My Childhood
When I was about 2-3 years old, my mother was teaching at Nawagamuwa Junior school, about 10km from home. She was taking me to her school every morning. From our home we had to walk about one kilometer across the paddy fields to the main road, and then take a bus to school. Sometimes I would sat on the ground refusing to budge an inch. She would pick a twig from a nearby tree gave two or three lashes on my back. I would then start crying and walk behind her.
Buffalo Attact
In 1949 I was admitted to Ambatale Boy’s Senior School lower kindergarten. Normally I used to go to school with my two elder brothers, across paddy fields and several kilns in which bricks and tiles were baked. One day as we were walking past a kiln a buffalo came to attack us. My elder brother, a polio victim and lame in one leg could not run fast enough. The buffalo attacked him and he fell down. Fortunately for him a person called Karolis uncle working for a kilm nearby came to our rescue and carried him home. Later our father told us that cattle and buffalos attack people when they notice unusual behaviour. In this instant it was the unusual way my brother walked that provoked the buffalos.
The Leagal officer
One day a gentleman came to school and collected information about students who not regularly come to school. His duty was to take a legal action against the parents of such students. We called him in our mother toung (Sinhala) "Nadu dana mahatthaya"(a person who files action in court of law).
Interview of School Admission
My father wanted to admit me to the Royal College, Colombo one of a best schools in Sri Lanka, and I had to face an interview. A teacher asked me, "Why you keep a dog at home?", "We want to have more baby dogs as pets" was my reply.
For a selected batch of students, a new government school was started in the premises adjoins the Royal Primary, as there were too many applicants to the Royal Primary. That was the beginning of the "Thurstan College", I remember my admission number was 81. Thurstan College started on the 11th of January, 1950.
Going to School
When I was very small, my father used to take me on his bicycle from home to his school (Senior school Maligakanda, Colombo). From there I go by a rickshaw to my school. Now rickshaws available only in the museum.
Later this system changed and I used to go by bus with a middle aged person named Mr. Jayathilaka who lived not far away from home. We called him Johanis Ayya. (He died around 1995). I used to sleep on his lap in the bus on the way back home in the afternoon.
After grade-5, I used to go to school alone by bus. When I return from the school in the afternoon, I normally got off the bus at the Colombo Fort and walk along the pavement up to the Pettha bus stand ,looking into the shop windows for toys. My father used to give pocket money (about 25 cents per day) regularly. I carefully saved this money, and buy toys. One day I spotted a toy Jeep in one of the shops. I held it carefully but returned it because the price was Rs 3.50 , all I had was Rs 2.55. The shopkeeper promptly gave it to me the amount I had.
When I buy a toy and returning home I didn't let anybody see it , I dismantled it completely as I was curious to know how it worked. I re-assembled and played with it with my brothers and sisters for a long time without breaking it. I bought a battery operated car for Rs 5, still I have the motor removed from it. Later I made a transformer rewinding machine with it.
Escaped from kidnappers
One day when I was at the bus-halt near the school, a heavy shower started. A black Moris Miner car stopped and the driver asked me "Baby where are you going?" I replied that I was going to Pettha and he brought me to Pettha bus-stand. When I came home I told the incident to my mother and father. Then father told me that it was OK and warned me not to repeat it as there were kidnappers who used to sell such children.
Another day (around 1955-58) I was walking along the Norris Road (now Olcott Mawatha) in Pettha, a young man came and talked to me, he was trying to be a friendly with me. He invited me to go to a hotel and I couldn’t refuse. While I was seated in the hotel he went inside. I carefully moved out and ran straight to the bus stand and got into the bus.
Another day a middle aged woman was talking to me in the bus and she gave me a toffee. While she was looking else where I threw it through an opening and pretended to eat.
