by J. Godwin Perera
The date was the same as today -January 31. But the year was different. It was 1966. 25 years ago. My office was at Aitken Spence, Lloyd’s Building on Sir Baron Jayatilaka Mawatha (former Prince Street ),in close proximity to the Central Bank. That’s why this tragic incident is indelibly etched in my memory. As a matter of interest, Aitken Spence shifted to Vauxhall Street many years later. However on this morning I did not go to office as I had another appointment in another office at Maya Avenue.
I had been nominated to a special committee appointed by the then Minister of Industrial Development the late Hon. C.V.Gooneratne (He was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber in June 2000) to develop a plan to accelerate the promotion of apparel exports. This meeting commenced on schedule at 9.30 am. Around 11 am we heard the unmistakable ‘Boom’ of a bomb exploding. As we looked out of the windows in the direction of Fort, we saw dark, black plumes of smoke rising
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The Covid 19 pandemic has changed our lives. There is now the ‘new normal.’ Just two examples are -working from home and online teaching and learning. Will we ever get back to the pre- Covid days specially where schooling is concerned? I fear not and I hope I am wrong. Because teaching can never be done through the remoteness of technology. There has to be that personal touch. That eye to eye contact. That combination of both heart and mind. And so it is with a deep feeling of nostalgia that I write this article.
It’s a tribute to two great teachers – Vijitha (Viji ) Weerasinghe and B. St. E. de Bruin ( Bruno ). Despite the numerous tributes paid during the past years to these two Great Teachers, why it may it be asked is it necessary to write about them again? Here is my answer as I quote Shakespeare’s Mark Anthony: ‘Here was Caesar! Whence cometh another?’
I see this educated and dedicated cast
The teachers who shaped us like we were clay
Then filled us with knowledge day after day
This is a tribute to those teachers at Royal who in their own inimitable style implanted in our minds the learning skills and knowledge which in later years bloomed, blossomed and branched bearing diverse fruits, enriching institutions, professions and society. However this task is undertaken with great trepidation. Reams have already been written by more eminent persons on both the college and teachers. This contribution of mine is like a few drops of water being poured into an ocean. And that too, drops which are somewhat tainted, turbid and may even be troubling. Personal preferences and prejudices will be minced and mixed as thoughts get transformed into words. Extricating facts from fantasies, impressions from imperceptibles, can be delicate and dubious. And there needs to be added a subtraction. Some of the masters would be given a miss (no pun