The irrepressible Dr J.C Fernando – athlete, medic and gentleman-by Dr NiHAL DAMErAsEkErA
Source:Island
Janaka Chandana Fernando (JC)– the name raises a smile on everyone’s face. He is a force of nature that brings happiness to all around him. Gregarious, sociable and flamboyant are all descriptions that come to mind portraying a person whom we have all come to know and love since medical schooldays. He had that irrepressible bohemian flair which was associated with medical students of the 1960’s.
In our citadel in Kynsey Road, no one epitomised the era more than JC. He enjoyed its trappings abundantly. Being from that great institution, Royal College, he knew the large contingent from that school that filled our batch and almost filled the rest of the Faculty of Medicine. JC became an integral part of the Faculty sooner than most.
I first got to know him during the infamous rag. He knew many of the raggers but got no reprieve. He struggled like the rest of us. JC didn’t suffer the indignities gladly. In his usual forthright manner, he did let them know how he felt, muttering under his breath what he thought of it all.
Many will remember JC arriving at the Faculty Cycle Shed every morning on his Honda 50 motorbike. The canteen was his first port of call for the customary ‘tea-punt’. He was a popular guy in our batch and spoke with everyone and was friendly to all. With his affable ways JC made friends with the girls more easily. This made the rest of the boys envious.
JC was never shy to speak his mind and with his loud voice he stood out in a crowd. Born to blush unseen, we always made fun of his jet-black skin which he accepted with civility. For his regal demeanour I often called him the ‘Dark Knight’. All through medical school he wore brilliant white shirts and trousers. With his sparkling white teeth this enhanced the contrast no end.
JC was an outstanding athlete at Royal College. I recall seeing his name in the sports pages of the daily newspapers for his many achievements at school and inter-school athletics. In 1957, JC broke the school’s inter-house 440 yards record held by Summa Navaratnam, an impressive feat. At the Public Schools Meet in 1958, Royal College won both the Tarbat and Jefferson Shields. This must be ingrained in the school’s athletic history as the pinnacle of JC’s achievements when he captained the Royal College Athletics team that won the 4×440 yards relay breaking the Public Schools Record. A great honour for a rare feat.
JC won the University of Ceylon Colours for Athletics from 1961 to 1965 and represented the University Track and Field Team in 1964 at the All India Inter-Universities Meet held in Jaipur. Despite being vocal, his simplicity stood out. To my knowledge he never bragged about those brilliant achievements. For several years he coached the Royal College Athletics Team. At his old school, JC was the medical doctor and physical training instructor for the Rugby and Cricket teams for a good 20 years. For his loyalty, presently he is a Vice-President of the Royal College Union. He is particularly proud of his magnificent collection of cups, medals and trophies from those golden years. They adorn his trophy cabinet with distinction and pride.
JC was tenacious, competitive and single minded. He knew what he wanted and did what was necessary to achieve his goals. His determination never faltered. Once he had an idea in his head, there was no letting go of it. He is often frank and candid and this attracted controversy. In any argument he was persuasive. JC was never a push-over and fought his corner to the very end. Perhaps these are characteristics of a competitive sportsmen. Despite all this he was charming, helpful and kind and was well liked.
Gaining entrance to the Faculty of Medicine in the 1960’s was a gargantuan task. The available spaces were limited, there were hordes of applicants and the competition was fierce. To be a top athlete he had the natural ability and talent and the discipline to practice regularly. This required staying in the school grounds at the end of the school day. Returning home late in the evening, tired, one required stamina and self-discipline to get back to books and revision. Hence to gain entrance to the Faculty of Medicine demanded much more than intelligence and the Midas touch. We were fortunate to have several fine sportsmen and women in our batch who had the grit, determination and the strength of character to be successful. They added an extra dimension to our batch and to the life of the faculty.
He had tremendous enthusiasm for the social events in medical school. Being a fine musician, many of us got to know JC at the social functions. We sang and danced at the memorable and raucous evening booze-ups in the Men’s Common Room. My abiding memory at these events is the lithe figure of the ‘Dark Knight’ strumming his guitar, singing in graphic detail the itchy tale of “the dance of the phthirus pubis”. His signature song was “Saima cut wela” a tragic tale of a novice’s hangover and the effective home remedy. He sang “Suranganee-ta malu genawa“, tempting fate long before they became a pair! Those songs have never left my recall. As I listen to them now on YouTube I’m transported to those happy days of our youth. He was ever present at the dances held at the King George’s Hall of the University’s Science Faculty, twisting the night away to the music of the Harold Seneviratne Combo. Those evenings generated much gossip and scandalous tales of adventures. He capped it all with an enduring contribution to the final year trip making the days brighter and the nights merrier. This will remain a special memory.
In the rigid and grim environment of medical education, the Men’s Common Room was our refuge from the storms of life. I can still picture JC in that setting with a fag between his lips holding a cup of tea. He joined in the billiards, table tennis, carrom and the never-ending chit chats. He was an entertaining talker. If the truth be told he could be prickly and argumentative and there were frosty moments too. All through medical school my memories of JC are of a colourful, jolly guy ever ready for a chat and a laugh. He could talk about anything and everything. I associate him with much of our faculty jargon like ‘tea-punt’ and ’pol-mess machang’ and numerous vivid unprintable expressions delivered with a mischievous smile. These words he used frequently and to great effect. I could still picture him walking the long corridors of the General Hospital Colombo greatly animated, waving his arms relating a story. His tales were peppered with esoteric facts and his own brand of humour brilliantly embellished for good effect. I loved listening to his tales no matter how outrageous. Whether one agreed or disagreed with his views he presented them in such an amusing manner he could even make nonsense sound like a genuine and alluring revelation.
With the “finals” came the great dispersal in 1967. I lost contact with JC for several years. Both Suranganie and JC after a stint in the UK forged successful careers in Hong Kong. There his work in Orthopaedic Surgery flourished and he was greatly valued and respected. Those happy times were curtailed eventually by the demanding concerns for the education of their two daughters. I was a regular visitor to Hong Kong which was my wife’s country of birth. It would have been lovely to catch up with JC and Suranganie, only if I knew. I would have cherished their wonderful company and shared in his first-hand knowledge of the best watering holes in town.
I haven’t been a part of the multiple batch reunions in Sri Lanka. Hence our last meeting was around 2003. This was with Dr Lucky Abeygunawardene and we met up at the Sinhalese Sports Club. JC joined us for drinks and dinner. The ambience, good food and the ‘Double Distilled’ brought out the best in JC. Rarely boring or predictable, sometime brazenly outrageous, JC is excellent company. Many of the old stories resurfaced with the perennial batch tales. A tirade of ‘gossip’ rounded off a momentous evening. This is a memory I will treasure. Although not quite in the digital world, JC sent me emails giving his forthright views and observations about life back home.
We all recognise our medical faculty batch as a tribe. Both JC and Sura are faithful to the tribe and their old friends. I am aware they have been enthusiastic, generous and hospitable entertainers to the multitude of winter visitors from our batch and also to our medical community in Colombo. They have had a fascinating life together working in several countries, enjoying a good social life. Their two daughters have done them proud.
JC has had a rewarding professional career. We have enjoyed his company, humanity and joie de vivre. I do wish JC and Suranganie a long and happy retirement. His is a good life well lived and long may it last. By his achievements he has made his mark in the history of that great school and the Medical Faculty batch of 1962.
Acknowledgements: My grateful thanks to Prof Sanath Lamabadusuriya for providing the information hitherto unavailable in the public domain. Credits go to JC’s daughter Nilanthi and to his wife Suranganie for sending me those brilliant photos that light up the script.
