Dr Anula Nikapotha, She has left a void that can never be filled

Anula Nikapotha nee Aluvihare was the daughter of Bernard Aluvihare, lawyer and Dr. Mrs. R.A.M. Aluvihare, Gynaecologist and the wife of Dr. Vijitha Nikapotha, Radiologist, from Nugegoda. Anula was a psychiatrist specializing in child psychiatry. She practiced in Colombo, working in the General Hospital before she migrated with her family to UK and practised in UK, and went on to become a UN consultant, advising and training in child psychiatry through UNICEF, in the developing world. She would visit Sri Lanka often on her way to advise fellow professionals in Asia. Her last assignment as a UN Consultant was in Cambodia. Dr. Arjuna Aluvihare, a Surgeon in Kandy and one time Professor of Surgery and Vice Chancellor, Peradeniya University, is her remaining sibling.   

Anula and my wife Dr. Cynthia Jayasuriya, were contemporaries and associates at Colombo Medical College, and we kept each others’ company as often as possible, whenever we travelled to UK or they travelled to or through Colombo, which was very often, because of Anula’s professional consultancies. Early on they would drive overland from London through the Middle East, Afghanistan, India and arrive by ferry through Mannar. Vijitha was a clever mechanic too, and Anula knew no fear, being a very rational person, indeed. She was also a bridesmaid at our wedding.   

She died in Sweden where her extended family had gone for a winter holiday. We saw her at our home in Colombo a few weeks ago. Among her associates she has left a void which would be difficult to fill, remembering her beauty, her marvellous intelligence and her readiness to participate and help. Among her family members, especially her husband Vijitha and sons Damitha (Accountant) and Ashok (Doctor) and her daughter Sharmila (Vet Surgeon) she has left a void which nothing can fill. 

May she rest in the eternal peace which only God can give.  

Cynthia and Wilfrid Jayasuriya,   
([email protected])