Continued From - Childhood Days 3
Besides these sports events, I also held several leadership positions in College such as House Captain, President, English Literary Association, President Science Students Association and a College Prefect. The post of the President Science Students Association was secured after a hotly contested election. I was the nominee of the local, generally more boisterous group. My contestant was a better looking guy who had come to College from outside who perhaps commanded more sympathy among the girls. One of my ardent supporters went to the extent of hiring a bullock cart, decorating it with posters and engaging a drummer to play inside and he brought this cart into the college during school hours! This unprecedented event took everyone including me, by complete surprise and he was suspended from school for a week for disturbing the peace. This guy eventually took to serious politics at local and national levels. After qualifying as an attorney-at-law he became a Member of Parliament from Ambalangoda (Galle Dsitrict) during the regime of President Premadasa. He still claims that he cut his teeth in politics during those riotous days at college.
All in all life in a mixed school was interesting, enjoyable and challenging. My ability to sing gave me a clear advantage for romance over most of my college mates. I always received invitations to sing at social gatherings and annual meetings of various school societies and associations. I still remember an incident at the annual meeting and social of the Train Traveller’s Association which invited me to sing a few songs. As most of these students who travel from outside villages have not had the chance to listen to me it became a special event and the hall was full. I sang Sunil Shantha’s romantic song “Mevan Pitisarey, May Dugi Palay…†By the time I got to the 3rd verse the girls were so enthralled that the master-in-charge of the association (a bachelor well past middle age) stopped my singing and declared the song to be too embarrassing for a mixed audience! Despite my later progress in academia and positions in the university, I have continued with my singing and even today at informal parties, social gatherings and concerts I always oblige requests to sing a few songs. In fact at a special “Lunchtime Music Program†conducted by the Sirasa TV channel at the university administration I sang “Shantha Me Rayame…†at the request of everyone present while being the Dean of the Faculty of Science. In 2006 I appeared on invitation and sang on the ‘Chat & Music’ program of the Independent Television Netweork TV channel in the company of famous film stars such a Ravindra Randeniya and Sangeetha Weeraratne. With all my involvements in extra-curricular activities, I’m sure there would have been several girls who had a crush on me, just as much as I had a few crushes on certain girls during those school days, but none of these materialized.
According to the education system at that time everyone studied the same subjects until Grade 8 or the Junior School Certificate (JSC). After this one had to choose between the Arts and the Science streams to continue education to the Senior School Certificate (SSC). It was at this point that I parted being classmates with my elder brother because he chose the Arts stream while I went to Science. During those days all subjects except Sinhala were taught in the English medium as the Swabasha policy was introduced in 1956 after the revolutionary victory of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna led by Honorable S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. Today I consider myself very fortunate indeed to have escaped that short sighted policy which stultified higher education in this country, particularly in the Science streams.
Participation in so many diverse activities may have had a certain degree of negative influence on my academic performance. Though I have maintained a good academic record all along in my classes never going below position five, I could not secure five credits in my 1st attempt at the Senior School Certificate (SSC) examination in 1955. I therefore made a 2nd attempt in 1956 to satisfy this criterion to be eligible to sit for entrance to the Medical College, the ardent wish of my parents. At that time SSC was the gateway to employment. Out of a class of 40 students no more than 10 or 12 will continue higher education. One had the choice of joining the railway, postal, general clerical, teaching and many other professions in the public sector. It was possible to join the private sector even without your SSC, but this sector was the less popular than the public service. Being a suburban school the strength in higher education at Dharmasoka was in the Arts and Humanities while in Science subjects we were weak with hardly any qualified teachers on the staff.
Attracted by the glamour of being employed and not willing to change schools for further education, I myself went for teaching. I taught as an Assistant Science teacher for two years at a Junior Secondary School at Massala, Beruwala my father’s home town to which he has moved to spend his final years of retirement. As a young and energetic person who had a good track record on extra-curricular activities the principal of the school made use of me to develop these aspects in his school. Within months I introduced athletics, assigned all the children into ‘Houses’ and for the first time organized a sports meet. The highlight of this meet was an impressive march past which amply displayed my abilities of training as a former RSM.
Continued - Childhood Days 5
