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RCU eNEWS Volume 3 Issue 5 - 2009/2010 April 2010

In this Edition

175th Anniversary RCU Tent at the Battle of the Blues 3

A Royal Banquet 5

H.L.B. Gomes – A Legend Passes Away 13

RCU Package from Etisalat 15

Caught in Action…Battle of the Blues 17

Caught in Action…Limited over encounter 19

Inaugural Royal Thomian T20 21

Group and Association News 24

Upcoming Events 29

College Sports and other Activities 31

RCU Contact Details 39

Royal College Contact Details 40

mailto:[email protected]


Main Activities


175TH ANNIVERSARY ROYAL COLLEGE UNION TENT @

131ST BATTLE OF THE BLUES

Come March every year, the SSC will be aptly clad for the

Battle of the Blues, either in Blue and Gold or Blue and

Black. However in 2010, the colours of Blue and Gold

overwhelmed those of Blue and Black, literally as well as

figuratively! Having reached the 175th Year Milestone,

Royal College was given more emphasis at the Big Match

and rightly so for the first time in the History of the Battle

of the Blues a special Royal College Union Tent was erected as part of the anniversary

celebrations.

Situated in proximity to the SSC Main Pavilion,

The RCU tent was the epitome of all

decorations. The tent drew the attention of

many on lookers, but those who on-looked

missed out on the real Royal Thomian fun and

enjoyment which were only privileged to old

Royalists and families who were inside the

special RCU pavilion.

During the three days of the match the RCU

tent participants were treated with unlimited

food and beverages, surprises, activities for kids, and non-stop DJ music, which was heard to as

far as the pitch in the middle. Many old Royalists took this opportunity as a family day out, and

it sure was a great time for those families present. All tent participants were given free t-shirts

and caps to be worn during the match.

All the hard work of realizing this great idea

should be credited to the 175th Anniversary RCU

tent organizing committee. They had worked

tirelessly to put on a good show to the old

Royalists who decided be a part of this special

anniversary tent instead of going to their own

group tents.

The tent was visited by the respective Principals

of the two schools and RCU hierarchy. Some of


the present and past teachers of Royal commended the initiative of having an RCU tent at the

big match.

The Present and the Future of RCU

Back to Contents Page


A Royal Banquet

Royal College celebrated her 175th Anniversary with a gala banquet at the resplendently

decorated Oak Room of the Cinnamon Grand on Saturday, the 6th of March 2010. The banquet

was preceded with cocktails and tray of hors d'œuvre and canapés.

During the cocktails, a historic agreement was signed by Etisalat and the Royal College Union.

The cocktail was a frame of happiness as friends of all ages met each other with the ‘Hail fellow

well met!’ embrace and the spirited bonhomie and conviviality that can flourish only amongst

people who’ve known each other intimately since childhood. The absence of years seemed to

peel away as classmates and friends hailed each other, some after many, many years.


After cocktails, the diners were serenaded to the Oak

Room by bugle pipers of the Sri Lanka Navy Band. On

hand at the entrance were the school’s smartly clad Head

Prefect and his fellow officers to usher the guests in.

A feast of splendorous beauty welcomed the invitees as

they walked into the Oak Room. The entire room was

swathed in Blue and Gold satin and festooned with two

grandly handcrafted Gold-hued Crests of the school.

The tables were crowned with the most exquisitely

chiselled crystal candelabras which in their collective

entirety provided the truly Royal flourish and elegance to

this wonderfully grand banquet. The tables were

decorated in Blue and Gold satin and the serviette rings

were actually rosettes of the College. Each chair was

festooned with the College Flag.

The evening started with Master of Ceremonies, the

Chairman of the 175th Dinner Committee, Past RCU

Secretary and former Head Prefect of the school, Mahen

Perera, welcoming the guests.

The Navy Band struck the College Anthem which must

have been heard in its most lusty, sincerest and heartfelt

rendition ever.

Mahen Perera then proposed a toast to His Excellency

Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka.

Thereafter, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ranil

Wickremasinghe addressed the gathering sharing

enlightening vignettes from the history of our Nation and

the school. Mr Wickremasinghe’s address was educative

and delivered with the sincerity and simplicity of one who

has been intimately associated with the school since his

student days.

Mr. Sunil De Silva, a legal luminary and a former Attorney

General paid handsome tribute to Mr. Ranil

Wickremasinghe for his steadfast loyalty to the Nation


and the school at all times going on to say that the school

is still known as Royal due to the wisdom of Mr.

Wickremasinghe when the school’s name was about to be

changed during a former regime.

Mr. Upali Gunasekera, Principal Royal College, in his

address thanked the distinguished invitees for their

presence and outlined the development, growth and

progress of Royal College over the ages.

Mr. Skandakumar, a former Cricketer of the school in his

address spoke of the close relationships that exist

between Royal, S. Thomas’ and Ladies’ College. While

recollecting the fierce but friendly rivalry between the

two schools, Mr. Skandakumar lauded the successive

heads of the schools for maintaining healthy relationships

amongst the students throughout.

