Features

The founding of Buddhist Ladies College

Published

3 years ago

2023/07/16

Excerpted from Chosen Ground: The Clara Motwani saga
by Goolbai Gunasekera

When Mother left Musaeus College, it was again because of her displeasure over the Board’s reaction to her dictates. Each side believed the other to be wrong. The story was this.A young girl of the Southern Province had repulsed a night-time intruder by slashing him and almost killing him, (or perhaps she actually did kill him) with a sword which happened to be owned by her father. She became quite a heroine. Those were the days of total non-violence, and the newspapers played up the incident for about a week. When the ‘heroine’ was asked what she would like in recognition of her bravery, she replied that it was her ambition to study at Musaeus College. The School Board decided to grant her request.

She was brought to Colombo by the Manager of the school (who was then Chief Justice of Ceylon, Mr. Hema Basnayake), and eventually sent to the Hostel. She proved to be an abysmal student and never fitted into the atmosphere of Musaeus. After two years of trying to do something with her, Mother felt it was time she left. Accordingly, she sent her back to Mr. Basnayake’s home. He promptly returned her to the hostel.

Feeling that her authority had been flouted in a tactless and arbitrary manner, Mother took issue with the Board. There was no question on whose banner victory would perch, and Mother was asked to leave. She was not given the option of resigning, and I have often wondered what could have caused seemingly educated men to behave so unceremoniously towards a person as gentle as Mother.

Of course it would be foolish to assume that this minor disagreement caused her dismissal. It was actually the straw that broke the camel’s back. Disagreement had been simmering for quite a while. Mother did not enjoy having the Board breathing down her neck at all times and countermanding orders which she felt were necessary to give.

The inability of the School Board to deal with strong Principals was noticed a few years after Mother left when yet another highly popular Principal, Mrs. Dulcie de Silva, was arbitrarily sacked . Dulcie did not accept her unfair dismissal gracefully. She fought back.

Su and I felt that Mother’s American attitudes did not work in her favour when dealing with Asian men who expected a docility from women which Mother just did not have. As far as personal relationships went Mother was totally non-combative, but in school she could be almost authoritarian. She could have got whatever she wanted had she approached the gentlemen of the Board in the customary oblique fashion of Sri Lankan ladies. Her American directness was not a quality those in authority over her appreciated.

Mother’s dismissal caused a reaction that the Musaeus College Board had not foreseen: the entire school went on strike. It made headline news in the papers. Reading of these exciting goings-on, Mr. Mohandas de Mel, an affluent lawyer from Avissawella, decided the time was ripe to fulfil a dream of his own. He got in touch with Mother – and a new school was born.

It was April when Mother ended her days as Principal of Musaeus. In May of the same year, Buddhist Ladies’ College opened. I was away in University at the time but I was told that BLC, the new, fledgling school, opened with nearly 400 girls on the Registers while Musaeus had an extremely depleted student body for a short while.

There was scarcely a hiccup between Mother’s leaving Musaeus one month, and beginning a brand-new school the very next month. It was a time of frenzied activity and excitement. Buildings had to be bought, furniture ordered, the entire hostel organized and playing fields got ready. The fact that everything was ready in a country like ours, where ‘tomorrow’ is an accepted norm of work, says much for the energy of Mr. de Mel and Mother.

But there was another factor – an unexpected factor – that played an important part in the founding of this new school. Upon Mother’s summary dismissal, outraged parents with children at Musaeus voiced their protests, but to no avail. Several hundred students camped in front of the home of the Manager, Mr. Basnayake, whereupon he locked the door on them, refusing to change his decree.

Parents then took the drastic step of removing their children from a well-established school to install them in a new and untried school of which Mother was the Head. The parental trust in Mother that was evidenced in this way was almost humbling to her. Certainly she was touched to the heart. Teachers followed suit: they gave up regular jobs without even seeing their new contracts, such was the affection and confidence Mother inspired.

