My Life

1 My Early Childhood Life and Studies at Galle

Iremember very clearly my mother telling me the story of the first days of my life. I was born a month premature, and it was with great difficulty that I survived. She said that I had been quite blue, and she could hardly feel my breathing. Medical technology was not that advanced those days therefore I was wrapped in cotton wool, and everybody was hoping for the best. One of my uncles, Dr. Reggie Alles, had instructed that the baby would survive only if properly suckled. This was beyond a premature baby all blue and weak. So my mother had taken a piece of cloth, turned it into a wick and had dipped it in milk and placed it in my mouth as if feeding a baby squirrel. She was overjoyed when the baby responded. This is how I survived my first challenge in life.

I was born on the 3rd of October1932. Ofcourse I am recalling these past memories now when I am 75 years, on the request of so many who have asked me to write my life story.

The greatest shock when I was very young was the death of my father. We were living in Maha Modera at that time, and I yet remember that bleak April day when an exhausted messenger conveyed the terrible news. I was only 7 years old and the year was 1939. My father was suffering from acute diabetes and he had to be taken to Colombo for treatment. Doctor Dadabhoy treated him, and his whole right leg had to be amputated as a result of his illness. He never recovered from that fatal operation. I remember how I howled and lamented when this message was received. I do not think I realized at that time the implications of being fatherless at that young age.

After the death of my father, our family - My three brothers Mervyn, Vincent, Anton, my elder sister Irene, my mother and I moved to our Maha Ge at 72, Kaluwella Galle. Though we refer to this house as our Maha Ge it did not belong to us. It belonged to an aunty, Lavinia Alles. My mother’s mother owned one-fifth of that house. On that part-ownership we were allowed to live in that house.

During the time-period that we lived at Kaluwella, my mother and I moved occasionally to Pathiragoda, Akmeemana.  Before our father fell ill our family was quite well-off and owned houses and property. My father was the head steward of the Galle Hospital. Apart from his government job he had also received a considerable inheritance. Unfortunately, my father’s illness continued for ten long years and my mother did every possible thing in her power to cure him. My mother had to either sell or mortgage our houses or property to pay for father’s treatment. Those days there was a system called a ‘transfer mortgage’. One in need of money could take Rs.1500, mortgaging the deed to a generous relative, but if it was not redeemed during the specified period, then the mortgaged house or land would be lost. So as my father’s illness progressed, my mother had to mortgage quite a lot of our assets and lost quite a number of houses and property. We lost all our wealth except for a little property at Akmeemana, a three-quarter acre of land, where we had semi-thatched houses of which one was given to poorer relatives. So, mother and I used to shift there often, and I had spells of sometimes 2-3 years at Akmeemana while the rest of the family stayed at 72, Kaluwella, Galle. I remember vividly how Uncle Vincent used to collect his10% monthly interest from my poor mother. When in difficulty mother borrowed money from Uncle Vincent on interest, and it became a vicious cycle.

In 1947 my sister was given in marriage, and she moved out of our main house. At that time my two elder brothers Vincent and Mervyn were employed. Vincent was employed out of Colombo and Mervyn in Colombo.   Our lives continued amid much difficulty. My eldest brother was a very bright student. There was no University entrance class and one had to study at home, but because of father’s death he gave up everything and sat for the ‘Clerical Service’ and he topped the list in the Southern Province. He entered the workforce and was able to keep the home fires burning with a salary of Rs.40. My mother’s pension was Rs.11 and 3 cents and with it, we somehow survived.

I was admitted to school when I was 8 years old. We went to St. Aloysius College, Galle, which was a fee levying school. The Rector of St. Aloysius College kindly allowed my eldest brother to pay our fees in instalments. This monthly payment naturally was a heavy burden on my eldest brother. At the same time my third brother Anton whom we call Chooti Aiya used to fall ill very often and the medical bill of Dr. Abeysuriya was also heavy, and that bill also had to be met by my eldest brother. My eldest brother was an example I emulated throughout my life. He was truly a living saint.

