A fragrance that endures…
	Education is what remaions after one has forgotten everything he learned in school - Albert Einstein The word University would mean many things to many people. One’s reaction to the word would depend on one’s outlook and experience. An institution of learning, a body of students & lecturers, a place for intellectual adventures, a body authorized to confer degrees - would probably be among the responses of many. However, there is a group of people - in Sri Lanka, and scattered around the globe - whose response would most likely have an emotional content outweighing their intellectual response to the word. This is because that word – University - will for them, forever mean much more than a place or institution…. Most of us, alumni of the University of Peradeniya will likely respond, with a catch in our voice, as we think back to a magical place,...and a magical time in our lives. We were fortunate to attend SriLanka’s premier educational institution, where we not only studied our chosen fields but also imbibed ideas and values that would be imprinted on our hearts & minds. The residential nature of the University played a significant role since it laid the foundation for friendships that have endured throughout our lives. Time spent together is the bonding agent most important in forging deep & lasting human relationships. This is true within a family, and so it is for a University. Most of us now in our ‘riper’ years look back on the memories of Peradeniya with much pleasure. However, considering the travails our country has been through in the past few decades, Peradeniya too had it’s share of trauma, and some would have been caught up in sad & tragic events. Some may have lost their lives, others left never wanting to look back, or return. On the whole though, we can expect that the legacy of time spent in that place, on the banks of the Mahaveli river, will be a treasured memory which we would not wish to exchange for any other grove of Academe. The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet - Aristotle Life in Peradeniya was obviously not all fun and enjoyment although the stressful aspects may have faded from our minds. The stresses of coping with assessments & examinations, coursework & drawing deadlines, dissertation submissions, friendships made and broken, romances nipped in the bud…..or fading after full bloom…. all had their time, in lives spent there. The joys seem to grow in our minds with passing years – the trips, the Hantane climb adventures, the late night film-shows in Kandy, untold rendezvous at Lyon Café. With residential life we can probably look back on numerous hilarious incidents in the halls. Even in the more serious confines of the faculties of learning, there will be humorous anecdotes aplenty, many involving members of the academic staff. Recalling such events occupies a major part of savouring and reliving the days spent in Peradeniya. For some of us who’d had our entire secondary education in segregated schools, Peradeniya was the first experience of having the opposite sex sharing the same lecture room. No doubt this brought it’s own stresses initially. A man from Batticaloa, who spent more than double the usual number of years for his degree, used to phone his father each year and give the sad examination results. He would try to cheer up his father using a cliché, “Don’t worry father, I know that failures are the pillars of success!” The father responded – “ I know son, but each of those pillars you’re erecting is costing me many thousands of rupees!” Looking back now, even the feared rag period seems humourous for most of us: recalling enforced midnight baths, giving radio commentary from inside a cupboard, shouting at passing seniors of the fairer sex and such like. At Arunachalam Hall, where each room had a convenient wash-basin, the freshers would be asked to list its possible uses. Generally they would list three or four, and be surprised when the imaginative seniors pointed out that it had a dozen uses! Hilda Obeyesekere hall was built specifically for female students. However, following the clash between University students and the Army in 1969, a strategic reallocation of halls by the authorities meant that Wijewardena Hall (adjacent to the main railway line) became a hall for females, and Hilda Obeyesekere Hall one for males. One of our batchmates used the traditional “ponding” at HOH on his very first day to make an escape. He played up a minor injury, and was taken to the Medical centre located not far away. He convinced the medical staff that he needed to be kept there for 2 weeks, only emerging at the end of the rag period! However the dark side of ragging meant that on occasion freshers have suffered serious injury, or even had their young life cut short, and a family’s celebrations and dreams become an unbelievable nightmare. Reading the recollections of many who studied at Peradeniya, one sees a common thread in their story. Initially the undergrad is in awe of the don – the superior intellect, the doctorate gained at a foreign university, or the commitment to their chosen discipline. Later this grows to a deeper bond, as the realisation of the human and ‘down to earth’ qualities of the academic become apparent. Although these ‘human’ encounters bring the don down from the initial pedestal they may have been placed upon, in no way does their aura diminish. On the contrary the gentleness, quiet spokenness and simplicity of a don, only adds