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The doyen of J’pura University Management Faculty

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25 February 2017 01:39 am - 0     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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It is hard to believe that a year has lapsed since the demise of our distinguished colleague Gajaba Gunawardana who passed away on February 22, 2016. 


Gajaba was born in Weligama, a coastal village in the deep South. His father Turin Perera Gunawardana was a renowned Ayurvedic doctor who later moved to Polhena in Matara to educate his children. He was the fifth in a family with two brothers and three sisters. 


Gajaba received his education at leading Catholic school St. Servatius’ College in Matara.

Notwithstanding his busy commitments in Colombo, he did not hesitate to render his cardinal obligations to his alma mater by being the Vice President of St. Servatius’, Colombo Branch. 


It was at Sri Jayawardanepura  University that I had the privilege of interacting with Gajaba intimately since 1971. He enrolled for the four year B.Sc (Special) in Public Administration Degree Programme and his affable ways and gentle conduct endeared him to all batch mates. He obtained his M.A. in Management Learning at University of Lancaster,  UK. As an undergraduate, Gajaba seemed to have been more struggle-oriented than academically-bent. 


This popularity eventually led him to contest successfully for the Student Council dominated by the Communist party along with a team of student council leaders who have later become prominent politicians like S.B. Dissanayake, Bandula Gunawardana, Reginald Cooray, Chandrasiri Gajadeera and Mahinda Wijesekera. 


The majority of the Student Council leaders during this era had been very aggressive in their approach when dealing with student grievances. SB, Yasaratna and Iddamalgoda were his roommates and the strategic plans they engineered, burning the midnight oil at the Soratha Hall, paid rich dividends in developing the Management Faculty. 


Bandula Gunawardene in his funeral eulogy distinctly recalled that his generation of politicians was eternally indebted to Gajaba for his forthright stand on principle whenever the universities and the students faced numerous challenges. But he never sought political favours for personal gain. That was Gajaba. 


Gajaba’s mastery of the English language stood him in good stead. Whenever representatives of the World University Service and other foreign dignitaries came to address the students, obviously the task of translation fell upon Gajaba who quite lucidly imparted such addresses. His proficiency in English language was manna from heaven and his compelling arguments at the bargaining table with the university administration often brought tangible results. He always relied on the fact that when intricate issues were emotionally-driven, it was impossible to find rational solutions. 


It would be a gross injustice to Gajaba if an unforgettable deed of patriotism on his part is not mentioned. Being the Director of the Road Sector Assistance Project that was funded by the World Bank, Gajaba was on an official trip to Ampara when he was stopped by the sentries of an Army checkpoint at Mahaoya on the stretch of the main road running from Mahaoya to Ampara. 


This was the very road where the massacre of 33 Buddhist monks, most of them young, and four civilians by the rebel LTTE cadres took place on June 2, 1987 in Aranthalawa. The sentries politely pointed the imminent danger, also in the vehicle prominently displaying the national flag. 


Gajaba insisted on proceeding for the meeting and was even prepared to give a written undertaking on his own volition taking the full responsibility for his life. After much persuasion, he was allowed to go on the request of removing the national flag only for this stretch for his own safety. His stock answer was that even if he died at the hands of the militants, he was not prepared to remove the national flag. Gajaba being Gajaba, did not comply with this the admonishment and simply proceeded, taking a huge risk. Unbelievably, no untoward incident happened. That was the sense of patriotism he had for Mother Lanka. 


He had a very successful career in the public sector and leading funding and service organisations spanning over 35 years of service. His assignments at the Ports and Highways Ministry as World Bank Projects Director, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Ministry as Fisheries Sector Development Project Director, National Institute of Business Management as a Management Consultant, Sri Lanka Foundation Institute as a Senior Lecturer and World University Service, Geneva, Switzerland as the Regional Administration Officer (Asia and the Pacific Region) are some of the key posts he held with distinction. 


His posting at the Ports and Highways Ministry as Director in-charge of World Bank Projects involving rehabilitation and improvement of 15 national roads with a total length of 635 Kilometres ($ 263 million) was one of the formidable tasks he executed quite exceptionally. At a time when the road development sector was criticised for corruption and bribery, his achievement as the lowest recorded cost per kilometre in spite of the recorded rate of inflation was an appreciable performance. 


Gajaba’s last assignment was at the Colombo Port Development Project as a Consultant. Gajaba called over at my office when the writer was the Acting Chairman of theMarine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA), in order to ascertain the key marine environmental safeguards. He was absolutely unaware of my presence as the head of this institution until he stepped into my office. He pretended that he knew me, by giving me the due respect as “Sir” during the entire discussion. A remarkable quality in his approach was he never sought undue favours from me, nor did he indicate our personal relationship in the course of the subsequent dealings with my officers or his colleagues. 
Gajaba was one of the prime movers for the establishment of the local branch of the World University Service (WUS). He represented Sri  Lanka at the Youth and Development in an Asian setting held in Kathmandu, Nepal and the WUS International General Assembly in Managua,  Nicaragua. 


He instinctively followed his conscience in everything he did, and his conscience never let him down. It was a pleasure to meet him and be greeted by his radiant smile and warm mellifluous voice. Gajaba was a down to earth, pragmatic sober scholar produced by the Management Faculty of Sri Jayawardana University. 


His wife Indrani, a former Director of the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (Special Projects) and daughter Harini were a tower of strength to Gajaba right throughout his life. His sister Thalatha was a live-wire in the family circle who consoled Gajaba at every moment of his life when he was distressed. 


Now that an Alumni Association has been formally established in the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, it is fervently hoped that adequate space be provided in its website for the publication of the articles and eulogies of this nature. 


Memories of this amiable and dignified character shall remain in the hearts of his friends and colleagues for many years to come. May you attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana.   


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