Tissa the legend
The Dalada Maligawa, Kandy.
Ancestral home
The present
Kappagoda is a town on the old road from Colombo to Mawanella through
Aranayake. An old ‘Walawwa’ – mansion – belonging to the famous Rathwaththe
family was till very recently on this road. This has been recently converted to
a hotel and is named ‘Amba Sevana’.
A very good
view of ‘Bathala Kande’ – ‘Bible Rock’ – can be seen from Kappagoda.
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| 'Bible rock' as seen from the climb to Kadugannawa |
Kappagoda
was the area from the Kandyan hills which had the origins of the Kappagoda
family. This is a common practice in the Kandyan areas where the feudal lords
took the name of the area from which they came.
Parents
Tissa’s
parents were both lawyers. In a very conservative Kandyan society of the early
1940’s Tissa’s mother used to play tennis presumably wearing a Sari. This was
related to me by Lakshman Karalliedde.
Trinity College, Kandy
Trinity
College, Kandy was one of the premier institutions managed by the Anglican
Church. It had a long tradition of producing high achievers in Ceylonese/ Sri
Lankan society. Sports, especially Rugby and Cricket were areas where this
college excelled. Fraser among its distinguished Principals was a legend. Old
timers still relate the story of how Fraser invited the then Governor General
of British Ceylon to be Chief Guest at the Trinity Prize-giving. A snobbish
Governor General of Ceylon turned it down. Fraser who was Principal of Trinity
at that time, invited the Governor General of British Bengal, his brother, to
be the Chief Guest. The latter accepted. A sheepish Governor General of Ceylon
had to escort the Governor General of Bengal to Trinity for the Prize giving
ceremony.
Tissa
studied at Trinity and the discipline and ability to do ones best was I am sure
the gifts given to Tissa by Trinity.
Medical College days
Entrance to the Anatomy block where Tissa started his
medical studies in 1960
Koch’s Clock tower and the Administration bloc of the
Colombo Medical Faculty
Tissa in 1960 –
Still the looks of a school boy.
Some of his
batchmates at a trip to the Peradeniya Gardens in 1960.
Tissa in one of the
‘Public Health’ trips – 1963/64
Tissa’s academic
performance at the Medical Faculty was exceptional. He got the chance to do his
internship with the Professor of Medicine on the results of his performance at
the Final MBBS.
Internship days
Tissa did
his 6 months of medical internship with Prof. Rajasuriya. The next 6 months was
done at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo. I was also doing my
6 months there. We were resident there and work was hectic but we would play
Badminton regularly in the small lawn enclosed by the House Officers quarters
buildings. I do not remember Tissa joining us at play but he always had a good
sense of humor and his comments on the play were always entertaining.
When we
finished our internship I was having a chat with Tissa on our post-intern
prospects. Tissa had been under treatment for hemophilia. He confided to me
that his life with hemophilia would be short if he continued to live in Ceylon.
He took off to the UK after internship, met Mary there and built himself a
brilliant career in research and a wonderful family life.
As an editor of two of my books
FOREWORD – Written by Tissa to
my book ‘Remembered Vignettes’ – a story of life in the Medical Faculty,
Colombo as students in 1960 onwards. Tissa edited this book.
The dawn of the sixties was a period of great hope and expectation for
all of us who entered the Medical Faculty in Colombo
The constant need to perform at a level just beyond one’s comfortable
reach, the uncertainties associated with getting a “repeat” in the anatomy
block or the ignominy of getting thrown out of a clinical appointment due to
some minor infraction gave us “fifteen minutes of fame” periodically. Infractions, if there were any, were always
due to either divine improvidence or sheer perversity on the part of one’s
teachers. There were no other possible
explanations. As always, one was assured
of either a sympathetic ear in the canteen or a tale about an even greater
calamity that had befallen a colleague.
Such simple acts of generosity often turned a tragedy to something
approaching humor.
Not surprisingly, the atmosphere was often charged with a supreme
sense of the absurd which made the events of the day fun and from this distance
in time, even funny. To those of us who
worked abroad, our entire professional life has been punctuated by news from
home describing the devastation created by
war, insurrection, political ineptitude and simple corruption which over
the last four decades has been elevated
to an art form. Unfortunately, the
latter is still a work in progress. At first it was the radio that brought news
of such calamities but in recent times the Internet seemed to perform this task
with even greater accuracy and balance.
