Category: News

To enjoy the life to the full should be our axiom
Only one chance, hence use to the maximum
All of us have transgressed at least once or twice,
Reached, now a stage fit to look back those days

Quality living surely is not ticking the boxes,,
but to be happy and enjoy each stage to the full
Happiness is the same, if measured,
whatever the age, as all is in the mind

A delightful thing to a child is different
from how a ripe ‘old Jonny’ would look at it
When one becomes mature, one may think
childhood pranks are tasteless, immature and silly

Each stage, if one looks back carefully
And relive the the pleasures, it is no folly
The quantity of happiness and pleasure
If measured would certainly tally

When I was three, most beautiful thing
was to see a colourful butterfly, flying
Still Remember chasing all over,
filling my heart with joy and jumping

Today, I equally enjoy looking at it,
When settled on a rose in the garden
Not because of inability to chase after,
now it is to me a glorious sight, soothing

Just to observe the beautiful creature,
Enjoying, yet being a part of nature
Philosophical thoughts mingle in mind,
Comparing with meaning of my own life

I get absorbed in a dreamy world,
Am I more special than the angelic insect?
The quantity of my pleasure now must be same
when I was at three, singing and chasing after it

No one should be too depressed
or disillusioned for just being old
There are grand things we can do
that is why we all are called ‘Grand’

Life is a good read worthy, book
many brilliant chapters condensed
Last chapter could be the glorious most,
To continue to read to the end, hence must

As one passes each page and chapter,
This book tells an interesting story, peach
The zenith will come always in the page last
Read through, must to get the glory you want

Most our lives are much similar,
each chapter full and exhilarating,
we should not skip or stop half way
As life has excitement built throughout
To capture, them all must tread mindfully

Life is a progressive river,
passing many a different bay
The childish pranks we enjoyed
Grand children are playing today

Each stage, ‘the river’ may unearth a gem,
if missed one no fuss, just need to be savvy
Be on the look out, not always the earliest one,
But the last to come may be the most heavy

As a tiny tot. ‘twinkle twinkle little star’
was always purring through my lips
Used to sing and dance the whole day
everything else to me was mere rubbish

Imagine how many melodious songs,
I must have enjoyed so far in life
Today a twinkling star tells me a different tale
Still though has in my heart a special place

The happiness is like a butterfly
If you chase, it will avoid you and fly
But if you rest and enjoy its beauty
It may sit by you, do not even need to try

With Metta
Ariya

Dear Sam,

let me be the first to appreciate you in the New Year

For providing a web site exclusive to ’64 batch, over one year

I am grateful to you as it gave me an opportunity to compose

Politic contemplations which I enjoyed writing, so thanks my dear

With this mail sending a set of verses attached

Hope I have dotted, all ‘i’s and ‘t’s are crossed

Wish you and Kathy a wonderful New Year

Hope there will be another RU, soon this year

Ariya

At our age, surely none of us have many years to live,

No way can we take along anything we ‘claim’ we have,

Must put an end to the greed and stop collecting more

Empty tills and banks, put a stop of being thrifty too

Grant some gracious public servants do continue their good work

Even after retirement to uphold high standards and train the new lot

Few praiseworthy souls with compassion, and selflessness at heart

Continue to work to guide and pass skills to their apprentice set

The write up below is a hint only to those who continue with intention

To enhance the wealth of dependents, though latter are financially well off

It is painful to see, some old folks are unhappy but still compelled to work

As they cannot give up the habit of amassing wealth, at whatever the cost

My advice is to spend your dosh lavishly, so you can enjoy life to the full

Be generous to the poor, give to charities, not for fame but out of good will

Take vacations and cruises, meet nice people, see weird and wonderful places

Surely you have earned the right to satisfy your hitherto suppressed desires

Some do transfer their mountains of wealth to children long before time

Hoping to reduce inheritance tax burden, of their good for nothing kids

To prevent our children becoming parasites, eagerly check our breathing

This is the age to be selfish, spend the lot, let them earn their own mammon

Please do not worry about what would happen, after we are gone

When we returned to dust, nothing would be heard, no praises nor blame.

Time is now to enjoy life and our hard earned wealth, before eyes are closed!