My second brother, Vincent was boarded at Matale (Nalanda), and his meagre salary was insufficient to support even himself. At this time my brother Anton joined the Railway. My three brothers Mervyn, Vincent and Anton are no more now. I am left with my only sister, and she is now 80 years of age.

During this period, I spent a good part of my life with my mother at Akmeemana Pathiragoda where I would say, I spent the best part of my childhood. It was a life full of hardship, yet there was the love of a darling mother.  I remember I had to go to school sometimes without socks and shoes, and I had to walk five and a half miles! I had to leave home quite early. Before I set out on this long walk, I used to pay obeisance to my mother. She used to hug me and tell me not to touch liquor or smoke. My dearest Amma, I have kept my promise that I made to you. Those days Akmeemana was not the cleared land you see today. There was the fear of the viper.  So my mother used to make a torch - a huluatta of coconut fronds. She used to light it and give it to me. I remember waving it left and right while walking. I was told that the viper would not harm you then. That period of my life was very interesting, but at the same time it was very difficult, as we struggled to make ends meet.

The bond between my mother and me was very strong. I remember I used to scrape coconut and mother used to make rotti. It was a very affectionate relationship. We had no beds. We used to sleep on mats. We had to be mindful of the fact that we had to look for other sources of income. So we reared poultry, and yearned for the hens to lay, as our lives depended on the income it brought. I also had a nanny-goat and kid. They were my pets and I used to bathe them and got jak leaves to feed them. In fact, I had to milk the nanny-goat every day and we got about half a bottle of milk, but of course I was not entitled to drink that milk. Instead, I had to take that half a bottle of milk to the boutique, barter it to get the rice or the coconuts we needed for the home.

When I look back, the life that I led was very challenging yet enjoyable. I always had the comfort of my mother’s bosom through all these difficulties. In our villages there is this custom of the ‘first meal’ after the harvest. We did not own a paddy-field but there was one that belonged to Banda Ralahamy. When paddy was harvested, sheaves of paddy sometimes fell by, which were forgotten by the harvesters, and little children were allowed to collect those sheaves that fell by the fields. I remember collecting these sheaves which were used to make our Aluth Batha, and we had our first meal

Life those days was very pleasurable because nature was at its optimum. Birds of various types lived in the area. I remember the beauty of the paradise flycatchers. The two bird kinds - the sivuru hora and the sudu redi hora frequented that area and it was a wonderful sight to see one in its flaming orange grandeur and the other with its long white slender tail.

As little children we used to catch and collect little fish into bottles in waterways by the paddy fields. One other thing I remember very clearly is the cadjupuhulang tree. I used to go up the tree like a little monkey to pick the ripe fruit, the skin of which was deep orange, and the flesh was white, juicy and succulent. Mangoes were one of my favourite fruits and there was a mango tree which bore fruit throughout the year. Those were some of nature’s gifts I had the pleasure of enjoying in my young days.

One day I was returning from school when I found a big commotion at home. A cobra had crept into our home and my mother, and all our concerned neighbours were attempting to persuade the cobra to leave. Our neighbours had burnt some chillies hoping that the strong pungent smoke would coax the cobra to leave. They tried to charm it by saying, Nai hamine, karadarakarannenathuwa karunakarala yanna – Dearest cobra, please kindly leave without troubling us. This cobra most probably had come in search of fowl eggs, and the beauty of it was that she actually left our home without inflicting any harm to anybody. This kind of incident is a rarity in the urban life that I lead now, and it was these experiences that moulded my childhood. My life at Akmeemana was thus spent.

Another strong memory etched in my mind are the words of my darling mother. I remember clearly Amma reprimanding me for requesting her to permit me to jump over the fence to Banda Ralahamy’s property to pick a ripe red papaw that was being eaten by crows. She said, Putha, Bella kapuwath – even if your neck is cut - do not take anything that does not belong to you. Thank you ammi for the honesty you’ve instilled in me. It is because of your wisdom that I am what I am today. May you attain Nibbana.