Mr. Puddefoot, Warden of S. Thomas’, expressed his

happiness with the developments in the field of education

as he has observed in Sri Lanka so far and said he was

pleased at the prospect of the forthcoming Royal-

Thomian which would be unique for him.

In her address to the audience, Mrs. Nirmali

Wickremasinghe, Principal Ladies’ College, outlined the

cherished relationships that have existed amongst Royal,

S. Thomas’ and Ladies’ in particular and expressed her

happiness that all the schools now enjoyed close

relationships with one another. Mrs. Wickremasinghe

recollected the various episodes when Viking-like

Royalists invaded her school emboldened with Big Match

fever and endorsed that it was in the name of clean fun

and happy memories.

The quintessence of the speeches delivered by the

distinguished personages was that the purpose of

education was to ensure the perpetuation of democratic

freedoms and a unified Sri Lanka for all its people.


Two distinguished Old Royalists, Mr. Mohammed

Markhani and Mr. Gamini Salgado were saluted for their

presence at the 125th, 150th, and now 175th Anniversaries

of the school.

The presence of three former Principals of the school, Mr.

Suriyarachchi Mr. Kumarasinghe, and Mr. H. L. B. Gomes

was recognised with special tribute.

A work of art presenting the most sumptuous and

scrumptious food created by the culinary experts of the

Cinnamon Grand was paraded by their liveried gentry and

every single diner enjoyed the fabulous feast spread

before them.

A meaningful rendition of the National Anthem was

followed by fond and emotional farewells.

The memory of a fabulous lifetime’s evening filled with

friendship and childhood recollections awaked in me an

overwhelming flood of gladness as I unwrapped the

beautiful celebratory plaque and placed it with due

reverence at the heart of our home.

Royal College has been woven inextricably into the rich

tapestry of Sri Lanka's history as a Nation and it will

remain and grow therein as an ever expanding symbol of

perpetual learning and wisdom.

Floreat!

Rizan Nazeer

Hony. Secretary.



Extracts of the Speech by Mr. Sunil De Silva (Australia) in

respond to the Toast to the College by Hon. Ranil

Wickremasinghe

I stand tonight to speak on behalf of a client, the most

illustrious and distinguished client of my legal career, My

client is a mother who nourished the cream of Sri Lankan

youth, at least those unfortunate to be born male, but

fortunate enough not to be sent to another place,

My client is a nourishing mother – an alma mater whose

spirit awoke in eighteen hundred and thirty five and is today

one hundred and seventy five years young resplendent in

garb of blue and gold.

My client is present at this gathering, deep in the hearts all

of you who refer to her with the simple but evocative word

“College” she needs no adjective or additional first name. A

Royal client whose sons stand tall in every field of human

endeavour, be it professions, (except perhaps the oldest),

politics, business, the arts, sports or scholarly learning. My

client nurtured almost eighteen generations of Sri Lankan

youth, boys who in her shade, trod the path to man’s

estate.

If my arithmetic is correct, even though less than fifty

thousand boys have ‘learnt of books and learnt of men and

learned to play the game’ over the past one hundred and

seventy five years, the impact they have made on our

country is surely, colossal.

Her Royal Sons include a Judge of the World Court, a Nobel

Prize winner, an internationally famous astronomer to

mention only a few of the academics, scholars, artists,

professionals, political leaders, captains of industry who

form part of my client’s progeny.

That the achievements of her Royal sons so extensively

exceed the products of all the other schools taken together

must mean that they all have something special in them. It

could not be that all Royal Sons were born with exceptional


talent – talents not inherited by those who failed to clear the bar set for the Royal entrance exam.

My client instructs me to thank Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe

for the kind words he spoke when proposing the toast. My

client thanked you through her Principal and I stand to

thank you not only for your kind words but your continued

support for Royal. You Sir, have more than repaid the debt

you owed, You Sir not only kept her fame inviolate but

above all kept her NAME inviolate. You Sir, mentioned the

incident but modestly understated your pivotal role. The

OBU was told that with Sri Lanka becoming a Republic in

1972, that all things named Royal would have to change

their names and that if we were quick, we could grab the

name President’s College. The OBU was stunned but

reluctantly agreed, fortunately someone pointed out that

the decision was too momentous for the Committee to take

without the concurrence of the general membership. This

gave us a little space to breathe. You Sir, were in your mid

twenties, but you had a head that was older than most.

While the Senior members bemoaned our fate – You Sir,

asked the question “How do we know that this information

is true?” A few of us, and I see at last one in the audience

tonight, took your advice to meet Old Royalists in the

Cabinet of Ministers or had access to the Prime Minister

and check the accuracy of the ‘story’ we were told. I spoke

with Dr Colvin R de Silva, and George Rajapakse who had

Captained the College cricket team. George provided the

most emphatic response. “Change the College name? – over

my dead body” was his reaction. Dr Colvin echoed the

same sentiment. The others who made enquiry came back

with similar answers.


