Comments on "Remembered Vignettes" Ctd.

Dear Philip

I have just finished reading your book. Enjoyed it ,recalling the good old days.

In case there is a second edition I thought I would mention a few omissions .

Among the sports personalities N Rasalingam was well known .He was the National Badminton champion Boxer and basket ball player. Rajan Jesudason who was senior to us still recalls how nimble and fast Ras was in basketball to compensate for the height. The clinical group mainly of the R's had two National champions in Rasalingam and Reid .

Among the teachers Prof C.C.De Silva was an omission He and his book "mother your baby" often ref.to as murder your baby by few of us cannot be forgotten

He was a real gent. Titus Dissanayake and I were fortunate to be his intern house officers in Kandy Always approachable and gentle to the children in the ward. Good teacher as well I learnt my paediatrics with him and Co-Prof Dr Aponso before Gomez took over.

I will keep in touch

Kind regards and best wishes to you Ramya and the family

Lawrence

Hi Philip:

              I enjoyed reading the book. It was well written and nicely put across. Philip you got talent. I could'nt have done such a great job. Congratulations for a job well done.

It took me back to my Medical School days and made me re-live the life, as it was then. I reached 70 yrs a few days ago and your book made me 48-43 yrs younger. I no longer feel my age and  I feel young again.

Philip I was amazed at some of the achievements of our batchmates. Viz: Karals & Tissa. I was very proud to read about  their work. I am sure there are many more who have excelled  in life. You should bring this out. For the next edition why not start collecting the biography of the batchmates and include it in the 2nd edition.

With kind regards

Nihal

Hello Philip,

I just finished reading your book.  As I emailed Tissa, some guys went to Medical College to actually become good physicians, others went there to have fun and ended up possibly in spite of themselves as physicians!

Clearly, you belonged in the first group and your book is extremely well written from your perspective.

To be very honest, the hairy accounts of times at the Medical College given by guys like Para (Parameswaran Sandirasegaram) - not sure how much is factual - could have been added.   Even Viji hitting Piyasena on the head with the mallet used to crack open the skull, or Thambu Kumaraswamy asking (Viji) the person telling stories at the back of the lecture hall to get out and Viji pretending that he was not addressing her, or the guy who got caught to Viji's Dad and got an earful because he identified himself as Viji's body partner, or Sujiva's questions at the end of the class (maybe you thought that this might upset Sujiva) could have been included.  I am sure there are many other such incidents involving others in your batch that could also have been included.  These anecdotes are akin to what we used to say "rice pullers"! 

Cheers

Brahman

Tissa, Viji, Nihal (Tissa's brother) and I go back till about 1955.  Purely because Tissa asked me to canvass buyers for your book (without my even reading the book), I contacted most of the guys I know here in the US (some of the emails I copied Tissa).  I could not find a single person who agreed to buy the book. 

Most of these physicians keep recounting their wild escapades at Medical College, whenever we meet.  It is very sad, but most of these physicians are not able to talk about much beyond recounting the great time that they had at Medical College or how the insurance companies are denying them monies that the have worked very hard to earn!

There are plenty of interesting stories from Medical College that I suggest you should collect and put together in your next edition so that it will appeal to others who were not in your batch.  For example, Nicholas Attygalle was a thug and respected others like him.  Jegasothy, aka Kanamoorthy, took awhile to complete his studies but Nicholas was keen on passing him.  Nicholas asked a very simple question that needed Jegasothy to say Copper Sulphate in answer to the question what is used to treat eye infection (forgive me if I do not recall the facts correctly).   After prompting in many different ways Nicholas finally asked what is Copper Sulphate used for and even then Jegasothy had no clue but in desperation asked quizzically 'Copper Sulphate?" and Nicholas is reported to have said "you B..r, why did it take you so long to give the correct answer".

