Selvaratnam Sivapalan:

A loyal public servant

The death of Selvaratnam Sivapalan, retired Principal of J/Urumpirai Hindu College, my wife Sivakamy's eldest brother, leaves a void that cannot be replaced.

He was the eldest in the family of four brothers and one sister. His father was an extremely honest estate employee and his mother, a traditional house wife.

He graduated in Chemistry from the then University of Ceylon, but preferred to be on home ground working in the vicinity and enjoying the simple pursuits of a cultivated and cultured individual.

All his four children graduated and then soared above him. Two of them turning out to be medical specialists, one with a PHD and the last one with post-tertiary IT qualifications. They had matching partners, eldest being a successful Chartered Accountant, the other two in the medical profession with the only daughter-in-law though qualified and worked, prefers to be the proverbial woman behind the successful man.

He was a teacher, a tutor, a farmer (both traditional and cash crops) and a loving human being.

He was a devoted first born to a doting mother to whom his word was gospel truth. His attachment to his only sister was legendary. It was never a wavering attachment. It was constant like the morning star neither waxing nor waning. Successive displacements and the 96 exodus disoriented him to the extent of making him forgetful. Even in such a condition he never failed to recognise his sister and exchange pleasantries as in the past.

There was an important segment of society, now dwindling, that manned the noble profession and the public service. That segment of yore was, in thought, word and deed, loyal and obedient public servants. In spite of the adverse changes after the 80s, they continued to retain their side of the bargain as the ever faithful public servants. That too was irksome to the next generation that was rearing to go. Sivapalan too continued to be a loyal public servant, in spite of the lack of reciprocal response from the other side.

In spite of the lack of a conducive environment, he forged ahead as a successful teacher, a Principal, sought after kinsman, a respected member of society, participating in less glamorous religious committees, school development societies in tandem with his desire for a quiet domestic life without much fanfare. His attachment to our family never wavered in the face of many a vicissitude. He lived to prove that blood is thicker than water.

R Suntharalingam

Asanthi de Silva (Nee Goonawardane) :

Straightforward and honest

A year and half passed since the untimely death of Asanthi de Silva at the age of 46.

The eldest daughter of late Cecil Goonawardane (Engineer, Oil and Fats Corp, Seeduwa) and Amara Goonawardane, Asanthi received her education at St Bridget's Convent, Colombo 7.

Soon after leaving school, she joined the Sri Lanka Tea Board in 1985 as a trainee tea taster and trained under the able guidance of Austin Perera who was the then director of the Promotion Unit of the Tea Board and who himself was a renowned tea taster in the country. Within a short period, she became a charming and vivacious young career woman, a professional tea taster, creating history in becoming the first lady tea taster.

My long acquaintance with Asanthi began in the Sri Lanka Tea Board where I also worked during the same period. She served the Board 12 long years as a tea taster, giving her best to the institution.

Her straightforward qualities, honesty coupled with efficiency, punctuality, utmost care and responsibility with which she attended to her service spoke much, not only about herself, but her upbringing and her education at St Bridget's Convent. She excelled in whatever she did, I can remember her receiving the highest marks, all island for marketing subjects in her preliminary stage marketing exams,conducted by the Institute of Marketing, UK.

When at work, she was very serious and extremely responsible, but at home, a joyful personality with a good sense of humour which made anybody feel at home.

Asanthi left the Tea Board in 1997 to join her husband, Piyal de Silva, a chartered accountant who was then working in Dubai and later the family settled in the UK. She passed away after a brief illness on August 30, 2011. A service was conducted at Holy Rood Catholic Church, Watford on September 15, 2011 and the cremation took place in West Herts crematorium, Watford.

A service was also held on the same day at St Bridget's Convent, Colombo by her friends. When death took her away at the age of 46, six, Asanthi was in the prime of her motherhood with two brilliant daughters, 18-year-old Nihara, (Medical student, University College, London) and 11-year-old Nishita. Before she took ill, she was working as a marketing manager at Mothercare plc, UK. With her untimely demise, we lost a dutiful daughter, a loving wife and a mother and an affectionate sister. She was truly a sincere friend to me.

Asanthi is gone forever, she would have had so many dreams and expectations, but she did not live long enough to experience them as realities. But she, being a devout Catholic had so much faith in God and I am sure, with God's help, Piyal, her husband with their two daughters will overcome all grief and with fond memories will pull through and achieve all success, realising her wishes.

Srimathie Weerasuriya

Sri Lanka Scout Association President

Defence and Urban Development Authority Coordinating Secretary Leslie Rupasinghe was elected Sri Lanka Scout Association President for 2013, 2014 at a special general meeting. Earlier, he was the Managing Director of Oils and Fat Company Ltd and Agriculture Development Authority chairman.

Rupasinghe was the President in 2011/2012 at the 29th APR and the Centenary Jamboree of Sri Lanka. He is an old boy of St Anne's College, Kurunegala and was a scout during school days. He is also the president of the OBA of St Anne's Kurunegala, Colombo branch.