SUNETRA ILLANGAKOON—MY FRIEND FOR LIFE

Sunetra Illangakoon nee Seneviratne and I entered the kindergarten of Bishops’ College together and remained good friends ever since. Our parents were friends too, as were our grandparents, and we would spend the day together often with our brothers, at each other’s homes. Sunetra hailed from a most distinguished political lineage, which has left its footprints firmly in the sands of time in our country’s history. Her grandfather, Sir Francis Molamure, was the first speaker in both the State Council and in Parliament. Her grandmother, Lady Adeline Molamure was the first woman Senator, whose sister Mrs. D.R. Wijewardene is the grandmother of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Sunetra’s father, the late L.J. de S. Seneviratne was a senior public servant who rose right to the top.   
Throughout our school days, we remained close friends and shared many teenage adventures and good times together. These included being part of a gang of friends, who would spend our Sunday evenings taking the air at Galle Face Green dressed in our Sunday best, ice cream at Sundae Tea rooms and Fountain House, parties at each other’s homes, giggling visits to the cinema. The Royal Thomian match was a highlight of our social life and we would get new dresses for the event. Sunetra was much quieter than me, always ladylike and soft-spoken, but would join in most of our pranks, although sometimes somewhat reluctantly. We would chat for hours over the phone too, much to the annoyance of our parents, who paid the bills! Sunetra married Sepala Illangakoon, a planter, soon after she left school. Prime Minister Ranil was the page boy at her grand wedding, an event which I will always remember. We continued to keep in touch and I spent holidays with her on some of the estates they lived in, which were mainly in the Ratnapura district. She was a fabulous cook and could turn out anything from any international cuisine and cakes of all kinds. She was also a superb seamstress, a meticulous housewife, devoted daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother.   

When she returned to live in Colombo after Sepala retired as a planter, but was a Director of Mackwoods and later on was also appointed as Chairman of the Tea Board at one time, we resumed our close friendship and she would give us fabulous meals when she entertained us. As her daughter married a planter, she looked after her three grandsons, during their school days at St Thomas College, Mt Lavinia. She never failed to supervise their homework, take them for tuition, keep a close eye on all their activities and shower them with that special love and tender care which was a grandmother’s privilege. She doted on them all as they do on her. Sunetra also played an active role in The National Council for Child and Youth Welfare, which had been her mother Sita’s dedicated contribution to community service in her lifetime. She continued to visit those homes for children begun in various areas of the country by her mother and also her talents in sewing and embroidery to help others, as a member of the Colombo Ladies League where she went every week to help develop sewing talent among underprivileged women and helped to market their products. Sunetra was always a sensitive,caring, cultivated person, who had discerning control over her emotions at all times.   
 She continued this work till she became ill and was confined to her home. Even though she failed to recognize most people when she watched television, she never failed to recognize her pageboy, Ranil and would smile happily whenever he appeared on TV programmes or events.   

 No appreciation of Sunetra would be complete without a tribute to her daughter Riyanjali and son-in-law Damitha. They gave up their beautiful home in Mount Lavinia to move in with Sunetra, who needed Riyo’s constant presence on a full time basis. Right through my long experience in life, I have never seen such devotion from a daughter and son-in-law. They will, I know, be truly blessed for all that they did for Sunetra. Riyo rarely left her side and particularly, during the last few weeks, did everything she possibly could to make her mother comfortable and spare her pain and suffering. I’m so glad now that three of her school friends, Rosemary, Indrani and I and Lakshmi, a friend from her days as a planter’s wife, kept in close touch with Sunetra in those last few years when she was ill. We shared in her joy on her last birthday last year and watched her laugh and sing with us all while Damitha played his guitar. It was a joyous occasion, shared also with her sister-in-law Shirani and her son Lakshman. I was so happy when she told me that she loved me that day, when we all asked her that question. These last few months were difficult for her and perhaps even more so for Riyo and Damitha, who took it all in their stride, never complaining but smiling with Damitha, making us all laugh through our tears with his jokes.   

I will miss a dear friend who was there for me through the storms and sunshine of my life, through smiles and sorrow. But I know it won’t be long before we meet again on that beautiful shore where nothing but joy awaits us, as we reunite with our loved ones gone before us.