TOAST TO THE SISTER COLLEGES – Proposed by S. Skandakumar

I consider it a great privilege indeed to have been invited this evening, to propose a toast to two outstanding

schools rich in shared values, and for whom we Royalists have the greatest respect and admiration.

Warden Sir, I know that you must be aware of the fierceness of the rivalry that exists between our two

institutions, on the playing fields and on cricket grounds in particular. You will have your first experience of it

in the coming week. That rivalry, has over the years, given rise to some of the strongest bonds of friendship

between Royalists and Thomians; an excellent reflection on the quality of our mutual education.

As for Ladies College, Madam Nirmali, it will be sufficient if I said that successive generations of Royalists

have had nothing but love for your wonderful girls. And you too are in that category today. It would not be

inappropriate on an occasion of this nature, for one to reflect briefly on ones own school career and I would

like to share with you, three incidents for their diverse nature.

The first concerns a Teacher, who too was quick to use the cane, no matter how trivial the mischief may have

been. He had a curious way of doing it, in that he would get the student to kiss the wall with his nose while

raising both arms to the maximum. His theory was obvious; more taut the body, greater the sting! Once his

deed was done he would turn calmly to the black board and write the following line. A life without pain, is

like being on a road that’s going nowhere.

The second was a much loved senior Teacher, who with the passage of time, found it increasingly difficult to

stay awake in the first twenty minutes or so in the period immediately following the lunch interval. So on

arrival for a class in applied mathematics, he would instruct us to turn to a page of his choice in Humphreys

text book on Dynamics, and attend to the sums on it. He would then take off his spotlessly white coat, place

it on the back of his chair and rest his weary head between his arms on top of his desk, to surface 20 minutes

later. On one particular day, he woke up ahead of time and decided to walk round the class. At the back end

he found one of the students to whom math was a never ending mystery, deeply engrossed in a magazine

depicting ladies of easy virtue, in their natural splendor. In confiscating the magazine he said to the boy,

Young man, you are rotten, even before you are ripe: The incident went no further. That was Royal.

The third applied to a form master who was a passionate admirer of that great American President Abraham

Lincoln. So intense was his admiration that he was even nicknamed Lincoln !! Two things that he quoted

remained etched in my mind for the hope and confidence they inspired in me. They were from Lincoln’s

letter to his son’s teacher, when he decided to send the boy to school. Teach him he wrote, that for every

scoundrel, there is a hero. Teach him also that for every corrupt politician there will be a statesman.

Fortunately, in the ensuing years, we were also taught the fine art of a waiting game called eternal patience!!

Looking at the erosion of values in the world around us, I have in recent times, asked myself questions which

would have crossed your minds as well. Why did Wall Street, which supposedly had some of the finest brains

emerging from the best Universities and Management colleges of the world, collapse as it did? Why is it that

governments in many parts of the world have the painful task of combating, their own citizens, to resolve

internal conflicts? And, why is the United Nations looking as if it is heading for a re-classification as the

Divided Nations? I have tried to look for the answers in the time tested values that our three schools have

upheld from inception.


On my first day at school I was made to realize that I was a Ceylonese, as an equal citizen of a beautiful and

happy nation called Ceylon. While still knee high to our Teachers, we were taught to distinguish between

Right and Wrong. Here I would like to quote an eminent Queens Counsel who hailed from an equally reputed

school in the hills , who said In the field of justice and fair play, right is right, and wrong is wrong. The two can

never meet. To compromise the two takes an elastic conscience. Such men should be shunned for they are

the bane of society. Thereafter we were encouraged to emulate the strong, but reminded to protect the

marginalized and the weak.

The next was an important lesson on Leadership directed at Class Monitors, School Prefects, Captains of

Games, Heads of the Cadet Corps and Literary Associations, Interact Clubs etc. who were made to realize that

every right implied a responsibility. We learnt leadership required exemplary conduct and its success was

synonymous with a golden word Accountability. Greater the authority, greater then was the accountability.

Earlier this week, I made a nostalgic visit to our assembly hall, and let the memories of the solemn Friday

morning assemblies roll by. My eyes swept the portraits of all our distinguished scholars. You too, Warden

Sir, and Madam Principal, have preserved similar halls of fame in your respective schools. Those outstanding

men and women are remembered even today, for two reasons; their intellect and their integrity and,

through them we learnt another important lesson for life, the priceless value of honesty.

Finally, we were taught to be gracious in defeat and humble in victory. It is not a mere coincidence then, that

our first lesson was one of equality and the last on humility. In our temporary stay on earth we have paid our

respects to those who have moved on before us, and heard the familiar line at the funeral services, Death

humbles us all because in death we are all equal . I have therefore asked myself the question, Why then don’t

we use our God given intelligence, and prepare ourselves better for that eventuality, by practicing equality

and humilty in Life, rather than wait for death to impose it upon us? Yes Ladies and gentlemen, the illiterate

of the future will not be those who cannot read or write; they will be the educated who simply will not learn.

