Features
Problem of being identical twin of a politician
This is an amusing incident that took place several years ago. One evening we, then schoolboys, were playing soft ball cricket at the Mahinda College grounds, when someone came rushing up and told us that a young servant girl of a certain household had climbed a huge tree as a mark of protest over some wrong done to her, and was refusing to get down.
All of us, including Minister Rupa Karnatilleke, who was a schoolmate of mine, ran to see the unusual sight, to find a huge crowd already there. It was almost dusk, and there was this pretty creature perched precariously on one of the topmost branches of a massive Donga tree. It was a stupendous task.
W. Dahanayake was away in Colombo, attending a sitting of the State Council. (He was MSC for Bibile at the time) and everybody looked at each other in dismay. Then someone got a brainwave.
“I will get him”, he shouted to the girl who was on the tree, and sped away. A few minutes later he was back with W’s twin brother Kalyanspriya, who spoke soothingly to the girl and persuaded her to get down, promising that her grievance would be looked into.
At the 1947 general election, the first to the newly created house of Representatives, W’ twin brother K contested the Colombo Central Seat. Unlike today’s elections, the earlier ones were spread over a number of days. (As everybody knows, it was W, then Prime Minister, who held the very first one-day general election in March 1960).
On the first day of the 1947 elections, Sir Vaithyalingam Doraisamy, the Speaker of the outgoing State Council lost. On the second day, Sir Susantha de Fonseka, the Deputy Speaker, lost.
A few days later, while W was addressing one of his brother’s meetings, an Inspector of Police strode up to the platform and said,” Mr. Dahanayaka, you are permitted to use loudspeakers only until 10.00 p.m. It is now 10.05. I don’t care if you haven’t finished your speech, I am going to disconnect the loudspeaker.”
As the Inspector did so W yelled: “Sahodaravaruni, on the first day, Speaker giyaa! On the second day Deputy Speaker giyaa! Onna dhan loud sepakeruth giyaa!” (On the first day, the Speaker went! On the second day, the Deputy Speaker went! And now the loud speaker has gone!”
In the late nineteen forties, there was a large crowd on the side of a road. A woman was pitching into K accusing him of not attending to some matter of hers after solemnly promising to do so. It was obvious to everybody that she had mistaken him for his twin brother W, the then MP for Galle.
K then asked a friend of his, who was there, to tell this woman that she was making a mistake and that he was not the MP. His friend did as he was requested and the woman then turning on K’s fired in fury shrieked, “Tho mata Kiyanna enawada …..”(“Are you trying to tell me ….”) and went on to say that she had known W for years and years, and the hapless man at the receiving end of her tirade was he.
Later, the matters were sorted out and K told his friend ruefully, “This is one of the hazards of being the identical twin of a politician!”
Once during a school excursion, the students visited Sir John’s Kandawala Estate with their teachers. Seeing K, Sir John asked him” I say Daha! What are you doing here?”
“Sir, he is my elder brother,” said K.
Once the Secretary to the Prime Minister Bradman Weerakoon said. “The twin brothers were exceedingly close and one of the real friends Dahanayake had was indeed his twin brother who visited him often at Temple Trees. It was quite difficult at the beginning and especially when they were together to determine who in fact was the Prime Minister?”.
The remains of the assassinated Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was lying-in-state in Parliament and K went to pay his last respects.
W had been sworn in as the new Prime Minister, and the two brothers travelled to the House-by-the-sea in the Prime Minister’s official car.
As the car stopped at the entrance to the House, a police officer sprang forward and opened the door on the side K was seated. As K stepped out of the car, all the police and other service officers present clicked their heels and saluted him smartly.
When W got out from the other side, their jaws dropped and they looked around in consternation and confusion – for they were quite unaware of the existence of W’s identical twin!
K knew his crowd psychology just as much as W. My friend Siri, who was once the Registrar of the Galle High Court, was then a student at the Hikkaduwa Central College, when K joined the staff as an English teacher.
On the first day or second, he took the lessons from the back of the class.
“Yes, he would say suddenly in the middle of a lesson. You there, Sirisena, give a word having a similar meaning”. And a very surprised Sirisena would rise and answer. And, so, it went on, right from the very first day. K would call out a name from the back of the class, and the student concerned would get up and answer.
The students were most impressed. How could the new teacher know their names so soon?
One day, a daring student surreptitiously took a peek at the teacher standing at the back of the class – and the cat was out! K had a list of the names of the students, copied from the class register, in his hand, and he would call out a name at random. And he stood at the back of the class, because then he didn’t have to look at the student as he called out his name, for he didn’t know whom the name belonged to!
It was a tradition of the Hikkaduwa Central in the old days that a member of the academic staff had to be elected President of the College Literary Union.
One year a rather unpopular teacher who nursed ambitions of becoming the President, got two of his ‘stooges’ to propose and second his name.
“Any other names?” asked the principal who was presiding. (Usually, there was no contest for this post). And immediately Siri, who was a student then, jumped to his feet and proposed the name of K the popular English teacher.
“Have you got Mr. Dahanayake’s permission to propose his name?” asked the Principal sternly, knowing a contest was going to be an undignified thing.
“Yes, sir,” replied Siri without batting an eyelid.
The two names were put to the vote, and, of course. K won resoundingly. As soon as the result was announced, Siri sped to the Staff Room and told K what had happened, apologizing profusely for not obtaining his permission beforehand.
“That’s alright, my boy” said K gazing at the excited student with a twinkle in his eye. “I won’t let you down!”
Parakrama, a son of K, who was at the time the private secretary to W, the Minister of Cooperatives, wrote to “Amita’s column in The Island“, giving a vivid description of the farewell dinner to the then principal of Richmond College B. Suriarachchi, who was leaving to take up the new post of principal, Royal College.
He stated that 300 old Richmondites who had gathered for the occasion lustily sang.
“Richmond to the fore/boys let the air resound/Richmond to the fore/boys let the cry go round..” adding that the speeches were spicy and witty and that C. J. Seneviratne, the President of the Galle Bar Association came out with this exhortation to the young ladies of Galle:
“When from school you depart,
This lesson you should impart –
To live in dignity and grace,
You must a Richmondite embrace.”
Vijaya was another son of K. He was once the Mayor of Galle. On the day of his funeral, a trade unionist said. “Today, ends the era of gentlemen politics of Galle.”