AN APPRECIATION OF MR. MMP SENARATNE

The Most Senior Active King’s Scout in Sri Lanka and President of the St Xavier’s OBA -Colombo Branch

Mr. MMP Senaratne, who has been an ardent supporter of the SXCOBA for over five decades, deserves our sincere appreciation as members of the Xaverian fraternity.

The news of his sudden demise on July 24, 2022, reached us like a gust of wind, leaving us shocked and saddened. Although he was 93 years old at his passing, he remained remarkably active in scouting activities, social services, and the continuous work of the OBA until the very end.

Born on September 4, 1929, at the onset of World War II, Mr. Senaratne was educated at St. Xavier’s College, where his father, Mr. Senaratne Dias, served as a long-standing teacher. Mr. Dias, who held the rank of CLR Sergeant in the C.B.C.L.I. and was a member of the Ceylon Light Infantry (C.L.I.), played an important role in the formation of the St. Xavier’s College Old Boys’ Association (SXCOBA) in 1947. Mr. Senaratne’s mother, Leelawathie Senaratne Dias, and his siblings—Jayaweera, Chethiya, Keerthi, Ananda, Indasara, Punya, Hema, Rupa, and Suja—formed a large, close-knit family in Nuwara Eliya. After passing the Junior School Certificate (J.S.C.) Examination in 1946, Mr. Senaratne continued his education at Ananda College in Colombo.

He was the most senior King’s Scout in Sri Lanka and was a member of the first King’s Scouts Troop of the Nuwara Eliya District since 1939. His loyalty and affection for his alma mater were immense. In 2017, upon learning about the school’s dire situation, he immediately drafted a letter using his manual typewriter and dispatched it to the President of the country, seeking direct intervention.

Despite being 88 years old, he graciously accepted our invitations on two occasions: as the chief guest at the Inter House Athletics meet in 2014 and the Old Boys’ Cricket match in 2017. We are forever grateful to him for this kind gesture and for traveling all the way from Panadura to Nuwara Eliya. These exemplary actions speak volumes about his character and vision.

When the members of the Colombo OBA proposed he take up the presidency in 2018, Mr. Senaratne accepted without hesitation, making us all feel a sense of pride. In the Xaverian cricket souvenir 2019, he wrote, “There was absolute communal harmony in the country then. We never held any feeling regarding our different communities, and we were the children of one mother. That was the bonding we had in school. The Senaratnes, Nadesons, Jumarts, Youngs—we were all “Machans” to each other.”

Beyond his alma maters, St. Xavier’s College and Ananda College Colombo, his services and voluntary contributions extended to the national level. After retiring in 1982, he worked in the corporate sector for ten years. In 1991, he joined the Mahabodhi Society and served as a member. His dedication led him to hold the positions of Executive Vice President and Honorary Secretary in 2000, testifying to his generous services. He chaired the International Buddhist Conference in 2002 in India, initiated the erection of the Anagarika Dharmapala statue in Panadura in 1997, encouraged the composition of the Anagarika Dharmapala song sung by Victor Ratnayake, promoted Dhamma education, and assisted civil war victims—these are just a few of the projects spearheaded by Mr. Senaratne.

Interestingly, Mr. Senaratne and Anagarika Dharmapala were both products of the De La Salle brothers, who administered St. Xavier’s College and St. Benedict’s College, Colombo. Mr. Senaratne was a great promoter of scouting in Sri Lanka. As the most senior King’s Scout, he attended the Jamboree at Richmond College, the 9th National Scout Jamboree in Jaffna in February 2016, and the 51st Colombo Jamboree in 2016.

Mr. Senaratne served as the President of the St. Xavier’s College OBA (Colombo) branch since 2017. The following write-up, “Down Memory Lane,” was sent to the OBA magazine by Mr. Senaratne in 2020, and it is added for your reference.

