Dr. Anandaraja has passed away

 Just now, I heard the sad news that Dr. Anandaraja (Rohini's husband) has passed away. Being thousands of miles away, there is nothing that we could do except to send our condolences to Rohini.

J C Fernando

 J.C Fernando – A Fine Athlete, Medic and a Gentleman by Nihal D Amerasekera

Janaka Chandana Fernando (J.C)– the name raises a smile on everyone’s face. He is a force of nature that brings happiness to everyone around him. Gregarious, sociable and flamboyant are all descriptions that come to mind to portray a person whom we have all come to know and love since medical school days. He had that irrepressible bohemian flair which was associated with medical students of the 1960’s. In our citadel in Kynsey Road no one epitomised the era more than JC. He enjoyed its trappings abundantly. Being from that great institution, Royal College, he knew the large contingent from that school that filled our batch and almost filled the rest of the Faculty of Medicine. JC became a part of the Faculty sooner than most. 

I first got to know him during the infamous rag. He knew many of the raggers but got no reprieve. He struggled like the rest of us. JC didn’t suffer the indignities gladly. In his usual forthright manner, he did let them know how he felt, muttering under his breath, what he thought of it all.

Many will remember JC arriving at the Faculty cycle shed every morning in his Honda 50 motor-cycle. The Canteen was his first port of call for the customary Tea-Punt. He was a popular guy in our batch and spoke with everyone and was friendly to all. With his affable ways JC made friends with the girls more easily. This made the rest of the boys envious. JC was never shy to speak his mind and with his loud voice he stood out in a crowd. Born to blush unseen, we always made fun of his jet-black skin which he accepted with civility. For his regal demeanour, I often called him the ‘Dark Knight’. All through medical school he wore white shirts and trousers. This enhanced the contrast no end.

JC was an outstanding athlete at Royal College. I recall seeing his name in the sports pages of the daily newspapers for his many achievements at school and inter-school athletics. In 1957, JC broke the school’s inter-house 440 yards record held by Summa Navaratnam, at the Colombo South Group Meet, an impressive feat indeed. However, J.C. could only manage 2nd place at the Public Schools meet. In the 4x440 yards relay, Royal came first with a new Public Schools record. The team consisted of W.S.M. Abeysekera, A. Jayaweera, R. Wickremaratne and J.C. Fernando. They were awarded Public Schools Athletics colours Royal won both Senior Tarbet and Jefferson cups.  At the Public Schools Meet in 1958 JC was placed first in the 440 yards. In that same year Royal College again won the 4x440 yards relay breaking the record set the year before. The team of superb athletes consisted of J.C Fernando, B.A Fernando, Asoka Dissanayake and Asoka Jayaweera. In the 4x100 yards relay - 1958, the Royal College team consisting of J.C Fernando, Asoka Dissanayake, F.H Ghaffar and F.H Ghafoor came second to Ananda College. That year Royal College won the Jefferson Challenge Cup for Relays. The pinnacle of his achievements was in 1958 when JC captained the Royal College Athletics team that won the 4x440 yards relay breaking the Public Schools Record.  For their brilliant performance the richly talented team consisting of Asoka Dissanaike, J C Fernando, Asoka Jayaweera and Asoka Fernando won the Public School Colours, a great honour for a rare feat. To my knowledge, he never bragged about those brilliant achievements. Despite being vocal his simplicity stood out. In later years, at his old school, JC was the medical doctor and physical training instructor for the rugby and cricket teams for two decades. For his loyalty, presently he is a Vice-President of the Royal College Union. He is particularly proud of his magnificent collection of cups, medals and trophies from those golden years.  They now proudly adorn his trophy cabinet.

JC was tenacious, competitive and single-minded. He knew what he wanted and did what was necessary to achieve his goals.  His determination never faltered. Once he had an idea in his head, there was no letting go of it. He is often frank and candid and this attracted controversy. In any argument he was persuasive. JC was never a push-over and fought his corner to the very end. Perhaps these are characteristics of competitive sportsmen. Despite all this, he was charming, helpful and kind and was well-liked.

Gaining entrance to the Faculty of Medicine in the 1960’s was a gargantuan task. The available spaces were limited, there were hordes of applicants and the competition was fierce. To be a top athlete he had the natural ability and talent and the discipline to practice regularly. This required staying in the school grounds at the end of the school day. Returning home late in the evening, tired, one required stamina and self-discipline to get back to books and revision. Hence to gain entrance to the Faculty of Medicine demanded much more than intelligence and the Midas touch. We were fortunate to have several fine sportsmen and women in our batch who had the grit, determination and the strength of character to be successful. They added an extra dimension to our batch.

