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)