Manodara Ariyawansa

My sister-in-law, my husband’s only sister, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Wickremasinghe’s only daughter Manodara, popularly known as Mano died in Australia and the funeral was held in Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne amidst a large gathering of friends and relations on October 4. I knew her from her school days as we were studying in the same school.

I still remember I stitched her a beautiful frock with the help of instructors at Kathleen School, for her to attend a wedding when she was not even a teenager.

She loved my children and others alike and assisted them in every possible way, not only in Sri Lanka but also in Australia where she migrated with her husband Wilson twenty five years ago. In Australia she was working in the hospitality department of Monash University. My younger daughter, Lanki was looked after by her when she was in Australia for five years for her higher studies.

Without hesitation or reluctance, she supported friends and relation’s children who went over to Australia for studies. There was a time that her house was full of young boys and girls from Sri Lanka studying in Melbourne and she was a loving mother to all of them, guided and helped them until they were successful in their studies and returned to Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan community loved her very much because she was a genuine friend to all. She was an active dayaka of the Buddhist temple there. An active member of the Old Anulians Association in Melbourne and a true friend who supported the Sri Lankan Ex-Servicemen’s Association in Australia as her husband was an ex-senior Naval officer.

She was in good health from her young days but unexpectedly and unfortunately found to have been suffering from cancer around eight years ago, but with proper medical treatment she recovered and was active for over six years. My husband Sarath, family members and I visited her in Melbourne several times when we heard of her ailment.

She visited Sri Lanka many times, attended family functions, weddings and also went on a pilgrimage to Buddhagaya with us visiting all the sacred Buddhist Shrines in India where she prayed that she be born a Buddhist again in her next birth.

When we were informed that she was suddenly admitted to hospital as her health was failing, we immediately took a flight and went over followed by my other sister-in-law Dilkushi and my daughter from London. By the time we arrived my elder daughter Kanchu, a doctor had arrived and was at her bedside. Mano was conscious and I chanted seth pirith and tied a pirith noola around her arm. She was happy and smiled at me but lived for a few hours after that and passed away in her sleep at the age of sixty one.

She was a wonderful sister-in-law, loved by everyone- friends, relations and also by those who knew her. May she attain the supreme bliss of nibbana.

Sriyanthi Wickremasinghe,
Colombo 5.