to the legend associated with their name. What amazed me was the youthfulness and casual attire of some who were entitled Professor – personified in Professor A Thurairajah, later to become Dean of Engineering. Walking about the faculty with his warm smile and white short sleeved shirt, ever ready to explain a knotty point, or empathise with a student’s difficulties – it took some time to realise that this was the same individual whose name was in Soil Mechanics texts, and a world respected authority in his field. The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one – Malcolm Forbes An aspect of undergrad life at Peradeniya was the participation in societies and associations, sports and religious activities. Every Hall of Residence had its activities and inter-faculty friendships formed here. Awareness and exposure to the many political ‘isms’ first occurred for many of us at Peradeniya. Maoism, Trotskyism, Marxism, Leninism…and of course Che Guevara! We learnt to associate these with real live individuals whom we would come across. The awareness that life was not only about our chosen field of study – there was a world outside that we’d have to rejoin upon completion of our Peradeniya adventure – probably came for many of us, when we came across these passionate individuals. Mention of September 11 implies only one event in modern times. However in 1973, and for sometime after, September 11 stood for another violent event – the overthrow of the elected Chilean government by a military coup d’état. The Campus Student Union too marked the event, and there were protest rallies on behalf of the people of Chile. I recall the marching procession – near the flowering trees at the Arts faculty “Api yanne koi pare? Marx, Lenin Giya pare!” “Chile rate janthawa venuven satan karamu!“ Such was their admirable devotion to the cause, the entire student body had a holiday from lectures on the day of the protest. The more seemingly violent aspects of the political party connected student groups were visible at the time of student union elections. Many a time have new students been taken aback at the intense ‘debates’ raging among groups near the vicinity of the library. It later dawned on one that these high decibel events are mere showcases – something like TV wrestling where no permanent damage is done but a ‘good show’ put on for onlookers - and possible training places for future parliamentarians! Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born – Anias Nin Among the pleasant memories was the request to some of us, to escort a group of girls of the Science faculty on a long trip…..all the way from Peradeniya to Jaffna and back. Not only did it involve a bus trip to Kurunegala, but also a long train journey in the Yal Devi! It was to attend the funeral – the father of two sisters in campus had passed away quite suddenly and a number of their batchmates and friends were keen to make the trip to Atchuvely. I recall that for the return journey we went up to KKS to get in to the train at its starting point, so that everyone had seats all the way back. Other pleasant memories of are of evenings spent in the home of a respected don, which was located between Arunachalam & Jayatilaka Halls. This was for late evening gatherings of the Music Society – the hosts and mentors for many being Prof Ashley & Mrs Bridget Halpe. Raising a young family they still were able to devote their time, energy & resources, to share their enthusiasm, knowledge of and passion for music. Some romances among music lovers blossomed thanks to this hospitality in domestic surrounds. Music also recalls memories of hall socials and the bands from nearby Penideniya performing the popular songs of Milton Mallawaratchi. On batch trips the music was of a different kind, and the lyrics sometimes brought blushes to the fairer batchmates who would pretend not to be interested in them. The Arts faculty block had the Senate building and also the main Library with Ian Goonetilleke, the respected Librarian & bibliographer, at it’s helm. The Peradeniya University Library had become, under his guidance, a fully fledged research library. One of the first questions asked of freshers was “What do the students go to the library for?” Their answers: “to read, to study, to do research, to write a report or even a love letter”…. were laughed at by the seniors. No fresher could ever have guessed that the correct answer to the query posed by the seniors was……………….“to play football!!” The Senate building was originally proposed to be erected on granite pillars, an idea taken from the world famous Brazen Palace in Anuradhapura. However, due to structural engineering reasons, the building is actually supported on steel surrounded by concrete designed to weather like granite. The New Arts Theatre comes to mind, as the venue where many of us attended ‘Docs’ – regular nightly Documentary films – as a break from life in the hall. Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind – Albert Einstein The main religions all had their places of worship on Campus. It seemed that in order to test the students’ faith, they were located such that getting to them involved long walks. The furthest, and highest located, was the Hindu temple to which we were invited by friends for lunch on special celebratory occasions. The joke of visiting there in an old pair of slippers and returning with a newer pair was an oft repeated one. It was not a joke if you were the loser. The Christian Chapel & Mosque were also located half way to Hantane. Many a romance may have blossomed when male students had to escort the ladies back to Ramanathan Hall, sometimes having to run the gauntlet of threats of bucketing from the halls above – named after two worthy knights of the realm - James Peries & Marcus Fernando. At the time we made our first journey to Peradeniya campus, many of us would not have known much of it’s history or how such a beautiful place of learning came to exist in our island. We would not have known that some of its land had once been part of the Kandyan king’s Capital and Royal Palace gardens; or once coffee had been grown there, later Sugar and Tea; or that Earl Mountbatten’s South East Asian command had been headquartered in the area. We would not have known of the battles that had raged between leading personalities of our newly independent nation over the location of our country’s first purpose built residential University. It had been officially opened in the presence of royalty, on 20th April 1954. Visionaries and benefactors had given much of their time, energy & personal wealth to make the dream of this university become a reality. The list of founders of the University reads: Justice M T Akbar, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sir Marcus Fernando, Sir Baron Jayatilaka Dr Robert Marrs, Dr S C Paul, Sir James Peiris, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam Rt Hon D S Senanayake, Mr D R Wijewardena They constitute a cross-section of the major ethnic groups in our country. All these eminent men would have had dreams and hopes for the new University, and for the country not long free from colonial rule, seemingly with it’s best days ahead. With all that has happened in the past few decades we can but hope that our University’s and country’s worst days are behind now, and a truly bright future for all lies ahead. The more we live by our interlect, the less we understand the meaning of life – Leo Tolstoy University education provided us with the chance to meet and connect with people who were ‘different’. Those of us who’d been brought up in cities met fellow students who’d only known village life. Those who’d only heard their mother tongue spoken heard other tongues. Those who only knew about their own religion got a chance to make friendships with those of other faiths. It truly was an opportunity to look at the world through new eyes. To become aware that the varied individuals gathered in one place, in spite of differences, could constitute a worthy whole. It symbolised the Latin word universitas –meaning all together, the whole, the universe, a number of persons associated into one body, a society… Hopefully the experience, through various friendships, gave us the awareness of belonging to a larger community. Where previously we defined ourselves by the school we attended, or ethnic background, or faith we professed - we now could identify with a much larger and inclusive entity. By living together, sharing the ups and downs of University life we became aware of the rest of our nation’s populace; we became more aware of the world, and the life that lay ahead. I had never written on a wall in my schooldays or felt the urge to do so. However when my days at Peradeniya were drawing to a close, I knew that a stage of life was ending forever. This prompted me to write some lines on the wall of my room, in the ‘New Wing’ at Akbar Nell hall in the last days of my Final year! They were from a poem by John Keats - And can I ever bid these joys farewell? Yes, I must pass them for a nobler life, Where I may find the agonies, the strife Of human hearts... In the years since departure from Peradeniya, I must confess to have done nothing special towards finding these agonies……or doing much about them. Like many others, we get on with living, with family life, with travelling, with accumulating material things, with achieving professional satisfaction and social status. A few months ago, it was a truly uplifting experience to meet someone who had been true to a higher calling. He had kept an adventure in his mind for many years, and was now engaged on a mission which involved personal sacrifice. He gave of his time, his energy, his money - for the sake of seriously ill children in our motherland. Peradeniya Alumni Udeni Gunasekera & supportive wife Damika and family, must be commended for his 52 day journey, cycling 3460 kilometers to raise funds towards purchase of a Portable Electrocardiogram for the Lady Ridgeway Hospital in Colombo. It was an example to admire: to be able to empathise with the hardship of those less fortunate, and to undergo hardship himself to help alleviate their condition; to encompass all communities in his vision, and break the bounds of narrow thinking, to ‘light a candle instead of cursing the darkness’. His effort personifies the true spirit of education - to have a dream, to study its requirements, to make plans accordingly, and finally make the dream become reality. Peradeniya – a truly fragrant memory that will endure. As alumni gather together, celebrating our good fortune and enjoying the good things of life, we should be inspired by the magical years we spent by the Mahaveli and look “for a nobler life”, where we can contribute positively to universitas - in the varied communities we live in. Ranjan Abayasekera 31sy July 2009 From Souvenir – Peradeniya Alumni Association (WA Chapter) – Get Together 2009 at Melville City Council Hall – 19th September 2009