Cheers

Brahman

Letter from Anne Ranasinghe (Received on 19/6/2008)

13/6/2008

Dear Dr.Veerasingam,

          My sincerest thanks to you and Dr.Kappagoda – I loved your book – it brought back those wonderful days, idyllic in retrospect. I knew so many of the people about whom you write, and also some of the “Vignettes” – they still make me chuckle when reading them. How fortunate you all were to be taught by so many brilliant (and quirky!) men! Not that they were paragons of virtue – by no means – but they had values & principles, were incorruptible with a strict sense of fairness. Where my husband was concerned – he was not known as ‘Ranaya’ but as ‘Rane’ (it is of no importance) and I recall the Neil Fonseka ‘misdemeanor’. As far as I remember he fell asleep during my husband’s lecture. Who should have been ‘punished’ is questionable!

          I also remember “Sir Hector Ross MacLennan” – he and his wife stayed with us when he came here & they were fond friends. Many years later, after my husband died, I was invited to a public reading of my poetry in London. The organizers had advertised this in a London paper. I received a call from Hector, apologizing for not being able to attend as he had to go abroad. He also told me that his wife had died, and he had a new ‘companion’ – he seemed very contented.

I am glad you have acknowledged Dr.Kularatne’s contribution – it should never be underestimated. His loyalty to the unit & his dedication was inestimable and my husband trusted him absolutely – a rare tribute. My husband, having been educated at Ananda College, also appreciated Dr.K’s proficiency in Sinhala, somehow they saw things the same way, understood each other!.

          Noel and Nora Bartholomeusz were the firtst people I met when I came to Sri-Lanka & the four of us were very good friends (until death!) I was Nora’s executor, but long before she died I started looking after her affairs – she lost interest in life after Noel died. He was her whole existence. For the record: she could not make up her mind what to do with her house, and I suggested that as there was no “Oration” for Noel it might be a good idea to give it to the College of Surgeons. (Prof.Sherifdeen was looking after Nora – very devotedly – and so was Vim Navaratnam (another friend of many years standing)) She agreed. The house was in a bad state when she died _ I couldn’t do repairs because of the dust and noise – and so before handing it over I renovated the whole place (with a brand new roof etc!) (Noel and Nora’s name is perpetuated in the name of the foundation) THAT’S why I was the Chief Guest (and made a stern speech with regard to how the place should be looked after!)

          You left me the wonderful story how Dr.Prins Rajaratnam, when leaving a party(where he had indulged rather liberally) found fault with his driver as he started the car. To punish him he got him to drive the car in REVERSE all the way home!

          You didn’t mention Sir Nicholas?

          I could go on forever! You have opened the flood-gates.

          IF you ever do a reprint may I suggest that you have an appendix with names, if possible dates, & page numbers - a luxury for your reader!

                             Again, thank you

very much

Sincerely

Anne Ranasinghe.

Hello Kodikara,

I remember you well.

1. Do you remember how Rajes told you during a ward round that she was pregnant. She also told you that she could tell you the exact time she got pregnant. You immediately changed the subject.

2. When you went to visit Rajes after delivery in Colombo, at a Nursing Home, she asked you where you were spending the night in Colombo. She offered her bed at her home for you to spend the night.

    Philip

Hi Philip Rajes was an interesting character. Once she came to see a baby and I started explaining the baby's condition. She said" wait a minute. Iam 32 weeks now and I had a bleed. I was in the shower and I was rubbing all over  and I started bleeding . THen  RO appeared(Dr Ranganathan) He advised her to get admitted. Rajes said " You come and stay in my room (Queens)in case I start leeding again. You are a little boy" He nearly collapsed in embarassment. Once she gave a mouthful of abuse to bloody Sangakkara and he thoroughly deserved it although Rajes was at fault. She is  a nice women very straight in her dealings. Once she said her husband is a playboy and must be going out with other women. Not a dull moment when she is around!!!!!.

I guess she is still working in Colombo. Kind rehads Kodi.