“ I  was only 10 years old in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland on 1st September, igniting the Second World War. I was a student of St. Xavier’s College, a leading bi-lingual College in the District. Our teachers never engaged in giving tuition for money. They gave us free tuition after normal school hours in the very class to help the weaker students. As a result, we had sufficient time to devote for extra-curricular activities such as Scouting, Sports and Red Cross work etc. I obtained the junior certificate & a medal in First -Aid from the British Red Cross Society in June 1940. Our College had a very active Scout Troop during my time and they took an active part in the Civil Defence Activities during the War Period. Food production, Air Raid Precaution, Fire Fighting, First-Aid and assisting the Air Raid Wardens in their work were some of them.

There was absolute communal harmony in the Country then. We never held any feeling regarding our different communities, and were the children of one mother. That was the binding we had in School. The Senaratnas, Nadesons, Jumaats, Youngs, were all “Machans” to each other. We did not have any different feeling, and were in one united family. This grounding was due to the education system that prevailed at that time. We were all Ceylonese. Sinhala and Tamil were spoken by us and English was the medium for all. I am still able to understand and speak in Tamil and my counterparts were  able to converse with each other in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

I was awarded the King’s Scout badge in 1946 and left school after passing my J.S.C. in 1946 to join Ananda College, Colombo to continue higher education.

(1st Row-4th: Regimental Sergeant Major M. Seneratne Dias, 2nd Row-Mr.D.A.Amos who became Principal of St Xavier’s College in 1950) 

My father , the late Mr. M. Seneratne Dias was a teacher of repute in St Xavier’s College. He was fluent in all three languages and taught us to speak, write and read Tamil, He was the highest Military Officer in town as the Regimental Sergeant Major of the C.L.l. (VF), the military unit of the British rulers, Red Cross Detachment, Red Cross Commissioner of Scouting who retired in 1948 and died in 1985. There was no permanent army then. Only the educated and those holding responsible positions in Government and Mercantile sectors were recruited to the Volunteer force. Sir Richard Aluvihare, the first Ceylonese l.G.P, and Sir John Kotalawela , were commissioned officers of the unit. Leading lawyers and executives in the mercantile service also held other positions. The C.L.l (VF) was formed on 1st April 1881 and renamed Ceylon Light Infantry in 1910.  A contingent was sent to South Africa in 1900 to join the British forces fighting the Boer war. My father was in charge of the entire military complex and was provided with quarters. This complex was situated at the foot of Pedro Mountain and we were very familiar with the terrains as we had climbed it several times to assist visitors and for camping as scouts. There was also a volunteer unit of the British planters who were the Superintendents and assistants, called the Ceylon Planters Rifle Co. who came to the C.L.l. grounds for training and drill. My father was in overall command of the two units. 

Holiday Resort 

There were two very popular seasons, in April and August when horse racing was held. The town was flooded with visitors and tourists. We children enjoyed this period as the Armoury was providing shelter to the visitors known to my father and who were C.T.C employees from Colombo who had come to work in the race course. This period gave a good income to the hotels, guest houses and business concerns but the resident citizens had a hard time obtaining their daily needs due to the demands of the visitors who paid a price above the normal rates. 

Cold Period 

November and December were the coldest periods with water reaching freezing point and frost falling overnight. lt was fun for us children who kept coloured water in coconut shells outside our houses to get ice blocks the next morning. The railway hill in front of our ancestral home was covered with frost which melted away with the rising sun. The famous water fall “Lover’s Leap” was a tourist attraction and the lake which received its fill from the streams of the Pedro and other mountains was a playground for boating fans and visitors. The park in full bloom was another sight that the visitors enjoyed. 

The colonial-type post office, Grand Hotel, houses built on British models and golf-links added beauty to “Little England”. The race course with hundreds of horses going through their daily routine was another attraction. 