On the opposite side of humility stands mans ego. While some degree of it is not only desirable, but even

essential, an ego out of control could be as dangerous as the weapons of mass destruction that only the egos

of George Bush and Tony Blair were able locate in Iraq . It was the same ego, out of control, that led Tiger

Woods to believe that his right to improve on his handicap over 18 holes extended beyond the boundaries of

a golf course! So, if only our time tested values can find universal application, to be discharged with common

sense and ones conscience, humanity may well see a heaven on earth !

Ladies and Gentlemen, May I ask you please to rise and drink a toast to two outstanding institutions with

whom we have shared precious values and traditions. May they all be upheld inflexibly in the future as well,

so that St Thomas College Mt Lavinia, and Ladies’ College Colombo can continue to produce for our country,

as they have in the past, the men and women who can make the difference.

TO S. THOMAS’ AND LADIES COLLEGE.

Thank You.



Mr. H.L.B. Gomes – A legend passes away

It is with deep regret, we announce that our beloved immediate past

principal Mr. H. L. B. Gomes passed away on the 24th of March 2010,

succumbing to a brief illness.

The Remains of Late Mr. Lakshman Gomes were brought to the College Hall

on 25th March 2010 for all students, teachers, old boys, parents and well

wishers to pay their last respects. A special oration was held on the same

day at the College Hall. At the oration commendable appreciations speeches

were made by Mr. Upali Gunasekera (Principal), Mr. Nimal Dias Jayasinghe

(Past Secretary RCU), Mrs. Lakshmi Attygalle (Deputy Prinicpal), and Mr.

Keerthi Elvitigala (Secretary SDS). Late Mr.H.L.B. Gomes’ nephew Mr. Kishu Gomes spoke a few words of

his uncle and his uncle’s endless devotion to Royal College. Incidentally, Mr. H.L.B. Gomes’ last public

appearances were to do with Royal College i.e. The 175th Anniversary banquet and the 131st Battle of

Blues. Mr. Gomes was laid to rest at the Rawathawatta Cemetery, Moratuwa.

Profile of Mr. H.L.B. Gomes

Born on the 7th of October 1940, Honnatarage Lakshman

Bertram Gomes had his entire secondary education at Prince of

Wales College, Moratuwa and excelled in the academic field and

the co-curricular activities. Due to his excellent performance in

school career, Mr. Gomes was awarded the Gold Medal for the

Best ALL ROUND STUDENT in 1960 and the Dr. C.L.X.

Muthukumara Scholarship for the Best Student of the university

entrance class.

Mr. Gomes graduated from the University of Peradeniya, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He obtained

the Diploma in Education in 1971 with the best results of the year and was awarded the certificate in

Development of Management skills for principals in 1990. He added another feather to his cap by being

successful at the Sri Lanka Educational Administrative Service Class I.

Mr. Gomes started his career as a graduate teacher at Dodangoda Maha Vidyalaya from May 1964 to

June 1964 and functioned as the Vice Principal of the School from July 1964 to December 1968. He

joined his Alma Mater as a Staff Member in January 1960 and climbed the ladder of success to become a

Deputy Principal of Prince of Wales College from March 1987 to January 1989 and the Principal from

February 1989 to 1997. The respect earned by him while serving this college is a testimony to his

Mr. Gomes chatting away at the 175th

Anniversary Banquet


competence, indefatigable effort and commitment. The excellent performance with commendable

results was the key to his succession to be appointed as the Principal of the Royal College.

Mr. Gomes had extended his knowledge of education not only to schools but also to higher education

and spread it far and wide even reaching foreign countries.

While being a Lecturer Grade II of the Training College from March 1973 to April 1975, he functioned as

an Assistant Lecturer of the Department of Education, Vidyodaya Campus temporarily. Mr. Gomes held

the post of the Head of the Department of Educational Psychology at the Teachers’ College

Maharagama, as a Senior Lecturer, Grade I. He was seconded for service and attached to the NIE from

June 1986 to March 1987, as a Lecturer, Grade I, in curriculum development.

Mr. Gomes served as a Senior Master cum Lecturer of Geography & Education at the Training College,

Nigeria from June 1983 to April 1986.

Mr. Gomes had displayed his capabilities in the field of education with many responsibilities as a teacher

educator, lecturer in University, NIE, curriculum centre and Ministry of Education.

As an Educator Mr. Gomes had extended his services to society by involving himself in honorary work,

being a lecturer of the Red Cross Society, Colombo, Bikku Training Institute, Maharagama and engaged

in panels of talks and discussions with teachers, youths and prefect.

Additionally, he had taken the role of an External Examiner PGDM & B.Ed and Chief Examiner Pertaining

to A/L Subject & PGDE. Mr. Gomes was also appointed to serve on various committees such as the

Presidential Task Force on Education Reforms and Restructure of the Technical Committee on

Performance Appraisal of Teachers and the Committee of Creating Awareness – Resource Person

(Media). The other Committees are Development and Upgrading of Schools under the Secondary

Educational Development Project.

From 1997 to 2003, as the Principal of Royal College, he was able to improve standards of academic

performances, sports and infrastructure of the College. Some of the noteworthy achievements are as

follows.