He had tremendous enthusiasm for the social events in medical school. Being a fine musician, many of us got to know JC at the social functions. We sang and danced at the memorable and raucous evening booze-ups in the Men’s Common Room. My abiding memory at these events is the lithe figure of the ‘Dark Knight’ strumming his guitar, singing in graphic detail the itchy tale of “the dance of the phthirus pubis”. His signature song was “Saima cut wela” a tragic tale of a beginner’s hangover and an effective home remedy. He sang “Suranganee-ta malu genawa”, tempting fate long before they became a pair!! Those songs have never left my recall. As I listen to them now on YouTube I’m transported to those happy days of our youth. He was ever-present at the dances held at the King George’s Hall of the University’s Science Faculty, twisting the night away to the music of the Harold Seneviratne Combo. Those evenings generated much gossip and scandalous tales of adventures. He capped it all with an enduring contribution to the Final year trip making the days brighter and the nights merrier. This will remain a special memory.

In the rigid and grim environment of medical education, the Men’s Common Room was our refuge from the storms of life. I can still picture JC in that setting with a fag between his lips holding a cup of tea. He joined in the billiards, table tennis, carrom and the never-ending chit chats. He was an entertaining talker. If the truth be told he could be prickly and argumentative and there were frosty moments too. All through medical school my memories of JC are of a colourful, jolly guy ever ready for a chat and a laugh. He could talk about anything and everything. I associate him with much of our faculty jargon like ‘tea-punt’ and ’pol-mess machang’ and numerous vivid unprintable expressions delivered with a mischievous smile. These words he used frequently and to great effect. I could still picture him walking the long corridors of the GHC greatly animated, waving his arms relating a story. His tales were peppered with esoteric facts and his own brand of humour brilliantly embellished for good effect. I loved listening to his tales no matter how outrageous. Whether one agreed or disagreed with his views he presented them in such an amusing manner he could even make nonsense sound like a genuine and alluring revelation.

With the “Finals” came the great dispersal in 1967. I lost contact with JC for several years. Both Sura and JC after a stint in the UK forged successful careers in Hong Kong. There his work in Orthopaedic Surgery flourished and he was greatly valued and respected. Those happy times were curtailed eventually by the demanding concerns for the education of their two daughters. I was a regular visitor to Hong Kong which was my wife’s country of birth. It would have been lovely to catch up with JC and Suranganie, only if I knew.  I would have cherished their wonderful company, enjoyed the fine Hong Kong cuisine and shared in his first-hand knowledge of the best watering holes in town. 

I haven’t been a part of the multiple batch reunions in Sri Lanka. Hence our last meeting was around 2003. This was with Lucky Abeygunawardene and we met up at the Singhalese Sports Club.  JC joined us for drinks and dinner. The ambience, good food and the ‘double-distilled’ brought out the best in JC. Many of the old stories resurfaced with the perennial batch tales and gossip to round off a memorable evening. This indeed I will treasure. Rarely boring or predictable, sometimes outrageous, JC is excellent company. His parting shot was to say that I have now acquired a British accent which he reiterated on Facetime a couple of years later. To a rustic from the wilderness of Kegalle, this is a feather to my cap. Although not quite in the digital world, JC sent me emails giving his forthright views and observations about life back home. 

We all recognise our batch as a tribe and the deep friendships akin to a form of tribalism. Both JC and Sura are faithful to the tribe and their old friends. I am aware they have been enthusiastic, generous and hospitable entertainers to the multitude of winter visitors from our batch and also to our medical community in Colombo. They have had a fascinating life together working in several countries, enjoying a good social life. Their two daughters have done them proud. 

JC has had a rewarding professional career. We have enjoyed his company, humanity and joie de vivre. I do wish JC and Suranganie a long and happy retirement. His is a good life well lived and long may it last. By his achievements, he has made his mark in the history of that great school. 

Acknowledgements: My grateful thanks to Prof Sanath Lamabadusuriya for his inspiration and research. He also obtained the information hitherto unavailable in the public domain.  Thanks to Pramilla Senanayake and Mahen Gonsalkorale for their wise counsel. Last but not least thanks to Suranganie for her support and sending those brilliant photos that lit up the script.