In 1947 my sister Irene got married and she moved out of our house. Even after her marriage I used to come to 72, Kaluwella, Galle, occasionally with my mother. I enjoyed this very interesting life at Akmeemana despite the hardships that we had to endure. Sometimes our troubles were so great that I used to study under a streetlamp because we were short of kerosene oil.

My early attainments at St. Aloysius College, Galle, in the words of the teachers were brilliant. In fact, when I was in the 4B class I was the fourth in the class and while seated in the balcony of the school hall, I saw Anton Abeyesundera collecting his progress report for coming first from Father Rector at assembly. After seeing him, among others being applauded and rewarded, the ‘little fellow’ also thought that he should one day come first and secure the prize. There was of course another reason.  Little impressions go a long way. I remember Anton and I were in the same class. One day I forgot to bring my maths homework. I had done the sums, but I forgot to bring the book and Anton Abeysundera too had not brought the book. I hold no grudge or any ill feeling against him, when I say this, but these are mere impressions in a young boy’s mind. I was given six cuts by Father, a priest, who taught Mathematics and Anton was given just two little pats for not having the books. This told on me heavily and later I convinced myself - because Anton was the richest in Galle and came in a Chevrolet, naturally he got a mere pat whereas the poor boy who walked five and half miles to school was given six cuts.

So, when I saw Anton walk up to receive the prize, I made a solemn pledge to my-self that I will one day beat him and come first, and it did happen. I came first in the 4B class for the second term, and I had to get the report. My teacher Mr. Anton Ferreira looked at me and said, ‘You know your shirt and trousers are not clean enough.’ This great teacher who is still among us contacted my brother Vincent and thereafter took me to Galle town. I do not know who spent but the result was that I was gifted with a pair of trousers, a shirt, underwear, shoes and socks. After the shopping expedition, Anton Sir brought me back to school bathed me and made me wear my new clothes. He combed my hair and looked at me with pride and said, ‘now go and take the report’. These incidents are lifelong impressions. The shirt was a mild pink with short sleeves.  This is how the little fellow was sent to collect the report. Anton Ferreira is still living and whenever I go to Galle, I make it a point to see my old and only living teacher and pay obeisance to him because these are teachers whom the present teachers must attempt to emulate.

My studies continued, but my concentration began to fail when I was in year 8 – 9. This was during the time when we were living again at 72, Kaluwella, Galle. The main reason for the decline in my studies was that my eldest brother Mervyn was employed away from home. My other brother was studying at the University. Hence, I was quite free to indulge in my own passion, which was cricket. I used to collect all the children in the vicinity and play cricket. It was cricket from morning to evening. My life revolved around cricket, and along with the improvement in the sport I also became an efficient organizer, even at that age.

I used to organize athletic meets for my neighbouring peer group. Of course, the disc was a flat stone and the shot-put was a heavy round stone. Two coconut branches with the leaves chopped off were our high jump posts. A thin long stick was the crossbar balancing on the ends or the bases of the coconut leaves. Our sports meet therefore included high jump, shot put, discus, and even pole vault. Our garden at 72, Kaluwella Galle was vast, so it became our sports field. I became a popular figure in organizing athletic meets.

I also organized soft-ball cricket matches. Those days we had to improvise with what was around us, as sports gear. The Polpiththa (head of the coconut branch) was placed as the wicket with a back support, the flat middle part of the branch served as a bat and the Caduru" fruit (a husky river fruit) made an excellent ball. Later we graduated to an improvised wooden bat, wooden wickets and a soft (tennis) ball. In school I represented the house team in under 17 Cricket. I remember how scared I was of Lee Vedamuttu’s pace bowling with the leather ball. I just held out my bat and the first four balls of Lee ended on the boundary line. That is how I was baptized to competitive cricket.

