A great personality with guidance and inspiration

Professor Carlo Fonseka

At the first death anniversary of Professor Carlo Fonseka, I would like to bring the focus of the reader to the legacy of our beloved professor through his services to learning and research in the field of Physiology and Medicine, to university education, and more generally to the Sri Lankan nation. His contribution was made in a wide variety of fields, but also in the exemplary life he led which, in my understanding, epitomised the qualities of mettā, karunā, mudithā and upēkkha, the teachings of the Buddha. It is a well-known fact that in the early stages of his university career Carlo Fonseka was a committed socialist, and a prominent activist of the ‘Lanka Sama Samaja Party’. He also proclaimed that he is a ‘Rationalist’.

‘Rationalism’ has many definitions and interpretations. Quite often, it is misunderstood as an ideology that rejects all religious beliefs and devotional practices. But if one were to read Professor Fonseka’s compositions in the volume titled ‘Essays of a Lifetime’, it becomes clear that ‘Rationalism’, as professed by him, represented the basic principle in scientific endeavours according to which, in generating knowledge, ‘Reason’ is superior to emotion and to objectively unverifiable perception.

As most of us are aware that there is no dearth of writings on Professor Fonseka published both before as well as after his passing away. In view of that, there is hardly any need to repeat the glittering details documented on his academic achievements. However, I shall briefly outline that Professor Carlo Fonseka obtained MBBS with first class honours at the University of Ceylon in 1960; and was awarded the Andrew Caldecott Gold medal for the greatest competence in that examination, Maneckbai Dadabhoy Gold medal (for the greatest competence in Obstetrics and Gynaecology), Perry Exhibition “for the greatest competence in a 3 -year period, Distinctions in Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pharmacology and Forensic medicine. His studies leading to the MBBS degree were embellished with many such distinctions and prestigious awards which, I think, only a very few in the entire history of the Medical School in Colombo could have matched. He obtained his PhD from the University of Edinburgh. His doctoral thesis work has been quoted in textbooks of Physiology.

He joined the academic staff of the Department of Physiology of the University of Colombo in 1962 and rose steadily in rank, gaining recognition here and abroad as a brilliant researcher and an inspiring teacher, to be elevated to a professorship in Physiology. Later he moved to the newly established Faculty of Medicine, Ragama, as its founder Dean, and the person who was instrumental in developing the Faculty to take wing.

He authored many widely acclaimed publications in his field, focusing on specialties such as neuroendocrinology, pain and memory.

The Master’s degree in Medical Education was obtained much later in life (1999) underscoring his positive attitude towards learning throughout his life.

He was a great teacher in Physiology and had a passion to instill knowledge in his students. His students at Colombo and later at Kelaniya had almost worshipful admiration and affection for him. One of his pupil admirers has stated that his name ‘Carlo’ should be regarded as an abridgement of the Sinhala term ‘Kālōchitha’ – an interesting statement!

Outside the confines of teaching, research and academic administration, he continued to maintain a refined level of interest and involvement throughout his career in a wide variety of issues. For instance, a book authored by him has a focus on the vital necessity of promoting peace and inter-group harmony in order to alleviate poverty, and achieve equity and social justice in Sri Lanka.

He was an ardent campaigner for eliminating narcotic and tobacco consumption, and provided his fullest cooperation and leadership to the related government efforts, regardless of the political party affiliations of those who required his services.

When entrusted responsibilities in academic administration, he never became a ‘yes’ man of political bosses. He was guided entirely by his own convictions, even when his steadfast stand caused displeasure among the powers that be.

We have often seen that he was associated with the glitterati of our performing arts in theatre, cinema and music, but not with the objective of pursuing the limelight. That association was due entirely to the elite performers in those fields pursuing him, because he had the competence to contribute to their interests and aspirations.

I find it difficult to think of any other person in our university community whose record could match his versatility and competence in such a broad spectrum of fields. Yet, he interacted in perfect ease with those at all levels of our society, including rural youth, not as a ‘pundit’ distributing wisdom or a political bigwig harvesting votes, but as a friend expecting to engage in a dialogue.

This latter feature of Professor Fonseka’s personality is reflected in a story of a visit by him to a village in Puttalam District, invited for a speech by an association of youth, mainly school drop-outs and students of upper-secondary level at a Central College. That was in the gloomy aftermath of the youth insurrection of 1971. As previously arranged, on arrival at the railway station that morning, he was respectfully greeted and escorted to the venue of the meeting in a procession of bicycles, with the illustrious ‘doctor’ himself garlanded, and seated on the crossbar of the lead bicycle, motor vehicles in that era being far less abundant compared to the present. The social setting was one of mixed ethnicity. His audience, overwhelmingly young men and women, consisted of Buddhists, Roman Catholics and Muslims, including members of the clergy. According to this tale, they listened to the speech with rapt attention, and participated in a lively discussion that lasted until mid-day. What impressed the narrator of this story more than all else was the calm, respectful and persuasive manner in which the eminent ‘doctor’ responded to even those who disagreed with some of his ideas. He had lunch with his hosts, further informal chats, and was escorted back to the Railway station, demonstrating to a small segment of our society that the barriers of the ‘Ivory Tower’ are not entirely insurmountable.

That was a rare and exemplary dimension of Professor Fonseka’s personality, the ability to “walk with kings, but not lose the common touch”, a character trait of the ideal ‘Man’ as portrayed by the famous poet Rudyard Kipling.

On a personal note, he was a very dear senior colleague to me. The guidance, inspiration and the benevolence he bestowed on us Physiologists will remain among us for many years to come.

Dr. INDUMATHIE NANAYAKKARA

(MBBS, MPhil, PhD)

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, Peradeniya

President, Physiology Association of Sri Lanka for 2019