medical batch Colombo1960: Sri Lanka

Showing posts with label Sri Lanka. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Jayadevi and daughter, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

Please click on the web-link below :-

Video link

https://youtu.be/p0VASkVzyXc

Saturday, March 5, 2022

Dr Daya Rodrigo, Senior Surgeon, NHSL, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dr. Daya Rodrigo, Senior Surgeon. NHSL

Remembering Daya Rodrigo

Dr. Daya Rodrigo was senior to me at the Medical Faculty, Kynsey Road, Colombo. He was married to my batch mate of 1960 entrants, Dr. Nalini Ratnayake. I came into close contact with Daya when we were Consultant Surgeon colleagues, at the General Hospital – GH Colombo, later renamed the National Hospital of Sri Lanka – NHSL, from 1991 to 2000.

Daya would be in the Consultants lounge at the NHSL, regularly at around 12pm. Most of the time, he would be waiting for his better half Nalini, to turn up. They were very close, this couple. I have never seen this couple having confrontations. If there was any differences opinion on any matter, it was always discussed with soft voices and smiles.

From 1991 to the year 2000 I would come for my lunch break to see Daya seated in the Consultants Lounge. The topics we discussed ranged from computers, cars, general state of our country etc.

Daya and myself started our introduction to computers using the Sinclair ZX 81 and the Spectrum. The Sinclair ZX 81 had only one KB storage space. The computer had its memory storage in an audio cassette. The audio player was connected to the ZX. The monitor we used was the home TV. We programmed the computer using BASIC as the language of the computer.

ZX had to be connected to the TV input to play a game of chess, we bought the package to run chess stored in a ‘floppy disc’. The loading of the programme to the ZX81 took a long time. We would start the loading process and maybe take a shower and come back to see, that the computer had just finished loading the programme.

In the early 1990s there were other micro computers in the market. There was the top of the list the BBC micro, and there was the Atari.

We had some programmes entered in BASIC and running. Daya introduced the use of the microcomputers in analysis of data to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo.

We were using the CDs to listen to music and watch films on our TVs. There were games, films and various programmes ‘written’ on the CDs. The computers at home that we were using did not have the ability to write data on CDs.

One day Daya took me to see the computer room in the Medical Faculty Library. It had a computer to read and write data to the writeable CD. They had CDs from Medline bought every month updating publication on ‘Medline’. This was quite amazing to us. Before long we bought our own right able CDs.

The Windows programmes made their appearance. Mr. Ariyathilake who was a patient of Daya, was our computer expert dealing with hardware and software. We did regular upgrades with him.

Daya was also was interested in Photography. We used film cameras till the early part of the twenty first Century. Then came the Digital cameras and we progressed in photography using only digital cameras.

Daya was very interested in wild life photography. Daya and Nalini made regular trips to our National Parks. Once he had relocated a Python from outside the park to release it inside the park premises. He had taken the Python and used his car to transport it.

Daya had a fund of stories to relate and it was a pleasure to listen to them.

In the last conversation I had with Daya he asked me about the photos I took, in my newly acquired ‘GoPro 9’ camera that I had recently acquired. I told him that it had a tough learning curve, but that I was progressing.

The first news we got of Daya’s demise was from Sujiva and Buddy via email. It came as a real shock, because Daya was active and Nalini and Daya had done a trip to one of our National Parks and were planning on a trip to Australia, to stay with his daughter for a few months.

I tried to get Nalini to give her our condolences on the phone.

Nalini being close to him all these years would miss him and a loss of this magnitude would be very hard to bear. But she is sure to come out of her sorrow and we would like to see her in her earlier active self.

I picked two poems for Nalini to read and reminisce.

Nalini, ‘ May the Good Lord Bless and Keep you…’

Philip and Ramya.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Old light-house, Pesalai, Mannar, Sri Lanka.

This is an old light house claimed to be dating back dating back to ?Portuguese times - 16th Century. You can see that the top of the light house is flat. Firewood was hauled up and lighted there, to warn away ships from the treacherous shoals off shore. I took this photo when I was working in Mannar in 2004.

Tissa Kappagoda did a water-color of this picture. He told me that he sold the painting in the USA for US$250/=

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Painting by the late Tissa Kappagoda

Hello Tissa,
I really liked your picture. You seem to have a lot of talent in painting.
Heather Knower wrote saying, that she will try and paint the picture we
chose as book cover, long before I even dreamt of publishing it. I wonder
how far she got.
Fifty years is a very short timescale in the history of a nation. Ambition
greed and power do not last, humanity does.
We who lived through the 'Bathala days' of NM Perera, know what it was, to
struggle to survive.
I quote a poem I got from 'The 1000 days - Story of the siege of Leningrad"
by Harrison Salsbury:

It was written by a Russian poetess, who was in a
concentration camp, in Siberia, but was released to help fight the Nazis, when Hitler
invaded Russia.