Old Anandians and Old Thomians

Follow up post after data on Old Royalists

Old Anandians and Old Thomians

Old Anandians in the 1961, 1962 and 1963 Batches of the Colombo and Peradeniya Medical Faculties

By Lakshman Abeyagunawardene

1961 Batch 

(All Colombo) Kumar de Silva, Mohanlal Fernando, Ranjith Hettiarachchi, Charles Kodikara, Boris Marks, D.R. Ramyasiri, Gamini Thenuwara, Upali Walgama, Narada Wijayatileke, Stanley Wijesekara, Nathan Amarasekara.  Total -11

1962 Batch

WDH Perera, Percy Karunatilake, Priya Lecamwasam (Peradenyia first batch) Total - 3

Lakshman Abeyagunawardene, UBY Abeywardene (Peradeniya), Gamini Cooray (Peradeniya), Suren Iyer, K. Sunderampillai, Sunil Abeysuriya, Irwin Herath, MR Perera (Peradeniya), MKR Cooray, Sarath De Silva, MDP Gunaratne, JdeZ Gunawardene (all Peradeniya), Wimal Perera, Pulasthi Wickramasinghe, Ananda Hettiarachchi Total - 15

 1963 Batch

DR Baranage, B. Bodhinayake, Tilak De Mel, Gervin de Silva, SP de Silva, Nihal de Silva, HI Jayatilake, Roy Rajapaksa, AA Bernard Silva, SS Wickramasinghe, Rohitha Wijesekara (Colombo), MNR Fernando, NW Jayaratne, W. Katugampola, MAA Kularatne, BG Punchihewa, HAN Ranasinnghe, KT Sandanayake, B. Wijesinghe, LI Wijesuriya, DS Wanigatunga, WK Balasuriya (Peradeniya). Total - 22

 (Four attempts were allowed for the university entrance exam at that time).

Old Thomians in the 1961, 1962 and 1963 Batches of the Colombo and Peradeniya Medical Faculties

By Harsha Boralessa

These are the names of the Thomians, after consulting Kumar. I may have missed some names.

1962 Colombo:

R.Ratnesar, R.Dambawinna,S.DeAlwis Seniviratne, K.R.W.Gunawardena,M.L.Idroos,M.R.Richards R.Wattegedera,H.Boralessa,R.Sivakumar,C.D.Goonatillake. Total = 10

1961 Colombo N.S.Gurusinghe,U.R.P.Goonatillake,J.N.Gunawardena,R.Fry,G.R.M.Fernando,N.Jayasundera,R.Seniviratne,Nethaniells. Total= 8

1963 Colombo;

C.Simithriaratchi,R.Watson,A.Thenabadu,B.Heenatigala. Total = 4

1961 Peradeniya:

R.Corea,P.Dias,H.Wickremaaratchi, Total - 3

1962 Peradeniya:

N.S.Jayasinghe,A.P.Gunatillake,N.R.P.DeSilva. Total = 3

Well done Royal, you Won by an innings. I do not know why but STC during our time could not match Royal, Ananda and Visakha. (Thomians were crashing weddings and exams, just joking). Hardly anyone from our sister school Bishop's College entered Medical College. Trinity college results were similar to STC.

Old Royalists in 1962 and 1963 batches

Old Royalists in the 1962 and 1963 Batches of the Medical Faculties

Sanath P Lamabadusuriya 

1962 Batch

1951-J C Fernando, Lakshman Weerasuriya, Bandula Jayasekera, B.T Batuwitage, N Balakumar (Thatte Bala)-Total 5

1952- H N Wickramasinghe, Harsha Samarajeewa, Jimmy Wickramasinghe, M D N K Gunatilleke, J G Wijetunga, M P C Jaimon, Kithsiri Wimalaratne, Russel Paul, C Maheswaran, M G Perera (Peradeniya), H I Perera (Peradeniya)- Total 11 

1953- Sidath Jayanetti, Asoka Wijeyekoon, N Vishweshvaran, M H S Cassim, Nalin Nanayakkara, A Satchithanandan, Tilak Dayaratne, N Balasubramaniam, R S Drahaman, W Rajasooriyar,N Samaraweera(Peradeniya),-Total -11 

1954- S P Lamabadusuriya, D B M Collure, P Sivananda, K L M T de Silva, S R  de Silva, V P H Rajapakse, Chanaka Wijesekera, R Wickramasekeran, Channa Ratnatunga (Peradeniya)-Total 9 

1955- Mahendra Gonsalkorale, Raveendra Nadaraja,-Total 2 

Grand Total-38

 

1963 Batch 

1952- Tissa Wickramasuriya Total 1 

1953- L A W Sirisena, S D Wickramasinghe, Soma Thiyagaraja, Mohan Wickramasinghe, Kirubalasunderam, Kandaswamypillai,  Sam Thambyraja   (Peradeniya) - Total 7 

1954-S D Arulpragasam, S Parameshwaran, Aruna Rajapakse, S P de Silva, Siva Thiyagaraja, Gaminda Warusavithana, Joe Wjayanayagam, S A Wijesekera,  Chandrasekera, C K Pathirana (Peradeniya)-Total 10 

1955- Narada Warnasuriya, ,Gamini Hethumuni,M R  Mowjood, Nalin Jayatunga, S R K N Sabaratnam (Peradeniya) -Total 5 

1956-Ananda Nimalasuriya, Chula Rajapakse C R Gunatilleke- Total 3 

Grand Total 26 

(Four attempts were allowed for the university entrance exam at that time and that is why there were people from the RC 1951,1952,1953,1954 and 1955 groups).

