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| Saturday, 7 February 2004 |
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Ven. Pandit Talalle Dhammaloka Nayaka Thera The Viharadhipati of Thapodaarama Mt. Lavinia, Venerable Pandit Talalle Dhammaloka Nayaka Thera was taken ill suddenly and warded in a hospital in Singapore where he breathed his last. He had participated at the World Conference of Bhikkhus and was returning to Sri Lanka when this sad event took place. The Venerable Thera at 86, a much respected bhikkhu untiringly and with determination worked towards spreading the Buddha Dhamma while dedicating himself to religious harmony and world peace. As President of the Sarvodaya Bhikkhu Conference, his guidance and blessings to us as well as the younger bhikkhus came as fatherly advice which we looked up to with reverence. As we mourn his parting from us, we realised that his service to humanity was immense and the vacuum created by his demise cannot be easily filled. He opted for the simple way of life and when travelling too a trishaw served his purpose very often. He encouraged the activities of Buddhist organisations in Korea, Thailand and Taiwan. His knowledge of Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit and English was of a very high standard that he had the valuable books on Buddhism translated from English to Sinhala and distributed free. He served as a Dhamma Teacher at Kumara Vidyalaya, Kotahena and Hena Road Vidyalaya, Mt. Lavinia. He served the Buddha Sasana fittingly by fearlessly working towards establishing the Bhikkhuni Sasana during the past decade. This great Buddhist personage possessed the rare quality of patiently extending loving kindness to people who did not agree with him and ultimately winning them round. He was a faithful follower of the Dhamma-Vinaya enunciated by the Buddha and always acted sincerely. About one year ago when severe drought hit Hambantota and Moneragala Districts he came to Sarvodaya Headquarters with a Buddhist lay follower from Taiwan and donated items such as clothes, medicine, dry rations and drinking water at a cost of approximately Rs. 1,000,000. We remember the way he collected water bottles and worked with Sarvodaya staff helping the people in those districts. I knew the Venerable Maha Thera for over a period of 50 years. He was our Chief Advisor/Patron when he accepted to be the President of the Sarvodaya Bhikkhu Conference. On December 24 he spoke over the telephone and assured us that he would be there on December 27 at the Sarvodaya Annual General Meeting to lead the meditation. But the inevitable happened. May the Venerable Nayaka Thera attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana. Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, President, Sarvodya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka. ############## Dr. S. Shanmugadasan Dr. S. Shanmugadasan's demise had been a very sad one, not only to those who had been very near and dear to him but also to those whom he had served for decades. Most of his life was spent at Anuradhapura or in its vicinity serving the downtrodden people in various capacities in the medical field and as a Senior Police Officer in the Reserve Police. He retired from the Health Department as Provincial Director of Health Services, North and East and as a Senior Superintendent of Police. What ever high positions he held, he was a simple, humble man whose motto in life was "Service to the Mankind", irrespective of race, creed, caste or religion. What a great man he was! In commemoration of his demise it has been decided to conduct an alms giving in an orphanage and in addition provide the inmates with requisites such as exercise books, pens, pencils, drawing books, tooth paste, soap, powder and so on, on February 1, 2004. When at a time more people as "Shun" should be living to promote ethic harmony and peace, it is a tragedy that he is no more. D. R. Jayaweera. ########### Prof. S. Rupasinghe It is with profound sorrow that I write this appreciation of a colleague who passed away on November 18, 2003. My acquaintances with Professor Rupasinghe dates back to undergraduate days at Peradeniya. Professor Rupasinghe and I studied in the same Department of Studies, he being two years junior to me. I still recollect the manner in which they were taken around the campus in their first year. It was Professor Rupasinghe who led this procession of first years. From his waist to his head he was wrapped in a thick cardboard resembling a tin with the words 'Lactogen baby' written in large letters. Even in 1960 he was stout in his appearance. Thereafter in 1976, I met him in the Faculty as a colleague. His marriage to Anula a friend of mine led to strengthen our friendship as family members. In the Faculty we all have a very cordial relationship both among the academic staff and the administrative staff. Professor Rupasinghe counts nearly 30 years of service to the Faculty of Education and University of Colombo. At the time of his death he happened to be the only senior professor of the Faculty of Education. He has been the Head of the Department of 'Social Science for nearly 18 years and has served as the Dean of the Faculty for five years. He was a colossus in the Faculty. His area of specialization was Comparative Education. He walked into Lecture Halls without a scrap of paper and would teach on contemporary problems and issues prevalent in the system of Education such as discrepancies in the provision of Education, discrepancies in Achievement, Social class and Education, Urban rural differences in the provision of education, and so forth. He cites examples from his own research studies conducted and he has the required statistical data as well. His knowledge of contemporary systems of Education was immense and unsurpassed by his contemporary colleagues. He really had a very fine memory, could it be subject matter in his domain or University acts or could be some detail data of students not completing teaching practice, failing in a subject or not submitting the assignment. The last three years I happen to share the large room in the ground floor of the old building with him and other members of the Faculty. Professor Rupasinghe is seated at his table by 8 am. He is generally the first to come to the Faculty. He has his breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea in this room. If he is not at a class teaching he would be surrounded by graduate students, undergraduate students, staff members and other personalities who come to the faculty on various missions. Not every lecturer is approachable to students at all times of the day. There are scheduled hours for student consultation. But to meet Professor Rupasinghe one did not have to make prior appointments. He would receive them any time of the day including lunch hour. He was a much