PS   I  posted the cheque today

 Philip,

Dear Philip, 

Thanks for sending me the book which I received a couple of days ago. I read it and enjoyed it. Although I was about 3 years ahead of you and had lost contact for nearly 45 years, I remembered your stay at College House. I found the characters mentioned  by you, had appropriate anecdotes. Congratulations on the excellent  work.

Now for some Random musings:

Tell me what you have been doing after your graduation.   When did you do your Fellowship and was it in General Surgery. It is very commendable  that your returned to Ceylon and made a success of your career . Was you wife a batch mate in the Uni?  You set an excellent example to others on the question of marriage, crossing ethnic and religious boundaries, making it a great success. If more people had selected partners on those lines  we would probably not have had the chaotic state prevailing in our countries.   Many years ago I wrote to an editor of a newspaper that if the country exempted couples of mixed ethnicity from Income tax, there would be more such marriages promoting harmony ! !. It was never published.        (Having said that, I married a Tamil Anglican doctor who studied at Peradeniya.).

How did you get motivated to do a Master's degree in Buddhist studies and was it a difficult exercise?

Re my career path: I left the country in 1971 and spent 6 years in UK- mainly Manchester, I did Ophthalmology and got the FRCS from Edin. While I was quite happy with it, I yielded to peer pressure to do it at London as well but after coming to Australia 30 years ago I found it was unnecessary. I lived and worked in Newcastle all these years. Retired from hospital practice 5  years ago but am doing part time consultations  in a friend's surgery.  I've been a Rotarian for over 25 years and enjoying it   though not doing very much work involving physical activity.  Also have the Bishop's licence as Chalice Assistant in our local church.  Hobbies are reading and music ( cello and accordion) . 

My wife is a part time MO at the University of Newcastle . Have two children. Eldest (daughter)  is a solicitor- married and  she  twin  boys- 3 years old  . Son is a Pharmacist  and not attached yet.

I used to often think about a class mate of  mine from St Johns by the name of Arianayagam. I did High Jump with him  but lost contact after leaving college. I saw his brother's name- Singaratnam in the acknowledgements. Can you give me his e  mail address- I may be able to trace my friend this way.

I will be meeting some SL doctors at dinner in a few days' time. I will show them your book, and if they are interested, I will get some more from you.   In fact, I have highlighted some of the amusing parts and this may  arouse their interest .

Nice to share some thoughts with you and  hope we will keep in touch from time to time.

If you come to Australia any time do let me know. Newcastle is about 150 km north od Sydney, on the coast line.

Kind regards

Freddo Benjamin

Dear Philip,
Thanks for the e mails which were interesting. My only request  is 
NOT to send any attachments using power point or entourage. I have  
had difficulty with these- mainly because I am a little slow to check 
my mail and these huge attachments block the incoming mail .  Any 
mail with Word format or pictures like the veddahs will be alright.

Did you know my 2 brothers? Victor was General Surgeon at Kandy and 
later GHC. He was 10 years my senior in the Health service.
Robert was in College House and ended up as ENT surgeon in GHC. They 
both came to  Australia after '83 on my sponsorship. Victor is still 
working as a GP in the outback. Robert moved to New Zealand after 3 
years  in Australia. He has retired .
Among thee College House crowd, Venki is an anaesthetist  working in 
Sydney.  Palipane is also an anaesthetist in New Zealand

Now, a few anecdotes re people mentioned in your book:

1.  I came to know Geri Jayasekera  when I was at Eye Hospital and 
used to go to Regent House for my meals. Geri was Prison MO. He used 
to let our yarns to newly appointed interns- that he  had stressful 
times at Welikade. He had to be present at the executions, and when 
that was over,   his duty was to perform CPR and try to revive the 
victim!
He was my bestman when I married Ranji. About 20 years ago he came to 
Sydney and Newcastle along with about 10 other professors to observe 
our teaching methods. He visited us  along with the other 10 profs, 
and they were surprised to see my wedding photo with Geri as the 
bestman.

