He taught us the great qualities of a human being
October 2019 marks the tenth death anniversary of Dr. Uthum Herat but the memory of him continues to haunt some of us. Still I wonder whether he was too good to be alive among the ever changing modern world of treachery and deceit. I write this appreciation mostly to celebrate his sterling qualities. More than all, for those who did not know him, to let them know such a “great” person was living among us.
Uthum was the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka at the time of his untimely death in October 2009 at the relatively young age of 52 years. At that time the Central Bank was held in high esteem as a centre for excellence. Had he been alive probably it would hurt him to see the current public image of the institution he loved and laboured for so much. He had a brilliant academic career starting with a first class honours degree in Statistics simultaneously completing the Final Examination of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Contrary to the general expectation of a career in private sector with more lucrative monetary gains, he decided to join the public service and entered the Central Bank in 1983, a year a lot of professionals would have ventured out seeking greener pastures. Later, he obtained his PhD from Purdue University in USA.In his Central Bank career, he always acted with humility and modesty. He had an illustrious period at the Depar-tment of Economic Research finally ending up as its Director. He also had a stint at the IMF as the alternate Director for South Asia, a coveted position for the majority of the Central Bankers. On his return from Washington, he was appointed Assistant Governor and later, in May 2009, a few months before his unexpected departure, was appointed the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank.
The last time I met Uthum, he was so happy that the war was over and the foreign reserves were building up steadily. His unparalleled loyalty to the institution he belonged to was amazing. Despite his refined personality he could easily put international experts in their place if they tried to patronise him. I still admire his ability to live a frugal life. He chose what he thought was important in life and stubbornly stuck to his own principles. Since he was “near perfection” as a human being he needed little outer trimmings. When he eloquently moderated a Central Bank event or made an eloquent speech nobody questioned in which car he drove into the venue. Nobody cared that he got into a bus to get back home after work.
I sometimes wonder why he had to bid goodbye to this world at the peak of his career. I am surprised that people actually admired and respected this unassuming, soft-spoken, courteous gentleman despite him deliberately keeping a low profile. I believe he was too useful to so many that his presence could not be ignored. In addition, his varied talents endeared him to many but he never fought for any credit. His demise was a great loss to academia, to the professional world and to his friends all over the world and more so to the financial sector. However, Uthum in life taught us the great qualities of a human being.
When we interact with modern day ‘professionals’ we see their ‘know all’ attitude. Today humility and simplicity are weaknesses in a character. Modesty is ‘folly’ and ‘dishonesty’ is ‘smart’. In such a world “Uthum” would have been a ‘misfit’. However, his belief in God would have saved him from the disappointments of an ‘ordinary’ human being. He could enjoy simple things in life. After his death, I heard from his friends and acquaintances that he could enjoy seeing a blooming flower, planting a tree, reading a book, teaching and preaching.
He was someone whom I could talk to without reservation; someone whom you could confide in and had the time for a friend despite a busy schedule. He was rather reserved in judgment but would objectively point out a different dimension to my views which made me think. Today, I have started to second guess the motive behind every remark.
We miss you very much, Uthum. We miss your sense of humour, your intellect, your humility and more so your sincerity. We miss your boundless friendship and generosity of giving your ear to us when we needed your time.
Life is a journey and we are sure to meet once again, in another form, in another life. However, the cherished memory of you will bring strength to those of us who admired and respected you to hold on to certain ideals which are fast diminishing in the modern world.
Au revoir, Uthum!