Premnath Moraes – the Benedictine

by Pradeep Moraes

(Continued from last week)

My father, Premnath Moraes, was extraordinarily proud to be a Benedicting and this part of him merits further exploration.Spanning his entire school career( with a colourful rainbow of classmates who included Fr. Paul Caspersz, Dr. Reinzie de Silva and Ossie Corea), except for the last twoyears , (when St. Benedict’s moved to Veyangoda on account of WW 2, and my father’s family to their ancestral home in Negombo from where he attended Maris Stella).He was very active in both sports and the arts, representing St. Benedict’s at Cricket, Soccer

(his favourite sport, under Stanny Xavier), as a Public Schools Athlete, and was “Baseman” in the walking Pyramid of the gymnastic Troupe commanded by the formidable George Atkinson , also in the same troupe was Malcolm Fernando, father of Nalake.

To digress for a moment from St. Benedict’s, to maintain the thread of Sports, Premnath – (at this point still known as JP Fernando or Joseph), Captained Football and played Cricket for Maris Stella where he was appointed Head Prefect, and won the singular honour of National Colours whilst still a schoolboy, representing Ceylon against the Allies in Weight Lifting. Later on he was in training for the “Mr Ceylon” contest when a fire broke out in the Regal Cinema complex where he had an apartment, the injuries he sustained in helping put out the fire also put paid to his chances of competing and some scars remained through life.

Back to St. Benedict’s – Involved in Film and Music and living in Kotahena on Mayfield Road (next to Dudley Thambinayagam’s family), there came to be formed at my father’s home, a Sports Club circa 1954 – euphemistically referred to as the MCC, (Marylebone or Mayfield) as the case maybe , detractors at the time claimed the CC stood for Cowshed Club , as the bowler on this rude pitch actually had to start his run up from within the shelter of the domestic milk provider !

The Club became a nucleus for Benedictine social activity, and my father was fond of recalling an instance where the entire Benedictine Football Team, returning from an “away” victory was carried shoulder high from the Kotahena roundabout to his home, where a feast centered around green and white string hoppers laid out by my grandmother awaited them.

This humble grouping of kindred and sporting spirits at the “MCC” was the beginnings and foundation of the Old Bens Sports Club which was formerly inaugurated in 1958.

My Father was the first Gen. Secretary of the Old Bens Sports Club and served under the Presidencies of Col. Sydney Jayawardena, Dougie Livera and Granville Perera before taking over himself and being succeeded as Secretary by his friend and classmate J.E. Benedict.

Premnath worked tirelessly to support and build the fledgling club, and is credited with the initiation of the still vibrant Quadrangular Cricket Tournament. His roles were many, best exemplified by the manner by which different people recall his role as the annual College Sports Meets; many (as I do) remember him as the announcer, still others as the “pistol toting” starter, whilst that great benefactor of the school Ratna Mallawaractchi , recalls him as the anchor man in the old boys vs staff tug of war , again typifying his versatility. History has been kind to him in that his love for the school and his commitment and contribution towards it are still remembered.

Ranjith Fernando who has done St. Benedict’s proud in many spheres, refers to the mentoring role played by Premnath and goes on to talk of how this self taught physical culturist imparted gems of bio mechanics to Benedictine sportsmen long before the term “bio mechanics ” was even in use .

I still remember how Basketball ace Cosmos Perera – once acknowledged as Asia’s best Dribbler returning from the Asian games in Jakarta brought my father a “trouser length ” – very hard to come by in those days , these formed a cornerstone of my father’s wardrobe for many years and were referred to as “Cossie’s trousers ” .

Felix Dias – probably the most dedicated and committed Ben of all time used to religiously pick up and drop my father to and from all College meetings,.

And Eric Motha (who as Secretary of the OBU insisted on attending to his duties in the running of the College Sports meet on the day of his father’s death) still brings my mother a gift each time he visits Sri Lanka. Great of them and so many others to remember.

Journalism next and the “nom de plume” SEAROM (MORAES in reverse), is still remembered. His turn of phrase was fluent, lyrical and polished, and the rapier wit and thrust invariably found its mark in his- relished by many, dreaded by some column- “Petals and Pellets “. Impartial though he was for the most part, he just couldn’t contain his support for the old school and the rampaging Old Bens Basketball and Hockey and Soccer Teams gave him plenty of grist for his mill.

As a Sports administrator in Basketball and Hockey one of his proudest moments was when he was “Chef de Mission accompanying the National Hockey Team to Delhi – with no less than six Bens in it.What about Premnath the man? Impish in humour, gullible, ever willing to help, and never holding a grudge or remembering an injustice.

I once came across a saying “There is nothing as strong as gentleness, and nothing as gentle as real strength”, this soft spoken, gentle man, at the height of the ’58 riots dressed up as a thug in a sarong and banian, thrust a pistol into his belt and single handed rescued an Indian film crew from a mob who had surrounded them in Kelaniya (a story told by others not him).

He also – himself a Tamil (though super-fluent in Sinhala) and 60 years old at the time guided a van load of his office workers among them several Tamils, safe to their homes all the way to Panadura and back on that fateful Black Friday in ‘83 – and never spoke a word about what he had seen or experienced that dastardly day. This was my gentle father.

I am a rare animal – a fourthh generation Benedictine, yet in College and all College related Fora I have no individual identity, I am still simply referred to as “Premnath’s son” and of that I am ever so proud!