2. We came to know Vasanthanathan at Batticaloa. What a nice chap he 
was. He was MO OPD but was always prepared to act for other HOs in 
any of the wards or even in the blood bank or Anaesthetic dept. He 
was quite skilled to work  in any dept.
I was MOH  and Ranji was HO Anaesthesia.  I cleared the Primary when 
I was MOH, and needed 6 months of General Medicine. It was convenient 
to to it at Batti. After 6 months I applied to do Neurology with 
George Ratnavale as I was  going to do Ophthalmology. I was selected 
and accordingly transferred but the MS refused to release Ranji 
unless he was given another HO Anaes.   Head office had no one 
available.  Vasanthanathan heard of our problem and told the 
Anaesthetist and MS that he would gladly work as HO Anaes.   The Head 
office had no problem finding someone willing to go to Batti as MO 
OPD- so Vasanthanathan moved in as HO Anaes, and Ranji was ultimately 
released - with our real gratitude to Vassanthanathan.
Subsequently he was SHS Vavuniya. I heard that  he spent many days 
and night in the refugee camps especially after the exodus, caring 
for the sick , elderly and children.He inspired the junior doctors 
with his dedication and skill.
He had an tragic end and I heard a different version from what you 
described. According to the version I heard, he was at his office, 
when a bomb exploded outside the compound narrowly missing the 
target- the  truck with  IPKF soldiers. Vasathanathan heard the 
explosion and came out of  his office, to see what had happened. The 
soldier saw him and fired the shot which killed him.
  Will share more stories  when I recollect them.
I am sending a photo of my family- taken about a year ago when we all 
met together for Christmas.
I presume you have retired from Govt. service, but are you still 
working  in the Private sector?. Keep going at least on  part time 
basis and you will find it rewarding. You will be able to use your 
hard earned skill & knowledge  but above all, keeping the body and 
mind occupied is very necessary.
I am pretty sure at least some of my friends in Newcastle will be 
interested in reading your book. There are three other Doctor 
families from Sri Lanka. I will try to get them to buy. Can you once 
again give me the particulars for Pay-Pal to Tissa's account.
Kind regards
Freddo

At 01:56 AM 6/28/2008, you wrote:Dear Philip and Tissa, I have just finished reading the book " Remembered Vignettes". A book written with great reverence to our teachers and our batch mates. Thank you for looking at the good side of every person. If we can do that daily in our lives, the world will be a better place. The philosophical remarks in the book are timeless. I read Tissa,s Epilogue twice. We are at a time when we wonder , " what will I do when I get up in the morning tomorrow ? " . Tissa has some powerful ideas to contemplate. Must be read by every Srilankan Doctor. Job well done.
Harischandra Piyasena.

Dear Philip, The remarks from Piyasena were very appropriate. I do not have his e-mail but would be grateful if you would forward this message to him

Dear Harischandra and Sweenetha

You comments made me think and I thought I would start by recalling two of my most pleasant memories at med school, associated with the both of you. Firstly, when we were travelling down south- cannot remember for what- possibly a funeral( was it Milroy's brother's ?) we stopped at your home ( I think unannounced) and your mother gave us the most tasty Hurulla's fried- straight from the beach- fresh and crispy-will not forget that. Secondly , Sweneetha had a wonderful party at her home for which we were privilaged to be invited and we had a great time-lot of booze, good food etc. I also knew her brother. Both these events bring joy to me possibly >45 years later and we can share these moments. Best Wishes, Karals

Hi Philip
I remember you came to Kalutara on relief work- and did not see you after that. Fred Benjamin mentioned you were now almost retired-I heard you were at GHC a few yrs. back.
Had a quick look of your book,very impressive. Can I send you a cheque in Aus. dollars?
Kind regards
Hamilton Koelmeyer

Hello Dr.Koelmeyer

Hi Philip and Tissa

     I enjoyed reading you book. I was one year ahead of you. I remember doing  Proff.Jayawardnes's medical appointment with Tissa.