Mr. Gunasena de Zoysa, civil servant and later Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Britain, was a parent whose daughter, Ranji, was thus transferred. Srikanthi Salgado, daughter of the Director of the Coconut Research Institute, was similarly transferred. Musaeus opened the following term with one eighth of its former student strength. Children were removed from Musaeus overnight. Sunila, wife of Tilak de Zoysa, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Associated Motor Ways (AMW), says she remembers her father scooping her out of bed in the Musaeus hostel, saying: “You are going to Mrs. Motwani’s new school!”

For this mass withdrawal of students from Musaeus, the Head Girl of that school, Lalitha Thilakasena (now Gunawardena, and also a professor at one of one of the Sri Lankan universities) was responsible. She spoke so persuasively at meetings of the parents and students that she pretty much led the cross-over. Mother was unaware of all these meetings and organized protests until the shifting student population began registering at Buddhist Ladies’ College. Naturally, Lalitha continued her Head Girlship in the new school without a break, and entered the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya in a blaze of glory.

To the fury of the Musaeus Board of that era, Buddhist Ladies’ was a full blown school from day one. Thankfully, attitudes have since changed. Today’s Chairman, Mr. Ajitha de Zoysa, has no recollection of that time at all – hardly surprising, since he must have been barely out of diapers himself!

So life at BLC began…

One incident springs to mind. Just round the corner from BLC was ‘Bake House’ a popular bakery that had the creamiest eclairs and the softest bread to be found in Colombo. Hostellers of schools were not allowed to go outside the school unaccompanied, so no one would dream of asking if they could run up the road for an ice cream at Bake House. As far as Mother was aware, no one in the school boarding would dare to ask permission for such an unlikely jaunt.

One evening, the Prefects of the school decided that they would really live life on the edge. They planned to visit ‘Bake House’, timing their expedition for an evening when Mrs. Blake, the Hostel Matron, had her weekly day off, and Mother had left the school for home. Feeling terribly adventurous, the group had a great time. They ate all they possibly could, and got back to the hostel over a conveniently low section of the surrounding wall. Alack and alas, they were spotted by a neighbour who decided to alert Mother.

The next day Mother summoned her Head Girl, one of BLC’s most popular senior Prefects, Janeswari Wijesekera.

“Janeswari,” she said while Janeswari trembled, “is what I hear true?”

“No, Mrs. Motwani,” Janeswari replied, but she looked so guilty that Mother needed no further evidence.Mother looked Janeswari straight in the eye.

“If you tell me you did not break out of the hostel last night,” she said, “I will believe you, and I will drop the matter.”

Quaking, Janeswari gave her word that she and the other Prefects had been safely within the enveloping wall of BLC all evening. Mother let her go.

For the rest of the day and the whole of the next, Janeswari was the sorriest being ever to walk the corridors of BLC. Finally she could bear it no longer. On the third day, she was waiting in Mother’s office to confess. Pleased that her faith in Janeswari had been vindicated, Mother said no more about the matter to anyone outside the Prefect body, but to this day Janeswari and the Prefects remember what Mother said to them that day.

“I tried never to lie about things like that again,” she told me recently.

The morale of the new school was high, and a spirit of closeness and camaraderie pervaded it that touched the entire student and teacher body. There was a kind of pioneering air about the whole experience, which I personally found quite heady when I returned from University two years later to be a teacher myself in Mother’s new school.

The founding of BLC is something that those who were actually the pioneering teachers and students of the school never forgot. Years later, in far away America, I would meet middle-aged ladies who would say to me with a distant look in their eyes and pride in their voices;

“I was one of those who crossed over with Mrs. Motwani.”

Mother now set about turning this new school into as fine an institution as she could. Mr. de Mel had leased “Calverly”, a large property belonging to the Virasinghe family. Classrooms were soon built, and Mother began the Lady Irwin Home Science course, which was a usual feature of any school she happened to be heading.

The Buddhist Ladies’ hostel was governed with a stern but extremely kind hand. Mrs. Blake, a smart and highly efficient Matron, came to Mother at a time when she was most needed.

“I really do not know how I could have managed without her,” Mother used to say.The boarders had a great time, with Matron turning a blind eye to midnight feasts and all the other things hostelers dream up during the day.

