email from 'Gunsie'

Dear Batch mates, It was indeed an incredible performance by the organizing committee. This is not the first, but a second in a row. Thank you guys. A 'Labour of Love'.
I regret I was not able to enjoy the entire experience. As some of you may know, I got sick after the Friday dinner( I was told few others also got sick, may be not bad as I ). I had severe diarrhea, vomiting & feverish. I was fortunate to have our Resident Gastro enterologist,Dr Piyasena, attend on me- he made a house call. His Dx was Ecoli gastro enteritis, most likely from chicken or fish. His assistant Dr, Suneetha, supplied me with Immodium. i was taking Lomotil & didnot do the trick. Following this I was not able to eat hardly- felt squeamish. We (my son & I)went on Sun: to Trinco - stayed at Chaya Blue( another Keells- may be coincidental). We tried to eat some chicken that evening. My son had severe Vomiting & D. I regressed with D & nausea. Did not feel back to normal only after we returned to Colombo on the8th. Our tour experience with Jetwing travels wasnt great either- Opposite from that I had one with Ponna & family in 2001.
I tried to meet many as I could. Pardon me if I did not do my best. It was great to see those who were such good friends & spent most of your waking hours with- 50 yrs ago- B rought warm feelings & naustalgia. My father suddenly expired - I got the call,while we were waiting for the 3rd MBBS results. Christie must have gone thru 10 Pks of cigs. We were doing Prof Rajasooryars rotation- he did not see eye to eye with my father on many things. Our whole batch of 30 took the overnight Yal Devi to jaffna to attend the Funeral- those were the days . As I left SL the very day after the end of Internship I lost out in many ways.
While I was in the Embarkation lounge in S'Pore , on the way to Col:- filling Immigration forms, some one out of the blue came & hugged me, I in return spontaneously hugged him & told him that I dont recognize him. On closer look it was my dear friend Buddy who was on the same flight ! Speaking of hugging- I ran into 2 anti-huggers at the Reunion. What a bummer.
It was so nice to see Sujaee after so long- I have fond memories of our friendship. She has become the Sophia Loren of Spain ! Tho less blessed in some aspects. My Body partners Asoka G ( I had cont: contact with all these years) & Chistie. G, (affectionately known as Balls, I never knew why- I think it was because he used that in every sentance or every other word) after 45 yrs. It was great to see all my Blom Room mates- Rudra.H, MBBS De S. & Nihal G. Derryk had to fall on me in the bus in the pretence of helping me & had a bloody nose & black eyes
And many fond Friends & Memories.
I also took my son Jerry to Jaffna, see my ancestral home & my parents grave. We stayed with Ganeshamurthy & Jeya ( Ponnadurai)- They have not changed physically or in character. To me they are truly angels- so Humane, kind, generous in every way, & never one complaint. Jeya still drives her early 1950s Morris Minor- She rode her bike during the numerous hard times to the Hospital . We were taken to Kopay in the Morris Minor, so Jerry could see my ancestral home built in late 1800s & the Church where my Great grand, Grand , Mother & my Sister played the organ for the services- which was built in 1830s.
We went by private van to Jaffna- the road from Vavuniya to jaffna was full of ruts & pot holes.- it was close to torture. It was a sad return - Many in S & W - including the Tamils look at the N & E thru tinted glasses & are in denial - numbness & helplessness were evident there. I know many go there on 'Victory Runs' without any consideration to peoples & their feelings of dispair.
On our return to Col: Asoka G. drove us down the coast down to Galle seeing the fine beaches etc & had lunch by the sea. We returned to US, earlier than planned - were exhausted with cont moving.
All in all great --- No words can express my thanks to all those who made it possible.
With much love & sacred memories of our Medical College days, May you all live to see your great grand children -at least
Jeyandran(Jey) Gunasegaram -Gunsie-