Sunil, our Podimalli ……..

It was Sunday, May 27. I made my routine visit to see my Podimalli, Sunil. He seemed normal, but was quieter than usual. He had buttoned his shirt wrong and I joked and corrected it. Strangely, he asked for my younger sister’s home address and I promptly gave it to him. About 15 minutes after I left, I received a call asking me to come immediately. When I arrived there, he was being taken out on a stretcher by the ambulance crew.

Podimalli was the youngest in our family of six and everyone’s pet. At the age of five or six, he was adjudged the healthiest child at a New Year festival in our hometown and we were elated, but my mother appeared to be visibly disturbed. Within two weeks, Podimalli became a victim of polio, which left him with a slight limp.

When Podimalli gained admission to Thurstan College, as our parents lived out of Colombo, he was boarded at Mr. S.M.B. Dolapihilla’s residence, with Podimalli treating the Dolapihilla couple as his second set of parents. After the demise of our mother, he became closer to Mrs. Dolapihilla and made it a point to visit her regularly. Just few days before his demise, he had visited her and worshipped her many times.

Podimalli was the most organized person among the siblings. His table was neatly arranged. His clothes were kept in an orderly way. My parents, realizing his systematic nature, entrusted all important documents to him for safekeeping.

He was a brilliant student at Thurstan and a live wire in the OBA. He chose accountancy as his profession and served many commercial establishments in key positions and was Chairman of Alliance Finance and Board member of Prima Ltd at the time of his death.

He was a multi-talented person. He was the scorer of the Thurstan cricket team in the late ’ 60s and was elected Treasurer of CR &FC and also Treasurer of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union. He worked as a sports reporter. He was a skilled writer and regular columnist on economic and business affairs to the Sunday Times. A collection of these articles was published in 2012. He also functioned as the Editor of the ‘Chartered Accountant’.

In the last few years of his life, he devoted most of his free time to religious activities. He was a dayake at Sri Jayawardenarama, Kotte, member of the Borella YMBA and meditated at the Pagoda Buddhist Centre.

He was married to Anarkali and was blessed with a daughter – Suvini -- whom he loved immensely.

Podimalli, has left us forever. However, his image appears before me. May he attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana in the shortest possible time.