Memories of university days and more
It is now some months since Elmo de Silva passed away. He was a regular contributor to the country’s newspapers. A year ago his autobiography, ‘A Journey through Thorns and Roses’ was reviewed in the Sunday Island by Leelananda de Silva, his contemporary at the Peradeniya University under the title ‘A golden age in Public Administration’. The book is dedicated to his beloved wife Naomi. I had the privilege of partially editing it.
Elmo was my contemporary too at Ramanathan Hall. He entered the University from St Benedict’s College, Kotahena with two others, one of whom entered the Medical College. Elmo followed a special degree in Geography earning a second class. After a brief spell in teaching, he joined the public service as an Administrative Officer in the Department of Agriculture and served in Matara where both of us were boarders in a very hospitable home situated by the beach in the Matara Fort.
He left Matara on being appointed a District Land Officer. Thereafter I hardly met him till after retirement when we met at reunion parties organised by the Hall societies. Though both of us had retired from the public service we continued to work – Elmo as a consultant for the Treasury on matters related to Customs classification of imported goods etc. He had worked in both the Departments of Import and Export
Control and the Customs at a senior level.
Due to his experience in the latter he received an appointment in the World Customs Organization at Brussels which he served for five years. On his return he retired from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service but was employed as a consultant. He then joined the private sector and contrasts the work ethic of the private sector with that of the public sector in his autobiography.
Elmo had a talent for singing both English and Sinhala songs which was amply manifested at the Hall reunions and at Christmas parties when the late Rev. Fr. Derrick Mendis used to accompany him on the piano. A famous song describing the qualities of a Kandyan beauty, an imaginary heartthrob of many an undergrad beginning with the words ‘ Menike lassanai ..’ is quoted in full in his autobiography. He had a flair for writing poetry too. He did not like poems which did not rhyme, that is free verse written non metrically.
Towards the end of November last year he suffered from a multitude of ailments. His daughter Suleka and son-in-law (both being chemists ) looked after him well in his last days. The second daughter Sonali living in Australia with her doctor husband contributed no less in attending to his needs as well.
May he rest in peace.