Farewell To My Dear Brother Dr Narendran
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
One day we all will depart!
On a journey free of cost!!
Don’t worry about seat reservation, it is confirmed.
The flight is always on time.
Our good deeds will be our luggage.
Humanity will be our passport
Love is our visa
Make sure we do our best to travel to heaven in business class. ~ Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India
Yes, animals have feelings, and they can also experience joy and sorrow, just like us. I start with my salutation to Simba, the German Rottweiler- a good-natured and obedient dog, genial in its faith to his master – my late brother Dr. Rajasingham Narendran and his family members.
Simba – The great
It took a while for me -the visiting brother- to befriend Simba. I had to take the vigilant step to bribe him with mutton curry pieces and bones from my plate despite vigorous protests from my brother’s children and his daughter in law. He soon became a jolly good friend of mine, sleeping on my lap at times of distress. It is worthy to mention a few of his inexplicable responses towards my brother.
When I was in Sri Lanka with my eldest sister from Canada in October 2016, my brother walked down a few stairs to the front garden and returned to rest on the first step. I went to his rescue when he struggled to rise up. Sensing his master’s strain, Simba too jumped forward and gave me a threatening roar for me to step back. Next, was his own manoeuvrings when he placed his right front foot across my brothers lap and raised him from below the back with the sheer strength of his head and neck for him to stand up and walk back into the house. It was an unimaginable and overemotional experience for us.
Brother’s death brought the Pulayaveli Village to a halt and Batticaloa MP’s profound tribute in Tamil soon after his heath
Then the day before my brother’s death (1/9/17), whilst I was on the phone with him around 2.00pm (UK time), Simba unusually jumped onto my brothers bed and was resting his head on his lap. My brother was stunned and said: ‘I do not know why Simba is behaving like this? He never did this before’. The third encounter was experienced by the youngest son of my brother Mayan, when Simba was restless, barking and running around my brother when his soul was departing.
Simba’s senses were so prevailing beyond the six sensed human brain. Dr Narendran – a passionate veterinarian had his best affection and farewell from his much loved Simba – leave aside his loving and wholehearted family, relatives and friends.
Our parental connections
Born on 31 May 1946, Dr Narendran is the eldest of the seven siblings, with an eleven year span between him and the youngest. I am the sixth with the age width of nine years. My father was the descendant of well-known Penang (Brown) Kathiravelu and Gate Mudaliyar Nicholas and my mother was from a much humble Samuel stock. Brown Road in Jaffna is a representation of Brown (Penang) Kathiravelu.
My father’s adamant stand towards my mother to become a Hindu immediately after their marriage led to our family becoming Hindus from that day. My father was a bright intellect and was not a possessive character. He was not a futurist in familial sense but a thinker far beyond the normal day to day life. My eldest brother enjoyed the best of my father’s early years and inherited wealth of his knowledge and exposure to his intellectual engagements and my mother’s patience and hardworking life. He – my Anna (brother), was everything for all of us until his death.
His school days
When my father was serving in the Customs as Divisional Preventive Officer with occasional transfers, my brother too was moving around. His school life started from Badulla and moved to Kurunagala to be settled in Colombo at St Peters College and then Hindu College, Ratmalana. He was one of the brightest and was the Senior Prefect at Hindu College, Ratmalana. He won many awards for his oratory skills and the highest was the award for his speech on Swami Vivekananda- the speech he eloquently delivered at the Hindu College Annual Prize day at Saraswathy Hall, Bambalapitiya in 1966 – the Chief Guest was the Minister of Education J R Jayawardena. His appeal to the Education Minister for a day off for both Bambalapitiya and Ratmalana wings of the school, the following Monday, was granted instantly by JRJ amidst euphoric applause from the audience.
Higher education and work
He entered Peradeniya University in and around 1966 to do Veterinary Science. He recalls how our mother felt when he was leaving the house to the University. ‘The first bird is leaving the family nest’ was her emotional comment that he recalled many times with me. We had to leave Colombo to Jaffna under compelling circumstances in 1969. My brother held his breath to stay at the University without being emotionally carried away, for the right reasons. As the eldest, he thought about his long term responsibilities and his education was important to give the much needed financial strength to us all. He determinedly accomplished his wish. After his finals, he was appointed as Assistant Lecturer.
He was the student leader of the Tamil Union of the Peradenia University and played an important role to construct the Shree Kurunchi Kumaran Hindu temple in Peradenia. He was an overwhelming, no nonsense figure and was able to manage the disruptive internecine conflicts responsibly and hold the official Kumbabhishegam (opening ceremony) with much glamour and publicity.
He got married in 1971 and went on to do his PhD at University of Guelph, Canada. He returned from Canada in 1976 to serve as Senior Lecturer at Peradeniya University. I too moved to Kandy to be with my brother to pursue my studies in Accountancy. My second brother Late Manoharan was in his final year pursuing his degree in Agriculture at the Peradeniya University. He too spent much of his time with us.
Victims of the 1977 Anti-Tamil violence
