R.K.W. Goonasekera: Was he the last of the Mohicans?

When S. L. Gunasekera referred to President's Counsel H. L. de Silva as the last of the Mohicans, on the latter's passing away, I thought of how beautifully he had summarized the passing away of a great man. At that moment, we were oblivious that another great person like R. K. W. Goonasekera was among the living.

Today, we feel that S. L. Gunasekera should have kept his phrase, which has now become famous, till the demise of R. K. W. Goonasekera. Some of my apprentices asked me who RKW was. With the limitation of the knowledge of the English Language and the habit of reading books relegated and unheard off, it is indeed a difficult and onerous task to re-evaluate the monumental service rendered by RKW to the legal profession and to the cause of rights of people, to the uninitiated presentday generation of lawyers and others. This is a sad catastrophe of the younger generation. They do not read, and even if they do, they do not understand, and if they do read and understand, still, they are not interested.

I first met R. K. W. Goonasekera after having passed the intermediate examination at Law College. There was a clique of us waiting to rag the new students who came into Law College, escorted by their parents. Some of them came to find out the results of the Entrance Examination that were posted on the notice board. It was indeed a dry day as there were no freshers or new faces who would walk in with their parents from whom we scrounged a few rupees, saying that it was mandatory fee for entering Law College.

Then came a young man with a goatee. As there was no age barrier to enter Law College, in our batch there were fathers and grandfathers. We were not overawed by the majestic walk and the resemblance to a young revolutionary, but we were determined to rag him and fine him. When he climbed the few steps into the premises, I said, "Hey Man, you have entered the forbidden gates of hell, unless you pay us a fine of Rs.20= you will not be allowed to take one step forward," This man smiled and was about to take Rs. 20 from his purse, when my friend Hemal Perera came running from nowhere and called me to a side and whispered into my ear, "Are you mad? This is the new Principal of Law College and today he has come to assume duties."

I asked, "How do you know?" "He is a cousin of mine."

I did not know what to do. I went and told him. "Yes, the committee has decided to let you come through these gates of hell, but if you do not happen to be the new Principal, when you come back you will have to pay the fine." He said, "No. Who said I am the new Principal? That must not prevent you from doing your job. Here is the Rs. 20." He was the New Principal of the Law College, and he was far different to the former Principals, who were former Judges of the Supreme Court and very strict disciplinarians. An episode like this would have ended our career.

The next encounter we had with him was at the Law Students election, when our candidate Rohan Sahabandu and others lost at the elections. We immediately thought of having another forum and decided to call it the 'New Trends Forum' and informed the Principal R. K. W. Goonasekera about it. We told him that the Law Students' Union was the most inactive body which became active only during the Law/Medical Match or the Law Dance. There was hardly any other business on the union's agenda, which would interest the students. He agreed and gave us the blessings and permitted us to use the Law College auditorium. He was different, he understood the problems of the students.

Most students continued with the great tradition of Law College - - the Cut Table. Even lawyers joined this unholy union and gambled till the wee hours of morning. One day, at about 4 o' clock in the evening, we were all engrossed in cutting and chopping the card pack, when we had a visitor who was none other than R. K. W. Goonasekera, who came along with the Watcher, Ariyaratne. Then he saw us and summoned Ranjith Devapura, me and a few others, to his office. We all went to his office thinking that all our dreams and our parents' hopes of making professionals learned in the law were doomed.

When we walked into the room with trepidation, Ranjit Devapura almost shivering, RKW looked at us and said, "Mr. Devapura, this game is being played at the most exclusive clubs in Colombo. Therefore, I have no objection if you indulge in this noble game in any club but, not at Law College. I know this tradition has been there from the very inception of Law College. But, today I have received an appeal from our watcher Ariyaratne's wife, saying that his entire salary is gambled away at the Cut Table and he comes back to their quarters without a cent. So, I have to protect him and his family and cannot permit you to play cards inside this building."

Then he asked Ranjit Devapura, "what is the reason for you to engage in playing this card game?" Ranjit said, "We have a lot of free time in-between lectures. Sometimes the first lecture is at 11 o' clock in the morning and the 2nd lecture is at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. So between 11 and 2, we have nothing to do. We have no recreation facilities. Then, he asked, "So what do you suggest?" Then Ranjit Devapura said that the monies earned by the Law College are being invested in gold mines in South Africa. "Why doesn't the Council decide to buy the students a billiards table so that we could engage in playing Billiards during our free time," he asked."Yes, that's a good idea. Why don't you go round Colombo and spot a billiards table which is for sale and I will ensure that it is bought," RKW said.

The next day, in my red 'KarmenGhia', Hemal Perera, Rohan Sahabandu, Ranjith Devapura, Ramini de Saram and I, went in search of a billiards table and found one. A few days later, the billiards table was ceremoniously opened by Devapura himself and so we kept our promise and then, in order to show the demise of the foreclosure of the Cut Table, we walked into Jonathan's and took a photograph of all those who participated at the Cut Table.

I believe the service R. K. W. Goonasekera rendered to the legal profession cannot be written in a few words. But the demise of this great person is the demise of the great learning, erudite scholarship, honour, dignity, ethics and principles he stood for that are invaluable. With the gradual passing away of these 'Mohicans' our source of inspiration and honour is lost and we feel that the fire at the Jawatte cemetery did not only engulf his body but with it everything he stood for was gone for good.