APPRECIATIONS

Swarnapali Leelananda:

Rendered a yeoman service to Anula Vidyalaya

The Past Teachers' Association of Anula Vidyalaya offers its felicitation to Swarnapali Leelananda, in remembrance of the third month of her demise on January 24, 2011.

Leelananda who started her career as a teacher in 1954 at Anula Vidyalaya rendered a yeoman service to the school serving as an acting principal and a principal. Being a woman of high integrity and honesty. She immensely helped to develop the school in every aspect through her devotion, dedication and selfless service. Her greatest contribution in moulding the lives of students, inculcating moral values made her achieve the praise and honour of all her students.

Her deeper insight and perceptions on the future and her intuition prompted her to provide them the best possible education in the school.

Leelananda who realized the importance of a Past Teachers' Association for a school which has a great history of 70 years, inaugurated this association in 2003 with the assistance of late Piyaseeli Gunasekera and a few senior retired teachers.

The association was a blessing for the retired teachers which gave them the privileged of getting involved in various social and religious activities they enjoyed before their retirement.

The greatest meritorious activity in which Leelananda took the initiative was the donation of 22 limbs to disabled soldiers. The Past Pupils' Association of Anula Vidyalaya in Sri Lanka as well as in Australia offer their valuable contributions to the association in honour and respect of Leelananda whom they admired and valued her great service.

She played a key role and took very important decisions which paved the way for achieving far reaching progress of the association. She was the main pillar behind the success of our Past Teachers' Association. She was devoted to her husband T E D S leelananda, a former Principal of Isipathana College, Colombo and a great mother to four children. She pursued a quiet familied life as a contented loving wife and a mother. She closely associated the people and helped the downtrodden in their pressing needs.

Dear Leelananda, we treasure the memories you left us, the advice you gave us and we are grateful for all what you have done for us.

May you attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana!

Past Teachers' Association

Anula Vidyalaya

Nugegoda

Vigneswary Sivalingam:

Her demise cannot be filled

Vigneswary Sivalingam of Batticaloa was born in a family of four (Ariyapuspam, Thanalukshmi, Balakrishnan and her self) as the youngest daughter of Late Ponnuthamby and Nallamah Ponnuthamby, Hospital Road Batticaloa and has three sons. Her demise created a vacuum that could not be filled. Even though she lived in Batticaloa through out her life, she comes from the generation of "Puloly Rassa" the "King of Puloly" of Point Pedro.

As a mother and wife she was adorable and the guiding light of the family. Her untimely demise was missed by all. She was the AO/Chief Clerk of Batticaloa Education Department. She was humble, (cool minded) sincere, honest officer loved by the entire departmental and school staff. She was a good listener to sort out the problems of colleagues and subordinates who needed solutions to their problems in the Batticaloa Educational Zone.

In early 1950's I lived in her home when I was 10 years of age and my memories are still afresh of her good calibre and manners. Life is like a flower that blooms in the morning and withers afterwards. The Buddha's philosophy is that "nothing is permanent". I am sure that this philosophy consoles all.

In Bagavath Keetha it is said that you should not grieve over the dead, since the dead will be reborn, accordingly we believe that all her good deeds would contribute her sole to rest in peace in "Motcha" until she is reborn at a suitable time.

Karalasingam Sivalingam

Al Haj Mohamed Sheriff:

Simple human being

The unexpected demise of Al Haj Mohamed Sheriff Mohamed Nizam on February 5, 2011, having succumbed to a heart attack, shocked many retired Police officers, as well as some of the serving officers who knew Nizam. He was a native of Paragadeniya, Weuda in the Mawatagama District. He hailed from a respectable and prominent family from this village. He was born in 1938.

He had his education in the Kurunegala and Jaffna educational institutions. He joined the Police service as a probationary Sub Inspector in the year 1957. On being passed out he had the distinction of being posted as Officer in Charge of Matugama Police station and subsequently as OIC Bulathsinhala Police Station, normally assigned to senior Sub Inspectors or Inspectors, due to his performance during his training period.

Subsequently he served in many stations in the South and the North. He functioned as the Chief Lecturer at the Sri Lanka Police College and the Criminal Investigation Department as an Investigating officer.

He was elevated to the rank of an Assistant Superintendent (ASP) in the year 1978 and to the rank of Superintendent (SP) in the year 1984. In both ranks he had served in the North, South and the Police Headquarters holding important positions as District and Divisional Officer in Charge and at Headquarters in the personnel and crime divisions.

He was promoted to the rank of a Deputy Inspector General of Police in the year 1994. Prior to his retirement in 1998, he served as DIG in charge of Sri Lanka Police College, Recruitment and Training, Home Guard, Chilaw and Crime and Crime Intelligence. He has undergone training in Police Investigation and administration in UK and the Interpol.

He was recognized as an officer endowed with the talents of Teaching, Lecturing and interpretation of Legal and Departmental rules and regulations. His knowledge was sought after by many senior and junior Police Officers whenever knotty Legal or Departmental issues surfaced.

He was a honest, sincere and upright officer who served the department with loyalty and dignity. He was known to be a calm, simple human being with a smiling face always joining other officers in whatever activities or functions. He was a very religious and God fearing Police officer, a rear commodity in the Police service.

After retirement he went back to his native village, indulged in religious and social activities serving the needy and the poor.

Unfortunately politics lured him, and he accepted the nomination of a political party, expecting to serve the people. He had no financial support to lure the voters.

He conducted a peaceful campaign in the true sense of democracy. The thugs manhandled him and he was injured and hospitalized. Later he realized that politics is not for a honourable human being and distanced himself from politics.

He was an active member of the Retired Senior Police Officers Association (RSPOA) and the Association of Chiefs Of Police (ACOP).

He never missed any meetings of these two associations. In fact he was an active participant at the Annual General Meetings of both associations held in the month of December 2010.His demise is a great loss to both Associations.

The batch of probationary Sub Inspectors who joined with him in the year 1957, had been celebrating the "Batch Day" in June each year, Nizam has been a regular participant, throughout the past 53 years or so. His batch mates who are amongst the living will surely miss him at future batch get-togethers. He was a loving and devoted husband and a caring father. He leaves his wife Azeeza, two sons and two daughters. We share their sorrow in their moment of loss and sorrow.

May he attain "Jennathul Firdous"

Farewell Dear Batch Mate, Colleague and Friend.

Anton Jeyanathan