Interview with Dr Peter Selvaratnam by Thomiana
Source:Thomiana – S.Thomas’ College Old Boys Association Australia Branch Newsletter
Dr Peter Selvaratnam is an Assoc. Clinical Professor, The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist; and the son of the former Warden, the late Rev. A.J.C. Selvaratnam.
Thomiana: Peter, what made you join St Thomas’ College?
Peter: I initially commenced at St Thomas’ Preparatory School for two years while living in Bullers Road, Colombo. When we moved to Mount Lavinia, my yearning was to join the ‘College by the Sea.’ The reputation of St Thomas’ College (College) as the leading school in Ceylon in the 1960’s and the cricketing prowess was extremely attractive for a young boy. I was very excited when I joined St Thomas’ College (College) in 1964.
Thomiana: What were the highlights in the first few years?
Peter: In Form I (Grade 1) we won the Royal-Thomian ‘Big Match’ under the captaincy of the late Premalal Gunasekera. We won in the last session on the second day. It was an exciting finish with College winning by 8 wickets.
I recall at that match, Barney Reid, the left arm opening bowler, kept a steady length. He was also a good bat. I was fortunate later to meet Barney when he was playing for the University of Melbourne and face his bowling. I nervously was able to keep my wicket! Barney also coached my son later during his junior cricket in Melbourne.
Thomiana: What are the memories of your teachers?
Peter: First impressions are important. I had a good English teacher, Mrs Karunaratne, who was very industrious and made us memorise some great poems from ‘Path to Parnassus.’ Mrs Karunaratne was at times not popular with a few boys as she used to ‘dob’ them to the Headmaster, Mr Deutrom David.
The boys enjoyed the young teachers who could relate to them such as Ms June Boralessa (whose brother played first eleven cricket in 1964), Ms Doreen Abeywardene, Ms Ira Mendis, and Ms Olga de Alwis. Ms de Alwis was also our Cub Teacher and Mr Leo de Silva’s the Cub Master and together helped us to have good habits. Mrs Jacobs and Mrs Samuel taught us Tamil and their gentle manner was helpful in learning a language, with 247 alphabets, and poetry by a famous poet called ‘Ovvayar.”!
Mrs Nita Silva who was the Principal at the adjacent Mount Lavinia Montessori taught me Sinhala. Her meticulous preparation helped me later to pass Sinhala at the GCE Ordinary Level. I still meet her during my trips to Mount Lavinia and converse in Sinhala to her delight though not as fluent as 40 years ago!
Mr Brodie was the Lower 3rd teacher with Mr Leo de Silva. Mr Brodie was also our under 12 cricket coach. I was fortunate to play under the captaincy of the ever-pleasant Dayal de Silva, along with DS (Dhamika) Wickremasinghe, Sabu Weerasooriya, Gihan Ratnayake, NL Perera, Shauketally (Junior) to recall a few.
Mrs Bandaratilleke was an exceptional English teacher in upper third and encouraged us to stretch our horizons. Sadly, Mrs Bandaratilleke left for better pastures to the UK with her unique shoes which boys fondly referred to as “Pirimi Sappathu.” Imelda Marcus would have been proud of her collection. Another outstanding teacher was Mrs V Welikala who helped us to understand ‘adjectival clauses’ and ‘adverbial clauses’!! Mrs Welikala was one of the kindest teachers I came across in the middle school. She nurtured us in our teenage years which were at times challenging.
Mr C.S. Weerasinghe who was our Middle School Headmaster was a ‘no-nonsense’ disciplinarian and students feared him. He had a unique dress code and loved wearing Safari suits. I also recall Mr Ariyasena Ashuboda who used to illustrate to us great stories on ghosts. We used to wonder whether Mr Ashuboda
was ‘pulling our legs’ though with time I learnt that we are dealing with a ‘spiritual’ world. He changed his name later to Arisen Ahubudu and he was later (by His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka) decorated with the title ‘Kalasuri’. He was not just a hero of STC but through his cultural contributions to Language, Drama, Music and Movies-he was (and his memory) is that of a ‘Sri Lankan national treasure and celebrity’. His kindness to his students endeared him to all.
Thomiana: Any teachers who gave you a bit of curry?
Peter: Overall, the teachers at College were good, especially in the lower school.
In a recent article for the NSW OBA, I stated that my potential to be the ‘Wall Street hedge fund manager’ did not turn out well with the intimidatory approach by the Lower 6th Mathematics teacher, Mr R. N. S. Karalukulasingham . He was quite liberal in using his ‘hard coated hands’ on boys and we had to take it standing as if it did not affect us! These experiences in understanding the soul hurts of others, shaped me to be more compassionate and forgiving of others.
Thomiana: What helped you to be an all-rounder?
Peter: The College provided us many opportunities and the teachers encouraged us. Apart from my love for learning, I enjoyed cricket, athletics, drama and learning life skills in the Boys’ Scouts. The Boys’ Scouts encouraged one to be a ‘do it yourself’ person and to cook rice, dhal and a meat curry!
House sports and house drama helped to develop skills in communicating with colleagues and evolve friendships. There were outstanding and ‘down to earth’ colleagues in our year level, and others who were older and younger to me with different interests in sports, academia, the arts, and life in general. Many had an impact on my life. I was fortunate to meet some of them in our 2014 class reunion at Mount Lavinia organised superbly by Russell de Mel, S.R.P. Jayawardene and their team.
I recall the generosity of the late Richard de Zoysa who became a journalist, actor, and human rights activist. Richard and I were in the same House, de Saram House and acted in House plays. On one occasion, Buck House did not have their act together with a play. Hence, he wrote a play for them. The Buck House members acted so well that they won the House competition! Richard had this gift of caring and sharing beyond himself.
Thomiana: What sort of leadership roles did you have?
Peter: I was a ‘Prefect’ in the middle school and liaised with Mr C.S. Weerasinghe the Middle School Headmaster. We had the honour of taking the boys to the quadrangle for the school Assembly. I was also a class monitor in lower third which helped to organise the day’s events. Later, I was the Deputy Head Prefect at our Anglican brother school, St John’s College, Jaffna.
Thomiana: When did your father, the Rev John (AJC) Selvaratnam, become Warden of St Thomas’?
Peter: On 1 July 1965, a year, and a half into my time at College, my father was invited by Bishop Harold de Soysa to succeed Warden C.H. Davidson who retired.
My father was an educationalist and an Anglican Minister. He had previously taught at Christian College Kotte, St John’s College Jaffna, and was a lecturer in the Divinity School, Colombo. He was the Chaplain at the University of Ceylon and was also in the Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese for many years and served as Editor of the Ceylon Churchman. The inauguration service was a special day on 1st July 1965 with Bishop Harold officiating the service. Many boys came to the steps of the Chapel to hope and pray that the new Warden would give them a holiday! My father being an educationalist declined, much to their disappointment.
Editor’s Note: This is the first part of an extended interview conducted by the Thomiana. The second part covering his memories of being a Warden’s son and the Transfiguration Mural will be published in the next issue.
