• We met when we were young, enjoyed some good times together in London and here too after that
• She was a vivid, forceful woman and a born celebrity in every word, every gesture she made

It was a blow straight to my heart when my daughter told me of Manouri’s death early the next morning. It has left a void that can never be filled as she was a person of exceptional quality and intellect, a friend through most of my life. My father was a friend of her father’s and of his brother Walwin, father of Manik de Silva. We met when we were young, enjoyed some good times together in London and here too after that. Later on, when I married, we were neighbours and  her husband the late Sarath Muttetuwegama and mine were friends and colleagues in Parliament. They were in different political parties. but that was a far more civilized era when one was able to be friends despite political differences and not be accused of having deals!  

Manouri was the eldest child of the Late Dr Colvin R de Silva, renowned far and wide for his wit and brilliance as a lawyer and in politics. Her father doted on her, probably seeing shades of himself in her. She, most certainly inherited his intellect, his wit, his vision, his compassion for the less fortunate and his sense of justice. After qualifying as a Barrister, she returned to be among the first women to be criminal lawyers. She was also deeply involved in fighting for and strengthening women’s rights in a myriad of spheres. 

She wore many hats, one of the first was as President of the Women Lawyers Association. In 1994, she was made Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, later she was the Chairperson of the All Island Commission on disappearances, Chairperson of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms. She was the  Legal Director of Lake House and also an Editorial Consultant at Lake House. Like her father, she never faltered in her pursuit of justice  and continued in this right throughout her life, in spite of illness and personal tragedies to work for war survivors, disappeared persons and war widows. 

A priority in her work were the voices and experiences of all those badly affected by the war and in minority groups.She pushed hard and long for the inclusion of women in positions of power and authority and stressed the importance of women being in the forefront of all moves towards progress. 

Her brilliance did not deter her from friendships with those less so, she was a humane person, always making a statement wherever she went, friendly, warm and reaching out to others with her special brand of warmth and humour. She was a very perceptive person and always the driving force in all organisations she was involved in.    
Whenever we met, there was the excitement and sentimentality of reunion, of reminiscing, of all things positive .Despite her air of authority and confidence, Manouri never lost her quintessential feminity. She had fortitude, courage and determination and the ability never to give up. She was a vivid, forceful woman and a born celebrity in every word, every gesture she made. My world will most certainly be poorer without her, but all those who loved her and there were many, must try to be as she was, brave, hopeful, compassionate, open-hearted and  continuously dealing out happiness to others. I’m glad that my daughter and her Ramani are very close. She thought of mine as another daughter and I think of Ramani as another daughter who has inherited much of her mother’s ways, through example and inspiration.
 May she rest in peace till we meet again, soon, I hope on that far 
distant shore.