2 My Schooling at St. Anthony’s College, Kandy

When my second brother finished his degree in Al’Aahabad and returned home, he found the youngest fellow had played truant! He said, ‘Pack your bags- You are going to Kandy to another school!’ He felt obliged to help the family as he was unable to support us while he was away, so when he returned, he took it upon himself to look into my education. We had a cousin of ours who was the Warden of St. Anthony’s College, Kandy. So my brother took me to Kandy and boarded me in the college hostel. That was in 1949. In that particular year I did exceptionally well in studies at St. Anthony’s Kandy. Not only did I excel in studies, I turned out to be a very good athlete too. I played billiards, and I played for the St. Anthony’s second eleven cricket team as the opening bat, thanks to that legendary cricket coach, the late Mr. John Halangoda.

I entered the field of athletics by sheer chance. One day I was playing billiards wearing a pair of shorts similar to a prisoner. Brother Columban Macky was the House Master of ‘Double Blue’ House and also the Hostel Warden of the ‘Villa’. Incidentally St. Anthony’s had four houses: Double Blue, Light Blue, Dark Blue and Maroon. The boarders belonged to the Double Blue house. About 50 percent of the student population of St. Anthony’s College Kandy were more or less residential. The College had three stages of Hostels. The Kids boarding house was called ‘Rainbow Cottages’. The middle junior group was called the ‘Mansion’ and the third or the senior stage was called the ‘Villa’ in which I was boarded. As I said before Brother Macky saw me playing billiards and at the same time there was an announcement for the athletes to report at the starting point for the one-mile event. It was an open event, and anybody could participate. My House, which was Double Blue, had no entry. Brother Macky used to call me a ‘grumbler’ those days because whenever somebody tells me to do something I used to grumble and refuse to comply. But Brother Macky knew how to harness the negatives into positives. It is because of people like Brother Macky that we never say, we can’t do. This has been instilled in us. Brother Macky said, ‘You have to participate in the Mile event.’

I said, ‘Brother, I have not even run 100 yards, how can I run a mile?’ to which he replied ‘you long legged strider’ (he had noticed my stretched out gait when I walk) ‘if you walk like that you will do well in the mile too, and now is your chance to run’ and forced me to enter the race.

At that time the favourite for the mile was Ellawela. He was there ready warming up in his spikes. When I saw the spikes for the first time, like when Banda comes to town, I got scared. So, at the starting point I kept away from him. The College had a track of 352 yards - 5 rounds for the mile. The race started. I was very keen to be always 5 paces behind Ellawela simply to avoid his ‘diabolical’ spikes. There were a number of runners, as this race was an open event. The first round was over, and I was 6th or 7th. My efforts at the track amused my supporters. I smiled to my left and right, which got a humorous response from the onlookers simply because I was no athlete. Then I felt a little ‘saltish’ in the mouth and started spitting. That also became a joke to the spectators. Then of course I stopped the spitting because people started to boo me. I finished the first-round 6th or 7th.

When I came to the second round, I did not feel any difference, and I went on running. But on the third round I noticed Ellawela was panting whereas I was not feeling tired at all.  As I mentioned before Ellawela was the hot favourite but when I saw him panting, I started to run with a purpose as I felt a new confidence driving me to win. I came up to the fourth place in round 3. When my housemates saw me in the 4th position they gave me a resounding cheer, which of course  encouraged  me. As I strode on the cheering became thunderous, with ‘come on Alles"- and that made my heart soar. By the end of that round, I was second to Ellawela, just a few paces behind. He was striding, putting his maximum into the effort. I was also striding but the difference was he was panting more than I did. That also gave me a lot of encouragement.  I did not know at that time that in the last round a regular athlete does a sprint. So, I just went on in my own way, about 5 paces behind him, and suddenly I saw him sprinting. Then the crowds shouted out ‘run Alles faster’. With that boost of encouragement, I sprinted with all the energy I had, like I’ve been chased by a buffalo and then... everything went blank!

When I came round, I found myself in the dormitory, in bed, everybody massaging me. I looked up and they said, ‘Do you know what happened? You fainted on the tape after winning the event.  Can you believe it?’

