Shyam - Man made of sterner stuff
"The good die young", it is said, Shyam was a good (nay, an
excellent) human being, just 43 years and a month, when he was suddenly
snatched away from our midst! I was fortunate to know and associate with
him, a gentleman-adversary in Court and pleasant company outside.
He was the only son of the late George Rajapaksa, the affable
criminal lawyer and Minister (of whom I have heard so much from the Late
Eardley Perera PC, Jayantha Gunasekera PC, Attorney Nihal Serasinghe and
the like) and Lalitha, the well-known socialite, whom I came to know as
the first Lady President of the Lanka-Japan Friendship Society. Shyam
was also the only brother of Ms. Nirupama Rajapaksa, Member of
Parliament and former Junior Minister and, last but not least, a nephew
of His Excellency the President.
He will, I hope, pardon me for saying that he was born with the
proverbial silver spoon as, like his father he preferred the common man
to the affluent. He was the grandson of the Late D. M. Rajapaksa and the
Late Edmund Samarasekara.
Born on 11th July 1966 his father named him "Gemunu" (and not
"George", which he considered Colonial), befitting Shyam's Southern
ancestry.
He passed his G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination from Royal College,
at a time when institutions of higher learning in the country were
closed due to the Southern insurgency. He was therefore sent to the UK
for further studies, on the advice of Sam Wijesinghe, a long-standing
family friend, who found Shyam idling with his friends at home.
Having completed his 3-year LLB course in just two-years, he was back
in Sri Lanka, when another family friend, the late Lalith Athulathmudali
PC, advised that he be sent to an Inn of Court. He joined the Lincoln's
Inn, from which he was called to the English Bar. He also secured a LLM
from the London University and on his return to Sri Lanka, he qualified
to join the Sri Lankan Bar.
After being in the Chambers of Mr. Daya Perera, President's Counsel,
he joined the Official Bar as a State Counsel, in which capacity he
prosecuted in the High Courts of Anuradhapura, Badulla, Galle,
Balapitiya, Ratnapura etc. Before soon, the constituents of his father's
old electorate urged him to enter the world of politics, which he did,
securing the highest majority at this very first Southern Provincial
Council election.
Soon disillusioned, he resigned prematurely and, later joined the UN
to serve the International Criminal Tribunal for Ruwanda as a
prosecutor, a job many dreaded to touch due to the risks involved. Shyam
was made of sterner stuff and he went round Ruwanda interviewing a large
mass of victims, a task which he completed by July.
This is said to have earned him a standing ovation at the Assembly
and a promotion in his job. He was confidant that his report would
eventually open the eyes of the world.
Though entitled to a home vacation in July, he would gladly postpone
it to December to complete his report. He was never destined to have
that holiday.
When his mother phoned him to wish him on his 43rd Birthday, he
complained that he left like an old man at that age. Lo and behold, it
was in exactly a month, that his mother was to hear that he was
seriously ill, from no less a person than His Lordship the present Chief
Justice, who probably did not have the heart to break the sad news of
Shyam's death to his mother.
Due to a heart attack he suffered at the age of 32, it was a heart
attack that Lalitha initially had suspected as the cause of Shyam's
illness. She is yet to know for certain, the cause of her only son's
death.
Shyam was one of the most affable young men around. he was not only
well-educated and well-connected, but also handsome, with a charming
smile and endearing ways. Though many a young lady would have been
attracted to him, it was only Prashanthi, a State Counsel herself, who
won his heart.
Being a Buddhist, I wish that this wonderful human being should never
ever encounter an untimely death again in his voyage through Sansara.
May Shyam attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana!
Upali A. Gooneratne |