Wrong decision
One day when I was in 5th or 6th standard (in 1955 or 1956) I bought a battery operated toy car for Rs 5 and my elder brother gave me a five rupee note to bring one for him. When I was in the class, one of my class-mates, U.S.R.K.Perera complained to the class master Mr. D.K.De Silva that he had a five rupee note and had lost it. Then he searched everybody and found my five rupee note. I told that it was given to me by my brother. He didn’t believe it and sent me to the vice principal, Mr. Abraham T Cowoor and he asked me to bring a letter from my father. My father gave me a letter and I managed to get the money back and buy the toy car for my brother.
Dismantling the clock
At home we used a Big-Ben table clock. I wanted to open it and see what was inside. One day all my family members had to go for a wedding ceremony of a relative and I refuse to go. I stayed at home and opened the clock and checked how it work and reinstalled it before they come back.
Parachute Jump
One day when I was about 10 years old I took the umbrella belonging to my mother and climbed up a small "Sapathilla"(a fruit like apple) tree about 30 ft tall . First I climbed about 5 feet and jumped holding the umbrella open and landed safely. Then I gradually increased the height and jumped several times. Finally jumped from a hight of 10feet height and landed safely but the spokes of the umbrella turned in the opposite direction. Then I stopped the game and carefully adjusted the spokes and kept it where it was.
Climbing Trees
When I was about 16years old I used to climb most of the trees in our garden. One day I climbed a "Kadju" tree about 40ft hight and suddenly broken the branch, when I fallen few feet down I managed to hold another branch and escape.
There was a jack tree about 60-70ft in height. When I climbed to the top of it I was able to see Dageba of the Kelaniya temple to the North and another rock like Sigiriya on the East. When I broke the news to my elder sister (punchi akka), Kalyani, she also wants to climb and watch it.
One day both of us had climbed to the top of the jack tree and had observed everything around us and identified the rock as the Bible Rock. Suddenly we saw our father coming home via the foot path under the tree. After he had gone we slowly came down. Father had not seen us on the tree. Even if he had , I know he would say it’s all right but you must be careful.
Radio and Electronics
Since I was very small I liked to do various experiments in electricity and electronics as a hobby. When I was in the 5th or 6th standard (1955/56) I made a simple Crystal Radio set , using a germanium crystal, a needle, an ear-phone and some pieces of wire. It was a medium wave radio operating without any power source. Still I have that ear-phone (TMC). I used a long wire antenna attached to two coconut trees. Some times I even used the barb-wire fence as the antenna and it was working quiet well. Later I replaced the crystal with a germanium diode baught from Gilbert & Co at Maradana for Rs 1.50. I installed it inside the earphone.
Later I managed to make a good radio having four valves and two or three wave-bands (medium wave short wave) operating with a dry battery (90volts and 1.5 volts). I spent about Rs40 for the radio and Rs7.50 for the battery.
Intercom system
I made a simple intercom system installed between our house and another house, about 75 meters away. I used two ear-phones (high impedence type TMC) connected with two thin (30 swg) enemalled wires without having any external power. Later we buried these two wires about 6 inch underground. From our home my brothers and sisters enjoyed talking to Karunasen, Somadasa and Amarasena at the other end.
Short Wave Listning
Around 1956/57 my father bought a Radio set having 4 valves, operating with a dry battery (90 V + 1.5 V). The weight of the battery itself was about 2kg. When I tuned on HF bands I heard a conversation between two persons on the 40 m-band. I monitored it every day when I was free, and noted down all important details. The operators were 4S7JA-John, 4S7EA-Earnest, 4S7GV-Glen, Wickrama and Soma. But I didn't try to meet any of them. Later (around 1975) when I was a teacher at Ananda College Colombo, I met Mr.Gurusinghe-4S7PG and got more details about this HAM Radio system. Then I joined the RSSL (Radio Society of Sri Lanka) and self studied and I learned Morse with the help of 4S7VG - Vasantha Guruge. I got the licence in 1979 with the call-sign of 4S7VJ and talking all over the HAM world.
Edited: Friday, November 26, 2021