For the good times we shared in Nairobi and back home
Rani Fernando passed away peacefully on June 21 after a brief illness.
Rani left us at the ripe old age of 79 years. Throughout her life she helped everyone who came under her vision and the people in need. As a lady of much character, she was able to maintain a friendly relationship with all her colleagues and associated with all of us in an amiable manner. I can remember how she loved my daughter Duruthu when she was small.
My friendship with the Fernando family goes back well over 30 years. I met them through Lukshman, their eldest son. I went to Nairobi, at the time when Rani’s husband, Ivan was working at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya.
After a short teaching assignment in Karachchi, Pakistan I went to Nairobi. From that day till I left Kenya I will never forget the wonderful way Rani and her husband looked after me. In Nairobi the school hours were from 8.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. and when I came home after school Rani was ready to serve me a nice cup of tea. At that time their home was in a building named “Church House”. I still remember how she would wait near the front glass door until someone of the household arrived. She was a bit nervous because she thought someone might get stuck in the elevator. That fear was not unfounded because once in a while the lift went out of order.
Beside being a practical person Rani was a caring and loving person. When I was going down memory lane to pen a few words about her, the first thing that came to my mind was the delicious dishes she prepared-- Sri Lankan, Western or African dishes. Before the Fernando’s came to Nairobi they were in Prague Czechoslovakia. Rani was also a expert on Czech food as well. Their house in Nairobi was full of visitors during the weekends. Rani used to make hoppers to entertain some of the Sri Lankans who were living in Nairobi and she never complained nor grumbled as culinary art was her forte.
After I came back to Sri Lanka to get married, the Fernando family also came to Sri Lanka. The close relationship between our two families continued. Rani used to invite us every Christmas to enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner. She used to make special dishes for us as we were vegetarians. My wife Anoma used to especially enjoy the carrot cake and the pumpkin cake very much. Whenever I visited their home, Rani never allowed me to leave without having a meal.
The trip we made to Talawakelle, sometime back is one I will never forget. My wife and daughter still talk about that trip, the stay at Habarana Lodge, World’s End, Nuwara Eliya, and the beautiful bungalow at Talawakelle and the Tea Research Institute.
It is difficult to find such good people as Rani in this world. Being a Buddhist and a believer in rebirth, I hope and wish that I may meet her again and again in the journey of Sansara.
May this brief appreciation help to console Ivan and the four children, Lakshman, Lakshmi, Shirani and Lalith.