But journalistic competence brings no peace of mind. Others who continued to work in the country
had to deal with the realities on the ground and that was a task which required
almost superhuman dedication to the Hippocratic Oath. Many of them did so by falling back on that
sense of the absurd which was such an important aspect of our lives as
students.
Phillip has to be congratulated on undertaking the task of compiling
these stories and anecdotes which give an insight into a collective experience
which went beyond the mundane business of attending lectures, participating in
ward classes and a variety of other academic pursuits. In its own way it provided us with an
alternative learning experience which gave us the strength to follow our own
stars.
Tissa Kappagoda
Epilogue to the above book by Tissa
Philip,
Tissa, Viji, Nihal (Tissa's brother) and I go back till about 1955. Purely because Tissa asked me to canvass buyers for your book (without my even reading the book), I contacted most of the guys I know here in the US (some of the emails I copied Tissa). I could not find a single person who agreed to buy the book.
Most of these physicians keep recounting their wild escapades at Medical College, whenever we meet. It is very sad, but most of these physicians are not able to talk about much beyond recounting the great time that they had at Medical College or how the insurance companies are denying them monies that the have worked very hard to earn!
There are plenty of interesting stories from Medical College that I suggest you should collect and put together in your next edition so that it will appeal to others who were not in your batch. For example, Nicholas Attygalle was a thug and respected others like him. Jegasothy, aka Kanamoorthy, took awhile to complete his studies but Nicholas was keen on passing him. Nicholas asked a very simple question that needed Jegasothy to say Copper Sulphate in answer to the question what is used to treat eye infection (forgive me if I do not recall the facts correctly). After prompting in many different ways Nicholas finally asked what is Copper Sulphate used for and even then Jegasothy had no clue but in desperation asked quizzically 'Copper Sulphate?" and Nicholas is reported to have said "you B..r, why did it take you so long to give the correct answer".
Cheers
Brahman
At 01:56 AM 6/28/2008, you wrote:Dear Philip and Tissa, I have just finished reading the book " Remembered Vignettes". A book written with great reverence to our teachers and our batch mates. Thank you for looking at the good side of every person. If we can do that daily in our lives, the world will be a better place. The philosophical remarks in the book are timeless. I read Tissa,s Epilogue twice. We are at a time when we wonder , " what will I do when I get up in the morning tomorrow ? " . Tissa has some powerful ideas to contemplate. Must be read by every Srilankan Doctor. Job well done.
Harischandra Piyasena.
Dear Sam and Ameena,
Over the holidays I
discovered two Perera Hussein books that I had somehow missed - perhaps we
were overseas when they were published? or possibly, being Bay Owl books they
hadn't enjoyed the promotion and publicity of one of your 'regular' publications?
Anyway, for genuine wit and feeling, they would be hard to match, and I'd like
to take a second to congratulate you both, and the author and editor of
Remembered Vignettes and The Cry of the Devil Bird.
I owe the pleasure of
reading them to Dr Philip Veerasingam, who was kind enough to send copies
of both to Brendon. In Dr Tissa Kappagoda you've found a treasure of an
editor.
Congratulations all
round (though belated). I hope this talented pair have another book in the
pipeline.
Happy New Year! - and
thanks for giving 2014 such a joyful start for me.
Yasmine Gunaratne
Yasmin Gunaratne is a popular Sri Lankan poet,
(employed as a teacher at Macquarie University in Sydney) She is married to Dr. Brendon Gunaratne many years our senior at the Colombo Medical Faculty.
An incident related by Tissa Kappagoda on 5/7/2010
Tissa was
travelling back to Colombo from Habarana after our three day batch 1960
entrants reunion on 4/7/2010. He went to have tea at Ambepussa. A guy walked up
to him and introduced himself as the Visiting Obstertrician/Gynaecologist at
Mawanella. He wanted to know when the second book written by myself and Tissa
would be out. He had read the first book and had identified Tissa by the
photograph in the book. Tissa wanted him to contact me. He said that he already
had my phone number. This chap was a student of mine who clerked with me at
Colombo.
