Appreciation
Dr. Josiah Mahen Kanagaratnam :
A brother beyond compare
I often question myself about the purpose of a panegyric. If we do
say beautiful things about a person when he is alive, it will not only
cheer and encourage him, but would also serve to question ourselves
about our own pride and self-righteousness.
My elder brother Mahen and I received the unconditional love,
affection and forgiveness of our beloved parents. Our humble home, first
in Peradeniya, and then in Wellawathe, was an open house to both sides
of the divide and we thoroughly enjoyed the company of aunts, uncles,
cousins, friends and colleagues from among the Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors,
Malays and the Burghers.
Under the benign watchfulness of our beloved father, we learnt the
important, but often missed, distinction between an enlightened person
and a sanctimonious humbug. Our Sinhala mother insisted that our second
language should be the mother tongue and both Mahen and I were the rare
Tamil students in the Sinhala medium class at school.
Mahen first schooled at Trinity College, Kandy from 1945 to 1952,
where he shone in both studies and sports.
When my father was transferred to Colombo as Chief Accountant C.W.E.
(Sathosa) and we were getting ready to move out of Kandy, Gordon Burrows
the then Vice Principal of Trinity came home and appealed to our parents
to let Mahen continue at Trinity, because he was doing so well. But my
mother ruled otherwise and he accompanied us to Colombo.
He was admitted to St.Peter's College, Colombo 4 and remained there
till 1954, unable to pass his S.S.C. a couple of times purely due to the
fact that he could not pass in Sinhalese to qualify and proceed to do
his H.S.C. and enter Medical College. However, he took part in Cricket
and Tennis and acted as Mahumdiram in the play “He Comes from Jaffna”.
Since he was determined to become a Doctor, our father in desperation
sent him to Jaffna College, Vaddukottai in 1955. he passed his Sinhala
language, coached by a Tamil teacher! He also played Cricket, captaining
the 1st XI team and won the big match, at which he scored a century. In
1957 as head Prefect he was awarded the Gold medal for the best all
round student, which award was made after a lapse of 10 years. My proud
parents travelled to Jaffna to witness the prize-giving.
Mahen entered the Medical Faculty of the University of Colombo and
passed out in 1963 as a Doctor of Medicine, his life-long ambition.
Whilst studying in his 2nd MBBS he fell in love with Aurel the
youngest of that brilliant Vittachi family, the eldest being the late
Tarzie Vittachi of ‘Fly by Night’ fame.
Friday nights are remembered with nostalgia, because I was taken by
my parents to No. 4, Jaya Road, Colombo 4, where Aurel's parents
entertained all their thirteen children and their families for drinks
and dinner.
I was a teenager and still remember playing with Aurel's numerous
nieces and nephews under the Jam fruit tree.
The discussions within the house were awe inspiring mainly on
intellectual pursuits and some even bordering on intellectual arrogance!
My most memorable elders were Aurel's brother, the late John Vittachi,
then Manager-Operations Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, a lovable
character full of humour. The next was her brother-in-law, the late S.
Pathiravithana a soft spoken individual, who was one time the Editor of
the ‘Daily News’ and who authored the book “Through my Asian eyes” in
2003.
His equally minded journalistic son, S. Ram Pathiravithana and my
friend, who is presently a versatile sports journalist, mainly on
Cricket and attached to the Wijaya Group of Newspapers.
In 1964, Mahen married Aurel and served his internship at the Kandy
hospital until 1965 after the completion of which, he was Medical
Officer, Marrassana and left for UK In 1966. In 1970, he passed his FRCS
and specialised in ENT. In 1975 he left for New Zealand, where he served
both, the Government and private Hospitals as an ENT Surgeon until 2002,
when he retired. It was during this period that he was made President of
the New Zealand Otolaryngology Society.
After retirement he taught himself Carpentry and turned out some
beautiful pieces of furniture. My daughter Deshika was a witness to his
furniture manufacturing skills when she visited them in NZ an was amazed
at his prowess.
Mahen and Aurel are blessed with two sons Gihan and Robin, both
practising Dentists in New Zealand. They have two grandsons, one a Civil
Engineer and the other studying to be an Architect.
My brother spends his well earned retirement, reading books and
helping his beloved wife in cooking!
Some years ago, after the pogrom in 1983, I officially changed my
name from that of Bala Kanagaratnam to David Balasuriya. My brother was
quite amused and I told him, “Aiya, a rose by any other name, smells as
sweet”.
David Balasuriya (AKA as Bala)
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