Aravinda's father - a Portugese Baila king
Tin Tin
Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)
Sunday 08, September 1996
NOOKS AND CORNERS
Aravinda's father - a Portuguese karaya Baila King
Two weeks before the World Cup final earlier this year, I predicted that Sri
Lanka will emerge as champions.
I gave several reasons for this which were quite valid.
However,one of the main reasons for the World Cup win, I was unaware at the
time.
This was the fact that three blithe spirits with more effervescence than
Club Soda were playing a major role in psyching up our boys.
They are Sam de Silva, father of Aravinda, old boy of D.S. Senanayake
College - a short, stocky individual who belts out the choicest of Sri
Lankan bailas and ballads ranging from C.T. Fernando favourites such as
`Puruthugeesi Karaya', `Ma Bala Kale,' and `Mee Amba Wanaye' and `Sandawata
Ran Tharu Kekulu Pipewa,' to Sunil Santha's `Olu Pipila Wela Lela Denawa
Sudata Sude Nango' and of course our national anthem which is sung with
great fervour and gusto, Upali Mahanama, Roshan Mahanama's pater, and Reggie
Ranatunga who joins the happy band whenever he finds time to slip out of his
many political assignments.
Both Sam and Upali are spending their own money to travel abroad to witness
their sons playing and cheer the Sri Lankans on.
I asked both of them how they feel when their sons are going into bat and
whether they have butterflies spluttering in their stomachs.
Both confessed to being nervous as they watch their sons strive forward to
the centre of the green sward.
A few days ago, there was the small, but highly delightful party for a
small, chosen crowd, among whom were Tony Greig, Ian Chappel, two mercurial
cricketing personalities, Sam de Silva and Upali Mahanama.
As Sam arrived at the front entrance, the other guests chorussed, `The
Pruthugeesi Karaya has arrived.'
According to Upali, that party which was for `Golden Oldies,' an apt
description as the songs which were sung with great feeling and emotion, yet
with full throated fervour included old Second World War favourites such as
`Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile', `It's a Long Way to
Tipperary', `The White Cliffs of Dover,' to `A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley
Square.'
When Upali led the singing of `The White Cliffs of Dover,' it was certainly
apt, it was on the eve of the Aussie match, where we beat the Kangaroos.
``For, There'll Be Blue Birds Over The White Cliffs of Dover, Just You Wait
and See, There'd Be Sun and Laughter And Peace ever after, Tomorrow, Just
You Wait and See.'
Tony Greig and Ian Chappel, I am reliably informed, have rich, tenor voices
and harmonised well, sometimes even bringing tears to the hardy men of
Second World War vintage who accompanied them.
While Upali is more familiar with western songs, such as `Belovedly be
Faithful', `True Love,' Doris Day favourite `Bewitched, Bothered and
Bewildered,' and `Blue Moon,' Sam is in his element belting out baila as
would his son when belting the bowlers in a World Cup final.
When I telephoned one morning to speak to Reggie Ranatunga, Deputy Minister
of Transport, he had already left home to work.
But, I managed with the help of his personal assistant, to speak to him on
the cellular telephone while he was travelling in the car.
When I told him that I wanted some details about his children, particularly
when they were small, Reggie who has a very caring and helpful wife who can
smile through her tears, especially when talking about how political thugs
smashed up their house and belongings in 1977, and she, her husband, and six
little children were literally thrown on the street.
Mrs. Nandani Ranatunga who is Private Secretary to her husband, was about to
get into a car when she was told I was on the phone, wanting to speak to
her.
A simple woman who always believes and keeps advising her family to keep
their feet firmly planted on the ground, unlike some who let success go to
their heads and float on cloud nine, until they suddenly hit the ground with
a bang and end up disillusioned and bedraggled.
Nandani who was a teacher in a government school until she retired recently,
and Reggie have six sons, all of whom were students at Ananda College,
Colombo which has produced some of the more famous sons of Lanka.
The six are Ruwan, Sanjeewa, Dhammika, Arjuna, Nishantha and Prasanna.
Arjuna, Sanjeewa and Dhammika have played for Sri Lanka with Arjuna today
being one of the finest captains in international cricket in addition to
being a batsman of the highest calibre, a tough player who can place the
ball where he wants it to be with supreme ease.
Nandani told me that Ruwan had to give up cricket at 17 due to eye problems.