The Narrow Gauge Railway

Visitors in Nuwara Eliya who came by rail disembarked at Nanu Oya and took the narrow gauge train from Nanu Oya which went up to ‘Ragala winding through tea plantations and hills, which was an interesting adventure. This rail was introduced in 1903 to cater for the tea plantations and those engaged in the estates. As road transport became feasible and due to the losses incurred in the operation, all passenger services were withdrawn in 1940 and the track from Nanu Oya to Nuwara Eliya was removed by 1942. By 1948 the entire line was removed. 

The pride of the mountains 

The Cheetah, the pride of the Pedro Mountain range, the deer and sambur were the other animals that added to the beauty of the mountain. The cheetah is the most beautiful animal I have ever seen. lt is half the size of a normal tiger and a very fast runner. One day in April 1941, I climbed the Pedro Mountain with a friend of my father as his guide, who had come to see the races. We left home by 4:30am with a kerosene lantern (as torches were very rare). On reaching the first bench he wanted to rest and after resting for a while we engaged on the next lap to the second bench. We climbed a few steps when my companion spotted a cheetah crossing our path and he fainted. I dragged him back to the first bench and let him rest once again. After he regained consciousness he decided to continue and that was the end of the climb. As scouts we had several occasions to observe the cheetah on our climbs and we were very familiar with the sight. 

Unforgettable event 

Cheetahs from the Pedro mountain range were in the habit of visiting the houses below the mountain in search of dogs, as that was a favourite meal of theirs. Residents of the houses, who normally kept their dogs chained during the day untied them in the night because of this danger. One night these tenants had gone on a trip and failed to return the same day due to some reason. When they returned the following day, they found the dog was missing leaving their chains behind as evidence of disappearance. The cheetah had a feast of dog meat that night. 

The 2nd Great War 1939-1945

The Nuwara Eliya town was the transit station for the British forces who came here from various colonies. Troops from Canada, Australia, Burma, India (Punjab), Africa, etc. were stationed in the camps provided by the British command. Creighton Village, Moon plains and other locations were filled up. As children, we were scared of seeing black African soldiers who wore FA longs, well-built nearly‘ 6ft tall and thick rolled out lips walking in the town. We did not feel the impact of the war until Japan entered the war with a severe bombardment of Pearl Harbour, an American base in the Pacific Ocean in 1941. 

A civil-defence came into being under Sir Oliver Gunathilake and Scouts came in handy trained in Air-Raid precautions, mini fire-fighting methods using stirrup pumps, stretcher drills and assisting the Air Raid wardens to enforce the blackout regulations. Trenches were cut in all schools and public places for use in an air raid. Children were trained in air raid protection methods and first aid points were set up in all schools and public buildings. 

Urgent messages were transmitted by bicycle and the inmates of houses who did not understand the blackout methods were assisted to cover up their windows and doors to prevent light falling outside. Schools were given land to cultivate vegetables, yams and other suitable crops such as maize. Every class had a date and time to visit the allocated land to do their part of the cultivation and after care of the plants. 

Scouting 

I joined the Scouting Movement as a Tenderfoot and attended the First all Ceylon Jamboree representing St Xavier’s College Scout Troop; in the same year.  l joined the scouting movement in 1939 as a cub and attended the 1st All lsland Jamboree held in Colombo with my father. We were fully occupied in air raid precaution work, food production and rehearsals held periodically to keep the children alert. After the war ended, the Scouts who helped the war effort were awarded the Civil Defence and National Service badges at a small gathering by the Governor Sir Henry Monk Mason Moor, our last colonial Governor. l was also the recipient of the above badges along with the Kings Scout badge. l was the first Kings Scout in the Nuwara Eliya district to receive this award. In 2015, the Queen and Presidents Scout Guild conducted a survey to find the remaining Kings Scouts in Sri Lanka and the survey revealed that only 4 scouts were traceable of whom l was the most senior active Kings Scout in Sri Lanka in 2016. 

