A Gold medal for a man with a golden heart - Alagiah Thurairajah

Portrait of Professor A Thurairajah: Pencil art by Nihal Samarasinghe of E/78

It was a weekday evening in the first part of 1982 and I was a first year student and a committee member of the Engineering Faculty Arts Circle. There were a few of us gathered in a fourth-floor room of the Andres-Nell Hall. Our task was to prepare posters for a musical show that was being organised.

If I remember correctly, except for me, all the others in the room were third or final year students who had undergone a difficult time in negotiating a fair exam timetable with the faculty administration in the previous academic year. That struggle had taken them through a number of protests and eventually a boycott of examinations.

While we were drawing sitars, thablas and other musical instruments using coloured pencils on white paper to make our posters for the show, someone burst into the room and shared the news that a new Dean for the faculty had been elected and he was someone named Thurei.

That was the first time when I heard about Professor Thurairaja. And as soon as his name was mentioned, there was jubilation among those senior students who were present. Some even clapped in joy as I remember. And from that I judged that this person named Prof Thurei, a member of the academic staff, was someone loved by the students probably because he had genuinely cared and supported engineering students during their struggle in the previous academic year.

However, it took another two years for me to meet this gentleman in person and get a better understanding of him.

The university was closed down in July 1983 first due to a student struggle that ended up with a fast-unto-death protest and an abduction of a professor of the science faculty. And the closure was extended soon, due to ethnic riots. End-of-academic-year examinations were held during that long closure with students only allowed to enter the university just four days before their respective examinations began.

When we returned to the University in January 1984 to begin a new academic year, we found that all the student representatives of the previous year's university student union (PSU) had been suspended from the university for their involvement in the fast-unto-death protest and the abduction of the professor. That was some 60-plus students I think and that included some 20-plus engineering students.

The irony was that the previous year's student protests started when six students were suspended by the university. However, now, with many more under suspension, there were no protests at all. That is obviously because the entire student leadership had been silenced and there was no one to take the leadership.

Not just at Peradeniya, but student unions had been abolished by the government in the entire university system of the country. Before its abolishment, at Peradeniya the PSU was run by the Pro-JVP socialist student union which had secured the majority number of members at elections held in December 1982. It must be mentioned here that at the Faculty of Engineering, there had not been an election to select student representatives. Instead, an independent single list has been nominated comprising of students from each and every batch representing, I guess, many political denominations and also independent apolitical students who otherwise had an interest in student politics in general.

We must also remember that by this time the JVP had been proscribed by the government and had gone underground. Therefore, those students who had some affiliations with the socialist student union the JVP were also not willing to take up the leadership and initiate a fight for the removal of these unfair suspensions of fellow students. At the same time, even those who had genuine concerns about the fellow batchmates under suspension were not immediately willing to come up to initiate a protest because there was obviously a threat of suspension hanging above.

As there were at least four fellow students from our batch under suspension, in January 1984 we gathered in Lecture room 5 to discuss the situation and to explore what we could do.

After some deliberations, it was decided that we form a small committee of volunteer representatives and take up our concerns with the Dean of the faculty, who was, of course, Professor Thurairaja. I remember one evening, without any prior appointment of course, going into the Dean’s office with a few batchmates and asking Professor Thurairajah whether he had a few minutes to spare to discuss the plight of those under suspension. I remember very well that he was most welcoming, was very much interested in hearing what we have to say and clearly demonstrated his genuine concern about the situation.

Our main concern that we took up with the Dean was that all of those who had been suspended are unlikely to be held responsible for breaching any of the university or general laws. However, as they cannot enter the university premises, they are all missing lectures, labs and design work and therefore are being punished before they are proven guilty, merely because they were student representatives at PSU on a volunteer list.

In reply, Professor Thurairajah said that he very well understood the situation and he had discussed these issues at various forums as well. He promised us that he will of course take it up with the University authorities to get the inquiry that was being conducted, expedited.

That meeting with him left a lasting impression in my mind about Professor Thurairajah as an administrator and more importantly as a human being because of his kindness and empathy that was in ample supply.

