Priyani Anoma Abeyasekera nee Tennekoon :

Fond Memories Of A Student

Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris

It is not often that the life of a student offers his or her teacher a source of inspiration in responding to diverse challenges through the journey of life. Amidst the banality that represents much of the rhythm of daily routine, a life well lived, in keeping with the most exacting standards, spreading light and joy all around, satisfying to oneself and to all who are touched by one’s example, is truly to be celebrated.

I first knew Priyani Tennekoon as a student when she entered the Faculty of Law in the University of Colombo as an undergraduate student in the early 1970s. I had just returned after completing my doctoral studies at the University of Oxford, and she belonged to one of the first batches of students I taught.

She was, by any standard, an exceptional student, many of whose qualities I yet recall. An attribute she retained in ample measure throughout her subsequent career was a sense of absolute commitment to any task she was entrusted with. She was content with nothing less than perfection, and devoted herself in her own quiet and unobtrusive way to attain that standard. Not for her were short cuts or half-hearted approaches: she threw herself with total energy and enthusiasm into everything she undertook.

Treasured memories

Those were days when rote learning had no place in the culture of learning from which she derived deserved benefit. She had the good fortune to have her footsteps in the law guided by teachers of the calibre of the late Professor T. Nadaraja, doyen of law teachers, the late Justice Dr. A.R.B Amerasinghe, Professor Savitri Goonesekere and Professor C.F. Amarasinghe.

My clearest memory of her as a student had to do with her sharp and probing mind. At a time when a typical tutorial class consisted of less than twenty students, she would question and assess critically, but with unfailing courtesy, the body of knowledge imparted to her.

This made for a mutually stimulating interaction which enriched and enlivened the task of the teacher.

These voyages of intellectual discovery, for which students of Priyani’s quality had equipped themselves by conscientious research, independently embarked upon, are among my treasured memories of twenty-six years of academic life.

The hallmark of thoroughness and the capacity for sustained absorption, coupled with evidence of an incisive mind and a uniquely developed analytical capability, were visible in her even in those early days. But congenial though she found academic work, hers was by no means a one-faceted personality. She was fond of fun and laughter, and was never happier than in the company of her friends. She had an irresistible, perhaps impish, sense of humour and her own amusing shorthand for many things.

Her time was generously at the disposal of any friend who stood in need of her help or support. I well remember a tragedy that befell one of her closest friends, a fellow student and later an academic colleague, who was snatched away from us by a cruel disease in her twenties, with the promise of a bright future before her. Krisanthi, to whose memory I dedicated one of my earlier books, was the beneficiary of the care and sensitivity which Priyani bestowed upon her in her final days.

There was one constant characteristic which shone through the whole of her life: the courage of her convictions and the firm refusal to compromise on what she believed in. This was an area in which Priyani showed unremitting rigour. This was no doubt attributable in large measure to the influence of her father, the late Victor Tennekoon, Queen’s Counsel, one of the most illustrious and universally respected among former Chief Justices of Sri Lanka.

I found it a profoundly educative experience to work closely with him for many years as a member of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka, of which he served at that time as Chairman. Notwithstanding her privileged background, Priyani was self-effacing, to a fault. She consistently underestimated her own capabilities; much to the surprise of her teachers, she would experience anxious moments before examinations, only to find that the results, when published, provided the fullest recognition of her ability.

Social work

Not entirely enamoured of an academic career and preferring to face the travails of the wider world, Priyani, after a period of dedicated work as a visiting lecturer of the university, chose as her substantial life’s work, her contribution to the growth to maturity of Sri Lankan Airlines.

This was work in which she immersed herself without reserve and gave her all. On an occasion when, several years ago, I was called upon to participate in a debate in Parliament on the affairs of our national airline, I could think of no better course of action than to turn to Priyani for guidance as to technical issues. A sound grasp of conceptual matters, supplemented by astute practical insights, made her advice invaluable.

The foundation for this was laid both at our own university and, at postgraduate level, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where her outlook and character were deeply influenced by another colossus in the legal world, Professor Christie Weeramantry, and his wife, Rosemary, who remained one of Priyani’s closest friends throughout her later life.

Priyani found fulfillment in her marriage with Harin whose interests, naturally, did not always overlap with her own.

This cross-pollination of ideas and insights fortified an intrinsically robust and supportive relationship.

They liked spending their weekends and vacations, whenever they could, on their land in Kurunegala where Harin enjoyed prolonged conversations with the village community. An outgoing personality, he was in touch with a wide spectrum of people.

Even after my entry into political life, Savi and I would visit them from time to time to relax, of an evening, in the surroundings of their home. What I found most refreshing on these occasions was the authentic information I was able to gather, without constraint, about public attitudes to the issues of the day.

Intellectual accomplishment and moral probity do not, by themselves, make a complete human being. Qualities of softness and compassion, which must play a vital role, were nurtured over the years in Priyani by her mother, Semitha, who was an embodiment of grace and dignity.

I am personally aware of the intensity of her involvement in exceedingly useful social work because of the close association of my wife with Semitha in a variety of projects on which they worked together. The last occasion on which I saw Priyani was within days of the passing away of Semitha, her cherished mentor, on whom Priyani lavished gentle care throughout her mother’s last protracted illness.

No less inspiring than Priyani’s handling of the vicissitudes of life was the strikingly courageous manner of her preparation for death which came to her at the early age of sixty when she still had much to live for, especially as her only child was completing his education at London’s prestigious Imperial College of Science and Technology and stood at the threshold of a promising career.

Our last conversation was truly memorable. Priyani was battling a disease which was progressively eroding her strength and, as she well knew, her life was ebbing away. She may well have been forgiven the grievance that life had not dealt her an even hand, in terms of the brevity of her journey, albeit fulfilled in every other respect.

There was not, however, the slightest tinge of complaint or rancour. On the contrary, Savi and I found her brimming with cheerfulness, the sharp edges of her mind in no way diminished, and with as lively an interest as ever in all that was happening around her. She spoke animatedly of politics, events here and abroad, and about our many common friends. Her lifelong passion for cricket was much in evidence.

My daughter Amanthi who, as a child, affectionately remembered Priyani’s visits to our home and greatly admired her, had a strong wish to see her one more time – a wish which, to my regret, was sadly unfulfilled. The pervading spirit during our final meeting was one of all-encompassing calm and serenity, no doubt engendered by the depth of her spiritual faith, buttressed by the sense of upliftment born of consciousness of an unblemished life.

Priyani, upon looking back on her life, would with every justification have considered herself abundantly blessed, not least by the devotion of her son Ishan who unhesitatingly took leave of absence from his university at a decisive stage of his postgraduate studies in order to be able to give his mother the solace and comfort of his company during her final days.

In the midst of life’s challenges and upheavals, Priyani’s friendship will ever remain for me a shining memory.