Anura Bandaranaike: Tribute to a gentleman politician

Although I knew Anura was seriously ill for sometime, it was difficult to accept his death. So many of us had prayed and hoped for his recovery. A man who always made his presence felt, whatever the circumstances.

I first saw Anura, when he was just a little boy, looking angelic in a cream silk national dress sitting in the gallery in the old Parliament; listening intently to the speeches going on below. I recall the late President Jayewardene remarking that day, that he would be a political force in the future. A noble son of great parents, he was an unforgettable person, ever since he first made his entry into politics in 1977.

Whether one agreed with his politics or not; it is an undisputed fact that he was one of the best speakers in every Parliament since. He was well read, could quote freely and easily from every great sage, writer or poet and had a great sense of history. The fact that he grew up without the guidance and strength of a father; and with a mother thrust into politics had not embittered him or endowed his personality with a malicious twist; as it may have done with a lesser mortal. On the contrary, Anura simply grew more lovable with the passage of time and his looks grew more cherubic.

I first met him soon after the 1977 election; he never failed to be the epitome of courtesy and thoughtfulness. Always witty, he would make cracks about various people in that government, but was never malicious or cruel. He came to see me after my husband’s death and was always kind and concerned about my welfare. I was very touched when I was told that when he heard that someone, rather inclined to slander people, had run him down in public in my presence, he had remarked that he was quite sure that I would never make unkind remarks about him. I recall many of his speeches and have even kept some of them as they were always amusing often containing interesting quotations. At the opening of Parliament, when Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister of the UNF government, I recall Anura’s speech very clearly. One of the things he said was that he was in an unique position with his sister as President and his best friend as Prime Minister. It is a tribute to his sunny nature that his friendship with Ranil continued through the ups and downs of both their lives whether they pursued the same political path or not. Anura respected integrity, education, sincerity and breeding. His family background endowed him with an abundance of these qualities, so it is only natural that he looked for these in other people as well. He loved the good things of life; music, reading, good food, good wine; this is as it should be as most cultivated, cultured people do appreciate similar things. He had impeccable manners, anyone who had him for a meal, would get a ‘Thank you’ note early the next morning. Few people bother with these niceties nowadays.

I last met Anura at the opening of ‘Tintagel,’ his childhood home as an exclusive Boutique hotel. He lit the pana with Sunetra and then sat quietly chatting to friends. He was full of beans and we talked for some time. He was deeply concerned about the state of the country, about corruption, lack of law and order, and the general falling of standards, including vulgar behaviour and bad language used in Parliament. Harry Jayewardene, standing close by, remarked that he used to see my late husband regularly in church. Anura turned to me and said “I thought Chandra was a Buddhist.” I said that he was; but that he had lost his respect for some priests because of their behaviour and that he went only to church in the last few years of his life. His riposte was that he felt the same way. Before he left, he told me that he would visit me soon and that he wanted to help my daughter who was in politics. I never thought that I would not see him again.

Anura was one of the few remaining gentleman politicians. We have just a few left; one can count them on one’s fingers. He was a giant of a man in every sense of the word. It is sad that we will not hear his laugh, see his commanding presence or hear his wit again. He was kind and thoughtful. Those of us who are descendants of the late C.H. de Soysa, will always appreciate his kindness to our cousin, Jith, particularly in these last few years in his time of need. Such gestures are rare in this materialistic world of selfishness and greed. My thoughts and prayers are with his two sisters who have lost their youngest sibling, their beloved ‘Mallo,’ without whom life will never be the same. It is good to know though, that in his last valiant battle, Anura’s two sisters were constantly at his side. Both as a person and as a politician, Anura’s loss is an irreparable void which cannot be filled.

‘To be or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep.’

Ilica Malkanthi Karunaratne