Our Final Year Trip will go down in History!

The Colombo Medical Faculty has just released the Undergraduate Degree Programme Handbook for 2015. The opening chapter on pages 2 and 3 is about the "History of the Faculty" and it is adorned with a few photographs on top. In the pictures below, you will see something very familiar on the extreme right. You are right! It is that famous photograph taken near the Kock Clock Tower on Kynsey Road almost 50 years ago. The other two photographs depict the cover of the book and the acknowledgement on page ii.

Just to refresh your mind, this is an enlarged version of the famous Final Year Trip photo.

A Tribute to a Legendary Teacher – Prof. G.H Cooray OBE, MD., FRCPath.,FRCP

By Dr Nihal D Amerasekera

Prof. G.H. Cooray

Gerald Henry Cooray was born in Panadura in 1908 where his father was a Government Medical Officer. After a brilliant school career at Royal College Colombo the young GH Cooray proceeded to Kings College London for his medical studies. After his MB.BS in 1933 he returned to Ceylon to join the health service.  His career breakthrough came in 1946 when he was appointed as a Lecturer in Pathology in the University of Colombo. Dr Cooray’s thesis for the MD(London) in 1946 won him the coveted Gold Medal. He was destined and fully equipped for greatness.  The young Dr Cooray was appointed to the prestigious position  of Professor of Pathology in 1953.  It was his desire, through the training of doctors, to help to create a fine health service in the country. The Prof played a huge part in the development of the Faculty of Medicine in Colombo.  With his inspired leadership  and infectious enthusiasm  he could hardly have made a better start when he modernized and revolutionized his department.

In the Faculty of Medicine in Colombo and in Ceylon he was the Voice of Pathology. His educational contribution was immense. As a lecturer, his laid back but precise delivery was matchless.  He spoke perfect English, taught us diligently and to the best of his ability. I can still recall in great detail the first time I sat in the lecture theatre to listen to Prof Cooray.  His masterly introduction to the pathology of inflammation has remained with me ever since.  Those classical signs of inflammation, Rubor, Calor, Tumor, Dolor and  Functio laesa have now been permanently imprinted in my brain. The Prof, with his formidable intellect, had this remarkable ability to deliver facts in a logical sequence and transport his audience to the world of pathology. After a career in medicine spanning 40 years I can say, unequivocally, he is the finest teacher I have ever had. His success as a teacher earned him a huge following of many generations of grateful students.

Although he sometimes appeared a little brusque and retiring, his humanity was never far beneath the surface. He was  kind and respected human dignity.  The Prof was a fair examiner as he was a fine teacher. He had the remarkable ability to put the students at ease during the stressful viva voce examinations.  At the same time he would not tolerate nonsense from the students. The Prof , who was stockily built, had a commanding presence and earned the respect of everyone whom he taught. His students still remember him as a caring teacher. He had a rather dry sense of humour. I remember his joke about dark skinned people being born to blush unseen. This he blurted out year after year for so many years that now it has entered the folklore of the institution.

The depth and breadth of Prof Cooray’s scientific contributions are quite remarkable. He had an immense national and international reputation. He was President of the Ceylon Medical Association, President of the Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the Ceylon Cancer Society. The Prof. served on many international committees and as a member of WHO Expert Advisory Panels on Cancer Diagnosis and Control.  He made a significant contribution to the study of Pathology of Tumours and achieved a considerable reputation internationally. The Prof was a gifted and prodigious researcher.  He wrote fluently and easily and published well over a hundred papers. Until the very end he remained a prolific writer and contributor to scientific journals and publications. He was an examiner at the Primary FRCS held in Colombo. It was said by his fellow examiners “ No candidate could have been disturbed in his presence”. He fitted in well with the British Medical scene and formed lasting friendships with several of his colleagues and peers. In the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons he was described as “a gentle civilized man”. For his services to the Profession he was awarded The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Professor Daphne Attygalle worked with Prof Cooray for many years as his deputy. She succeeded Prof Cooray in the Chair and paid this handsome tribute to her colleague and friend: Professor Cooray was a serious man, the personification of everything that was correct. A man of integrity, outspoken, truthful and honourable, he was deeply religious and devoted a good part of his time to Buddhist activities. He excelled as a teacher and his lectures were always eagerly awaited by students and staff. In spite of his forthright ways, he was liked by all. Extremely fair in all his actions he never failed to tell his juniors what he thought about them, so that they had ample opportunity to mend their ways. He was essentially a family man and derived a great deal of happiness from his grandchildren.

He married in 1937 and had a son and 2 daughters. The son became a doctor and was a year senior to me in the faculty.  The Prof had several grandchildren whom he adored.

It was with great sadness we learnt of his final illness which he endured with much courage and fortitude. Buddhism helped him enormously right to the end.  Prof. Gerald Henry Cooray passed away in 1970 at the age of 62.