Should not worry about children, it is their choice so let them swim or sink

One must resist becoming a slave, a guardian or ‘a dependable angel’

We’ve cared for them, pored affection, given plenty of comforts and guile

Remaining wealth, rightly earned and they’ve seen us work very hard

Our lives should certainly be more meaningful, than amassing for the brood

To dedicate life, from children’s cradle to our own perishing stage,

‘Unpaid baby sitters’ a poor contract, for grandparents in their old age

Unfortunate aberration, occurring far too often, which truly is a disgrace

Should not fall into the trap, let our right to enjoy life, at own slow pace.

Our purpose in life is ‘not to be ring fenced’ to share their burden

So they can have good carriers, enjoy cinema, parties and freedom

When cannot look after ourselves, we will become burdens in few days

Children should be fair, not to dump their litter, on old mums and dads

Do not expect too much from one’s own children.

When you need, they would invent a huge quandary

Filial demands and commitments will be very heavy

They’ve no obligations to us, cannot expect favours many


 Uncaring children do invariably fight over parents’ assets

When we are alive, wishing every minute for our demise

Impatient for the day to inherit our properties and wealth.

To become rich overnight with our hard earned belongings

Yet we have no claims over their wealth, time or money

If ever our need arises they are deaf, blind or damn too busy

Few ‘bread crumbs’ hesitantly may throw with considerable fuss

As a great favour, scrutinized jointly with their darling better halves

No child takes a life insurance with parent’s welfare in mind

They would hardly ever plan to brighten their old parents’ lives

Why should septuagenarians get up at five am to go to work?

Trading their health just to put to children’s coffers more cents!

Adding stress to mind and body despite, natural wear and tear

Expecting parents to work to an early grave, is thoroughly unfair

Even extra money may not be able to buy their health if broken

Doubt very much, if our kids will allow their own tills to be shaken

When to stop making money, and how much is enough

A hundred thousand, a million or a billion or even a trillion

There is no limit a philosopher or a sage can define

The nature of greed, one must recognise, is always to add on

Out of hectares of good farm land, I do already hold

I do not consume even three quarts a day of rice

All mansions, your name may be on, in many continents

Our need each is less than eight square meters to rest at night.

So, as long as we have food plentiful and enough money to spend,

Would be good enough to live happily and to get off the rat race

Every family has its own demands and one should not compare with others

But must stop when we know that we have enough, for the rest of our lives

One day passes without happiness, we will lose one day.

One day passes with happiness, and then we gain a day.

In good spirit, sickness will cure; in a happy spirit, sickness will cure faster

Happiness will only arrive when we are ready, ‘to let everything go my dear’!

Ariya’s contemplations 01 01 2016

 

 

HI Gunasiri !
Many thanks for the new posting – and I was glad that the folks in SL had a
little gathering .
Please post my Holiday Greetings- New Year Good wishes to the Class of
’64, on the Class News letter .
Ariya- I was wondering why you were silent- now I know- and thanks for the
little note posted today – on ‘comments ‘ on ” Update from Deepthie “.

Narme- ya -= you told me one day ” you were the only boy among the girls =
so you have to come the RU -64’ – -when I was dithering about coming or not
!
So, now you tell me, ” you are the only one, man enough to do a trek like
this ‘ !!!
Thanks my dear Narme- you really make me want to live a little longer, to
see you all – perhaps in 2017 .!!!

Here you are my Dear Class of ’64- Greetings to the Class of ’64- from Near
and Far !

The Nelun Devi photo- taken in A’pura- when Laki and Gita were kind enough
to take me there .
The chickadee Christmas Greetings- a ‘selfie’ taken at home the other day
.– hold the bird seed in one hand, and the camera in the other .
Practice makes Perfect !!

While I puttering around the yard, doing this crazy decorations, using some
old junkie x’mas decorations I found in an old cardboard box in the
basement, the chickadees came at me- asking for food .
I have been hand feeding them- as I cannot be bothered with bird feeders-
squirrels , chipmunks, racoons etc .
I leave some bird seed on the deck railing that the birds in the area feast
on.

You can see part of the house, garage and the lake , and note, there is NO
snow .
Global Warming is Alive and Well in Canada …

Have a Happy Holiday Season and All the Very Best to All for 2016.
Eagledeepthie .