    I worked in  Dept of Pediatrics , Medical faculty for about  seven years did  Postgraduate training in New castle Upon Tyne, came back and worked as Senior Lecturer for about three years. I left Sri Lanka in 1975. Did my training in Down State medical center in Child neurology and Neurophysiology.

  I have been Practice for the past 32 years and  I am Clinical Professor at Yale Medical school.

   I enjoy coming to Sri lanka and do so every two years.You did terrific job well done.

     With best wishes Nallainathan

Dear Phillip,

                                 Just a note to say that Lalitha & I enjoyed reading you book very much. Such nostalgic memories !  Thank you for writing it. Why not get to work on another       The Escapades Of Doctors To Be.     Thanks again.        

  
Hello Srilal,

It is nice to make contact with you again after Kandy.

I wrote an article titled "The cause of death of Rajasinghe of Sithawake' a few years back. Prof Tommy Wickremanayake wanted me to submit it to the Royal Asiatic Society Sri-Lanka Branch. They rejected it as not accepatable. I got it published in the Ceylon Medical Journal of 2002 July issue.

I have published a book edited by Dr.Tissa Kappagoda. The following are the details. For your information please.

How is life with you?

Philip.

I visited the Rural Cemetery today, on my way home from work, and took photos of Dr Green’s grave.

The cemetery is large and beautifully landscaped, and is bigger than Kanatte..

The caretaker was very helpful, and took me to the grave, which I would never have found on my own.

The Email I sent to your new address was returned as undeliverable.

I hope you got the photos already.

Do let me know.

Malin

.

Hi Philip, Good to hear from you. It is good that people are putting down their memories & experiences on paper. The Ceylon Society of Australia members have been prolific in this regard with more than 30 members producing books including Raja Bandaranayake recently and Noel Crusz, Vama Vamadevan, Chandani Lokuge ,Dr R K de Silva ( Rajpal) in the past to name a few.

If you can send a few books across to Sujiva we can display them & sell them at our meeting.

I work in full time private Psychiatric practice and have started to cut down the time at work. Savitri is in general practice and works only in the mornings. Children are grown up now so we have more time to do other things.

I can remember meeting you at Jermyn Fernando's place some years ago.

My current research interest is in the area of how Air Mail Services began in Ceylon.I am also keen on learning about the early artists ( pre 1950)

Best Wishes

Srilal

Comments from Farouk Sikkander sent via e mail

Opens a doorway into tne past inviting you to sample the spicy life as a medcal student more than four decades ago.In an easy style with wit and humour one relives our carefree days.The lyrics "Those were the days, my friend                                                                                                                                    We thought they'd never end  We'd sing and dance forever and a day  We'd live the life we'd choose We'd fight and never lose  For we were young and sure to have our way,aptly describes the tales in this enjoyable read\

Hi Philip
When I read about the Yarldevi and Utharadevi I was
reminded of my viva for Medical College entrance. I was
the last candidate for the day. I was tired and the board
members were tired too.
Regularly asked question was how did you come from Jaffna.
I was also asked the same question. My reply was by mail
train which must have sounded male. One of the board
members made a coment - 'yarl devi is the female of the
male train'. There was a rore of lafter from all the bord
members. Guess who made the coment - Prof
O.E.R.Abhayaratna
Singaratnam

Dear Sir,

I graduated from the Colombo Medical Faculty in 2005 and I am currently working as Additional Medical Officer of Health Yatiyanthota, my first post intern appointment.

I was delighted to read your book "The life of a medical student in Ceylon of the early 1960's : Remembered Vignettes".

Your experiences were very close to the heart, the spirit of which has not changed much, I suppose, from a medical student's perspective, and I doubt it would, even in decades to come.