He  was a shining light from that golden era of medical educationists in Ceylon. Prof Cooray was, quite simply, one of the most outstanding academic Pathologist of his time. We are grateful for his commitment to teaching and his contribution to the Faculty of Medicine. He will always remain as one of the finest teachers to walk the corridors of that great institution.

His legend lives on.

May he find the Ultimate Bliss of Nirvana

Blog administrator's note: This article appeared in the souvenir published to mark the 4th CoMSAA Reunion and Academic Sessions held at Tangerine Beach Hotel, Kalutara on 13 September 2015.

Outgoing Dean Prof. Rohan W. Jayasekara

A Valedictory Academic Meeting in honour of Prof. Rohan W. Jayasekara on his retirement was held on Thursday September 17, 2015 at the New Lecture Theatre of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. He had served as Chair and Senior Professor of Anatomy (2000-2015), Founder Director of the Human Genetics Unit (1983-2014) and as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo from 2011 to 2014. Prof. Mohan de Silva, Chairman of the University Grants Commission was the Chief Guest and Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake, Vice Chancellor, University of Colombo was the Guest of Honour.

Prof. Rohan W. Jayasekara

The meeting was organised by the Department of Anatomy of the Colombo Medical Faculty which had also compiled and published the Rohan W. Jayasekara Felicitation Volume which was presented to him.

Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake VC presenting a token of appreciation to Prof. Jayasekara

Felicitation Volume being presented to Prof. Jayasekara by Consultant Paediatrician  Dr. B.J.C. Perera who is President of CoMSAA.

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On a request made by Dr. Ajith P. Malalasekara, Head, Department of Anatomy, I contributed an article to the Felicitation Volume. It is published below.

Prof. Rohan Jayasekara as I Know Him

I was routinely checking my e-mail when I came across a message from Dr. Ajith Malalasekara requesting me to contribute an article to be included in the “Proceedings of the Valedictory Academic Meeting to be held on 17^th September, 2015 to honour Prof. Rohan W. Jayasekara. My wife and I were visiting our daughter in Virginia Beach, VA in the US at the time. But I lost no time in responding immediately as I did not want to miss out on a grand opportunity to pay tribute to a dear friend who is still among us. As a matter of principle, I have refrained thus far from writing Appreciations of our dear departed relatives, colleagues and friends!

I am not by any means an academic, clinician, colleague or teacher of the most distinguished person under the spotlight. I have dabbled to some extent in research in my own specialty, but that’s nothing much to write home about! My only qualification to pen my thoughts for the occasion is as a friend of Rohan. In this article, I will touch briefly on the more important (to me) encounters between Rohan and myself.

Although we were both born in Sri Lanka (with at least a decade in time separating the two events) and had entered the same profession, our paths crossed for the first time in 1982. It happened thousands of miles away from our country of birth when we were “Paying Guests” at Petra Guest House in Jakarta, Indonesia. Rohan who I believe was a Lecturer in Anatomy at that time, was on a WHO sponsored study tour, while I had arrived in Jakarta for briefing by the WHO Representative prior to undertaking a Short Term Consultancy in West Timor. For company, we had two other Sri Lankan colleagues - Palitha Abeykoon who is well known in WHO circles and Kamini Alahakoon, formerly of the Family Health Bureau. As it often happens, this small group of four Sri Lankans who were far away from their own homes developed a craving for a meal of Rice and Curry. The closest to that was a Padang style Indonesian meal and none of us is likely to forget the dinner we enjoyed in a restaurant in Sabang on the eve of my departure to my Duty Station Kupang in West Timor.

It was a very brief first meeting in Jakarta, but our friendship has continued for 33 years since then. After our return to Sri Lanka, we met occasionally either at my work place which was the Health Education Bureau or in Rohan's office in the Anatomy Block of the Colombo Medical Faculty.

When a close relative of mine passed away some years ago, I had to seek Rohan's help as my relative had requested me when he was ailing, to arrange for his body to be donated to the Medical Faculty. As Professor and Head of the Department of Anatomy, Rohan made a moving speech on the steps at the entrance to the age old Anatomy Block, formally accepting the remains in the presence of relatives and friends who had assembled on Francis Road. The last rites were thus completed without any hitch and Rohan's kind gesture is still etched in my memory.

We lost touch with each other temporarily when I was out of the country for 13 years. However, on my return to Sri Lanka on a permanent basis in 2009, we were able to renew contact. I was happy when Rohan was elevated to the high office of Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.

The highlight of our long friendship came in 2011 when I started a blog for 1962 entrants (just one of two such blogs, the other being that of 1960 entrants started by Dr. Philip Veerasingham) to the Colombo Medical Faculty. It was initially launched as part of a build up to our Batch Reunion held in 2012 to commemorate 50 years of our entry to the Colombo Medical Faculty. However, it has remained active to this day as a work in progress. To begin with, I had used a photograph that I myself had taken of the Faculty’s Main Administration Building for the Header Image. On seeing this, Rohan was not quite happy and soon enough, I received a beautiful photograph of the building which had been completely renovated under his own supervision and direction.

