Tribute:

Dr. S.N.B. Talwatte

Dr. Talwatte passed away after a brief illness on 16 July 2009. He served as a Consultant radiologist in Galle in the late fifties, Kurunegala in the early sixties and in Kandy in the late sixties. He retired in 1990 as the head of Radiology in General Hospital, Colombo. After retiring, Dr. Tals worked diligently in private practice.

He was the founder President of the Sri Lanka College of Radiologists and the Chairperson of the Board of Radiology of the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine for several years. He also served in the board of management for many years.

He was actively involved in the postgraduate training of radiologists and due to his untiring efforts, several were trained in Australia.

When I first met him, he came across as an unhurried gentle person who always had a smile. He remained so for a very long-time with a good witty sense of humour till he died. If there was a family problem relating to any of the trainees, it took precedence over radiology.

A generation of trainees will never forget him. Nor will the large number of radiologists and associates of the College with whom he had interacted over the years in many roles. He became a legend in his own time.

He was a good general radiologist and his strength was in plain film radiology.

He worked tirelessly in Colombo and I was fortunate to be trained by him. He was strict and often would tell me that work starts at 8 a.m. and not 11 a.m. reading the race card behind an Xray box is not the same as reading a radiology journal. Making holes in the floor between doctors residence upstairs and the Xray Department to look for his whereabouts was banned.

He was actively involved in arranging the MD (Radiology) exam every year and I was fortunate enough to be invited as an external examiner. He correctly changed the examination format to keep pace with the rest of the world. Essay questions were deleted and multiple choice questions included. Report writing was started a few years later. The external examiners including Professor Chakera and myself were well-looked after. His contributions to the College will long be remembered and in recognition of his efforts over the years, he was awarded the Champions trophy for radiology.

He leaves his wife Choosie and three children Siromi, Asite and Kishani and eight grandchildren.

He was a beautiful person and we will not see the likes of him in the future.

Dr. Ajith de Silva, Radiologist, Newcastle, Australia.