THE CRUEL BLOW OF FATE STRIKES HARD ON A LITTLE HERO
His friends and family would remain grieving forever
We received tragic information from Kakkapalliya, Manakkulama in Chilaw ,about a hero who sacrificed his life during a struggle between life and death, in an attempt to save the life of his friend.
Although he was able to save his friend’s life, he could not save his own from the devil who had been in hiding , displaying its fangs at the bottom of the wewa, waiting impatiently to bring a tragic end to his life.
This hero’s untimely death, brought about a great loss to his parents who lost a dear son; sisters lost their brother and Sugathananda school at Karukkuwa in Madampe lost a clever student for ever.
When the body of the child was taken to his home, the villagers sobbed, evoking poignant memories of the child.
The child who saved a friend and sacrificed his life was Naveen Navodya Marasinghe (12), a resident of Kakkapalliya in Manakkulama.
He was a grade eight student of Sugathananda Maha Vidyalaya in Karurkkuwa and excelled at educational and extra-curricular activities. He jumped into the tank, risking his own life to save his friend, the eleven-year-old student from Galmuruwa in Udalawela .
Chethana Kaushalya had passed his grade five scholarship examination and joined the Dammissara National School in Nattandiya. The father of the child, Navodya who saved the life of his friend was Ranjith Marasinghe, a retired worker of the Coconut Research Institute, in Lunuwila and the mother is Anoja Erandathie. His sister Shanari Navodaya (22) is reading for a degree in information technology.
Ranjith Marasinghe who reminisced his son’s past said,
“On an invitation received from Anuradha in Galmuruwa, Udalawela, we went there to have lunch. I came with my daughter as she had to go to Colombo. Kaushalya and Navodya study in the same school. Together they had gone to see a friend of theirs. Anuradha’s son had fallen into the tank. My son may have pushed his friend who had got stuck in the mud. A woman who went to Dummalasooriya fair had seen my son who had clung on to the edge of the tank. She had screamed and a three-wheeler driver had come to his rescue. He was unconscious. When Kaushalya was being rushed to the hospital, he had said that Navodya Aiya had jumped into the water to rescue him.”
Kaushalya had related this incident to the Principal.
“I got into the water to wash the mud which had been smeared with my clothes. My feet slipped and I fell into the water. Then, Navodya Aiya jumped to rescue me. I told the three wheeler uncles that Navodya jumped into the water. Because of me, he lost his life. He was my best friend. How nice it would have been if he had lived.”
The principal, P. Kumararatna said, “Navodya, was a student who had a bright future.. He was clever at studies and took part in extracurricular activities as well.”
According his father, Navodya was a boy who helped in all domestic activities as well and also had a close relationship with the temple. He had won prizes for singing devotional songs at the temple.
This little boy has set an example to those who ignore people in distress. Children perform heroic acts in stories which are mere acts in the presence of the camera. But little Navodya was a real hero.
His name will be written in golden letters in the history of Sugathananda Vidyalaya in Karukkuwa. May this little hero who lies in a lonely and deserted cemetery attain ‘Nirvana’, having accomplished his mission in the name of humanity.