Preface to the book written by Tissa
to ‘The cry of the devil-bird’ written by me and edited by Tissa.
I had the great
privilege of helping Philip to prepare his first
book, about our days at the Medical Faculty in the
1960’s.
Travelling down a faltering memory lane was fun.
During the
course of that exercise, it became apparent that
Philip was not
only a born raconteur but also had an enormous
collection of
anecdotes, which spanned his illustrious career as a
surgeon in the
Health Service in Sri Lanka. It was an odyssey, which
began as a
lowly intern house officer at the General Hospital in
Colombo
and ended nearly four decades later at the same
institution, by
then glorying under the title of the National Hospital
of Sri
Lanka. Philip meanwhile had transitioned from being an
intern
to the rank of Senior Surgeon. During this extended
period, he
served the “ordinary” people of our country, working
wherever
the Department of Health elected to dispatch him.
Stories of
these people seen through the eyes of a very
dedicated, caring,
perceptive human being form the core of this second
book.
In preparing this material for publication, I was
struck by
the extraordinary differences in our careers (his and
mine). His
was undertaken almost in its entirety against a
backdrop of an
unrelenting civil war, to say nothing of two abortive
Marxist
insurrections. In comparison, mine had all the drama
of a ‘nine
to five shift’
at the checkout counter of the local supermarket.
10
Yet, he found time to delve into history and
philosophy. Upon
retirement, in an effort to stave off a possible bout
of depression
due to inactivity, he enrolled in a graduate program
and
completed an MA in Buddhist Studies. Need I add that
he was
the only layman, in a group of five who obtained
distinctions in
the final examination? The remaining four were foreign
monks!
Through it all, he remained firmly grounded in the
reality
of family life, ably supported by his loving wife
Ramya and
two daughters, both of whom followed him into what had
by
then become the family business. Last year on a visit
to Sri
Lanka, two friends and I decided to visit Philip at
his home
in Avissawella. We were expected for lunch and as we
neared
the town, we realized that none of us had his address.
We had
a short council of war and decided that this was a
problem well
beyond our abilities to resolve. As a last resort we
consulted
the driver of the vehicle we were travelling in. The
man had
an immediate solution for the problem. It was
simplicity itself.
“Sir, we will stop at the first ‘The Kade’ we come to
and ask for
directions.” Two of us, familiar with ‘Googling’ for
directions
even to the local petrol station, were openly
sceptical about this
plan while the third (a Harvard Alumnus), who was
unfamiliar
with computers, remained non-committal.
As we approached the town, we stopped at the first
‘The
Kade’ and the driver went in. A few words were
exchanged and
he returned, his face wreathed in a smile (perhaps it
was even a
smirk). We waited with bated breath, to hear the
outcome. The
driver’s response loses a certain amount of spice in
translation
(“E mahaththaya hari prasidda ekkenek”) but the gist
was, “He
is a famous man and everyone knows his house!” I
couldn’t help
wondering what would have happened if the roles were
reversed
and my friend had rolled up to Sacramento on the
Interstate 80,
stopped at the local 7 Eleven Store and asked for me.
In the narrative, Philip describes his surgical
journey from
11
small district hospitals, to teaching hospitals,
travelling through
the relative tranquillity of Koslanda, civil unrest
and war zones,
to the uneasy peace that was Colombo. Despite all
these
challenges, he managed to keep his life firmly
cantered on the
things that mattered most to him - his family and his
service to
the people of Sri Lanka.
Philip is a great Sri Lankan and this is his inspiring
story.
Tissa Kappagoda
Sacramento,
California
As a painter
Tissa’s
forte was water-colors. I had published a photo of a very ancient light-house
going back more than 400 years, situated in Mannar. He wanted to do a painting
of it and requested my permission. I told him to go ahead. He later sent me a copy of the
water-color he had done of it by email. He confided in me
later that he sold the painting for US Dollars 250/-.
Web-link
:-
As an author
Tissa
had this urge to bring the fruits of his learning and research to the layman.
He wrote quite a few books on diet and its relevance to heart disease.
Hi Philip!
Thanks for clearing this up. I have been looking at your posts regularly. I have done 5 paintings of birds. I want to complete a set of six and make up some cards. I will send you a sample in a couple of days. I am getting close to retiring and moving into an Emeritus status which will permit me to continue with research.
