{"id":239316,"date":"2024-10-20T06:09:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T00:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=239316"},"modified":"2024-10-26T06:06:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T00:36:19","slug":"kumar-david-left-intellectual-activist-friend-rascal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/kumar-david-left-intellectual-activist-friend-rascal\/","title":{"rendered":"Kumar David: Left Intellectual, Activist, Friend, Rascal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jayampathy Wickramaratne<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne PC<\/p><\/div>\n

Much has already been written, and more will be written in the coming days about the much-loved Kumar David<\/a><\/span>\u2014 electrical engineer, brilliant academic, Left intellectual, activist and writer who passed away on Monday in Los Angeles. Others will write about his academic achievements, his contribution to the Sri Lankan Left, his writings, etc. My short piece is more anecdotal.<\/p>\n

Kumar had been unwell for some time. In his last email to me on 14 August, he wrote: \u2018I am still\u00a0in LA. Health not too good. Hope to be in SL early 2025 if my health improves.\u2019 Irrepressible as he always was, he added: \u2018I understand that you are conning the poor buggers in Papua\u00a0New Guinea or some such\u00a0place on Constitutional matters.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Professor Kumar David (1941-2024)<\/p><\/div>\n

I cannot remember when I first met Kumar. It must have been in 1965 or 1966. In May 1965, while still at school, I joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party as a youth leaguer in Kandy. In January 1966, I was promoted to \u2018candidate member\u2019 of the Kandy LSSP Local, to which Kumar was attached. Those days, we had party names by which we were identified in the Local. Kumar David was \u2018Goldin\u2019, and Vickramabahu was \u2018Parker-Smith\u2019- both\u00a0names of authors of engineering books.<\/p>\n

In 1966, Kumar left for the United Kingdom and returned in 1969 with a PhD from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. It was soon after the famous student protests in Europe, which enthused students worldwide. The LSSP group in Peradeniya organised a\u00a0lecture by Kumar on the topic \u2018Student Unrest in Europe\u2019, but it was disallowed by his own teacher, Prof. E.O.E. Pereira, then Vice-Chancellor, who probably feared that Kumar would call the students to arms! The lecture was finally held at the Physics lecture theatre after Dr. Osmund Jayaratne assured Dean Appapillai that there was nothing to fear. The lecture theatre was packed, with many standing, and Ossie introduced Kumar. Kumar\u2019s opening words were: \u2018If you have come here expecting fireworks, you will be disappointed. We are going to discuss seriously what happened in Europe and why.\u2019<\/p>\n

While at Law College, I helped publish \u2018The Nation\u2019<\/i>, the popular Left weekly edited by Hector Abhayavardhana. An editorial board of sorts met on Sunday evenings at Hector\u2019s place along Chitra Lane: Kumar David, Jayantha Somasundaram, Vijay Kumar, Handy Perimpanayagam, myself, and others who dropped in. For me, it was a learning experience. Kumar used to mischievously annoy Hector with criticisms\u00a0of the United Left government. Hector would refer to Kumar as \u2018the rascal\u2019 albeit in his absence!<\/p>\n

Kumar was funny, indeed. He had nicknames for those close to him- Vijay Kumar was \u2018Kochchi\u2019 because of his Kerala roots, Lankaloka was \u2018Ceylon World,\u2019 Wilegoda was \u2018Hole Works\u2019 and\u00a0I was \u2018Jumpy.\u2019 Some of the nicknames he coined are unprintable. He would spice conversations with Sinhala obscenities, which friends were required to tolerate. \u2018Machang, I am not fluent in Sinhala, no?\u2019 he would mischievously justify. Once, at a discussion, we agreed after continuous protests that he could utter an obscenity only once every five minutes, and I was appointed \u2018timekeeper.\u2019 Needless to say, I \u2018resigned\u2019 after some time.<\/p>\n

When he began writing regularly to the papers, Kumar asked me to suggest a penname for him. I suggested \u2018Aswini,\u2019 his other forename, of which many were unaware. He said he never liked it. I then suggested \u2018Goldin,\u2019 and he was surprised I remembered his party name. He finally decided to write under his name.<\/p>\n

When Ranjika and I decided to marry in secret, it was Kumar who helped us, driving early in the morning to fetch her on her way to the school she taught at in Udadumbara and dropping her off just in time for her to return to a relative\u2019s house where she was staying as if she was returning from school. I still remember the car number 6406 but forget which Sri series it was.<\/p>\n

Kumar married Rohini, whose surname, Leula, is the name of the village my family moved to from Udispattuwa to facilitate our schooling in Kandy. I offer my deepest sympathies to Rohini, her\u00a0son Amrit, and her sisters Kanthi and Tilaka.<\/p>\n

The Sri Lankan Left has lost an intellectual giant. Readers of The Island <\/i>and Colombo Telegraph<\/i> will miss Kumar on Sundays. I will miss a rascal of a friend. Farewell, Kumar!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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