It was undoubtedly a treasure of joy, knowledge and deep insight (especially towards the last chapters).

Just a very small clarification: page 135

Prof. Lalitha Menids, who was a Dean at our time, was Professor of Microbiology, not Parasitology, If i am not mistaken.

Thank you.

Novil Wijesekara

Dear Dr.Wijesekara,

Thank you for the comments on the book.

I realised the mistake made re Prof Lalitha Mendis. We will try and rectify it in a future edition.

We are planning to release a book 'Fourty Years of Medical life - 1965 to 2005' in the near future.

I hope you enjoy your life as an MOH. Remember that every post that you hold in the Department of Sri-Lanka, is like a 'paid holiday'. You can study the life of our people and help them in many ways. Try and get a digital camera to record your experiences. You may be able to publish them later.

All my best wishes go with you.

Philip G Veerasingam. 

Philip,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book.  Below is an extract from an email I sent to two of my 1952 MBBS batchmates, now living in retirement in Colombo, (aged 83 and 84), and who are in touch with me my email.  One of them had been Dean, Medical Faculty in Colombo around 1967 - 1968 era.

Congratulations on that excellent book.

Victor Benjamin,  in Goodooga NSW 2831 (a place hardly ever shown in any map of Australia)

"A 163-paged book with title  REMEMBERED VIGNETTES (recollections of the life of a medical student in Ceylon of the early 1960's,  Collected and Narrated by Philip G. Veerasingham, Edited by Tissa Kappagoda, was made available through my youngest brother who is a 1962 MBBS.  The book refers to the batch that commenced Internship in 1966, and there is mention of name of one who was an Intern under me (at Colombo South Hospital in 1966), but who seems to have got lost as far as rest of his batchmates were concerned. (He went to UK to specialise as a Neurosurgeon,  but ended in Australia, and is a senior well respected Orthopaedic Surgeon in Victoria).

I wonder whether you had access to that book.

Reference to several teachers well known to us makes very interesting reading.  They must have been students of you, Stanley.

There is reference to Sivalingam (Parasitology).  Only Pathologist remembered is Willie Ratnavale.  There is no reference at all to any Pharmacology, Bacteriology, Forensic Medicine teachers, or any reference to the University Staff that taught them Pathology and Paediatrics. 

You can get details on availability of the book from  http://www.ph-books.com/bs.asp?id=62   (the publishers in Colombo), who have advertised it as a best seller.  It has been published by Perera Hussein Publishing House,

80A, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7.  I noticed one factual, but irrelevant error.  The favourite teachers appear to have been D A Ranasinghe,  Stella de Silva,  Prof Rajasuriya,  Antho, Batho, Austin, and a few others.  "Pissu" Jansz gets special mention in several pages.  It is the first time I came to know that Anne Ranasinghe was Jewish in origin, and that explains her easy assimilation of Colombo as her permanent life-long home.  She had no other country to belong to.  She would have been an asset to Ranasinghe.

I knew Philip Veerasingham, who was Resident Surgeon at Kandy for a short time, during period of my work at Kandy Hospital."

Hello Phillip,

We have not met before. But i've been meaning to write to you for awhile after reading your book. It's such a well written book and brings me back so many memories. I was 7 years behind Nadanas year Most of the consultants and lecturers were still there. I told nadanas uncle Thillai and his wife minnie about it too and passed that picture of them  with their car that you had sent here.

I'm so glad you took the time to document all the events especially the humorous ones.

Also its nice that you included the note your father wrote to you on your return to srilanka. He must have been so proud of you and so he should be.

Hope we could meet sometime. We do keep in touch with Vigna , Bala and Thavarasa.and Travis.

Regards to you and your family.

Rathy.        

Hello Rathy,

It was a pleasure reading your review of the book. After all the strife and toil only the happy memories remain. The sorrows and hardships have gone with the wind. Every day is a new day to be lived and savoured. I wish you all the best in your life. Nadana was at Bloem with me and we do have a lot of shared pleasent memories.