 Note by Acting Blog Administrator.

There were a total of 166 in the batch (including 11 who came from Peradeniya). There were 107 gentlemen and 59 ladies (including 4 from Peradeniya).

I hope that entrants from other schools would provide comparative data which can be included

Prof SRKottegoda Oration on Friday 16th at 17:00 hrs CMB time, Prof: SRIYAL MALIK PEIRIS. “PANDEMICS: ORIGINS, RESPONSES AND ETHICS” Please click on "Latest news" Tab for joining instructions.

Series 1, No 2 October 11th 2020

The second of the popular new series featuring the inimitable Harsha Boralessa aka “Bora”, who has the knack of recalling humorous incidents “like no other”.

Wedding Crashers!

Four Thomians gatecrashed a wedding at Mt Lavinia hotel.  They were comfortably seated enjoying the iced coffee, sandwiches and cakes.

From time to time, they smiled and waved at no person in particular, just to show that they were familiar with the guests. Unfortunately, this caught the attention of a man in a coat and tweed sarong, dressed like a kapurala who started to walk towards them. One of the boys whispered,” Here comes trouble”. The man warmly exclaims, “Aney, meh John Aiya ge putha ne the”?  (“You are Brother John’s son aren’t you?”). He continued, “John Aiya vaga mai” (“You are just like Brother John”).

The Thomians had to make a prompt response: “Father was not feeling well so we came instead”.

The man very surprised, responded, “I thought John Aiya passed away a few years ago.”

They amicably decided that it was a case of mistaken identity!

Hitch Hike to Chilaw

My two batchmates  (A and B) and I decided to visit a friend in Chilaw. The challenge was to go by CTB to the Kelani bridge and get lifts thereafter. At the bridge, we started waving our arms at the oncoming traffic. After a few minutes, an Opel Kapitan pulled up. The driver was a pleasant-looking, middle-aged gentleman whom I recognised straightaway as the father of one of our batch mates. We said we were hitchhiking to Chilaw and asked whether he could give us a lift if he was heading in that direction. He asked us to get in as he was heading that way.

As we were proceeding, he started chatting, and I explained that we were third-year medical students and his son was one of our batchmates.

After a short while, he asked “Apart from studies what else do you do?  Sing, dance or play sports”? Having noticed plenty of bottles of Arrack spread on the floor of the car, I replied, “We enjoy a drink”. The kind gent told us to open a bottle and help ourselves. We promptly took up the offer.  Our next stop was a toddy booth. It was obvious that the vendor was known to him and we had a wonderful break sampling fresh toddy straight from the tree.

Finally, we arrived in Chilaw. We thanked him profusely for the lift, his hospitality and company.

When we went to our friend’s place, he was not at home- our fault for not informing him. My friend B said he knew a local senior government official and suggested we pay him a visit. The host welcomed us with open arms, provided us with a super lunch which we relished. We were then provided with a room and a double bed as it was time for a siesta/Doiyah. A and B fell asleep stat, but I was beginning to feel the after-effects of the booze. Feeling sick I went to the garden to vomit. After a little while, friend A comes out to the garden looking very agitated. Unfortunately, the host had taken my place on the bed and tried to be too familiar with friend A. We thanked the host for his kindness & hospitality and made a rapid exit.

Following this eventful day, our batchmate’s (Jayaratnam) brother, a local GP came to our rescue. He entertained us that evening, gave us a delicious dinner and provided a comfortable, safe and secure overnight stay. 

An interesting telephone conversation

At GHC. I was allocated a room in the medical officers’ quarters. When I arrived,to my surprise I found a sitting incumbent. – Dr Ranmuthu. It was a large room but there was only one bed. Ranmuthu insisted that I sleep on the bed and he will be the floor patient until we got a second bed. I was overwhelmed by his kindness. Later I found that officially the room was allocated solely to me, and therefore he was the squatter.

Ranmuthu had a lovely sense of humour and I enjoyed his company very much. I will never forget the phone call he received from a ward nurse.

Nurse: “May I spoke to Doctor Ranmuthu?”