Sriya Radalgoda, a former pupil of Musaeus, was Mother’s secretary at BLC, and had the responsibility of dealing with correspondence in the new school. She spent many agonized moments trying to comprehend Mother’s tendency to elide certain vowels. ‘Turret Road’, for instance, became ‘Trrt Road’, and poor Sriya had not the vaguest idea what Mother meant. She came to me for clarification.

“Just add vowels of your own and you’ll be just fine,” I told her, and presumably she managed.

Since Su had opted to go to Lady Irwin for her Home Science degree, Mother was able to keep an eye on her doings in New Delhi. Examiners were coming out annually to Sri Lanka from Lady Irwin College, to check the course work of the BLC entrants and also to hold the Home Science exams. Su was not happy with this personal relationship her mother had with her university.

Su collected boyfriends as some people collect books. She always managed to come up smelling of roses even when two hot-headed Arab students tried to scale the walls at Lady Irwin one memorable night, in the hope of seeing her. Su just disclaimed all knowledge of them and their questionable passion, although she privately told me, her envious sister, that the young men in question were ‘absolutely cute’. They were deported by the way.

At Lady Irwin with Su were several other Sri Lankans. One was Vinita Warasuvitharna (now Gunaratne) a shining light of the College, and Chitra Kanadavanam, with whom I have lost touch.

On one never-to-be-forgotten occasion, Su’s luck deserted her. As usual she got into trouble over some young man. My parents heard about it and made agitated calls to Sir Richard Aluvihare, our High Commissioner in Delhi. Poor Sir Richard had no idea that Father expected him to keep a beady eye on Su. The earlier High Commissioner, Sir Edwin Wijeyaratne, was a friend of the family, and his wife often had Su over for tea. Su spoke beautiful Sinhala and Lady Wijeyaratne enjoyed talking to her. She would send glowing reports to Father on Su’s progress though, how she knew what was happening at Lady Irwin was obviously what Su felt was on a need-to-know basis only.

Su was finally returned to the bosom of her enraged family as insouciant as always and quite impenitent.

“What can I do if I’m pretty, and boys like me?” she asked airily.

Father was speechless. Mother was more understanding with her independent and unconventional daughter.

At BLC, I began my own teaching career. Armed with a brand-new degree, I thought I knew all there was to know about teaching. Mother disabused me of that idea soon enough. Truth to tell, I could not have had a better start to what eventually became a full-time career for me. It is one of my lasting sorrows that Mother never saw the building of the Asian International School by its Founder/ Chairman, Mr. W P. Perera. She would have been so proud, and her praise would have been sweet indeed: all the more so because she had not greeted my choice of a teaching career with enthusiasm.

She expected her teachers to be like Chandra Godakumbure or Dr. Dharma Ponnusamy — dedicated, thoroughly versed in the subjects they taught, and willing to work far beyond the call of duty. She did not quite see me bathed in this rosy aura. She told me (very unenthusiastically) that she would give me a try.

“I really don’t see why you seem so doubtful, Mother. I’m a chip off the old block…..both of them,” i would boast.

“You’ll need to be more than just a chip darling. If you don’t want to incur criticism and even critical comparisons, you will need to be a fully hewn model from the old blocks.” Guardedly, she gave me a job, starting with English teaching in Grade Six.

As the daughter of the BLC Principal, I was given a far heavier timetable than my contemporaries. I was rarely allowed any medical leave. “Take an aspirin and get to school,” was all the comfort I got, even when I really did have a temperature. On the day I got engaged to my husband ‘Bunchy’, Mother graciously granted me the last two periods of the day off. I might say that in those less stressful times the average teacher got at least two days off on her engagement, and a further ten days in which to get married and go on her honeymoon.

Predictably, Mother saw to it that I married in December … a holiday month. Not only was no leave needed, but I did not need to honeymoon on school time. Finding an auspicious time for the wedding was not on Mother’s agenda.