Philip

‘Life is nothing but a bank of happy memories’

‘In India they love learning but don’t like thinking’

OBE – Other Buggers’ Efforts

Dear Philip

Many thanks for your e mail.It was nice to hear from you although I had known that you were recently retired and I also do get news about you from  my friend malin weeratne in the US. Tissa K had also informed me about thebook  you had written  and I would most certainly wish to purchase acopy when it is published - so please keep me informed.I have told  afew friends in the UK by word of mouth and they too would be interested. I am not a fluent e mail communicator as i have not yet mastered the  finer points eg attachments, photos etc.and thus have limited e mail contact with friends. However  when I do get  any e mail addresses i shall pass them on to you.

Good luck with the book and Im sure it will be a big hit. Do keep in touch.

Subba (Subesinghe)

Dear Philip,

Thank you very much for all your entertaining E mails
my right knee gave me great pain and on the advice of the Orthopaedic
surgeon Mr Boston I had knee replacement done in southend about a month ago
and I am slowly recovering.  Hence my long silence. I will be going to work
in a weeks time.
I hope you and your family are in good health. Please remember me to them
especially the scarlet owner.
It is with deep regret i learnt of Kirpais berevement and on hearing from
Jeyaratnam I rang him and conveyed my sympathy. I will not be in a position
to because of my condition but the thoughts are there.
Wishing you and the whole family happy Easter.
Kanapathy

Dear Philip,

Thank you for sending me the book reviews. What you did was something unique and the reviews were excellent and have done justice to your efforts.

We are so glad to learn that Queenie was blessed with another son on the 8^th of April. Please convey our hearty congratulations and good wishes to her. Congratulations on your becoming a De-Seeya. It must be very gratifying to be where you are.

I look forward to purchasing the 2 books when they are published.

Erangani joins me in sending our warm regards and beat wishes to you two and Loku, Podi and their families.

Sena

Dear Phllip,

CONGRATULATONS!!

Its not an easy task to get a book out.

The reviews were excellent! You should be very happy - if not proud!!

We had a small "batch get together" in Melb last Sunday - about 25 people includng spouses - Soma, Suji, Metha, Lida, Chitra, Travs, Carlyle, Buddy, Spittle, Christe, Preena. It was nice meetng again after so many years. Your book was a hot topc & Daya collected some money from buyers! I 'm sure it will be a good sell out.

They were also askng for another reunon n SL in 2010 - like the Habarana one &  said the problem was to find a live wire like Kapuwatte - & your name was suggested as the best person as you've already been in touch with most . What do you think?

Congrats also on being a Deseeya - I feel a bit J as I dont think we'll ever make it! Give our warmest wshes to Queene too - its not easy to do everything & do it so well too. Great girl! You certanly have a lot to be proud of!

We'll be back in the last week of May or first week of June.

See you then.

Nalni

Hello Daya & Nalini,

I posted the books you ordered from Australia today. The postage cost me around Rs.500/- each. The cost for USA was slightly more. I posted 46 copies today. When I went to the post-office at Avissawella, I found that one of the post-masters was seen by me the previous day for a stiff finger. They undertook to pack the books for postage. It was ‘red-carpets’ all the way. Another post-master there told me that his mother had been my patient. He had taken a sneak preview of the book, while they were packing it for posting. He had taken a photo-stat of the concluding chapter as he was mightily impressed. Such is life in a small town like Avissawella.

    I am not a good organiser of parties but I will give of my berst if anyone takes the lead role.

Philip

Dear  Veerasingam,

Thanks  for the Wesak Greetings.  MAY THE TRIPLE GEM  bless you and your family  with peace and prosperity.

I read your  book with great pleasure,which brought  back  memories of  good old days in medical college.

If you happen to come to Melbourne  please  contact me. Tel. 03 98597562.