Excellent academic performances at Ordinary Level and Advanced Level Examinations.

Completion of the Sports Complex, costing Rs. 70 millions, with accommodation for over 10,000

spectators, funded by Old Boys and well wishers.

A new building consisting of 15 classrooms in the Primary Section.

Modern Computer Centre with facilities to learn Information Technology.

A staff room in the middle school.

Laying the foundation for the RCU Skills centre



Dear All, The Group of 2001 and the RCU together has launched an Etisalat Mobile package exclusively for the Teachers of Royal College, Old Boys and the Parents of all students. The package does offer attractive features. They are as follows,

Incoming & Outgoing between Etisalat packages within the RCU group will be totally Free (Unlimited Talk time, no limitations)

Outgoing from Etisalat to Etisalat Outside the RCU group is 1.7 Cts. Per second.

Outgoing from Etisalat to other networks 4.1 Cts. Per second

SMS to Any Etisalat phone .50 Cts.

SMS to Any other network Rs.1.00

Rental Rs. 200.00 per Month

Refundable deposit Rs.1,000.00


Other Advantages Between Staff members, Old Boys and Parents / Students calling is absolutely free. Each staff member can have two sims. (This could be used by a family member, where you can keep in touch with the family member free of charge) Portion of the Monthly rental comes back to RCU / School. Call rates are cheaper than any other network. Can match your current number when you purchase your new sim if available. Where to get your Etisalat Sim? Contact Mayuran at the RCU office during office hours. What do you need?

Copy of the national ID card Billing proof (Electricity, Water, Telephone Bill Copy or a Bank statement.) Copy of the staff ID card. (for staff members) Copy of the RCU ID card (RCU members only) Copy of the students ID card (for parents)

Hope to see you connecting up with us in the near future. Thank you. Group of 2001 Royal College Union.



CAUGHT IN ACTION……131st BATTLE OF THE BLUES




CAUGHT IN THE ACTION.…..LIMITED OVER ENCOUNTER




Inaugural Royal Thomian T20

The Inaugural Twenty20 Cricket match between Royal College & St. Thomas' College for the J. R. Jayewerdena Trophy was played on the 27th of March 2010 at the P. Sara Stadium Colombo. The stadium took a carnival atmosphere with the day’s proceedings starting with fun & games for the little Royalists &

Thomians and their fan club.

The match started with the hoisting of the college flags by the two head of Schools which was followed by two minutes silence in respect of the recent demise immediate past principal of Royal late Mr. H.L.B. Gomes. The Royal Cadet band was in attendance to play the two School songs. The Traditional photographs of the two teams with officials were taken thereafter.

A specially prepared coin commemorating the Inaugural

Royal Thomian T20 was used for the toss, which was won by the Thomian Captain Dinesh Walpita. Walpita had no hesitation in electing to bat first, however they got off to a disastrous start with opener Ashen Fernado getting out on the very first ball due to a run out. The Royalists were in top form and they never allowed the Thomians to pile on the runs as two very quick wickets saw them in a hopeless situation with 3 wickets down for 8 runs.

The only batsman to offer any resistance to the Royal attack was Thomian skipper Dinesh Walpita who scored 36 runs. Eventually the Thomians were shot out for 107 runs in 18.3 overs.

Royal openers Kithruwan Vithanage & Madusha Rajarathne got on with the run chase in real T20 style. They thrashed the Thomian bowlers all round the park with National youth cap Kithruwan leading the way. The Royal 50 came in just 22 deliveries and at the end of the fourth over Royal had scored


62 runs with Kithruwan scoring 44 in just 19 balls. Rain clouds were gathering over the P.Sara stadium sky and it was evident that the game could not go for the entire duration as there were signs of the heavens opening up. To the much disappointment of the Royalists, the Thomian skipper decided to appeal for bad light with just 4 more balls to be bowled to obtain a result under the Duckworth-Lewis method. However the umpires decided to grant the bad light appeal and the few minutes later there was heavy showers and the match was called off. Royal & St. Thomas were declared joint winners. The young Royal pace bowler Gaurav Deva won the man of the match award for his excellent bowling spell of 3 wickets for 21 runs in 04 over’s. The best batsman’s award went to the Royal opener Kithruwan Withanage for his explosive 44 runs. The best fielder’s award went to Madusha Rajaratne.




Group News

Royal College East Coast Old Boys Association

Annual Dance - Presidents Address – Dr. A. Harin (March 20, 2010)

I am Anantham Harin, class of ‘56, honored and humbled to stand before you and address you

on the 175th anniversary of my alma mater and celebrate with you the 17th annual RCOBECA

dance. This is the social event of the year for all Sri Lankans. I thank you for gracing the

occasion tonight. This was made possible by my young, energized, hard working, dedicated

committee and some of our equally dedicated past presidents.

My sincere thanks to all of you. They did raise the bar alright. A big thank you to our wives

who gave us permission and blessings to do so. I like to salute our grandfathers or rather

godfathers for giving us this great brotherhood of royal sons – the RCOBECA, seventeen years

ago. Thank you guys! We remember with deep affection one of the godfathers, a die-hard

Royalist and sincere friend to all of us, Kaiyam Sritharan, who left us 16 months ago. His spirit is

still with us today.

