The cousin who none of us could hold a candle to
“We honour the Creator when we honour the memory of those who honoured Him.”
Kumi - our cousin passed on to her eternal rest on May 20.
Having known Kumi from our childhood, it was taken for granted that she was someone special, selected and surely set apart, especially by our elders, due to her unique talents and all-round capabilities. We remember our Grand aunt (Kumi’s grandmother) who chided us incessantly and rated us as so inadequate in our capabilities when compared to Kumi. We did not in anyway resent Kumi but certainly felt hard done by and inferior when our elders, who knew no ‘child-psychology’ during that era, repeatedly emphasized our shortcomings. The fact remains – she was extremely talented, a cut above the rest, and none of us could hold a candle to her!
Kumi inherited the supreme knowledge of creative cookery from her dear Mother. Her multi-faceted creative personality was able to execute exceptionally beautiful handcrafts whenever required – at Christmastime and special events; and she made herself always available to fam- ily and friends… a truly reliable, dependable soul.
It was her resilience, capacity for hard work and caring for the needs of our marginalized society, especially in her beloved Tangalle, that propelled her to be the Founder of Navajeevana.We know there would be many others to expound her vision, her excellence and her many caring pursuits.
Kumi well deserved the many awards she received, which included the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award for Community Service. If we attempt to list all her achievements, it will fill many pages.
We also recall her beloved late husband, Dr. Sena Wickramasuriya, also remembered by us as a ‘seafarer’, who had a strong commitment towards helping the needy of Tangalle his home town; her loving son Arun, daughter-in-law Kishani and little Ananya, her pride and joy, who will surely miss her loving presence, and we cousins, who have childhood memories that overwhelmed us at that time, will miss her enigmatic presence more than we can ever express.
May she rest in eternal peace.
Ruani, Delini and many cousins