Ranmuthu replies:” Spoking, Spoking.”

 

Continental Breakfast .. in Zurich

After obtaining the MRCP Part 1 in Colombo, Kumar and I got no-pay leave from the DOH to go to UK to complete Part II.  We took the flight to England on the 5th of December 1973 with an overnight stay in a hotel in Zurich. On checking in at the hotel that evening, we were given a voucher which entitled us to dinner or two drinks at the bar. As we had plenty to eat on the flight, we were not particularly hungry and therefore opted for the drinks and helped ourselves to plenty of nuts and crisps which was complimentary. We woke up  next morning  feeling extremely hungry, remembered  Carlo talking about “Hunger pangs “at a Physiology lecture. I was really looking forward to breakfast.

Kumar and I went for breakfast. On our table were bread rolls, butter and apricot jam. Kumar started on the rolls and I told him “Machang I am not going to fill myself up with rolls, instead I will wait for the Bacon and eggs.” I patiently waited for some time and nothing was forthcoming. Finally, the waiter came looked at me in a strange way and asked, “Are you not eating anything?”  I told him that I was waiting to have bacon and eggs. To my utter disappointment, he replied, “Continental breakfast has no cooked food”.

I pleaded and got him to bring back the rolls, jam and butter.

Await the next instalment of Bora’s Banter soon!

Jazz instrumental version

JEEVETHE THARUNA KALE BY MAHENDRA "SPEEDY" GONSALKORALE

This is an instrumental jazz version of a Milton Mallwarachi song with apologies to purists!

I thought it was time for a song on our Blog. Cheer up and enjoy!

Bora's Banter Series

 

Series 1, No 1 October 5th 2020

Note by the Editor: This is the first of a new series featuring the inimitable Harsha Boralessa aka “Bora”, who has the knack of recalling humorous incidents “like no other”.

A batchmate ahead of his time…….

This story was related by a batchmate who attended a tutorial given by Prof Dissanayake to a group of students who needed to be galvanized before the exams in 1966. He discussed and asked questions on the transmission of malaria. The interesting part was the answer given by a student. possibly about P Ovale which is prevalent in Africa, but was at the time, being detected sporadically in Sri Lanka.

The student said that the infected mosquitoes  board the  VC 10  in Nairobi and leave the aircraft at Ratmalana  and  are let loose, to transmit the parasite to people in Sri Lanka.

At the time, the thought of mosquitoes travelling in aircrafts was unheard of and so preposterous that the whole group, including the Prof, burst into fits of laughter. So much so, when Prof asked him, in light-hearted vein, “What do the mosquitoes feed on during the six-hour flight”?  “Orange juice” was his answer. At the time we found this entire interaction hilarious, but it was soon forgotten.

However decades later ….in 1990s, it all came back, when I read an article in the BMJ entitled “Airport Malaria”. Five locals born in England and who had never been abroad, all living within a five-mile radius of London Gatwick Airport had confirmed malaria infection.

After much debate and discussion, the conclusion was that mosquitoes do travel in aircrafts. Following this finding, the fumigation of aircrafts before take-off commenced.

It is a great pity that I cannot remember the name of this batchmate of ours who had this brilliant original thought that provoked so much amusement.

Haemorrhoids……A Misdiagnosis

Remember the surgical wards at the GHC (now NHSL) with broad corridors and well-maintained lawns between wards? A newly appointed consultant surgeon followed by his entourage of medical students was walking towards his ward when he spotted a man on the lawn in a squatting position (legs flexed at the knees, buttocks almost touching the ground and arms folded in front of the chest), in Sinhalese referred to as “Anna gahagena innawa ”.

The boss stopped abruptly and exclaimed “typical posture for someone with piles”, hoping to instil in his students the value of observation. He then pointed to B.L. Perera who was tasked with asking the man the relevant “leading questions” to confirm his diagnosis. 

On being quizzed the man replied that he had no such ailment and was merely waiting to take “Simon Aiyah home on his discharge from the ward!”.

Internship

I started my internship at General Hospital Colombo under Dr John Rasamuthu Wilson - a former Royal college cricket captain, a gentleman to the core and a very kind person.

During my first ward round, he discharged three patients to be sent home on ADT. Throughout the ward round, I was trying to work out “what the hell this was”!. I kept asking myself, how is it that I do not have a clue about this common drug which had been prescribed to three patients. All three patients had vague symptoms and no specific diagnosis. Could A.D.T be a mnemonic?

I couldn’t concentrate on the ward round and whispering quietly, asked the sister, “What is ADT?”

She replied, “That means “Any Damn Thing”.

Await the next instalment of Bora’s Banter soon!