She recalled how from time to time, there had been ugly campaigns against
her sons. For instance when Sri Lanka lost the Singer Cup in Singapore,
there were dirty, despicable placards being displayed in public that
Aravinda had been bribed to lose the championship. This was very cruel to
Aravinda who scored a century in the World Cup final and has often turned
defeat into victory, for his country.
All right from the very tender age were nuts over cricket and played matches
in their large garden first with a tennis ball and then with a leather ball.
One of her sons had gone to Australia, on a AFS scholarship and done very
well in cricket.
Both Reggie and Nandani have always identified themselves with their sons,
stood firmly by them in times of troubles, strife and depression and gave
them all the love and support they needed.
When her children, were in school, her husband very often used to join her
sons in a thoroughly enjoyable game of garden cricket.
Today, Prasanna is Minister of Transport in the Western Province and is
following closely in his father's footsteps.
Like Reggie, he too, is very accessible.
Undoubtedly, sportsmanship that runs in their blood has had an influence on
their attitude towards people and politics.
At one time, the Ranatunga family used to talk so much cricket at table that
father Reggie laid down a fiat that no more were they to discuss cricket
during meals.
Nandani recalls how in 1977 after the SLFP lost the election, not only their
home, but their two vehicles and whatever money they had, were lost.
A teacher at Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya, which has produced many a man
of calibre, attributes the success of their family to humility,
understanding and the love to live for their fellow human beings which was
the cardinal principle in their family.
Upali Mahanama who is one of Sri Lanka's leading marketing consultants and
could well be called a doyen of Sri Lankan marketing, recalls the days when
he used to play tennis ball cricket on a narrow lane at Dehiwala with Roshan
and his brother Devaka.
And often, his sons would smash the windows of their neighbours, houses.
This resulted in strong protests and Upali says that he had intelligence
reports that his neighbours were planning to form an anti Upali Mahanama
Association.
Right from the beginning he and his wife Swarna have been actively
interested and supportive of the cricketing ambitions of their two boys,
Devaka, the elder who was a top class cricketer, however was lost to Sri
Lankan cricket due to his long stay in England and then in Australia where
he played the highest level club grade cricket.
Upali remembers how when Roshan was seven-years old, he used to play an
imaginary game of cricket while under the shower in his bath-tub and one
day, had slipped badly and sustained a deep cut in one of his eyes and had
to be rushed to the doctor.
Like his son Roshan, Upali played for and captained Nalanda College in 1958,
and if I remember right, was the founder member and pillar of strength to
the Mercantile Cricket Association which has now its own ground.
Both Sam and Upali recall the hilariously happy flight back home on a
special AirLanka plane after Sri Lanka won the World Cup at Lahore, Pakistan
by defeating Australia and grinding them into the dust.
The three or four hour flight from Lahore to Colombo was one continuous
session of baila and patriotic songs, `Obey Apey Sri Lanka' `Pun Sanda Paya
Dilenna', and of course `Purutugeesi Karaya.'
According to Upali, even our very sporty sports Minister S.B. Dissanayake, a
very genial, unassuming man, charmingly friendly, joined with some lusty
singing, which to him must have been quite a welcome change from the tough
talking political speeches he has had to make.
Today, Sri Lanka has the world's best batsman in Aravinda de Silva, most
powerful and attractive stroke player in Sanath Jayasuriya and one of the
best on side players in Roshan Mahanama, who like Sir Jack Hobbs who was
described by the famous cricket writer Neville Cardus, describing one of
Hobb's more distinguished innings, `with a single here and a single there,
like a millionaire practising thrift.'
Whenever, Jack Hobbs found the bowler easy to play, he would not thrash the
daylight out of him, scoring boundary after boundary. Instead, the famous
English opening batsman and all-time great, would take his runs very
sparingly, in order to encourage the opposing captain to keep bowling him.
On the other hand he would attack the better bowlers whom he considered
dangers with brutal ferocity.
Coming back to Tony Greig who stands 6'7'' in his socks, and a non apartheid
South African who captained England, will never forget a comment made of him
by that brilliant all-rounder Ravi Shastri, now a frontline commentator, who
said, `Tony Greig has been so supportive of the Sri Lankans, particularly on
their recent Australia tour, that I am sure he will be made a distinguished
citizen of Sri Lanka very soon.''
This article will appear on the day after the Singer World Cup final, but my
bets are very much on Sri Lanka which is today the most highly competent
side in international one-day cricket. Win or lose.