Because of your support, RCOBECA has been able to aid our school and successfully complete

many projects and help students achieve their goals in life in the Eton of Sri Lanka. We thank

you for your participation all these years. As I look around this evening, I feel the warmth and

pleasant feeling of knowing that I am among friends. I felt the same as I walked on Reid Avenue

at 8.30 am, with the occasional hoot to “Mudguard” and “Rupperty” before entering school at

8.42 am. Such was life, all of you know how good it was.

Tonight we have the finest two bands from Sri Lanka, The Gypsies and Misty, scrumptious food

and most importantly, You, to dance all night and make it a memorable night for all of us.

Royal College has been the cradle for leadership for 175 years – at times we met the challenges,

at other times the brow of the cradle weakens, unable to grapple with what life gives us and

some fall and as Royalists, we always lift them up to achieve an erect posture. It is said in the

corporate world, “To err is human, forgiveness is NOT company policy”. But being Royalists, we

know we never adhere to that policy. We never will. Please seal the bond and always be true

Royalists, motivate each other and lift each other up.


175 years ago, we saw the birth of a small school whose future lay wrapped in obscurity. RC

threw open it’s doors at a time when the road to Kandy was unpaved. Elephants could be shot

near as Hanwella and crocodiles still swam peacefully in the Beira Lake, looking for prey.

Gradually, thanks to our great principals with vision and fair play, produced lawyers, doctors,

religious leaders, journalists, philanthropists, sculptors, prime ministers, and most importantly,

decent hard working honest and fair people like you.

We rose to different heights, shared a rich history, followed great traditions and on it’s way

produced a long list of distinguished men. This evening I am delighted to mention a few whom

I know and respect: Honorable Earnest Corea, Mahendra Somasundran, Daya Perera, Brahman

Sivaprakasapillai and Sanath Nallainathan. Pardon me if I missed a few of that vintage. They

are all great batsmen off the field as long as Thalif Deen the talented journalist is at the bowlers

end, I salute all of you. They are outstanding men remembered for their intellect and integrity.

Speaking of distinguished men, all of us have to hail the accomplishment of a fellow Royalist, a

classmate of mine, who reached heights that no other Sri Lankan has reached- Mr P.C.M.

Munasinghe, a Nobel prize laureate. Vajira is extra thrilled because he joined forces with Al

Gore in his venture.

With a past like that and a present like this, the future of RC is guaranteed and I am confident

that RC will last as long as civilization itself. The RCOBECA for all its glory and the dedication of

the young old boys will stay forever.

We do realize as adults we are judged by the decisions we make. Our dear parents made the

right decision in sending us to RC and our teachers did the rest- instilling wisdom, compassion,

and energized with high octane gas, gave us our values and ideals of life. We learned of books

and learned of men, and learned to play the game. I remember our teacher ‘the sheriff of

fractured jaw’, made a profound statement: “If you cannot dazzle them with your brilliance,

then baffle them with your bullshit.” I always remember it. We Royalists are good at that too!

And at times, bullshit does come in handy. Ladies and Gentlemen, join me in a toast to our

parents who made the right choice, and our inspiring teachers who made us, loved us, limited

us, and let us go. Good luck. Dance the night away!



Royal College Aqua Gala 2010

“Aqua Gala 2010” is a special event designed to commemorate the 175th year Anniversary of Royal

College.

This event would feature all Aquatic sports at Royal College, i.e. Swimming, Water Polo and Diving and

hopes to draw out the best competitive spirit available amongst students hailing from some of the most

reputed public (semi) educational institutes in the country

‘Aqua Gala 2010’ is organized by the Royal College Union Aquatic Club (RCUAC). Ironically, this event

also coincides with the 75th year anniversary of Royal College Swimming.

Over 20 schools with more than 250 swimmers are expected to participate at this novel and unique

swimming championship which has been appropriately termed as “Sprint Championships”. This would

also feature a six-a-side knock-out Water-polo tournament and a Diving championship as well.

Further, an exhibition synchronized Swimming performance by some of the leading Girls’ schools in

Colombo will make this event even more colorful.

This event will be conducted over Two days, through 18-19 May at the Royal College Swimming pool

premises and is expected to draw a large number of students, parents and old boys.

A “Pool Carnival” will signify the culmination of this two day extravaganza and will provide all

participants with an unique and memorable experience; enough to last another 25 years at least.



Annual Hostel Clinic 2010

The annual Hostel Clinic organized by the Royal

College Doctors’ Association (RCDA) was held on the

2nd April 2010 at the College Hostel premises. The

event was a major success with the participation of

about 300 hostel students and 85 old Royalist

Doctors. This is one of the foremost events in the

calendar of RCDA which was preceded by the

Teachers Clinic held in February, and will be followed

up by the Grade 1, 4, 7 School Medical Inspection

Medical services and the annual grade 6 entrant screening program with EDEX as the next

events.

