Those heady and rewarding Pera days

The University of Peradeniya celebrated its 64th 'birthday' yesterday. (It was founded as the University of Ceylon on July 01,1942).Here an alumna recollects her days spent in Sri Lanka's most beautiful University among green hills, on the banks of the River Mahaweli.....

by Samangie Wettimuny

Nestled among a site of great natural beauty on the lower slopes of the Hanthana Range and the banks of the River Mahaweli, the University of Peradeniya has been serving the nation for years, promoting excellence in higher education and research.

About five years ago when I entered this spacious University in the month of May , clusters of enchanting flowers cascaded down from the trees adding to the beauty of the University park. The magnificient University buildings, hostels, staff bungalows blended well with the greenery. No wonder I aspired to enter the University while schooling and here I had got the chance of being a part of it.

Ironically, though entering the University for higher education was an opportunity that I had been longingly awaiting, my first few months in the University were not at all thrilling. Never before had I been left among new faces all by myself, I felt terribly lonely and homesick. Getting accustomed to hostel life, getting used to waiting in queues were things I had to adjust to. But what started out as being not so pleasant, gradually turned into an 'Expedition' that threw light on significant aspects of my life.

The Faculty buildings, Arts Theater (AT) , magnificent library, Senate with their richness in architectural beauty supported by rich foliage, green hills, and mild climate endemic to Peradeniya beckoned us. As the lectures started, meeting deadlines of the assignments were not that easy.

In my mind's eye ,I still see my batchmates ( and me) rushing to the faculty, to submit assignments at the eleventh hour. Chatting away freely in Polonnaruwa ( A beautiful location in the Arts Faculty) or near the library , after attending lectures filled our minds with relief and comfort.

Unforgettable is the original French accent of our amiable French Lecturer which even made a few students drop the subject in the First Semester itself! However, kind and amiable he was, his French accent was so 'difficult' that we (not all ) used to evade him outside the class or limit the encounter only to a few French greetings! But I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing French poems and dramas.. I still respect our kind, tolerant French Professor and my first year French lectures though spent surrounded by huge French dictionaries , still stand out in my memory.

But the first year writing skills class, made me only realise that writing kills! The Linguistic professor with his fine sense of humour and teaching skills could keep the attention of the whole class intact till the end of the lecture. Long sessions on world literature, introduced to us literary masterpieces, improving our skills in literary criticism ,broadening our interests in character analysis. Only a little attempt is now needed to single out IAGOS (Iago is an character in Othello), from the rest of society.

Days in the hostel

Being the only residential university in the country which provides accommodation facilities to the majority of students in all seven faculties, a wide range of activities are open to hostellers. Though it was a little difficult start for me ,hostel life was indeed a novel experience and my University life would have been incomplete, if I didn't stay in the halls.

Long corridors of the Ramanathan Hall with the never ending sound of clattering feet, hall nights, long chats in hostel rooms till late into the night, stairway through the hill to Sangamitta Hall, our frequent 'visitors' in JP and kissing bend will remain in my memory forever.

Above all, inseparable from hostel life was the group of monkeys (Rilavu) that dwell on the trees of the river bank. They used cloth lines as bridges to move around, making all the wet clothes fall on the ground, thus burdening busy hostellers with extra work. Hardly did they respond to the cries of the girls.

When provoked, they approached us with teeth bared. 'Thug level' intruders used to creep into the hostel rooms (When an absent minded girl left the room door open), and the unsuccessful attempts that were made to chase them away are still fresh in my memory. A girl returning to Sangamitta Hall after attending lectures, was suddenly stopped by an 'inquisitive' monkey who carefully touched her skirt as if examining its material, while the poor girl was holding her breath in fear....! There were also friendly ones whom we used to feed and some quiet ones just loved to pet their little ones perched on trees near the river bank.

Though a few experts in culinary matters used to prepare their meals inside the halls , the majority of hostellers relied on canteen fare. Since my culinary skills were far behind the 'expected standard' , my very first attempt ended in chaos making my angry partner( culinary) remark "Oyata nam uyanna baha".

On another occasion I aroused the anger of my friend for suggesting to her to prepare dhal curry instead of capsicum.I still wonder why the questions and matters related to cooking made them so angry (though the anger was short lived). Mingled with rejoicing incidents, hurtful experiences , hostel days moulded my life, teaching me how to get on with even the most difficult characters, how to live harmoniously and peacefully among different communities.

Entertainment

With frequent screenings at AT, dramas in Sarathchandra Open Air Theatre, societies, religious activities, hostellers spent a fully satisfied life, though they lived several miles away from their homes. I now regret missing out on some such events as I used to travel home most weekends .

Although the Convocation ,the last chapter of our university life tore us physically apart , it was not so easy to leave these beautiful premises which offered me a wide range of academic as well as community activities, which helped me to make long lasting friendships, above all which taught me a lot about life. At times I think about the experience I would have missed if chance or choice had brought me to a different University.

The past students of Peradeniya are flourishing at all levels of society. Some of her future students are not yet even born......some are still schooling and the Symbol of Wisdom in Peradeniya stands magnificient awaiting the arrival of all... to teach them about life, to offer them with novel experiences .....on top of that to gift them beautiful memories to cherish and remember in later years of their lives.