
ReplyDeleteThank you.
As I reflect on the past life seems like a dream which has drifted swiftly and relentlessly. So much has changed since we were young at times it is hard even to imagine what it was like. Perhaps it is best to remain in the present and enjoy when we can and think of the future as no further than tomorrow.
Wise words, Nihal. Live in the present- certainly, but value the past, learn from it, but not dwell on regrets, is my mantra.
DeleteHi Speedy,
ReplyDeleteAs I informed you I had some difficulty initially in opening your video though I could read the other posts . I was finally able to watch the video you had created. I am amazed at the effort you have made ,posting recent photos of our beloved departed when available. It made such an impact on me. I must confess I shed a couple of tears as precious memories kept flooding in.
Bless you for making our Remembrance Day so poignant.
Suri
Thanks, Suri. You have been a great supporter of the Blog. Thanks also for bringing to notice my error in the year of passing away of Russell and Dawne. It should be 1990 and noty 2015 as it appears on my video. I have corrected in the Batch Directory and Blog posts but changing in the video is not possible without deleting it first.
DeleteDoes anybody know the dates of passing away of the following:-
ReplyDeleteLGDK Herath,
V.Kunasingham,
BL Perera,
B Somsunderam,
NCDM Gunasrkera,
K Sunderampillai.
Secondly, does anybody know the whereabouts of Marie Anandappa, AEJ Doss, Navaratnesingham, U.C. Ramanathan, S. Padmanthan Selliah. Thanks
The following is from a CoMSSA newsletter article in 2012 written by our late Lucky A.Departed Colleagues
ReplyDeleteIn naming the batch mates, I wish to start with those eleven colleagues who departed this world at a relatively early age.
Sunil (SR) de Silva, my dear friend and billiards partner in the men’s common room, was the son of former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon Walwin A. de Silva, brother of the well-known journalist Manik de Silva. “Sunna” who worked for the US Air Force as a surgeon was tragically killed in Florida when his car was hit by a drunk driver. The doctor couple Russel Paul and Dawne de Silva, together with their two children died under very tragic circumstances in Pennsylvania. 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.
Former Royal College cricketer Kiththa Wimalaratne drowned in his own backyard swimming pool in the US where he was residing at the time. Bernard Randeniya was the Director of the Cancer Institute at
Maharagama at the time of his death. One of the most distinguished of the lot was Professor Niriellage Chandrasiri who was Vice Chancellor of the Ruhuna University and Professor in Forensic Medicine at the Ruhuna Medical Faculty. More recently, Tudor Wickramarachchi,
“Bobby” Somasundaram, V. Kunasingham and B.L. Perera died in the United Kingdom, where they were practising. V. Ganeshan who was a very successful GP in Horana, passed away at the time I was compiling this book.
Mahen
ReplyDeleteThank you for that excerpt from the past. It is typical of Lucky written with style and accuracy and lots of feeling.
Found another one from Lucky Abey. This is about V.Kunasingham in August 2007.
ReplyDeleteJust a week after our Batch Reunion in Habarana, I heard the sad news of the demise of yet another of our batch mates, through kind courtesy of Con Bala and Sanath (Lama). Kunam (Dr. V. Kunasingham) had passed away in UK.
Kunam (as he was known to us) was one of the 15 students who were selected to follow the Six-Months Course in Chemistry at the University Entrance examination held in December 1960. We entered the Science Faculty at Thurstan Road in June 1961 and gained admission to the Colombo Medical Faculty in June of the following year along with those who followed similar courses in Physics, Zoology and Botany, and another group of students who gained direct admission from schools. Of these 15 who were with me in the Science Faculty, only six (Kunam, Cyril Ernest, Zita Perera (Subasinghe), Puwan Ramalingam (Sivanathan), Razaque Ahamath, and myself), got admission to the Colombo Medical Faculty. The rest went to Peradeniya.
Kunam is the tenth in our batch to depart this world. As you know, nine others had predeceased him. Kunam hailed from Jaffna and had been a good soccer player in school. He not only continued to play soccer at the University, but also took to Rugger and Hockey. However, it is in the latter sport that he made a name for himself. He went on to play for the University in the Andriesz Shield tournament and later was selected to play for All-Ceylon as the goalkeeper.
When I graduated in March 1967, he bought my scooter (he himself graduated a bit later). I remember meeting Kunam's father who had come all the way from Jaffna to pay cash for my bike. The transaction took place at the Kittyakara Hostel at Campbell Place where Kunam was resident. With my limited knowledge of Tamil, I couldn't clearly understand what he was saying, but knew that it was a bit of fatherly advice. Kunam later explained that his father had asked him to be careful when riding the scooter on Colombo roads in such "heavy" traffic. Mind you, that was in 1967!
Like most sportsmen among young doctors at that time, he too joined the Sri Lanka Air Force after completing his Internship. However, he emigrated soon after, and was practicing in UK till his untimely death. I last met Kunam while sea bathing at the Polhena beach when I was stationed in Matara in the seventies and he was holidaying in Sri Lanka. After the sea bath, we had a couple of beers and that happened to be the last drink I had with our friend.
May he rest in peace!
Lucky.
Hi Mahen, I was just about to shut down my computer for the evening, when I saw this. First, it was lovely to "hear" Lucky's voice. I remember Kunam well, although he was a quiet guy. The other thing that struck me was that in 2007 only 10 batch mates had passed on! Thanks for sharing this post
Delete