The Community’ ‘Skanda’ stirs nostalgic memories of cricket at book launch

The following are excerpts of the speech by S. Skandakumar who was the guest of honour at the launching of the book ‘The Community’ which was penned by Mevan Pieris. The book launch was held at SLFI Auditorium on March 21, 2023.

“It was three years ago that an equally eminent Thomian Anura  Tennekoon invited me to speak at the launch of his book. Today I am privileged again by one of similar standing and must thank Mevan for the opportunity,” is how Skandakumar began his speech.

He said that it merely reinforced the values of our two great institutions, where the fierceness of competition on the playing fields have led to the strongest of bonds off it.
“Sandwiched between the learned Professor, and the revered Warden, I feel like a Dwarf. Thankfully Royal’s sterling performance at the big match on Saturday has given me a few inches!

“It is not my intention to comment on this amazing research and labour of love of Mevan’s . It’s an area I must leave to the Professor who is far more qualified than I to do it.
“I will instead touch briefly on the author who I have known for almost sixty years,” the speaker said.
Skandakumar and Pieris had first met at the Royal Thomian of 1965.

“S.Thomas’ was registering comprehensive wins against every school, on their way to our big match.
“We knew we were the underdogs and that even the glorious uncertainties of the game were not going to be able to produce a Royal win. So we focused on an honourable draw,” said the speaker.
According to Skandakumar there was a good reason for saying so.
In Mevan and Barney Reid the Thomians had the most destructive bowling combination that had skittled school after school during the season.

“They both bowled in swing at varying pace to the right handed with uncanny accuracy.
“For those of you in the audience- not familiar with this time consuming game- imagine yourself in pads standing in front of a set of stumps with a bat in hand.
“If there was the slightest gap between your bat and pad, they would get through you to shatter your stumps,” he recalled.
Facing a daunting first innings total of their rivals, close to three hundred, Royal was bundled out for small total and followed on.

He went on to state, “A great rear guard action in the post tea session on the second and final day for our last wicket between Nissanka Wadugodapitiya and Lakshman Thalayasingham saw us earn an honourable draw that prompted our winning captain of the 1969 encounter Eardley Lieversz to pen an article which he captioned -When a Draw can be as good as a Win”. 

The Royal team was truly honoured !
“Our paths next crossed at the Colombo University where we played three seasons of the Premier P.Sara tournament together.
“In the third season Mevan was made captain and it was a season of great achievement made possible by his inspirational leadership.

“His attention to detail, meticulous planning, complimented by his own sterling performances with both bat and ball raised the bar for every member of our team. And it was no surprise when we became champions in our league; beating some very formidable sides. One had no less than seven national players!
“Sadly examinations clashed with the final round games and we were never at full strength thereafter.
“We then went our separate ways and Mevan achieved much in the field of education completing an MBA and qualifying as a Chartered Chemist and made a significant contribution to the Plastic and Rubber Industries of the Country.

“His meticulous application to detail, flair for research, and a passion for anything he undertook has now evolved a book probably unparalleled in content and in history.
“As the Warden mentioned, the contents will be debated for their negatives, but the positives he pointed out remind us of the contribution this elitist group of three colonial eras of the Portuguese, Dutch and British, made to the well-being of Society in general.
“While we take those positives let us today take a step back to reflect seriously and honestly at where we are as a nation.

“For a Country blessed with natural resources as we have and inherent talent as we see even today, the circumstances we are in, seventy five years into Independence have left me utterly humiliated as a Sri Lankan.
“Never did I even remotely dream in my time at the University, that in the twilight of my life I would see our great country placed as it is today.
“There is a future we owe and must ensure for our succeeding generations and it is now time to press the reset button to facilitate that.

“What better way to initiate that process then, than to reflect on our own personal blessings. How often have we reflected on the magic of creation ! By that I mean our human anatomy, and it’s functions !
“Our brain , the ability to think, to hear ,to see ,to speak, our organs as our heart, lungs , liver , pancreas, kidneys, the movement of our limbs and their amazing coordination to preserve our well being.
“How often have we paused to appreciate it and to demonstrate our gratitude for it !
“Before I conclude therefore I thought  I will read to you an extract from an Essay a great humanist,  Paul Johnson who passed away on 12 th January at age 94, wrote in 2006, titled “ The Human Race, Success or Failure”.

“ Somehow we have to bring back into our private lives and public life the spiritual element, the sense of awe at the magnificence and possibilities of creation, the pride in goodness and altruism, the fear of wrong doing and materialistic arrogance , and above all the love for fellow human beings which is inseparable from the belief that all human life is created in the image of divinity “
“Those profound lines speak for themselves as do those uttered by Marcus Brutus to justify the assassination of Julius Ceaser.

He said at the funeral Oration,
“ It’s not that I loved Ceaser less, but that I loved Rome more “
“Yes let us restore that love for our nation as our highest priority as we trigger that reset button, and set an example for all to follow.
“Thank you again Mevan for this honour, May God Bless you All”.