It happened in London……..
Winter Reunion London January 2020,
By Nihal D Amerasekera
and Mahendra (Speedy) Gonsalkorale
Nihal begins the
story:
What a wonderful winter warmer it was at such short notice.
When Pram called me on the 19th of December 2019, the plan was
for a quick and short get-together for two of us with Mahen and Zita. But as
each day passed I could see the snowball getting larger and rolling on until
the figure reached 21.
The bouquets and the applause go to Pram and Mahendra for
their brilliant organisation done with so much affection, kindness and care.
Pram did the reconnaissance visiting the Sri Lankan restaurant which is in the
posh part of London near Buckingham Palace, meeting the owner and making the
arrangements. Dammika’s is a restaurant that has won awards for its cuisine and
customer care. They had created a bit of Sri Lanka in the heart of London.
Dammika’s made the restaurant available to us and closed it for visitors from
12-3pm. Mahendra made a huge attempt to contact everyone in our batch living in
the UK creating a WhatsApp Group in the process for easier communication. He
kept in close contact with everyone making sure they knew how to reach the
venue despite the many vagaries of public transport on a Sunday. All this was
done with meticulous care, loving-kindness and a great deal of patience.
The cast
Pramilla Senanayake
Nihal (ND) Amarasekera
Mahendra (Speedy) Gonsalkorale
Sunil Abeysuriya and wife Sirima
Zita Perera Subasinghe and husband Joe
Shanthy Nalliah
Susil Attale and wife Rupa
Sunanda (Jimmy) Wickremasinghe
Douglas Mulgirigama
Harischandra (Bora) Boralessa and wife Harshi
Edwis Francis Samarakone and husband Tony
Indrani Anthonypillai, daughter Rose with husband John
and 2 kids Maria and Johnty
Shryani Batuwittage (wife of the Late BTB)
Dhushyanthi Vedavanam (wife of the Late S.Vedavanam)
Sakuntala (wife of N Balakumar)
Jayaratnam
Apologies were received from Manil Katugampola (Hetti),
Susheila Thiagarjah (Kanagasabey), Maheswary Nadarajah (Singarayer), Dharamani Makalananda,
Appu Sumathipala, Ranjit Dambawinna, Pulasthi Wickremasinghe, Rohini Abhayaratne.
The Reunion kicked off with the usual pleasantries, lots of
hugs and kisses. Pram and Mahen in their speeches welcomed everyone. We made a
special welcome to the wives of our batch-mates who are now no more – Dhushy
(Sivakumar Vedavanam’s wife), Shriyani (Boyd Tilak Batuwitage’s wife) and
Sakuntala (Balakumar’s wife). It was so lovely to see Indrani Subramaniam with
her daughter Rose and her husband John with their two delightful children Maria
and Jhonty. We must pay tribute to Indrani for attending all our gatherings
despite her difficulties. Douglas Mulgirigama has authored a book on psychiatry
in the Sinhala language which is to be released soon in Colombo. He made a
brief presentation and we wish it every success. Before sitting down for our
meal there was a minutes silence for our dear departed friends.
There was never a dull moment. We shared humorous stories
from way back and the favourite anecdotes were repeated with some variations.
Amidst lots of laughter and chat we tucked into the sumptuous buffet of
buryani, roti, rice, hoppers, string hoppers and a fine selection of
mouth-watering authentic ‘home-cooked’ curries. The hoppers and egg hoppers
were everyone’s favourite. Friends were queuing for their arrival hot off the
pan. They were topped by a dessert of Watalappan or Crème Brulee.
It was so lovely to see so many of our batch despite the
short notice and the winter weather. We are most grateful to the staff at
Dammika’s and their charming and enthusiastic manager for their helpful
kindness and their friendly service. The food was simply delicious and
rekindled our memories of home. There was the amazing and wonderful feeling
that despite the years and the oceans that separate us from our birthplace we
felt that we belonged together.
This was a most memorable reunion and everything finally
came together beautifully. The feedback for the function has been excellent,
and the expectation is that we must make this a regular event. The success of
the reunion was due to the goodwill and support of all who attended. Whenever
there is a reunion or a gathering, large or small, it wouldn’t happen without
the energy, genuine warmth and passion of Pramilla Senanayake and Mahen
Gonsalkorale. Their self-effacing modesty astounds me. The success of this
event is a tribute to their hard work. I wish to thank them on behalf of
everyone who attended this event.
The London Reunion 2020 was a fabulous event of friendship
of our batch and all our friends who joined us. We will forever remember the
happiness and the laughter that filled the dining-hall on that dreary winters
day. May we have the good fortune to meet again.
Speedy continues:
My main role was to communicate with all and liaise with
Pram on the venue, menu and other practical details. Pram was an amazing
negotiator and full credit to her for the final menu arrangments at Dammika’s.
Her legendary communication skills and powers of persuasion were a joy to
behold.