loved teacher of the students who supported the training of graduate teachers and undergraduates in the profession of teaching. It was during Professor Rupasinghe's administration that the Faculty ventured into part-time conducted inservice Post-Graduate training programmes. The three study programmes of the Post-Graduate weekend Diploma, the Post-Graduate Diploma in Counselling, the Master of Education part-time course commenced under his able leadership and certainly with the intense support of all senior and junior staff of the Faculty. The weekend diploma programme has helped to instil professional training to nearly 10,000 graduate teachers of the country. Teachers serving in remote areas, in difficult areas gained access to professional training through this programme. It was a national task he shouldered to help to clear the backlog of untrained graduate teachers in the schools. Professor Rupasinghe excelled not only as a competent teacher and able administrator. He was also a researcher of repute. He has a large number of research studies conducted to his credit, both on an individual basis and in collaboration with other staff members. At the time of his death he was engaged in about 3 national studies. Graduating with an upper second class in a special arts degree in Geography in 1964, following it with a distinction pass and a gold medal awarded to the best student at the Post-Graduate Diploma in Education in 1972, Professor Rupasinghe was an erudite scholar. He was also a kind teacher, a simple personality, and a close friend of many of us. We all in the Faculty will continue to miss him and all of us mourn his untimely, unexpected demise. His demise is a great loss to the Faculty, the University of Colombo and to the field of Education in Sri Lanka. Prof. Chandra Jayasuriya ########## Gen. Tissa "Bull" Weeratunga, VSV Time goes back to August 10, 1969 when I was warmly welcomed to the highland regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, the 1st Battalion. The Gemunu Watch, Diyatalawa by this genial personality, a giant, a colossus - the Commanding Officer of the Regiment the then Major Tissa "Bull" Weeratunga - To an officer cadet turned Second Lieutenant to be greeted and welcomed by the Commanding Officer was a momentous occasion but what has been etched in my mind was the warmth and cordiality with which this man received my colleague and I - it was truly the "Southern Comfort" which was spontaneous and the uninhibited affection of the CO which grew day by day as i served with him in the Army we loved and cherished. I also noted the extra step he took to seek out my parents from among the invitees to the graduation parade and give the assurance and encouragement to two people, who hadn't the foggiest idea of what their son was marching into, be that as it may to the tune of highland Laddie!!! This was what General Bull as he was fondly known, epitomised throughout his life. Simplicity, Affection and Hospitality among other traits which I shall speak about later. Today three months after his premature demise his immediate family of Sonia and the children and the larger family of his military colleagues who are too many to mention will remember him with a sense of sadness. His departure was untimely and the loss irreparable to his family, to his colleagues and the nation. The recollections of the regimental life at Diyatalawa are pretty vivid and it pivoted around the Commanding Officer who was obviously the motivating force. The Colonel had moved on and the next time I met him was shortly before the 1971 insurgency when we travelled on the train together to Pallaly. The Colonel then out of favour with the government gave me a lesson on how to handle political victimisation. I knew nothing of the political vagaries that can change the destinies of officers but listening to the Colonel who was once my Commanding Officer I believed in what he said. This stood me in good stead in the years of turmoil that were ahead. Years passed and the next encounter was when my Commanding Officer of the sixties was taking over the command of the army. What an auspicious induction he had. It could't have been more than a couple of days or perhaps a week and the first police station in the North was attacked by the Liberation Tigers and this began my close association with the General till he retired as the GOC five years later to take up the post of High Commissioner in Canada. The Army went through an induction of fire and the transformation of the Army into a 'fighting outfit' commenced during this period. I recall the aggressive infantry training to which he subjected every infantry battalion and the sabre arms. The re-equipping of the Army with modern arms and fighting vehicles, the overseas training and the strategic orientation of the Army were the highlights during his period of command. Then came the holocaust of 1983. The critical decision that had to be taken and the circumstances to which the Sri Lankan Army had never been exposed before it was a baptism of fire - Political manoeuvres - international pressures, media sensationalism, murder, looting, arson and military politics were all glaring in the face of one man; what did it need to lead the country out of despondency!! I remember touring the city of Colombo sitting beside the General who commented on the carnage and the meaningless destruction, calling it the 'testimony of cowardice". His period of command was the commencement of a long and arduous journey through which the Army has been dragged into the morass of a struggle for separation. The leadership foresight and his unwavering courage to design the destiny of the Army of the nineties was the initiation of General "Bull" The rigours and pressures of the years of command had an indelible toll on him. His inner compassion for the loss of life of his men was something he could never come to terms with. To an Army that had seen Parades and Guards-of-Honour and to overnight accept the sight of coffins and gun-carriages had impacted heavily on the softer soul of a physical giant. The trauma of losing soldiers the carnage of suicide bomb attacks were all too harsh on a man with a heart that had the sympathetic affection for his comrade in arms. I remember very clearly how he stood motionless despite a torrential down pour by the graveside of my brother while we buried him. He turned to me with a lump to his throat and said, 'chum that's another good man you take care there's more to be done.' Thirty-five years is a long time in one's life to have built up a close association. Life doesn't always flourish on the path of ones choosing. It blossoms and perish like flowers on a tree but the simple value and the largeness of heart of General Bull will live in our hearts forever. Ma Nivaththa Abikkama A Friend |
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