The period I lived in Nuwara Eliya will be a fairy tale for those who have not lived during the wonderful days where we enjoyed justice and fair play under our colonial masters with regard to employment, rule of law and the education in schools with Tamil, Muslim and Burgher children all united in one bunch as “Machans” and studying together, not knowing what communalism was. We passed our senior exam and applied for the Government vacancies that appeared in the Government Gazette, sat for exams, qualified, attended interviews and selected on merit alone and not influence, which we were ignorant then. We joined the Public service as honourable men and performed our duties according to the existing regulations and no politician was able to do anything outside the rules of the game. As a result, we had courage and confidence to perform our duties without fear or favour. The Survey Department upheld the highest traditions of the public service and we were respected by the public who visited our department for official business. The discipline and quality of the department was maintained by the First Ceylonese Surveyor General (Mr. N.S. Perera, brother of Dr. N.M. Perera) who took over the responsibilities from the last British Surveyor General Mr. G.B. King. 

I played an active role in the first International Conference of Maha Bodhi societies held in Colombo in 2001. I chaired one of the sessions of the International conference held in Bhopal, India in 2002. I also attended the Dhammapada festival held in Bangalore in 2001 and the Children’s festival in Nagaoka, Japan in 2003. I took the initiation to build the Anagarika Dharmapala statue in Panadura to commemorate his 133rd birth anniversary on 17th September 1997. 

Environmental desolation 

Who should be made responsible for the environmental desolation of Nuwara Eliya? is a question for which you should find the correct answer?. Who ruined the thick forest of the Pedro Mountain? Who reduced the beautiful waterfall “Lover’s leap” to its present state? Who encouraged the clearing of hilly lands for vegetable cultivation resulting in the great erosion of these lands today? Nuwara Eliya was never short of drinking water when we were children. Then, why is there a shortage of drinking water now? We have to tolerate indiscriminate felling of trees and deforestation which has resulted in climate change, as the forties will never return. There is only one answer – our politicians who promised “heaven on earth and dragged us into a living hell”. So, don’t blame the British period. 

St Xavier’s OBA-Colombo Branch

At a special general meeting of the Old Boy’s Association of St. Xavier’s College, Colombo Branch held on 27th May 2018 at the Dutch Burgher Union, Colombo 04, I was elected as its President. 

I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for the great interest and effort taken by the OBA to keep the fires burning for 72 long years, a record that none other past pupil’s association in the district could boast of. I hope that this article may remind people of the history of Nuwara Eliya in the Forties which may be a fairy tale for some. This is the candid truth. 

I send my Best wishers and hope our team will keep the glorious record this year too.   

King’s Scout  M.M.P.Senaratne JP-All Island ,  President –SXCOBA Colombo Branch.”

Mr.Senaratne leaves behind his beloved wife Premalatha Senaratne,  son, Dharmasri Senaratne, daughters Deepa Kuragama, Badra Lim, Deepika de Alwis, Sasala Senaratne, Chandima Kulasekara. His sons and daughters in laws-Sarath, Tony, Bhatiya, Jeevan, Anurudda and Subadra. Grand Children Saranga, Dulip, lsuru, Harsha, Toby, Roger, Kevin, Harin, Theuni, Arani, Yalini & Senara,  Great Grand Children, Pudhamsee & Riyon.

Mr. Senaratne’s dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment have left an indelible mark on all those fortunate enough to have worked with him. His visionary leadership and tireless efforts have not only propelled our Association to new heights, but have also inspired countless individuals to strive for excellence. Although his sudden demise has left us with a profound sense of loss, we take solace in knowing that his legacy will live on through the many lives he touched. As we reflect on his many accomplishments, we are reminded of the profound impact one person can make through perseverance, integrity, and a genuine desire to uplift others. Mr. Senaratne’s memory will undoubtedly continue to guide and inspire us for years to come, and we are deeply grateful for his exceptional contributions.

May His soul rest in peace.

Benjamin Jeganathan PhD Applied Linguistics (Reading),MA,BA Jt.Secretary SXCOBA