Book on Satha by Professor Ravindra Fernando

Richard Dwight

Senior Professor of forensic medicine and toxicology, Ravindra Fernando of the faculty of medicine, University of Colombo, has currently written a book entitled "Sathasivam of Ceylon, the Batting Legend."

It's a Vijitha Yapa publication and makes it the 16th book written by the highly learned professor, who has a wide array of qualifications behind his name.

On making preparations by way of research to write the book "A murder in Ceylon - the Sathasivam case" many years ago that Prof Fernando realised what a batting genius Mahadeva Sathasivam was. The articles and books he read, convinced him that 'Satha' had shown a remarkable batting prowess wherein he determined within himself, that a book on Satha's achievements on the field of cricket be published.

The end result is the coming to be of the book "Sathasivam of Ceylon, the batting legend" which was out in September this year and, is to be found in Vijitha Yapa bookshop, Colombo 4 and yet other outlets.

It's meet and right that we give a brief narrative of the author Prof Ravindra Fernando, an old boy of Ananda College, who graduated from the University of Colombo in 1975.

He had his postgraduate training at Guy's Hospital medical school of the University of London.

He has served as a senior lecturer in Forensic Medicine in the universities of London and Glasgow. He has also worked as a consultant Forensic Pathologist in the Department of Forensic Pathology and Legal Medicine, the medico legal centre, Sheffield, UK.

He was a consultant Forensic Pathologist for the Home office of England and Wales, and the crown office, Scotland. In addition he has held and presently holds quite a few administrative posts.

Let me at the outset say that those who wish to know more about Satha, the mercurial genius with the bat, would do well to get a copy of "Sathasivam of Ceylon - the batting legend" written by Professor Ravindra Fernando.

The book has a very attractive shiny glossed cover, with Satha sporting a pleasing smile on it. It just has 189 pages and supported by 6 illustrations - Being an adequate, compact book, it is easy to handle and the bold print found in it, makes it easy on the eyes as well.

Prof Ravindra does well to arrest the attention of the reader by his own inimitable style and in simple readable language, sans only high sounding words. This makes the reader on commencing to read the book, to not let it down, till he has finished reading the book completely.

The author does well by those who do not know, to trace the origins of the game and, how it did come to Ceylon.

Sathasivam was born to an elite wealthy business Tamil family on 18th October 1915 to Mr and Mrs Tiruvalingam Sathasivam of "Swarna" Campbell Place, Borella. We learn that Tiru Sathasivam, the father, played cricket for Tamil union, as a bowler and batsman and also captained Ceylon in local golf.

He was fine bowler and hard hitting batsman and captained Wesley in 1910. Sports was the common bond between father Tiru and son Mahadevan. We find that the son adored the father, so much so when Satha was on a tour at Pakistan, he rushed back to be by the side of his father, who lay dying.

Apart from the first chapter which deals with the 'history of cricket, the other eight chapters are solely on the dynamic, Mahadevan Sthasivam. It dwells on his acquittal of not being guilty of his having murdered his wife, after being 625 days in remand.

The author lays out that Satha scored 44 centuries and 4 double centuries and also had 12 scores of over 150. There is irony too, when he says that both Ceylon captains F C De Saram and Satha at different times were in jail.

The other chapters deal with his heroic deeds for Wesley, Tamil Union, All Ceylon and Malaysia. He had a host of cricketing friends from abroad like Sir Frank Worrell, Keith Miller, Garfield Sobbers and many more.

There is a poignant moment, when the author records that, Sir Frank Worrell was prepared to pay Satha's legal expenses - the other was when on another visit by Sobers, he told Satha that he has a gift from Worrell, which was a miniature bat, with the signatures of the West Indian team, that beat England - Satha was so moved that tears began to flow.

The author records that Satha broke the record of 215 made by Joe Hardstaff at the Chepauk Stadium, India.

He also mentions that on the 14th of January 1971, Sathasivam was made an Honorary member of the MCC.

There is lot more to be gathered in this book, and she stands thankful to Ms Edmund Dissanayake, Premasara Epasinghe, Steve Houghton, Elmo Rodrigopulle, Bertie Wijesinha, C T A Schaffter, Sharm de Alwis, Rohan Wijesinghe and Satha's daughter Mrs Yajna Thiagarajah.