Deshabandu Clara Motwani The illustrious American Educator of Sri Lanka

Deshabandu Clara Motwani was far more than just a highly respected Principal of Buddhist Girls’ Schools in Sri Lanka. She was one of the most famous  educationists of her time.  In the Independence Day Issue of 4th February 2018 the Daily Mirror hailed her (and 19 others) as the ‘Greatest Sri Lankans Since Independence’. She was the only ‘foreigner’ and the only educationist to be thus honoured.  But she was no ordinary foreigner. After considerable soul searching, she gave up her much-valued American citizenship to accept the distinguished citizenship bestowed on her by  the Government of Sri Lanka. She knew she would never live anywhere else except in this beautiful isle. 

“Americans do not have  astrological predictions being made at the birth of a child. Certainly my American grandparents, Edward and Eva Heath, had no reason to suppose that their firstborn daughter would marry an Indian academic and  leave her native shores to  become the adored and respected principal to thousands of Sri Lankan girls to whom she would devote her life in the field of Buddhist education.” From ‘Chosen Ground. The Motwani Saga’. 

John Reed, American Ambassador wrote in 1981, “Your superb record of half a century of service as an educator is a truly remarkable achievement. I am proud you were born in the USA. I salute you.”

Married at 19 to Yale-educated  Indian Sociologist, Dr. Kewal Motwani, mother completed her  Master’s Degree after marriage. My father was a theosophist, as was my American  grandmother,  so her marriage to an Asian was not opposed  too strenuously.  Ceylon (not yet Sri Lanka) was  the last stop of their journey home to India where father’s  guardian,  Sir Jamshed Mehta, awaited him and his American bride. 

Sir Jamshed  had written to his friend , Sir Baron Jayatillake, asking him  to entertain the couple while they were in Colombo. Accordingly Sir Baron invited them to tea and was promptly riveted by Mother’s calling card which  read…’M.A. Education.’ 

Father was 11 years older than his young wife who was only 23 at the time. She was highly qualified;  indeed exceptionally so. She had a B.A.in Music; a parallel Degree in Languages and a M.A. in Education.  The thought of an immediate career  had not entered her head.  But Sir Baron exerting his considerable charm  told my father, “Now Dr. Motwani,  leave your wife with me for a short time, and let her run Visakha  Vidyalaya which  needs a Principal quite desperately.” Visakha had run through nine Principals in the 16 years since inception and the British Director of Education was not happy. 

As the father was already on the Commonwealth Lecture circuit my parents felt Ceylon could briefly be their home base.  Sir Baron’s request (more like an order mother said afterwards) was accepted and he immediately handed her a binding contract.  As things worked out, she fell in love with Ceylon and never left except to visit India and  her American home. 

Christian missionary schools 

The elite of Ceylon (regardless of  religion) were  mostly educating  their children in  Christian missionary schools. Although not a Catholic mother had been given an expensive Private Convent  School education by my grandparents who felt private schools were the best.  Mother loved her convent  experience. It seemed as if God and Providence were already training her how to run  conservative girl’s schools in Ceylon. ( And mother was very conservative. ) For instance, she disliked the idea of pupils taking part in unladylike activities like high jumps.(Her words not mine.) Mother’s early pupils did oriental dancing and eurhythmics instead.  

Mother’s first  twelve years in Sri Lanka brought Visakha a  stability which its constantly changing earlier Principals found difficult to achieve. Despite new buildings, Visakha was not financially well off and the Principal’s residence was in a wing of the new hostel. It was my mother’s first home and mine too, till I was three. 

No systems of education could have differed more than the British and American syllabuses. The British Director of Education did not object to  a strong dose of Americanisation so long as  British standards  were maintained. So within the first year  mother put Visakha  on a ‘War Footing’.  Upper School students entered the hostel for holiday tuition classes to prepare and raise lapsed standards  for the coming exams . Mother’s tact got teachers to give up their vacations. (I thank  Beryl de Silva and Lakshmi Edirisinghe for this information.)  

Within months my mother embarked on a course aimed at bringing the school into the public eye.  She began the FIRST HOME SCIENCE COURSE on the Island  and tied up with Lady Irwin University in New Delhi which sent out three  Indian Lecturers. It was instantly popular. Many students   began to join these ground breaking classes lured by the highly  modern kitchens and foreign qualification offered. Years later my mother persuaded Independent Sri Lanka to make Home Science an exam subject. 

The British Director of Education, I. Robison, smiled on Visakha again and had this to say at an early  Prize Day ,“I congratulate Motwani on her excellent Annual  Report which far from containing platitudes,  gave the ways in which they had been corrected.”  

Governor General, Sir Andrew Caldecott, got to know Mother personally and was her Chief Guest at another  function .(Prize Giving I think). I have misplaced a long cherished photograph of him and his wife. Later C.W.W. Kananngara,  then a member of the State Council, said, “I congratulate Motwani on her Report. She has indicated to the Government, which has little experience in that direction,  how a girl’s school should be run.  She has provided the pattern.” 

