Bede Anandappa Bede Anandappa. Pix: Sarath Peiris
On November 28, Bede Anandappa celebrated his 100th birthday, becoming one of the privileged few to ever become a centenarian and one of good health at that. He shared with us his history and recalled the wealth of experiences he had accumulated over the past century, in an interview. Bede was very animated when talking and his family assured me that despite his age, his mind has not left him, keeping active and engaged.
Bede has had quite an extensive extended family as could be expected of a centenarian, consisting of nine children, 11 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. They are tightly knit despite some are nations apart. Bede has even travelled to the UK and Australia to visit his children, though since recently, he has not been able to visit them.