Passing of a dear friend

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Dhamsawatie Madapatha- A Celebration of Life .
It is much sadness that I write this for Dhamsa,  my dear friend, and a
friend for all of Class of 64 .

 

 

 

My deepest Sympathies to Wilmot . her very loving husband  and their sons ,
who cared for her ever so lovingly during her illness with Parkinsons .

She was my good friend, my neighbor on the 3rd floor of the ‘ Hopper House
‘– I was in room 4, and she was in # 5, that she shared with Stella .

Her gentle quiet presence , her eternal sweet smiling face, was a soothing
balm to my restless soul… needless to say to any of you who know me !
Trust her to give me the right advice at the right time ,  and ‘ say it as
is ‘ , when ever I was in ‘tight spot ‘ so to speak .
Common Sense – was her Middle Name .

Even though we were training in ‘ western medicine, ‘  I still relied on
her famous father- Madapath Veda Mahattaya’s guli and thaila, for various
ailments that we young women had at that time .  I still recall, how some of
those little guli’s fixed my ” upset stomach, ”  after I indulged in some
food- sheer glut that was back then !
And Oh– the  most delicious home cooked Gampaha food she would bring back,
on Sunday evening, when  ever she went home for the weekend which   was just
plain Food of The Gods for us, in the Hopper House!

I do recall how I visited her at the Jayawardenepura Hospital , a few
times, back in the 80’s when she was working in the ER, and Narme for the
Med Director of the hospital
I never missed a chance to visit her there .  Later on, we all met at a
reception back in the early 2000’s at a golf club in Colombo , and it was
such a treat to see her there . Sadly, no photos of that beautiful event
survived the water damage to my Class of 64 photo album, of 50 yrs of photos
..
These two photos came from Selvarani- who had it on a CD- that she
generously shared with me .

My only regret is that I did not find the time to visit her during the
2014, Class of 64 RU .
I was planning to visit her this time- -and now, it is not meant to be ….

Nothing in Life Lasts for Ever ..–Lives Lived, Lessons Learned ..
May you Attain Nibbana my dear Dhamsa .

Your  Class of 64 Mate – Deepthie .

 

 

I too just heard from Damayanthi Wijedoru who had spoken to her husband Wilmot. Funeral to be notified later.

She worked with me at Sri Jayewardenapura General Hospital. She was a quietly efficient and conscientious and unassuming soul. My son still remembers her as a kind doctor who nebulized him during an asthma attack. May she atain Nibbana and her journey through Samsara be short.
My deepest sympatties to Wilmot and children
Narme

Deepest sympathies to Wilmot.

Ranjit and I-are very sad to hear the”passing away “ of our dear friend Dhamsa.Time before last when we were in SL I spoke to her on the phone and she struggled to speak saying that she cannot swallow and depends on “tube feeding” . She passed the phone to her husband who said that he is a full time cater for her. Since Wilmot did not know me,  Dhamsa had taken the  group photo from our  Bentota  RU and pointed me to him to tell him that the one in the photo was the one chatting with him. I told herthat I will visit her with some others on a subsequent visit but unfortunately it is not to be.
Our deepest sympathies go to  Wilmot and the other members of her family.
Praxy and Ranjit

 

 

17 thoughts on “Passing of a dear friend”

  1. My dear friend,

    You and I went through five years in the batch seated on the same row
    I was too boisterous and mischievous and you were so calm like a doe
    My dear Dhamsa, may you attain Nibbana the highest blessing of all
    For being such a lovely person, adored by your mates, patients and all

    Ariya

    All things are impermanent
    They arise and pass away

    Anicca vatha sankhara
    Uppada Vaya. dhammino
    Uppajjitva nirujjhanti
    Te san Vupa samo Sukho
    Having arisen they come to an end
    There coming to peace is bliss.

    (Maha parinibbanasutta)

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  2. My deepest sympathies to Dhamsawatie’s family, husband Wilmot and son’s.May God give peace and love during this difficult time.May her soul Rest In Peace.

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  3. Piching joins me to convey our deepest sympathies to Dhamsa’s husband Wilmot and sons.

    It is sad to be informed that , yet another of our batch mates are not with us any more.

    Nisantha

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  4. Message from Rajes — ” Very sad to hear about Dhamsa . I do recall the good times at the hostel . Yet another colleague gone — Rajes “

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  5. I wish to express a thought of comfort ,and condolences to Wilmot, and sons.

    Dear Dhamsa,

    Although you have departed from this earth, we will never forget the image of your kind ,gentle face ,and fond memories as colleagues.

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  6. Our deepest sympathies to Dhamsa,s family.

    Being in the D group she was with us right through the 5 years at Medical College

    May her Sansara Journey be short and she attain the supreme Bliss of Nirvana

    Dalpe

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  7. Deepest sympathies to Wilmot & Family. She was a very quiet person, always with a smile. May she rest in peace, & attain Nibbana in a very short journey of life.

    WIMAL Fernando.

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  8. I am in SriLanka at present.
    I heard that her funeral is on Friday.31st of August. I do not know any more detail.
    Swarna

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  9. Deepest sympathy to Wilmont & family. I was fortunate to meet Dhamsa personally when I was last in Sri Lanka. She was a very kind and helpful lady. All of us on the 3rd floor enjoyed her delicious food she brought from home and we had a lovely time together. Sorry to hear another of our batchmates has left us. She will be missed.

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  10. HI Maha and others .
    Maha- you are a lucky one to have met Dhamsa, the last time we were there in SL .
    Praxy and my self missed that window of oppertunity- -Time Waits for No One …

    I have a message from Rajes- about food that Dhamsa used to bring to us in the hostel , when she returns from home on sunday evening, to feed the hungry pack on the 3rd Floor of Hopper House .

    Rajes tells me that Dhamsa introduced to her, and she tasted for the first time , nice mature Kos ( Jack fruit ) boiled with a bit of salt, and eat it with grated coconut and katta sambal – the way the Sinhalese people eat it for breakfast . She says that this manner of eating Kos was not a practice among the Tamil people .

    And, she says , she would give anything in the world, right now, to eat boiled Kos with grated coconut and katta sambol , and is truly thankful to dear departed Dhamsa for all her generosity in feeding us hungry girls in the hostel, besides sharing with all of us, the precious Ayurvedic Medicines that her father – Madapatha Veda Mahattaya would give Dhamsa .

    Dhamsa– we miss you more than you ever know …
    May you Attain Nirvana …
    Deepthie .

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    1. Dear Deepthie
      I too got benefitted from the food that Dhamsa brought . Like vultures we would wait to see what she had brought as the food 🥘 in the hostel was not so tasty 😋. I can temember her bringing fried onions and chilli 🌶 flakes mixed with salt and that was heavenly for us .Yes I regret the missed opportunity to visit her . This has brought to mind Rodrigo who I think we should visit on the RU trip. Ranjit visited him on one of our previous trips to SL but I could not go . Praxy

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  11. HI Praxy ,
    Ok- lets plan to visit Rodrigo – dont want to miss this chance . I did not know, he was ill, back in 2014 .
    How come you sneaked in on the food that Dhamsa brought to the Hopper House ? I cant recall you being with us – unless, you came to eat the food !!
    eagleD

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