Her home was always open to Sri Lankans who visited Bangkok

Erika Fraulien Jayawardena was born on July 15, 1933 in Palana, Weligama in the Matara District. She had four siblings Sybil, Berryl, Cyril and Artie. Erika was the third in the family. Her father was Diamond and her mother was Dona. Erika completed her schooling in Matara and joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1958. Her two cousins Arundathie Ramawickrama Jayawardena and Achala Pandita Gunawardena joined her at the same university. Her university batchmates called her Swan, because of her graceful walk. By that time, Hiran Deva Dias had completed his postgraduate studies (PhD) in Cambridge University and worked as a faculty member of the same university. The newly built university located on the right bank of Mahaweli river in a fantastic romantic location was where Cambridge scholar Hiran met beautiful student Erika. They married on 8-7-1959. They had two sons Agashan and Neshan who now live in Sydney, Australia, with their families. In 2019, Hiran and Erika celebrated their happy 60th wedding anniversary. I came to know Prof. Hiran D. Dias during the late 1960s when I was a graduate student at the University of Colombo. He was my geography lecturer, a kind-hearted, dedicated teacher and strict disciplinarian. The Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka offered me a scholarship in 1985 to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, to do an MSc in Human Settlements. As AIT allowed family members to accompany students, I decided go with my wife Chandani and daughter Rowanthi. When we visited my wife’s grand aunt Derbi Pandita Gunawardena, she told us that her niece was married to Hiran who was then a faculty member in AIT and gave us an introductory letter. Erika Akka was very busy with her Buddhist meritorious work and had an international group of friends. When Sri Lankan government servants visited Thailand on official matters, most of them (mainly friends and Hiran’s students) spent their last few days with the Dias family in Bangkok while shopping, visiting Buddhist temples and going on city tours. Erika was a Consultant to UN-ESCAP in Bangkok from 1978-1987. Erika published more than ten books of poetry and had won international awards from Thailand, Australia, and the US. She received an honorary doctorate from the World Academy of Arts and

Senaka A. Samarasinghe Culture in California, USA in 1991. She wrote poetry for Queen Sirikit of Thailand on the celebration of her 60th birthday in 1992. In 1995, they returned after 17 years in Bangkok and settled in Mirihana, Nugegoda. Erika Akka organised a monthly Circle of Dhamma Friends with 20 to 30 participants followed by a wonderful lunch. When I visited Sri Lanka, I too stayed with them for one month. They were closely associated with the Meditation Centre, Pagoda, Nugegoda where the Chief Monk was Ven. Aggamaha Pandita Davuldena Gnanissara Thera. In the mid-1970s a young man Rudy Hammelberg from the Netherlands was ordained as Ven.Olande Ananda, as a student monk under the Chief Monk. Both their funeral rites were led by Ven.Olande Ananda Thera. May her journey in Samsara be short and may she realise the ultimate truth!