Therefore there was no surprise that each and everyone who has had some contact with him were so saddened when the news broke out late that year that Professor Thurairajah was planning to leave the University of Peradeniya to take up an appointment at the Open University in Colombo.

When the new academic year started in February 1985, Professor Thurairajah had already left the university but luckily for those civil engineering students he was still coming to the university once a week to deliver lectures on Geotechnical Engineering.

By this time, I was in our final year and my batchmates had elected me as the President of the Engineering Students Union (ESU). The ESU committee started planning a farewell for Professor Thurairajah to honour him in an unprecedented manner. It was therefore proposed that we offer him a gold medal for his service to the faculty and to engineering students.

I remember presenting this proposal at a General Body meeting of the students held at the EOE Pereira Theatre on the following Wednesday. All those who were present obviously agreed without any objections. The cost of a gold medal that we had in mind was going to cost about 10,000 Rs. At the ESU meeting, we all decided to collect 10 Rs from each student. Those who were working as instructors from our senior batch promised to contribute, and they indeed did. That was sufficient to cover the cost.

On the light side, I remember very well that there was a suggestion by one of the fellow students to hold a similar event to welcome the new Dean as well. In reply to that, my batchmate Stanley Moremada said that we should leave that for a future ESU to organise if the need arises.

A few days later, one evening, I met Professor Thurairajah in the Soils Laboratory to invite him to attend the farewell event that was being organised. He was a bit reluctant at the beginning but eventually agreed to attend.

The design of the gold medal was pretty simple. On one side, there was a line drawing of the main building of the faculty and on the other side there was a statement to the effect that the medal was presented to Professor Thurairajah to honour his yeoman's service to the Faculty of Engineering by the students of the faculty. There was a hook at the top of the gold medal and using a gold ribbon we made it into a garland. The whole procurement process of the gold medal was managed by my batchmate Rajkumar Siromani.

The first part of the function was held at the EOE Theatre. As the president of the ESU, I started the meeting and read a statement of appreciation of this man with a golden heart. Next on behalf of the academic staff, Dr Nimal Seneviratne of the Civil Engineering department spoke. After that the secretary of the ESU, Nandana Abeysuriya garlanded Professor Thurairajah with the gold medal. As I mentioned before this was an unprecedented occasion, I think, where a departing dean of the faculty was presented with a gold medal. As far as I know, this is still an unbroken record to date.

Then it was Professor Thurairaja’s turn to address the gathering. I remember him talking about his career at the faculty briefly, what he enjoyed, the reasons behind his decision to take up the appointment at the Open University and how difficult that decision was. Shown here in a photo is him speaking at the EOE with the gold medal around his neck in a garland.


Professor A Thurairajah speaking at the gold medal awarding ceremony, June 1985

That concluded the formal proceedings of the event and we all gathered at Drawing Office next to the canteen to enjoy our customary treat of occasions like this, Marie Biscuits and Milk Tea. The second photo shown here was taken during that informal session and features the members of the ESU committee with the Professor. Also in the photo is Dr Nimal Seneviratne.


Professor A Thurairajah with the ESU office bearers after the gold medal awarding ceremony in June 1985

As we know Professor Thurairajah did not work at the Open University for long and after a few years, he took up the post of VC at the University of Jaffna where he served until he moved back to Colombo medical treatment and his untimely demise.

My last memory about Professor Thurairajah is going to the Open University in Nawala to pay my respects before his body was flown to Jaffna for the cremation. While listening to Dr Sanath Ranathunge, the Dean of the Faculty by that time, who spoke at the brief ceremony held at Nawala, I was perhaps thinking about the impermanent nature of all living beings of this world.

While I am finishing off this write-up, two things come to my mind.

Firstly, it would be interesting to know what really happened to that gold medal. Did Professor Thurairajah pass it to someone before his untimely death. Is it still in its original shape?

But my second point I think negates the first.

I think most of those who remember Professor Thurairajah are now well over the age at which he left this world, where everything is impermanent. Given that context, what is the point of thinking about whatever has happened to that gold medal?

- Rasika Suriyaarachchi (E/81/214)