All the best,
Thanks for clearing this up. I have been looking at your posts regularly. I have done 5 paintings of birds. I want to complete a set of six and make up some cards. I will send you a sample in a couple of days. I am getting close to retiring and moving into an Emeritus status which will permit me to continue with research.
All the best,
Tissa
At the Batch Reunion
Tissa at our medical batch get
together in Habarana.
Tissa’s illness made us all to rally for his recovery.
- Forwarded message ----------
From: tissa kappagoda <ctkappagoda@hotmail.com>
Date: 14 April 2011 12:14
Subject: website for CTK
To: Philip <1960batch@gmail.com>
From: tissa kappagoda <ctkappagoda@hotmail.com>
Date: 14 April 2011 12:14
Subject: website for CTK
To: Philip <1960batch@gmail.com>
Cc: mhkappagoda@hotmail.com
Hello
Philip,
Our daughter Manel has created a website for friends to leave messages which we take in turns to read to him. I wonder if you could distribute it to your batch and they could leave messages if they wish. I hope I have the correct address. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kappagoda
Thank you,
Mary K
Our daughter Manel has created a website for friends to leave messages which we take in turns to read to him. I wonder if you could distribute it to your batch and they could leave messages if they wish. I hope I have the correct address. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kappagoda
Thank you,
Mary K
Saturday, April 9, 2011 11:34 AM, PDT
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It's
been a bit of a challenging few days but this morning Dad is stable and the
doctor said he's having a quiet uneventful day and that's a good day. The
doctors have reduced the ventilator support so that does seem like forward
progress. (I say that cautiously as it's been two steps forward, one step
back with this illness.) His white blood cell count is rising slowly but it's
still abnormally low so we continue to restrict all visitors.
He's been very alert for the past hour so I read all the messages and emails I've received since Tuesday. He particularly enjoys the funny messages but I think he generally just likes to know that people haven't forgotten him! He very much appreciated the breakdown of the SL/India cricket game.
It's very lovely that one of Dad's friends made a donation to this site as a tribute but please know there's absolutely NO expectation that anyone do that. We have no control over the design of the webpage so that pops up on the right-hand corner. (My preference would be that it didn't do that but there you go...)
Thanks to all of you for sending the cards and messages. They do bring a smile to his face.
Manel
He's been very alert for the past hour so I read all the messages and emails I've received since Tuesday. He particularly enjoys the funny messages but I think he generally just likes to know that people haven't forgotten him! He very much appreciated the breakdown of the SL/India cricket game.
It's very lovely that one of Dad's friends made a donation to this site as a tribute but please know there's absolutely NO expectation that anyone do that. We have no control over the design of the webpage so that pops up on the right-hand corner. (My preference would be that it didn't do that but there you go...)
Thanks to all of you for sending the cards and messages. They do bring a smile to his face.
Manel
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10/04/2011
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Dear
Tissa,
I arranged a Bodhi Pooja at the Getambe Temple,Peradeniya, inorder to invoke the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem for your speedy recovery. It was conducted by the priest last Saturday evening.On Sunday we perfomed a Gilanpasa Poojawa at the Sacred Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and blessed you. We wish you speedy recovery with the blessing of the Noble Triple Gem.
I arranged a Bodhi Pooja at the Getambe Temple,Peradeniya, inorder to invoke the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem for your speedy recovery. It was conducted by the priest last Saturday evening.On Sunday we perfomed a Gilanpasa Poojawa at the Sacred Dalada Maligawa in Kandy and blessed you. We wish you speedy recovery with the blessing of the Noble Triple Gem.
He was back on his feet and came
to give an oration at the SLMA.
At
the Sri Lanka Medical Association
A photo of Tissa at an oration he gave in 2014 at
the SLMA.
Then
out of the blue came the news of his demise.
Words cannot express the loss we felt as a batch.
A part of us was lost with Tissa’s loss.
'No Man is an Island'
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Author John Donne
Another poem we memorized at school comes to mind
….Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
A PSALM OF LIFE
What more can I say.
To those of you who had the privilege of being
close to Tissa, it was a benediction for life.
We share your sorrow but we also celebrate a
life well lived.
Philip G Veerasingam.
