By Zita Perera Subasinghe
In mid July this year, there was
a red-letter day on my calendar. It was the rare chance to meet a special
friend. There had been three such people from whom I was inseparable in our
medical school days i.e.,
Sujatha, Suriyakanthi and
Malkanthie. The two former I had the chance to meet a few times in the years
that followed while we worked in different parts of the world but Malkanthie and
I barely crossed each other’s paths in all those years when she lived in the
United States. So when I had the chance
to meet her with her family for a couple of hours in London I was full of
anticipation.
It was triple the joy as her
husband Jim and her daughter Megan accompanied her. It was perhaps about two
hours we spent having a leisurely lunch in a busy restaurant in Central London
but every minute was packed with exchange of news, catching up on all those
past years and getting acquainted with Jim, a greatly friendly and interesting
person and Megan, a beautiful young lady who was a delight to talk to and get
to know.
Jim and Malkanthie have each
reached the top of their field and held very responsible positions in the
University where they worked. Megan was a delight to talk to. She is a
beautiful, cheerful and accomplished young lady. She graduated with honours and
high Distinction in Education and anticipates studying further to work with
individuals with learning difficulties. Meeting Megan was the highlight of this
meeting for me. The time went very fast and soon it was ‘Good bye till we meet
again.’ The thought of an entry in the old autograph album of my schooldays
came to mind. It was written by a school friend and dated 23 -09- 1959.
‘From quiet homes and
first beginning
Out to the
undiscovered ends
There’s nothing worth
the wear of winning
But the laughter and
the love of friends.’
