A humanist who inspired us
Tima belonged to a generation of Sri Lankans who were idealists, who travelled the world with little in their pockets, but with the single thought, expand their horizons. He also belonged to those idealists, fewer in numbers, who returned to their home country, decades later, to give back what they had learned to the land of their birth.He returned to Sri Lanka in 2003, and set up Investor Service Asia (Private) Limited (ISA) as the sister company of Eastbound that he had established in 1998, in France.
Tima lived not one life, but many lives. He lived in many countries, in many epochs, with people from different social milieux, cultures, and historical backgrounds. I had the privilege of knowing Tima all those years, from when he was my brother Udaya’s best-friend at St. Thomas Prep School.
Tima was principled and selfless, giving more than he took. He was a humanist. He loved the simple people, always on the side of the underprivileged and the downtrodden, the victims and the innocent. He lived simply. In doing business, he shared what he earned with the dispossessed, making sure to give back to Mother Earth what others destroyed.
He was deeply committed to change, which he insisted would require collective effort. It is a responsibility “not just for politicians,” but a collective responsibility, he said in an interview to Business Today. In that interview, Tima gave a glimpse of the change he dreamed of: "There was a time in this country when trees flourished, life was less complex, boundaries were blurred and one man was as good as the other. Now is the time, to bring back those simple joys and the beauty of this land before it was touched by tragedy, to rethink our values and to rediscover our essence."
Tima’s strong sense of social responsibility resulted in developing creative tourism and launching a“Plant a Tree Campaign” in collaboration with Rainforest Rescue International. He also initiated various other programmes amongst them to help schools in underprivileged areas, distribution of dry rations among flood victims, and donation of life jackets for fishermen.
Tima’s commitment to a just society goes back to the young Tima. In Australia, his restaurant was also the meeting place for the anti-apartheid movement. In Lyon, as a teacher, he sought to inculcate social principles and values to a new generation of youth, who would assume leadership in the private and public sectors. As CEO of ISA and Travel Development Lanka, when asked by Business Today, why social involvement was important, Tima responded simply, "for me, CSR is linked to my own life, not a recent fashion.” "This is where my heart is. I've had wonderful opportunities and I would like to pass on some of this to the next generation."
His main objective was to live his life in a way that would serve a purpose. When he left us, Tima's urgent desire was to make a film, based on a story he wrote of a little boy who was killed in a bomb explosion that had killed the President of the country. He was outraged and hurt that the media had not noticed the little orphaned boy. For Tima, that boy symbolised the hundreds of thousands of innocent dead, in wars fought around the world in their name, but not for them, that politicians so shamelessly dismissed as "collateral damage"!
Tima will be terribly missed. He had a larger than life presence that would light up every space he walked into. Humble and self-effacing, he made each of us feel unique and worthy. Tima lived with dignity; Tima left us with dignity. He will continue to live through the thousands whose lives he touched, and he will continue to inspire us with his example.