All the hostel students underwent a comprehensive medical screening and those who required

further attention were identified and seen by specialists attending and referrals were done

where necessary. Special attention was given for eye, dental and dermatological problems. A

new medical file system was introduced for all hostellers; colour coded by the grade which will

bear all their health records during college life and this system is expected to facilitate future

follow-ups particularly at the recently established hostel sickroom.

The Principal Mr. Upali Gunasekara, , Assistant Principal Mr. LLB Thennakoon and Deputy

Principal Mr. Keerthisena, Secretary of the RCU Mr. Rizan Nazeer ,Hostel Warden Mr. Aruna De

Silva, Senior Games Master Mr. Sudath Liyanagunawardana, Master in Charge-Athletics Mr.

Richard Perera, President of the Doctors’Association Dr. Ajith Tennekoon, Sectretary Dr. Yasas

Abeywickrama, and doctors were present.

Dr. Pramil Liyanage

Editor - Royal College Doctors Association



Crest of Royal College and Crest of Royal College Union Registered Trademark Numbers 87711, 87718, 87719, 87721 and 87722.

22nd April 2010

Dear All,

We refer to the notice sent to all alumni groups of Royal College regarding the authorized usage of the Crest of Royal College and the Crest of the Royal College Union. It has been brought to our notice and attention that despite the above notice, alumni groups of Royal College continue the unauthorized use of the above mentioned Crests. We wish to kindly remind you that any person, group, club or committee that wishes to use these crests are required to first obtain the written permission of the Principal Royal College and the Honorary Secretary of the Royal College Union for use of the same for any event or defined period at a time. In this background, we kindly request you to ensure that you obtain written permission of the Principal Royal College and the Honorary Secretary of the Royal College Union for use of the same for any event or defined period at a time. In the event you have already obtained permission, please be kind enough to confirm to us in writing the date of the letter by which permission has been granted, so that we can update our records. We trust that you will act expeditiously and diligently in this matter. The Crest of Royal College and Crest of Royal College Union are two of the most sacred symbols associated with Royal College. We are confident that you will do your utmost to zealously safeguard them. All Old Boy Groups should use only the RCU logo for their Merchandise and Stationery. Thanking you Yours faithfully, M. Rizan Nazeer Aruna Samarajewa Honorary Secretary Secretary Royal College Union Constitutional Affairs Advisory Committee



Upcoming Events

RCU Council Meeting 12th May 2010, Navarangahala, 5.30pm

RCU Annual General Meeting 17th July 2010

Royal Crusie 2nd May 2010, Navy Jetliner

Aqua Gala 18th and 19th May 2010, Royal College Swimming Pool

Members Night 24th June 2010, Rajabujun

Royal Parade

3rd July 2010

Othello – Old Royalists Theatre production 29th July to 1st August 2010, Lionel Wendt



College Sports and

Other Activities


Cricket U-19 - Royal Share the Honors with Mahinda

The final of the "Munchee" All Island limited over cricket tournament was held recently at the CCC grounds Colombo. Royal College & Mahinda College, Galle qualified for the finals beating Prince of Wales & Richmond respectively in the semifinals.

Mahinda College Galle won the toss and invited the Royalists to take the first lease of the wicket. Royal capitalized on this and was cruising well for mammoth score when rain stopped play at 12.30pm. Royal was placed well at that time with 244 runs on board for 8 wickets in 45 overs. Captain Bhanuka Rajapakshe's innings of 74 from 61 deliveries (02 sixes & 05 boundaries) was the highlight of the Royal innings, while national youth cap Kithruwan Vithanage (52) & Ramith Rambukwella (31) contributed well towards the Royal total.

Due to the heavy rain, Mahinda was given a revised target of 161 in 21 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method. The Mahinda batsmen managed to keep a steady the run rate chasing the target of 161. However on the sixth over they decided to appeal for bad light when the score board read 47 for no loss.

The Match was declared as a "No decision" due to bad light & rain and Royal College & Mahinda College Galle were declared joint champs.



Royal row to win Sculls and Pairs at the Open Regetta The open regatta Conducted by the Colombo Rowing Club was held on the 6th of March 2010 for the following Trohies: 1. Vanlangengerg Trophy for Novices Pairs (2-) 2. Gordon Armstrong Trophie for Novice Sculls (1x) 3. Head of The Beiray Trophiy for Coxed Fours (4+) The Teams That Contested Were 1. University of Moratuwa 2. University of Colombo 3. S. Thomas’ College 4. Prince of Wales College 5. Ananda College 6. Asian International School 7. St.Josephs College The heats and the Finals were worked out on the 5th and the 6th of March 2010. The Races were conducted on a 1000 meter (1 km) distance. The names and the events won by the Royal College Rowing Team are as follows: 1/ VANLANGENGERG TROPHY FOR NOVICES PAIRS (2-) Arith Cooray - Bow Ishan Perera - Stroke 2/GORDON ARMSTRONG TROPHIE FOR NOVICE SCULLS (1x) Two Royal Oarsmen battled it out at the Finals for this trophy Shehan Muthugala - Winner Jehan Samarasekers - Runner Up. The team is presently being coached by Mr.Asiri Abhayarathne.