All News Advertisement

Up Next

1943 and all that : Some reflections on history

Don't Miss

Travelling for WHO – first to Botswana in Africa

Click to comment

Features

Cricket and the National Interest

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

The appointment of former minister Eran Wickremaratne to chair the Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee is significant for more than the future of cricket. It signals a possible shift in the culture of governance even as it offers Sri Lankan cricket a fighting possibility to get out of the doldrums of failure. There have been glorious patches for the national cricket team since the epochal 1996 World Cup triumph. But these patches of brightness have been few and far between and virtually non-existent over the past decade. At the centre of this disaster has been the failures of governance within Sri Lanka Cricket which are not unlike the larger failures of governance within the country itself. The appointment of a new reform oriented committee therefore carries significance beyond cricket. It reflects the wider challenge facing the country which is to restore trust in public institutions for better management.

The appointment of Eran Wickremaratne brings a professional administrator with a proven track record into the cricket arena. He has several strengths that many of his immediate predecessors lacked. Before the ascent of the present government leadership to positions of power, Eran Wickremaratne was among the handful of government ministers who did not have allegations of corruption attached to their names. His reputation for financial professionalism and integrity has remained intact over many years in public life. With him in the Cricket Transformation Committee are also respected former cricketers Kumar Sangakkara, Roshan Mahanama and Sidath Wettimuny together with professionals from legal and business backgrounds. They have been tasked with introducing structural reforms and improving transparency and accountability within cricket administration.

A second reason for this appointment to be significant is that this is possibly the first occasion on which the NPP government has reached out to someone associated with the opposition to obtain assistance in an area of national importance. The commitment to bipartisanship has been a constant demand from politically non-partisan civic groups and political analysts. They have voiced the opinion that the government needs to be more inclusive in its choice of appointments to decision making authorities. The NPP government’s practice so far has largely been to limit appointments to those within the ruling party or those considered loyalists even at the cost of proven expertise. The government’s decision in this case therefore marks a potentially important departure.

National Interest

There are areas of public life where national interest should transcend party divisions and cricket, beloved of the people, is one of them. Sri Lanka cannot afford to continue treating every institution as an arena for political competition when institutions themselves are in crisis and public confidence has become fragile. It is therefore unfortunate that when the government has moved positively in the direction of drawing on expertise from outside its own ranks there should be a negative response from sections of the opposition. This is indicative of the absence of a culture of bipartisanship even on issues that concern the national interest. The SJB, of which the newly appointed cricket committee chairman was a member objected on the grounds that politicians should not hold positions in sports administration and asked him to resign from the party. There is a need to recognise the distinction between partisan political control and the temporary use of experienced administrators to carry out reform and institutional restructuring. In other countries those in politics often join academia and civil society on a temporary basis and vice versa.

More disturbing has been the insidious campaign carried out against the new cricket committee and its chairman on the grounds of religious affiliation. This is an unacceptable denial of the reality that Sri Lanka is a plural, multi ethnic and multi religious society. The interim committee reflects this diversity to a reasonable extent. The country’s long history of ethnic conflict should have taught all political actors the dangers of mobilising communal prejudice for short term political gain. Sri Lanka paid a very heavy price for decades of mistrust and division. It would be tragic if even cricket administration became another arena for communal suspicion and hostility. The present government represents an important departure from the sectarian rhetoric that was employed by previous governments. They have repeatedly pledged to protect the equal rights of all citizens and not permit discrimination or extremism in any form.

The recent international peace march in Sri Lanka led by the Venerable Bhikkhu Thich Paññākāra from Vietnam with its message of loving kindness and mindfulness to all resonated strongly with the masses of people as seen by the crowds who thronged the roadsides to obtain blessings and show respect. This message stands in contrast to the sectarian resentment manifested by those who seek to use the cricket appointments as a weapon to attack the government at the present time. The challenges before the Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee parallel the larger challenges before the government in developing the national economy and respecting ethnic and religious diversity. Plugging the leaks and restoring systems will take time and effort. It cannot be done overnight and it cannot succeed without public patience and support.

New Recognition

There is also a need for realism. The appointment of Eran Wickremaratne and the new committee does not guarantee success. Reforming deeply flawed institutions is always difficult. Besides, Sri Lanka is a small country with a relatively small population compared to many other cricket playing nations. It is also a country still recovering from the economic breakdown of 2022 which pushed the majority of people into hardship and severely weakened public institutions. The country continues to face unprecedented challenges including the damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah and the wider global economic uncertainties linked to conflict in the Middle East. Under these difficult circumstances Sri Lanka has fewer resources than many larger countries to devote to both cricket and economic development.