Another such episode was when I requested Rohan to give me permission to take a series of photographs of the Faculty premises for publication on the blog. Not only was the required permission granted so readily, but he went out of his way to provide a Faculty employee to assist me and take me around to all sections of the Faculty. As a former Committee Member of CoMSAA, I am personally aware of the assistance Rohan provided as the Dean in getting CoMSAA off the ground. Anyone interested in visiting the blog can do so by using the link:http://colombomedgrads1962.blogspot.com

Instead of rambling on and in order to keep it short, I wish to conclude this article by striking a more personal note. My daughter Dilushi and granddaughter Anisha have both studied English Elocution as pupils under Rohan's wife Varuni. Dilushi who is now a grown adult and well employed in the US, recalls with gratitude even now, that she owes a lot to her former elocution teacher. As parents, my wife and I were happy that Rohan and Varuni were there to share the joy with us at our son’s wedding in 2002.

My very best wishes go out to both Rohan and Varuni who have many more years to achieve their life’s desires, particularly in their professional careers.

 Dr. Lakshman Abeyagunawardene

MBBS (Ceylon), MPH (California), MD (Colombo), FCCPSL (Honorary)

Consultant Community Physician

CoMSAA Reunion 2015

The annual CoMSAA Reunion was successfully completed at Tangerine Hotel in Kalutara yesterday.
Regrettably, only four from our batch attended.

I leave it to you to identify the four in the group.

More pictures:

 Lalitha Mendis in blue and black (with shawl)

Revo, Mangala and Larina. Standing in green shirt is Ranjith Abeywickrama who was an year senior to us.

Mangala and Iyanthi (Ranjith Abeywickrama's wife).

In green dress is the present Dean of the Colombo Medical Faculty and SLMA President Prof. Jennifer Perera. In the foreground in bluish saree is Nilani Sugathapala (Gajaweera) our senior batch.

Iyanthi and Ranjith Abeywickrama, myself and Sarath Gamini de Silva (Physician)

Mangala with the Drahamans.

Pram (standing) with Prof. Sheriffdeen, Prof. Chandrika Wijeratne and Dr Mrs. Pallewela (probably the most senior participant at this year's gathering)

 Prof. Athula Kaluarachchi (President elect of CoMSAA) and Prof. Jennifer Perera

Pram making her presentation on "Trials, Tribulations and Joys of Sex"

Dr. Philip Veerasingham (Retd. General Surgeon) at extreme right with his family. Philip administers the only other batch blog for 1960 Entrants (also called the "Three hundred batch"). Please take a look when you have time by clicking on: http://1960medicalbatchcolombo.blogspot.com/ 

IF (for a Physician) by Prof. K Rajasuriya

The good blogger she is, Srianee (Bunter) Fernando Dias had wanted to get some input from a young practicing doctor in Sri Lanka and contacted her cousin's son who is also a talented musician. She had invited him to check out the blog and make comments. In addition, her nephew had sent the above contribution which I am happy to publish. Srianee feels that her nephew may have seen ND's article on Prof KR and been inspired to come up with his own creation.

I have also published below, Dr. Shehan Silva's e-mail to Srianee.

From: dshehans <dshehans@gmail.com>

Date: September 4, 2015 at 7:53:54 PM GMT+2
To: Srianee Dias <srianeedias@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: The Blog Address.

this is a superb blog... will go through it.

Hope you can post this (which I created)

IF (for a physician) by Prof K Rajasuriya

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CluPsen2mDY

Dr F H D Shehan Silva MBBS (SJP) MD (COL)
Senior Registrar in Medicine
Professorial/University Medicine Unit
Colombo North Teaching Hospital

Creative Spot - Boeroeng Kaka Tua by Mahendra (Speedy) Gonsalkorale

New Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

It is customary for me to post news items pertaining to families of members of our batch. As you would have heard by now, a new Speaker for Sri Lanka's 15th Parliament has just been elected. He is none other than Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya. We all know him as the husband of our class mate in Medical School Wasantha Owitigala Jayasuriya. 

Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya was born on 29 September 1940. He has held a number of important positions as a Sri Lankan politician. Previously, he was Mayor of Colombo from 1997 to 1999, Minister of Power and Energy from 2001 to 2004, Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs from 2007 to 2008, and Minister of Buddha Sasana, Public Administration, and Democratic Governance in 2015. He served as Chairman of the Leadership Council of the United National Party (UNP), as well as Deputy Leader of the UNP. He is presently a Member of Parliament (appointed through the National List). He received his early education at Ananda College, Colombo. Under President Ranasinghe Premadasa's government, Karu Jayasuriya was appointed as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Germany.

On a more personal note, I must also mention that I had the privilege of being classmates of both the husband and wife at different times. While Wasantha was in my batch in Medical College, Karu was my classmate in Form II B at Ananda College in 1953 when another former Minister S.K.K. Suriarachchi was our class master.