From: Professor Sanath P. Lamabadusuriya <sanathp.lama@gmail.com>
Date: 7 December 2015 at 13:11
Subject: Brain Drain
To: Lakshman Abeyagunawardene <adnl1102@gmail.com>
Dear Lucky ,
Please post this on our blog site

Kind regards,
Sanath

Brain Drain

In the late 1950’s or early 1960’s the government decided to establish a second medical school in Peradeniya so as to solve the problem of shortage of doctors in the country. We, who sat for the “A” levels in 1960 were the beneficiaries, because the intake was increased. All those who passed in all 4 subjects were selected for Peradeniya and others like us who failed in one subject had to follow a 6 month course in the failed subject in 1961. Of the latter group some entered the Colombo Faculty and the others the Peradeniya Faculty. in 1962. As the buildings at Peradeniya were not ready it’s first batch entered late and eventually qualified in January 1967. We qualified in March 1967.
After the first Peradeniya batch completed their internship. they were informed by the MOH that employment was not available and were offered a monthly allowance and requested to attach themselves to a GP. Few months later all of them were offered jobs in the MOH. It is rather ironical that the Government which created a second medical faculty to solve the problem of shortage of doctors in the country was unable to offer employment to it’s very first batch!

That is the time we all started sitting for the ECFMG because of the uncertainty of employment in the MOH. Nearly all of us who sat for the ECFMG passed it at it’s first attempt and applied for jobs in the US. As the US had a shortage of doctors at that time, all who applied for jobs were successful. By this time the MOH was able to offer jobs for all of us.However some of our batchmates decided to emigrate. After a few months ,they wrote back saying how wonderful it is to work in the US.Most of them started in Coney Island hospital in New York.As the ‘brain drain”gathered momentum in the next few years, the government introduced a compulsory period of service for 5 years in, 1972.

So dear friends, that is how the “brain drain “all started and is still continuing although to a lesser extent

Sanath P. Lamabadusuriya

 

The first anniversary of the great Golden Reunion was celebrated by the 64 Colombo medicos in grand style at Mount Breeze Hotel, Mount Lavinia recently. To this huddle joined Narmmasena Wickramasinghe, Kumar Fernando, Shanti Dalpatadu, Theo Ajith Fernando, Mahindra Menon, Ranjith Almeida, Lakshman Senanayake, Anoja Fernando, Damayanrhi Gunaratne, and Ariya de Silva.

 

It was a year ago to the date that we met
To celebrate RU 50 that we cannot forget
My decision was to keep in touch,
With every batch mate I love so much.
But alas has age taken its toll on my grey cells I wonder,
That I’ve not been able to keep in touch with friends from yonder.
But never mind another year will come
When we could meet and greet everyone.
So we shall patiently wait for that day
When we can meet and greet once again I pray.
Love and best wishes

Praxy de Saram

Event report RU64 10:24

Click on the link above to view the poems and pictures from RU  64 by Ariya

1. Tell me all your gains and triumphs
Also your weaknesses and set backs
Make victories sound as much pompous
But stop short of making me bored or envious

2. Tell me all about your grown up offsprings
But not how clever they are or what they earn
Say as much of their greatness and virtues
Not forgetting their shortcomings and vices

3. Tell me about your achievements as loud as you can
Let me also hear weaknesses, mistakes and failings
Tell me all about your mansions and productive estates
But appeal you to spare me the moan over the paid prices

4. Tell me about your difficulties and problems
But please do not plan to take my whole day
Tell me of your adventures, travels and cruises
But would welcome, if you put the photos away”

5. Tell me all about your spouse and other keeps
But spare the nature and details of your fights
Please do come home for a chat and a spot of dinner
As long as you would be patient with my insipid dishes

6. Tell me about your extravagant love life
But please choose the time and the place
CertInly not when I am busy looking to park
Or when I am in a rush and trying to get back

7. Tell me about your siblings and parents
Whether or not they are healthy and alive,
But not how they ruined chances of your love
When you were way over the hill, at fifty five

8. Please talk as much about the prevailing weather
Grateful if you cut gossip about my friends, very dear
Tell me how generous and disciplined you are
But not a lecture on the greatness of your mentor

9. Tell me how lucky you have been in life
But be a tad sensitive of my wretched life
Praise your God or parents for been on your side
Bearing in mind that all are not equally fortunate

Ariya

 Graduation Photo from Kurunegala 1969-70

        Sam

Staff Photograph from Kurunegala 1970-71

Ariya