When resources are scarce they cannot be wasted through corruption or incompetence. Drawing upon the strengths of all those who are competent for the tasks at hand regardless of party affiliation or ethnic or religious identity is necessary if improvement is to come sooner rather than later. The burden of rebuilding the country cannot rest only on the government. The crisis facing the country is too deep for any single party or government to solve alone. National recovery requires capable individuals from across society and from different sectors such as business and civil society to work together in areas where the national interest transcends party politics. There is also a responsibility on opposition political parties to support initiatives that are politically neutral and genuinely in the national interest. Not every issue needs to become a partisan battle.

Sri Lanka cricket occupies a special place in the national consciousness. At its best it once united the country and gave Sri Lankans a sense of pride and international recognition. Restoring integrity and professionalism to cricket administration can therefore become part of the larger task of national renewal. The appointment of Eran Wickremaratne and the new committee, while it does not guarantee success, is a sign that the political leadership and people of the country may be beginning to mature in their approach to governance. In recognising the need for competence, integrity and bipartisan cooperation and extending it beyond cricket into other areas of national life, Sri Lanka may find the way towards more stable and successful governance..

by Jehan Perera

Features

From Dhaka to Sri Lanka, three wheels that drive our economies

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

Court vacation this year came with an unexpected lesson, not from a courtroom but from the streets of Dhaka — a city that moves, quite literally, on three wheels.

Above the traffic, a modern metro line glides past concrete pillars and crowded rooftops. It is efficient, clean and frequently cited as a symbol of progress in Bangladesh. For a visitor from Sri Lanka, it inevitably brings to mind our own abandoned light rail plans — a project debated, politicised and ultimately set aside.

But Dhaka’s real story is not in the air. It is on the ground.

Beneath the elevated tracks, the streets belong to three-wheelers. Known locally as CNGs, they cluster at junctions, line the edges of markets and pour into narrow roads that larger vehicles avoid. Even with a functioning rail system, these three-wheelers remain the city’s most dependable form of everyday transport.

Within hours of arriving, their importance becomes obvious. The train may take you across the city, but the journey does not end there. The last mile — often the most complicated part — belongs entirely to the three-wheeler. It is the vehicle that gets you home, to a meeting or simply through streets that no bus route properly serves.

There is a rhythm to using them. A destination is mentioned, a price is suggested and a brief negotiation follows. Then the ride begins, edging into traffic that feels permanently compressed. Drivers move with instinct, adjusting routes and squeezing through gaps with a confidence built over years.

It is not polished. But it works.

And that is where the comparison with Sri Lanka becomes less about what we lack and more about what we already have.

Back home, the three-wheeler has long been part of daily life — so familiar that it is often discussed only in terms of its problems. There are frequent complaints about fares, refusals or the absence of meters. More recently, the industry itself has become entangled in politics — from fuel subsidies to regulatory debates, from election-time promises to periodic crackdowns.

In that process, the conversation has shifted. The three-wheeler is often treated as a problem to be managed, rather than a service to be strengthened.

Yet, seen through the experience of Dhaka, Sri Lanka’s system begins to look far more settled — and, in many ways, ahead.

There is a growing structure in place. Meters, while not perfect, are widely recognised. Ride-hailing apps have added transparency and reduced uncertainty for passengers. There are clearer expectations on both sides — driver and commuter alike. Even small details, such as designated parking areas in parts of Colombo or the increasing standard of vehicles, point to an industry slowly moving towards professionalism.

Just as importantly, there is a human element that remains intact.

In Sri Lanka, a three-wheeler ride is rarely just a transaction. Drivers talk. They offer directions, comment on the day’s news, or share local knowledge. The ride becomes part of the social fabric, not just a means of getting from one point to another.

In Dhaka, the scale of the city leaves less room for that. The interaction is quicker, more direct, shaped by urgency. The service is essential, but it is under constant pressure.

