Dr. Mrs Malwattage Josephine Sarojini Perera

An embodiment of elegance, dedication, compassion and love

A tribute

It is just three years on the 6^th of December 2022, since you left this mortal world and were taken by a posse of God’s angels to your heavenly abode. That occurrence submerged all of us, in your immediate and extended family, as well as all your friends and your patients, in the intolerable gloom left by a dazzling light being extinguished forever. Even in death, you had that radiant smile that you were renowned for, the one which warmed the cockles of all our hearts, day in and day out.

The lady was always like the lovely moon that brings light to the darkest night. Indeed, for all of us her loved ones, she was like no other woman that you are ever likely to meet. In her life on planet earth, she had the temperament of a celestial being, together with the marvellous spirit of a very gentle and gorgeous member of humanity. She was also the absolute embodiment of what it was like to be a lady of uninhibited grandeur. To have and to hold a woman like that, one had to be tremendously lucky; in return, one simply had to try ever so hard to treat her like the precious treasure she was.

Her heart was as soft as the wings of a butterfly and it beat ever so serenely in a way in which she would try her best to give even the world to her loved ones. She has occasionally been through moments gloomier than midnight but she always, and ever so quickly too, came out of them, to end up that much stronger, richer in spirit, and even more resilient than ever before. Her only weakness was that she cared so much for others. In everything she did, she hardly ever, if not never, put herself first. One of the kindest of souls that walked the earth, she was ever ready to forgive even some lapses on the part of those around her and the people she loved.

In her chosen vocation in healthcare, in a career spanning 45 years, which involved operative surgery, paediatrics, out-patient stints, blood bank work, rheumatology, sexually transmitted diseases, and finally working with those afflicted and affected by HIV/AIDS, she was just like a beacon of hope and succour to a flock of suffering mankind, who had the good fortune to come under her empathetic radar. Sitting and watching her dealing with a woman who had caught HIV through no fault on the part of the patient, was an abject lesson in medical professionalism. Sarojini did her very best for her patients, even more than anybody could ever have asked for. She would go even further than that legendary extra mile for them, as much as she did for those who needed her attention and care, and for those whom she loved in this world. I consider myself to have been ever so fortunate to have been one on whom her love was showered; in abundance at that.

The Good Lord above, in his perpetual wisdom, had elected to spare her the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis by taking her into his bosom in 2019. Yet for all that, if she was with us, she most certainly would have been in her element and would have taken all those problems in her stride. She would have given her all to those suffering in the pandemic and the economic crisis. That would have been her response; one that anyone could have counted on, and one which would have been implemented with no strings attached.

I knew her for over half a century, from the time she entered the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo in my immediate junior batch and for 44 years 7 months and 11 days I had been tied to her with the golden thread of wedlock. Those were most definitely the happiest days of my existence. The rewards were unbelievable. She was the absolute epitome of a model wife and a splendid mother.

We do uncontrollably grieve at our loss, day in and day out. Our tears of desolation see no bounds whatsoever. However, we also try ever so hard, to take solace in the immortal words of Her Majesty, the late Queen Elizabeth the second “Grief is the price we pay for love.” In Sarojini, even in our worst hours of despair, we remember the sterling and fabulous memories of a unique woman for whom the word ‘love’ was ever so special. She was indeed the pure essence of love.

I am quite certain that if my late wife Dr Sarojini Perera was to reply to our lamentations, the following would be her characteristic, abiding and natural response.

So……, live your life

As I sit in heaven and watch you every day,

I try to let you know with signs, that I never went away.

I hear you laughing, and watch you as you sleep,

I even place my arms around you, to calm you as you weep.

I see you wish the days away, longing to have me home,

So, I send you signs, so you know that you are not alone.

Do not feel guilty, that you have a life, that was denied to me,

Heaven is truly beautiful, just wait and see.

So……, live your life, laugh again; enjoy yourself, be free,

Then I know, that with every breath you take, you will be taking one for me as well.

We try ever so hard to console ourselves with the words of the religion that we believe in, as written in Isaiah 57:1 “The righteous pass away; the godly often die before their time. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come”. We earnestly believe that she was taken to heaven, way before her time, just to fulfil that axiom.

Rest in everlasting peace in your spiritual dwelling my beautiful angel, till we meet again in heaven. You may have left us three years ago, but you will never ever be forgotten. Darling Sara, even though we are going through the unbearable agony of missing you in person, we treasure the wonderful memories of you, which will continue to resonate and live in our hearts, forever more.

by Dr B. J. C. Perera
On behalf of the family