‘I did not on this day forget

The bitter years of oppression and evil.

But in a blinding flash I understood :

It was not I but you who suffered and waited.

No, I have forgotten nothing,

But even the dead and the victims

Will rise from their grave at your call ;

We will all rise, and not I alone.

I love you with a new love

Bitter, all-forgiving, bright –

My motherland with the wreath of thorns

And the dark rainbow over your head …

I love you – I cannot otherwise –

And you and I are one again as before.

(From the Book ‘ The 900 days - The Siege of Leningrad' by Harrison Salisbury)

Everything is 'Anicca'. We who live, have to preserve our humanity, and
carry on.

Philip

Thursday, September 30, 2021

CoMSAA get together at Beruwala, Sri Lanka.

Nalini & Daya

Thenabadu, Daya & Nalini

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, Blooming days.

Blooming days at the Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka. Photos from pinterest.

It is a riot of colors. Five years in this paradise, doing your Medical studies, will make your mind go dizzy. How lucky the students were to pass through these surroundings.

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Tributes to the Late Dr. ELT De Silva, Avissawella

Francis Perera
My deepest sympathies to the families of ELT and Merle. Their deaths were untimely- but they will continue to live in our memories. I have warm memories of our time in Baddulla, Avissavella and Ehaliyagooda as co-practitioners. May their souls Rest In Peace.

Thanuja Ashani Rupasinghe

Rest in peace

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Yamuna Wijemanne

He was a God to us during our childhood . Just going to his dispensary cured us 99%. May he attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana!

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Lawrence Ratnam

So sad to hear of ELT’s death. I never got to meet him since we qualified but as a student I always had very high regard for him. My deepest sympathies to Merle

Zauher Badurdeen

Accept my Condolenses Helani, at the sad loss of your brother. RIP.

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Noel Edrisinha

Sad to hear the death of a well-known GP in Avissawella. May his Soul Rest in Peace.

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Pearl Hettiaratchy

Really shocked at this sad news. Merle is a old girl of Holy Family. Our deepest sympathies to all the family. May he rest in peace. Sidney & Pearl

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Reggie Perera

We did internships at Badulla around the same time. He was a soft spoken gentleman. My deepest condolences to Merle and family! May the turf lie softly on him!

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Narada Warnasuriya

Saddened by this news He was senior to us in the Faculty.His younger sister Helani was my parallel at Peradeniya.I knew him as a popular GP in Avissawella .He used to refer patients to me.

May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.

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Renuka Wijayaratna

Deepest sympathies to his family n friends . May he attain the supreme bliss .of Nirvana

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Raj Kandiah

I knew him since 1981, when visited him as a Young Medical Representative.

May his soul rest in peace.

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Don Wilmot Weerasooriya

Very sad news.Deepest sympathise. We worked at Badulla at the same time. Later I met him at Avisawella when I was the surgeon and some time travel together with him from colombo and did chanalling at his clinic. Very kind harted gentleman alway with a …

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Charith Sena Nanayakkara

Very sad news indeed. More shocking as we saw him alive & happy just a day earlier, when he was waiting for his covid jab at LRH along with you & Maxi( all our 1960 medical entrants).

ELT was always friendly, sociable and ready to entertain his friend…

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Kathiravelpillai Nadanachandran

Our Deepest sympathies to the family. He and his family would have been very close to you. May his soul rest in Peace.

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Kamalini Arul

My deepest sympathies to his family. May his soul rest in peace

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Saroja Jayasinghe

Sad to hear!! May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!!

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Rasika Sanjeewani

He did his job to the world may he rest in peace

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Eugene Corea

Sad news. Deepest sympathies to his loved ones .RIP

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Piyusha Atapattu

Oh dear, was it a side effect of the vaccine sir? May have predisposed to thrombosis

Ajitha Dewanee Ranaweera

RIP

? Death due to vaccination

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Imtiaz Ismail

RIP

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Himali Atapattu

Heartfelt condolences

REST IN PEACE

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Ragunathan MK

RIP

May be he got a cortical venus thrombosis big one

Saman Edirisinghe

RIP!

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Indira Kuruppu

Rest in peace

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Nanthini Baskaran

Heartfelt condolences

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Kosala Ranatunga

Deepest sympathies

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Nalini Jayatilaka Rupasinghe

Rest in peace .

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Swarna Dias

May he attain supreme bliss of nirvana

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Pathirana Weligamage Solomon

I saw this just now. My wife and I were stunned for a few seconds. During the past few days, we were talking about him daily as we saw a photo of his when he went for the Covid Injection recently. This picture was shared with me by DR. Philip G Veeras…