What stands out, across both countries, is that the three-wheeler is not a temporary or outdated mode of transport. It is a necessity in dense, fast-growing Asian cities — one that fills gaps no rail or bus system can fully address.

Large infrastructure projects, like light rail, are important. They bring efficiency and long-term capacity. But they cannot replace the flexibility of a three-wheeler. They cannot reach into narrow streets, respond instantly to demand or provide that crucial last-mile connection.

That is why, even in a city that has invested heavily in modern rail, Dhaka still runs on three wheels.

For Sri Lanka, the lesson is not simply about what could have been built, but about what should be better managed and valued.

The three-wheeler industry does not need to be politicised at every turn. It needs steady regulation — clear fare systems, proper licensing, safety standards — alongside encouragement and recognition. It needs to be seen as part of the solution to urban transport, not as a side issue.

Because for thousands of drivers, it is a livelihood. And for millions of passengers, it is the most immediate and reliable form of mobility.

The tuk-tuk may not feature in grand policy speeches or infrastructure blueprints. It does not run on elevated tracks or attract international attention. But on the ground, where daily life unfolds, it continues to do what larger systems often struggle to do — show up, adapt and keep moving.

And after watching Dhaka’s streets — crowded, relentless, yet functioning — that small, three-wheeled vehicle feels less like something to argue over and more like something to get right.

(The writer is an Attorney-at-Law with over a decade of experience specialising in civil law, a former Board Member of the Office of Missing Persons and a former Legal Director of the Central Cultural Fund. He holds an LLM in International Business Law)

by Sampath Perera recently in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Features

Dubai scene … opening up

Published

18 hours ago

2026/05/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

Seven Notes: Operating in Dubai

According to reports coming my way, the entertainment scene, in Dubai, is very much opening up, and buzzing again!

After a quieter few months, May is packed with entertainment and the whole scene, they say, is shifting back into full swing.

The Seven Notes band, made up of Sri Lankans, based in Dubai, are back in the spotlight, after a short hiatus, due to the ongoing Middle East problems.

On 18th April they did Legends Night at Mercure Hotel Dubai Barsha Heights; on Thursday, 9th May, they will be at the Sports Bar of the Mercure Hotel for 70s/80s Retro Night; on 6th June, they will be at Al Jadaf Dubai to provide the music for Sandun Perera live in concert … and with more dates to follow.

These events are expected to showcase the band’s evolving sound, tighter stage coordination, and stronger audience engagement.

With each performance, the band aims to refine its identity and build a loyal following within Dubai’s vibrant nightlife and event scene.

Pasindu Umayanga: The group’s new vocalist

What makes Seven Notes standout is their versatility which has made the band a dynamic and promising act.

With a growing performance calendar, new talent integration, and international ambitions, the band is definitely entering a defining phase of its journey.

Dubai’s music industry, I’m told, thrives on diversity, energy, and audience connection, with live bands playing a crucial role in elevating events—from corporate shows to private concerts. Against this backdrop, Seven Notes is positioning itself not just as another band, but as a performance-driven musical unit focused on consistency and growth.

Adding fresh momentum to the group is Pasindu Umayanga who joins Seven Notes as their new vocalist. This move signals a strategic upgrade—not just filling a role, but strengthening the band’s front-line presence.

Looking beyond local stages, Seven Notes is preparing for an international tour, to Korea, in July.

Bassist Niluk Uswaththa: Spokesperson for Seven Notes

According to bassist Niluk Uswaththa, taking a band abroad means: Your sound must hold up against unfamiliar audiences, your performance must translate beyond language, and your discipline must be at a professional level.

“If executed well, this tour could redefine Seven Notes from a local band into an emerging international act,” added Niluk.

He went on to say that Dubai is not an easy market. It’s saturated with highly experienced, multi-genre bands that can adapt instantly to any crowd.

“To stand out consistently you need to have tight rehearsal discipline, unique sound identity (not just covers), strong stage chemistry, audience retention – not just applause.”

No doubt, Seven Notes is entering a critical growth phase—new member, multiple shows, and an international tour on the horizon. The opportunity is real, but so is the pressure.

However, there is talk that Seven Notes will soon be a recognised name in the regional music scene.