By Jekhan Aruliah
An appreciation on the retirement of a man who fled Sri
Lanka’s communal riots in 1984 to settle in Australia, and returned three
decades later in 2015 to setup Jaffna’s first luxury hotel. Devoting five years
of his life as the hands-on General Manager of Jetwing Jaffna.
Chris Ponnadurai
Chris was born in Colombo in 1951, the seventh of eight children. His father was a school inspector, who moved the family often as he was transferred around the country. Spending his early life in Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Ratnapura, Chris’ family then moved to Colombo where he finished his school career at the prestigious Isipathana College. From there he joined the Ceylon Hotel School.