Buddhist institutions 

Prominent Buddhist families  like the Hewavitarna’s  and the Amarasuriya’s began sending their children to Buddhist institutions. Former PM Mahinda Rajapakse’s aunt, Kamala, is in a picture of over 50 kiddies in a school play. Until the day she passed away Mother could give the names of EVERY child in that photo. 

The only classical Operetta in Ceylon (either before or since) was produced. “The Bohemian Girl” was such  hit that it ran into two repeats. I have with me the names of the cast containing some well known later personalities …, Sujatha Jayawardena nee de Silva, Sita Joseph nee de Saram, Indra de Silva  (mother of the famous Wettamuni cricketers)  and others.  More importantly, Mother emphasized  Oriental  culture giving it equal value with  the Western. 

WW11 forced schools to open branches in the hills and principals shuttled up and down between them.  Visakha’s Bandarawela branch  maintained the usual high standards .Chandra Godakumbara and  Pulimood were among the notable teachers who went up-country with Mother. Usual school activities gave way to unusual ones like nature hikes. Author,  Manel Ratnatunga, recalls   “The communication gap between the awesome American Principal and students was bridged in a manner not possible in Colombo.” 

Before the WW11 ended mother left Visakha. She was very fond of Pulimood and despite much opposition to a Christian/ Indian becoming Vice Principal, my Mother imperturbably pushed the appointment through. A year after she left Visakha,  Pulimood was appointed Principal and shortly after Visakha became a government school. 

Father took us off to India  for the duration of the War. When it ended,  the newly founded Hindu Ladies College Board in Jaffna asked  my mother to  organise the school along modern methods. She agreed and took me with her. Of my nine schools I was happiest in Jaffna.      

Apart from her school work Mother was soon  very busy on the lecture circuit and was invited to speak at almost every educational function in Jaffna. Among Mother’s papers  I found references to some of her activities. She was co-speaker with  Justice C. Nagalingam (not sure where); she was chief speaker  at a function unveiling the portrait of Sir Waitialingam Doraisamy. She was the Chief Speaker at many schools  and was soon well into her stride on the educational circuit of Jaffna. She  was a good speaker and exceptionally poised for such a gentle and actually rather  shy person .

THE SRI LANKA FEDERATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN (SLFUW)

One of mother’s most enduring legacies in Sri Lanka was her founding of the above institution. As I  write this, the SLFUW is probably the most respected and honoured women’s institutions in Sri Lanka. She was its first President and ever since then highly educated and reputed women have followed in her footsteps….e.g. the famed Principal and University Chancellor,  Jezima Ismail,  well known Principal, Susan George Pulimood, diplomat Manel Abeysekera and others. 

In  1948 Musaeus College lured Mother away from Jaffna. Musaeus  has had one of the most illustrious histories of all Buddhist Girl’s Schools in Sri Lanka. It was founded by Theosophists Marie Musaeus Higgins and Peter de Abrew in 1891, and was  guided by Colonel Henry Olcott the great reviver of Buddhism in the country. The Peter de Abrew Trust gave the school a solid financial  foundation.  As a Theosophist herself, Mother was very happy in this environment. 

Her appointment was  also  very pleasing to Prime Minister, D.S. Senanayake  ( an old  friend from Visakha days) who immediately paid her the honour of asking Musaeus students to sing the National Anthem at the first Independence Day Celebrations at the Town Hall. Fifty Musaeus College  girls in white half saris wowed  Colombo.  

After Independence D.S. Senanayake  put Mother on almost every educational Board in the country. During her lifetime she sat on 42 committees ( sometimes concurrently.)  The breadth and versatility of her contribution to Sri Lanka is amasing. Here are some examples.

She served… …On the University Senate for years:  on the Public Library Committee: as  President of the Rotherfield Psychological Clinic:  A President of the Head Mistresses Association of Ceylon:  as Rep. to the International Women’s Alliance  1956:  on the Girl Guide Council:   as Government  delegate to UNESCO Seminar on English Teaching in 1954:   as Member of the Fulbright Scholarship Selection Committee for years … and  innumerable others.  

As expected,  a modern Home Science building was soon  built at Musaeus .   Finances were never the problem they had been at Visakha thanks to the Peter de Abrew Trust.   Musaeus owned a lovely 5 bed-roomed  Principal’s house on Rosmead Place and there is an amusing tale here. Dr.Howes,  the British Director of Education, lived close by. Every evening Dr. Howes (short and plump) used to take his evening walk coinciding with the time Mother ( tall and slim) was  leaving her office. The two would walk down to our gate.  Father would watch them approach  and with a face he tried to keep straight would say, “There come the long and short of Education.” Humour was always a great Motwani tradition and one  of the best lessons  Mother  taught  her pupils was to use humour as a spirit lifter. 

(The writer is the daughter  of Deshabandu Clara Motwani )