Cheers,

Meththa [ nee Kulasekara]

> Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:02:18 +0530
> Subject: The old phone on the wall
>
> THE OLD PHONE ON THE WALL!!!
> When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our
> neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The
> shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the
> telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.
> Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an
> amazing person. Her name was 'Information Please' and there was nothing
> she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the
> correct time.
> My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my
> mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the
> basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but
> there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give
> sympathy.
> I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at
> the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the
> parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver
> in the parlor and held it to my ear. 'Information, please' I said into the
> mouthpiece just above my head.
> A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
> 'Information.'
> 'I hurt my finger...' I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily
> enough now that I had an audience.
> 'Isn't your mother home?' came the question.
> 'Nobody's home but me,' I blubbered.
> 'Are you bleeding?' the voice asked.
> 'No,' I replied. 'I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.'
> 'Can you open the icebox?' she asked.
> I said I could.
> 'Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,' said the
> voice.
> After that, I called 'Information Please' for everything. I asked her for
> help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped
> me with my math.
> She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day
> before, would eat fruit and nuts.
> Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called,
> Information Please,' and told her the sad story. She listened, and then
> said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I
> asked her, 'Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy
> to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a
> cage?'
> She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, 'Wayne always
> remember that there are other worlds to sing in.'
> Somehow I felt better.
> Another day I was on the telephone, 'Information Please.'
> 'Information,' said in the now familiar voice. 'How do I spell fix?' I asked.
> All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was
> nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend
> very much. 'Information Please' belonged in that old wooden box back home
> and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the
> table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those
> childhood conversations never really left me.
> Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense
> of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and
> kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
>
> A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in
> Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes
> or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without
> thinking what I was doing, I dialed my home town operator and said,
> 'Information Please.'
> Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
> 'Information.'
> I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please tell
> me how to spell fix?'
> There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, 'I guess your
> finger must have healed by now.'
> I laughed, 'So it's really you,' I said. 'I wonder if you have any idea
> how much you meant to me during that time?'
> I wonder,' she said, 'if you know how much your call meant to me.
> I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.'
> I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I
> could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
> 'Please do', she said. 'Just ask for Sally.'
> Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered,
> 'Information.' I asked for Sally.
> 'Are you a friend?' she said.
> 'Yes, a very old friend,' I answered.
> 'I'm sorry to have to tell you this,' she said. 'Sally had been working
> part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.'
> Before I could hang up she said, 'Wait a minute, did you say your name was
> Wayne?' 'Yes.' I answered.
> 'Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called.
> Let me read it to you.'
> The note said, 'Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.
> He'll know what I mean.'
> I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Hi, Phillip ,What a beautiful Story, Thank you for sharing with us.
 With Best Regards,
Shanthi and Lalith Fernando, Kansas US

Philip:

       I saw a copy of the original  skull X'ray of JFK after the shooting. A Radiology colleague of mine who was working in Parkland Hospital, in Dallas at the time of the shooting, showed it to me in 1980. The entire posterior part of the skull (Parietal bone) was blown off.  The closest resemblance of the part blown off reminded me of the Yamaka (skullcap) the Jews wear on their head.

There was no way he would have survived the gun shot injury. More than 1/3rd of the brain was blown off with the parietal bone.

Nihal

Hello,

Here is an incident in the life of Dr.Prins Rajaratnam, narrated by Mrs.Anne Ranasinghe, wife of Prof.Ranasinghe, Obs & Gyn.,

Mrs Anne Ranasinghe is a famous Sri-Lankan writer. She wrote this after reading 'Remembered Vignettes'.

'You left me the wonderful story how Dr.Prins Rajaratnam, when leaving a party (where he had indulged rather liberally) found fault with his driver as he started the car. To punish him he got him to drive the car in REVERSE all the way homeYou didn’t mention Sir Nicholas?  I could go on forever! You have opened the flood-gates.'

Life was really a gag those days