Campus history and glaring home truths

An article in The Island regarding the Ramanathan (Hall) oath attracted my attention, as I knew some of the parties concerned, since I was resident there. The authorship of the oath could be attributed to the late GK Hattotuwegama, and it was administered rather gravely by Mr KGW Dharmamawardene, who visits his home in Maharagama each year during the bleak wintry weather of London.

There was a reference to Bolton in the oath. He was a Marshall in the Peradeniya University campus then. He gained notoriety for his shooting of the Arunachalam Hall mascot called Bala, who lies buried by the hall with an epitaph that inter alia makes reference to ‘a Stray bolt’ that killed innocent Bala.

The rag then was a typically innocent initiation process, though the newcomers feared it not knowing the course of events to follow. The Rag master was the father of an economist, now in the opposition in Parliament. He was and still is a sprightly though a diminutive person, whose stern voice belied his stature. He earned the sobriquet ‘jockey’… Later he became the head of a government department, which is the repository of valuable old documents.

While on the subject of Parliament, the writer found it difficult to understand how Dr Jasinghe who steered the anti-coronavirus campaign successfully in terms of the President’s guidelines, was literally demoted, although the lady Minister said he was promoted from the position of DG Health to that of a Secretary of a small ministry. Salary wise he would not have gained much since the salaries of specialist doctors together with the non-pensionable and other allowances exceed the salaries of Secretaries drawn from the SLAS, Engineering and Scientific services. Dr Jasinghe could have been appointed Secretary of Health.

On a related matter, the controversy regarding some doctors who did not have the minimum O/L and or A/L qualifications but had foreign medical qualifications being admitted/registered as doctors here, I may refer to the autobiography of a famous Obstetrician “Scenes of a Lifetime”. Dr. Lucian de Zilva, the author had won the Ceylon Government Scholarship in Arts beating his rival, the father of Mr. JR Jayawardene. Having reached London he changed Arts course to study medicine. Of course he had to pass a paper in Chemistry, which he did on the second attempt. He was also a novelist, and the teacher to Sir Nicholas Attygalle. After all, if these foreign medical doctors have passed the local Act16 examination, there should not be any objection to their registration.

There are very many medical specialists making pronouncements on the Covid-19 pestilence. From what I have heard and read about specialist post-graduate exams like MRCOG, MRCP, FRCS. MD in the UK, where the high fliers are sent on scholarship, these exams are very difficult, taxing their memory and intellectual capacity to the utmost. Many fail at the first attempt but succeed at the next attempt or go to Scotland where they say it is easier. Contrast these circumstances with the case of the post-graduate exams in medical administration held locally. There is a big difference between the two types, the more useful curative side where there is a greater demand and the less difficult administrative type. But both types of specialists are treated on par with regard to salaries, except that the administrators are, I believe, not entitled to private practice.

During our Peradeniya days the UNP government was in power. One innocent looking SLFP member of Parliament, Mr DS Gunasekera, pater familias in a family of many doctors and a lawyer, was known to have accused the ruling party uttering the words in Sinhala “may aanduwa thatha, putha, Jona, mama, baena ge anduwak” When exactly these words were uttered I cannot recall. But the veteran Mr Sirimal, a regular scribe well versed on matters electrical/roads/irrigation engineering may be able to help.

KANTO FERNANDO

Pitipana