Appreciations

MTL Fernando:

Visionary guiding light

August 14, 2011 marked the second death anniversary of. MTL. Fernando who was an illustrious accounting professional and the first Sri Lankan Partner of Ernst Young.

MTL was a brilliant product of Royal College of Colombo. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the UK and returned to Sri Lanka in 1954.

MTL joined the Turquand Young & Company in 1954. Later he became the first Sri Lankan partner of Ernst Young where he served for more than five decades and passed away at the age of 82.

Our minds go back to our Centenary Publication. Asite Thalwatte writing a tribute to it had said that MTL had a rare gift for helping people with wise counsel. Meanwhile Rasratnam, in his tribute had admired MTL for his noble way of life.

All the alumni who had written their wonderful thoughts had expressed their indebtedness to MTL who had been a great source of inspiration and a visionary guiding light to every one.

We had been lucky enough to celebrate Ernst and Young’s centenary event in grandeur while our leader was living.

We are delighted to remember that MTL saw, read, and heard all the appreciations showered on him on that memorable day.

We met MTL first at the Executive Conference held at the Golden Sun Resort at Kaluthara in 2000. This noble gentleman walked up to us, accompanied by James Mather and late Gamunu Gunathilaka.

He introduced himself and then introduced the other two gentlemen. He cared to ask after our families, about our work and our plans for the future.

His concern for us touched our hearts. His death is an irreparable loss to all of us. He will always be remembered with great affection and gratitude.

The scent of flower does not travel against the wind.

But the fragrance of good people travel even against the wind

Memories of a noble man last for-ever

May he attain Nibbana!

Ernst & Young, Galle branch’

Major G W S de Silva:

Unassuming, soft-spoken gentleman

Major G W S de Silva of Vilegoda Ambalangoda passed away peacefully on July 7 at Moratuwa.

After his primary and secondary education at Richmond College, Galle he passed out as a trained teacher from the Teachers’ Training College Katukurunda and joined his alma mater as the bursar.I first came into contact with him as our cricket and soccer coach of S. Thomas’ College, Matara.

S. Thomas’ teams of 1947 and 1948 coached by him reached such high standard that they defeated rivals St Servatius by an innings at the ‘Big match’ played at the Matara, Uyanwatta grounds.

The high standard of his expert coaching could be gauged by the fact that he has produced several National cricketers: Indika de Seram, Marvan Athapattu, D L S de Silva, Athula Samarasekara, Jayantha Warnaweera, Upul Chandana and Duleepa Wickramasinghe.

Major de Silva played cricket for Richmond, Matara Town Club and Teachers’ Training College. He held the post of the Secretary of the Matara Cricket Association. He was an unassuming, soft spoken gentleman always with a smile. He took great pain to coach the teams. He held the prestigious post of the Secretary of the Matara Cricket Association of all clubs and schools of Matara.

May he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana.

V K B Ramanayake Maharagama

Colonel Dudley Fernando:

Noblest figure, finest military officer

As I was leaving the office one evening, a service provider whom I telephoned asked me, “Sir, are you the son of the late Colonel Dudley Fernando” and when I replied, “Yes”, he remarked. “Shah, great officer,” and then he queried, “is your eldest brother late Major Milroy?” I said “Yes.”

No humanbeing could fall to be deeply moved by such a tribute as this, coming from the mouth of a person whom you meet for the first time. With all due respect to the Soldiers who have donned the Olive green uniform for this country, and its people, it fills me with an emotion I cannot express. But this award is not intended primarily to honour a personality, but to symbolize a great moral code - the code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land of culture and ancient descent.

My dearest Thattha utters - “Duty, Honour, Country” - those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

They are your rallying points to build courage - when courage seems to fail, to regain faith - when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope - when hope becomes forlorn.

He built our basic character. He moulded us for our future roles to be custodians of the nation’s sovereignty. He made us strong enough to know when we are weak and brave enough to face ourselves when we are afraid.

He taught us to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master ourselves before we seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that we will remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

He gave us a temperate will, a quality of imagination, vigour of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. He created in our hearts the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. He taught us in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.

His story is known to all of us. It is the story of a true Sri Lankan at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the arena many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I remember him now, as one of the noblest figures.

When I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under stress and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words.

He belonged to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism.

He belonged to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements.

I do not know the dignity of his birth, but I do know the glory of his death. He died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in his heart and on his lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for him: Duty, Honour and Country. Always his blood, and sweat and tears, as he saw the way and the light.

May you attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana!

Wing Commander (Rtd) Sanjaya Fernando RSP