A guiding light not only to his family but friends and relatives too

Mahinda bade farewell to his kith and kin and departed this world on May 10, 2020. He was cremated at the Kurunduwatta crematorium the next day. His wish was also to have his funeral soon after his death.

Mahinda who hailed from Mabotuwana, Wanduramba, Galle was the second in a family of six children. His father Daniyale Jagoda, was a landed proprietor and his mother a housewife. His two sisters were teachers of English and his brothers were landed proprietors.

Educated at Wanduramba Central College, he passed his BA Hons (London) and gained a diploma in education from the University o f Peradeniya.

He was a teacher at Richmond College, Galle during the Welikala period and then joined Mahinda College. He served as the Principal of Wanduramba Central College, his alma mater from 1978 to 1986 and was then appointed Principal of Rahula College, Matara where he worked from 1986-1988.

He also served as Secretary to the Chief Minister of the Southern Province M.S. Amarasiri for some time and after that was appointed Director of Education of the Southern Province. He held that position until his retirement in 1994.

Many well known personalities were produced during his tenure as a teacher and principal in the college he served. Politicians Vajira Abeywardene and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene were from Mahinda College and Buddhika Pathirana from Rahula College Matara.

He was a dedicated social worker too. He was Chairman of the Wanduramba Co-operative Society in the 1970s and ’80s, served on the committee of the Karapitiya Hospital and was secretary and member of the School Development Society of Richmond College from 1994-2006, and in the Richmond and Mahinda College Past Teachers’ Associations. He was also a member of the Ganegoda Seelawansaramaya Dayaka Sabha.

I knew him for about 45 years and our friendship grew when he married my cousin Indrani Abewickrama Gunasekera in 1981. They lived at Ganegoda, Akmeemana. Their son Harsha Ruwan is a Chartered Marketer.

What I admired most about him was his love for his fellow human beings. Always smiling, he would listen patiently to all who sought his help. The word ‘no’ was not in his vocabulary. He would try his best to help.

He was a guiding light not only to his family but his friends and relatives as well.

I thank his wife and son for caring for him till his last breath. His first-year almsgiving was held in a simple manner at Seelawansaramaya, Ganegoda.

May he attain the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana.