Opening the eyes of the world, his mission

A prodigiously talented human being who sees through his heart and mind, Don Patrick Mervyn Weerakkody is a giant in the field of academia. A man who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “impossible,” he was born blind.

However this has not hindered him from accomplishing feats that may have been perceived as unattainable even by those with sight. A man who believes in God and in himself, he is the personification of hope and he has had the strength and the will to achieve his dreams. A well-rounded man for all times, he is admirable and his potential seems to be limitless.

“I was born at Tudella. Both my parents were teachers, and all my sisters and brothers were very studious. Therefore my home background was very conducive to learning. As I was born without sight, I did not have to undergo the initial fear and anxiety or the process of adaptation which is the usual experience of someone who loses sight later in life. I received my primary education at the Catholic School for the Deaf and Blind in Ragama and secondary education at Christ King College, Tudella.”

Bright student

He was considered a bright student even during his school days. When he was studying at the A/ L class, he won a scholarship awarded to an Outstanding Blind Student by the Sir Arthur Pearson Association for the War-Blinded of Canada. University education was his main ambition in his young days, and his dream came true when he gained admission to the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1967. Recollecting his days at the Peradeniya University, Prof. Weerakkody said:

“I read for a special degree in Western Classical Culture. I chose to do Latin as my language, but also attended the Greek classes. I read two texts in the original Latin, but the rest of the literature was read in translation. I admired both my teachers, Prof. C.W. Amerasinghe and Prof. Merlin Peris, and also Prof. Ashley Halpe of the English Department and Prof. E. R. Sarachchandra of the Sinhala Department. Most people who reminisce about their campus life say that they played the fool most of the time, but I must say that I devoted most of my time to studies. However, I attended many concerts, plays and films, and took part in two choirs, that of the Catholic Chaplaincy and that of the Music Society.”

He performed brilliantly at the final examination securing a First Class Honours pass which enabled him to join the academic staff at the Peradeniya University in 1972. In 1974, he proceeded to England for his doctoral studies. In 1977, he obtained his Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Hull. He has a large number of publications to his credit including a book on 'Taprobane: Ancient Sri Lanka as known to Greeks and Romans' published in 1996 by Brepols Turnhout, Belgium.

Language studies

Dr. Weerakkody served as Professor and Head of the Department of Classical Languages for several years. When asked for his contribution towards the curriculum development of his department, he said: “At that time, the course in Western Classical Culture consisted of minimum instruction in Latin or Greek, while literature was studied using English translations, and there was greater emphasis on other aspects of ancient culture, such as philosophy, history, and the arts.

I increased the amount of language study in the course, and encouraged students to read more texts in the original languages. I strongly believe that the quality of our students can be vastly improved by getting them to learn one of the ‘dead’ ancient languages such as Pali, Sanskrit, Greek or Latin”.

It was quite admirable that Prof. Weerakkody is conversant in several languages. “I like learning languages, especially ancient ones, and I owe my success to these language studies. I studied Pali for A/Level, and Greek and Latin at the university. I also studied French as my subsidiary subject at the university. I have been very fond of the Sinhala language, and from my childhood days I worked very hard to improve my English.”

Childhood days

Professor Weerakkody is a remarkable person. His flair for music is an outstanding quality of his character. “There was a musical background in my family because I had an uncle who was good in music. The music at church also caught my interest. At the school at Ragama I learned the piano, organ, flute (recorder) and the piano accordion mainly from a Belgian nun, Sister Beatrice. At Peradeniya I attended classes by Shanti Geetadewa, and took part in the orchestra in one of Prof. Sarachchandra's plays. After completing my Ph.D., I took flute lessons under Mr. Anil Mihiripenna. I obtained Vadya Visarad (Bachelor of Instrumental Music) from the Bhathkande Sangeeth Vidyapeeth, in Lucknow, India. Thus, I am proficient in both Hindustani and Western classical music. I composed music for one student play on the Daskon story. My main interest is religious music, and I have composed many Buddhist and Christian devotional songs for use on campus.”

Reflecting on his childhood days, he added: “My parents, family and relatives wanted to encourage me to take up a career in music, but I rejected the idea from the start, for two reasons. First, the music that I wished to enjoy and cultivate was very different from what people in this country generally know as music i.e. popular songs. Secondly, the idea of the ‘blind musician’ is so deeply embedded in society that I wished to do something else, and prove that blind people can do many other useful and valuable things, and contribute to the development of the country in many other ways.”

Professor Weerakkody has always been ahead of his generation, and this is particularly true with his approach to modern technology. From very early days he tried to use technology to overcome his vision impairment. “During the last 25 years of my university career, my capacity to work has been greatly increased by the use of the computer. Earlier I used to write my notes in braille and then reproduce them on a typewriter, a time consuming process.

“However, with the computer I am able to produce documents which are accessible to myself as well as to my colleagues and students. Combined with a scanner and OCR software, the computer enables me to access much of the printed material independently. I use the computer with synthetic speech to gather information from electronic sources such as CDs and the Internet. I check my e-mail frequently. My main regret with regard to the lack of sight is the inability to sightread sheet music.”

After 38 years of dedicated service at the university, he retired in 2010. In recognition of his distinguished service, the University of Peradeniya conferred on him the honour of Professor Emeritus. Even after his retirement, he continues to teach as a visiting lecturer.

He also teaches IT courses to visually handicapped students to help them find gainful employment. He considers the translation into Sinhala of Greek and Latin texts from the original languages as one of his major contributions. “Currently I am translating two works: a Greek text called ‘The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea’ and a well-known Latin poem, Virgil's Aeneid. I translate them into Sinhala directly from the original languages.”

Despite his visual impairment, he has reached great heights in the academic world. He is too modest in his claims but the following observation he made is an eye-opener even to the so-called normal people.

“Although people generally take pride in what they know, there are three things in this country where people proudly disclaim possessing any knowledge. They are the Sinhala language, the computer, and music. With all possible humility, I claim some proficiency in all three, and I love them all.”