The following is a summary of quotes from the WhatsApp group
I set up. I called it – Medical Batch62uk. I spoke to Rohini
Abhayaratne today and was so happy to hear that she was touched that I chose an
image of her late dad (or Patchaya as she reminded me!) for the logo of the
group. I hope that readers will get some idea of how well our
reunion went from this note. It is simply amazing that we have maintained links
in some form or other for nearly 58 years!
ND: Mahen both you and Pram have done wonderfully
well to organise a lunch for a group who are retired and on the move all the
time. Information on WhatsApp is more difficult to keep track of as there are
multiple interactions that are scattered unlike emails.
Dhushy: Many thanks Mahen for the thorough
illustrated instructions for us to find the place easily
Edwis Francis Samarkone: Thank you for giving
directions to Dammikas. Hope we make it for 12noon. Thank you Pram and Speedy
for arranging it and a wonderful 2020 to all.
John Moore (Indrani Anthonypillai's son-in-law): Thank
you all so much for letting us join you. Indrani had a wonderful time, as did
we all. We hope you all make / made it home safely. With much love John on
behalf of Indrani and the Moores
Pram: Dear Indrani
John Rose Maria & Johnty you are certainly part of
my family and you are always welcome. Glad you had a good time. Have a great
2020. God bless you. See you in the summer love pram
Edwis:. Hope these photos get
through. Tony and I enjoyed meeting all of you today. Thank you
Mahen and Pram for all your efforts. Hope we all meet again in June. Kind
regards to all. Edwis
Shanthy Nalliah: Hi everyone just arrived home. It
was lovely to see all of you and enjoy hoppers and wattalapam! Pram and Speedy
thanks very much for beautifully organising the event. God bless you all. Pram
safe journey to SL. Bye Mahendra. You will need a week to recover from the
event you organised. God bless you. Shanthy
ND: Shanthy good to see you. Pity the time went
so quickly
Zita: This is Zita. Joe and I thought it was an
absolutely fabulous get together expertly planned! The food was great. Meeting
everyone was extra special! Thanks a million
ND: Zita it was so wonderful to see you both.
Seeing Joe was a bonus after such a long time. God Bless.
Zita: Thanks and it was lovely to see you. And I
wish the time didn’t go so fast as we would have liked to go on chatting. But
all good things have to end.
ND: Dhushy, t was such a great pleasure to
see you and thank you for coming. It was so lovely to see your son and daughter
and also your grandchildren. That photo of Sivakumar brought him back to life
and to the happy memories of the time we spent together. Take care and please
keep in touch.
Dhushy: Mahen you deserve a well-earned holiday
after yesterday- you have done so much of work with Pram behind the scenes to
make this mini get together a very enjoyable and memorable event. What struck
me most was we were all made to feel so welcome and the friendship and
fellowship amongst everyone was so evident. Thank you so much again.
Shriyani (Geeta) B: Yeah! Dushy, you said it
all! My feelings are mutual. Thanks, Mahendra and
Pramila. I enjoyed the whole experience, have a safe journey back.
Dhushy: Geetha I have been thinking of you. Will
write soon. It was so lovely to meet you. Dhushyxx
Speedy: A quick thank you to each and
every one of you for a hugely enjoyable afternoon. Photos shall follow. Please
send me any you took. Keep in touch and take care.
Pram: Indeed speedy. We had an awesome time. Way
beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you speedy for coordinating the whole event.
Thank you to each and everyone for coming. Have a splendid 2020.
ND: It was such a lovely gathering. It was a more
intimate reunion than we have had before. The food was brilliant and served
with loving care. Our thanks to Pram and Mahendra for the brilliant
organisation and the helpful advice from start to finish. Thank you.
Jimmy: (Email) Thank you so much to you Pram and
Speedy for an excellent get-together.
The Venue was good, food tasty and company good.
Speedy: We gelled so well as a group. We must
extend our friendship beyond reunions and I am sure you will join me when I say
that wherever and whenever we need each other, we will unhesitatingly help in
whatever way we can. WhatsApp, emails texts phone messages are all there as
modes of communication. May you all be content and happy
Zita: Dushy, this reunion spearheaded by Speedy
and Pram has opened up for our batch mates and their families an open
communications network to keep in touch, help one another and keep our
friendship alive and active. Let’s make use of it and brighten up each other’s
lives! Zita
Dhushy: Zita great idea. I endorse what you say
wholeheartedly. Yesterday we met up for a couple of hours but I can say from
the bottom of my heart that the friendship and fellowship we forged was
lasting...this is what I believe. Back at home. It was such a lovely memorable
afternoon with lovely people. Mahen and Pram you have done a great job planning
this event so well. The organising was super. Million thanks for inviting the
spouses of your departed batch mates. The food was delicious with lots of
choices. Everyone had a jolly good time. Thanks to Zita for the
invaluable advice re my eye problems. The rapport amongst all of us was great.
As Zita rightly said yes we could have gone on chatting but all good things
have to come to an end! It was lovely to see ND and Sunanda too. I was happy to
meet Attale too. Sakuntala, Sriyani and I are planning a rendezvous!
Pram have a safe journey back to Sri Lanka. Hope to see you
in the summer. May you all have a Blessed 2020. Dhushy