Then only did I realize that I had beaten Ellawela at the tape and fallen unconscious, and my colleagues had carried me and given a massage to revive me. I took part in the Central Meet after that, and came second to M. Vincent of Ampitiya, the Public School’s record breaker. I also did the mile in 4 minutes and 56 seconds, and those days to run the mile under 5 minutes was a very great achievement, and for that achievement I got my Athletic Colours at St. Anthony’s College, Kandy. My memories go back to that great long-distance coach, the late Mr. Tommy Arthur, who trained and nurtured me to commendable heights in Athletics.

Life went on at St. Anthony’s College, from 1949-1950. As a hosteller it need not be said that I missed the love of mother, the home and the usual delicacies. Hostel food was very poor compensation, and there were occasions when hunger got the better of us. One day we were playing softball cricket and an innocent vendor of plantains (Anamalu – long green skinned banana) approached us as potential customers. All that we did was to relieve him of his produce – without paying a cent. We were rewarded for our mischief with six well deserved cuts on our back by the Warden, Father. Theophene Wickramaratne. The vendor was paid his full cost, and the money was charged to our account.

Another incident was when we rascals came to know that there was an At home – Home coming of a resident opposite the school. We saw the invitees striding in the whole day, properly clad. We decided to get into trousers, long sleeved shirt and tie, and walked in as invitees. The bridegroom’s party assumed we were from the bride’s party and vice versa. So, we were treated well with sumptuous food. Of course, everyone gave a present when they left. So, we too handed over an empty envelope with best wishes. We now know we were morally wrong. But as hungry teenagers it did not prick our conscience at that time. We were not detected by Warden Father, but life became more challenging by the day.

I was considered a brilliant student. I was either the 1st or the 2nd in class. In Science, the only person to beat me was Lucas Melder, and sometimes Neil Gunawardene. Those two were the bright sparks of our class and, either of them beats me once in a way.  After two years of study, I had to sit for the G.C.E. (Ord. Level) Examination in December 1950. After I finished my Chemistry paper, Mr. Robert Wright asked me, ‘Alles, how well did you do?’ I said, ‘Sir, if not a distinction at least I will have a B’. The same question was asked by Mr. Kannaiah about my Physics and by Mr. Justin about Biology and the reply was the same. I was confident that I’d achieve 3 A’s in those 3 subjects, or at least 3 B’s.

My eldest brother Mervyn got married in 1950, after a much opposed 7-year love affair. His wife was a wonderful lady who unfortunately died in the same year on the 8th of December during childbirth. It was a tragedy as both mother and child failed to survive. I remember it was sheer negligence on the part of the doctor. Pearl Akka was very fond of me, and I loved her. I can still recall her long hair almost sweeping the ground.

She was as beautiful as a film star. This death affected me very much as her beauty was more in her heart and I was her favourite Malli.

It was about this time that the results of the G.C.E. O/L were out. It was most unfortunate for me because the first 6, and the 29th in our class got 1st divisions and were exempted from Matriculation. When I say first 6, I mean except myself. What could I do? I was at home when the results were conveyed and my second brother who had spent a lot of money keeping me in the boarding felt a tremendous shock at my failure. In addition, he had his own problems. He was married at the time and his expenses were high and my own failure did nothing to improve the situation, Hence the poor youngest fellow had to come back home. In short, I had only the Junior School Certificate and I returned to 72 Kaluwella, Galle.

Back at the ‘Maha Ge", I began to wonder what to do with my life. During this time, two important things happened.

My father before his death had deposited some money in the Bank for my sister, Chooti Aiya and me because we were all minors. When my sister got married, the courts allowed the withdrawal of her share. My share and Anton’s share remained. With all his troubles and misfortunes my eldest brother Mervyn never neglected our family. He realized that if this money was withdrawn, it will not serve any purpose. He bought two small, dilapidated houses next to our main house. I still remember their numbers; 68 and 66. When he bought them they had no roofing, so my brother had to take a loan to renovate them. House No 66 was taken in my name, free of encumbrances as I was a minor. House No68 was in he was a major. Though my eldest brother effected this transaction in all good faith it left a bad taste in Anton, resulting in many embarrassing situations and hurt feelings between Anton and me and my family. Subsequently my mother and I moved into house No.66.