Royal College Inter House Sports Meet

Results

Champion House under 12 Age Group: 81 Points - House: Boake

*Best Performance under 12 Group: Chavishka Karunarathna House: (Marsh) - 100m (14.1sec)

*Champion Athletes: I.K.D.S Perera (Boake), Chavishka Karunarathna (Marsh)

Champion House under 13 Age Group: 65 Points - House: Boake

*Best Performance U-13Age Group: Chamaka Edirisinghe House: Harward - Long Jump (4.30m)

*Champion Athlete: Yeshan Manamperi(Boake) Champion House Under 14 Age Group: 82 points - House: Reed *Best Performance U-14 Age Group: Charutha Akalanka House: Reed - 200m(27.1sec) *Champion Athlete: Charutha Akalanka (Reed) Champion House Under 15 Age Group:110 Points - House: Hartley *Best Performance U-15 Age Group: Chamika Karunarathna (Hartley) - Javelin(47.30m) *Champion Athlete: Chamika Karunaratna (Hartley) Champion House Under 16 Age Group:96 Points - House: Reed *Best Performance U-16 Age Group: Y.N Mendis (Marsh) - High Jump(1.70m) *Champion Athlete: Chethaka Wijegunasinghe (Reed), Y.N Mendis (Marsh) Champion House Under 17 Age Group:141 Points - House: Boake *Best Performance U-17 Age Group:Thilina Karunarathna (Boake) – High Jump(1.85m) *Champion Athlete: Thilina Karunarathna (Boake),R.A.J.A Udayanga (Reed) Champion House Under 19 Age Group:161 Points - House: Hartley * Best Performance Under 19 Age Group:Danuja Gunasekara (Boake) - 1500m(4.48.5mins) *Champion Athlete: Danuja Gunasekara (Boake),M.V.L Pavithra (Reed) Under 21 Age Group * Best Performance Under 21 Age Group:Hasantha Gunawardana (Marsh) - High Jump(1.90m) *Champion Athlete: M. Amarathunge (Reed),Sheril Fernando(Harward)


Best Decorated House: 1.Marsh 2.Hartley 3.Boake Road Race: 1.Marsh 2.Boake 3.Reed March Past: 1.Harward 2.Reed 3.Marsh Champion House: Junior- 290 Points - Boake Senior- 324 Points – Boake Overall Best Athlete: Thilina Karunarathna (Boake) High Jump-1.85m 14.Overall Champion House: 1. Boake - 639 Points 2. Hartley - 556 Points 3. Reed - 506 Points 4. Marsh - 411 Points 5. Harward - 366 Points



Royal College Rugby Fixtures 2010

Date Opponent School Venue

April-24 (Saturday) Price of Wales College Royal College Sports Complex

April-30 (Friday) Wesley College Royal College Sports Complex

May-08 (Saturday) Dharmaraja College Royal College Sports Complex

May-15 (Saturday) St. Anthony’s College Royal College Sports Complex

May-22 (Saturday) St. Peters College Royal College Sports Complex

May-29 (Saturday) Isipathana College Havelock\C.R & F.C

June-05 (Saturday) Kingswood College Bogambara Stadium

June-12 (Saturday) Trinity College(Bradby 1st leg) Royal College Sports Complex

June-19 (Saturday) St. Thomas College Royal College Sports Complex

June-26 (Saturday) Trinity College(Bradby 2nd leg) Bogambara Stadium




Are you planning on an

Event that needs to Reach

out to RRooyyaalliissttss??

Royal College Union has the facility to send Short Message

Text (SMS) to its membership, any Royal College Old Boys

Group / Committee at a very reasonable rate of Rs. 3/- per

message per member.

To find out more details of this

special offer, contact Mr. Rizan

Nazeer, Secretary RCU on 0712

737717 / 077 788 1628


RCU Contact Details

RCU Secretary

Mr. Rizan Nazeer

E-mail: [email protected]

RCU Treasurer

Mr. Athula Munasinghe


RCU Office - Administrative Manager

Ms. Udani Wijepala / Mr. S. Mayuran - 5521491 (O) / 2683101 (Fax)


RCU – LPMC - Administrative Officer

Ms. Chanika Jayasinghe - 4327070 (O) / 2683100 (Fax)

Email: [email protected]

RCU EDEX Secretariat – Senior Manager

Mr. Ranjith Amarasinghe – 5521497 (O) / 2683100 (Fax)


RCU Skills Centre - Administrative Manager

Mr. Ajith Rajapaksha - 5661611 (O) / 2683101 (Fax)




Royal College – Contact Details

Principal’s Office 2691029


Vice Principal’s Office 2673133

Main Office (Upper School) 2695256

Middle School 2673132

Primary School 2695830

Senior Hostel 2695242

RCU Publications and Public Relations Advisory Committee (2009/10)

Chairman - Dilruk de Silva - [email protected]

Secretary - Mukhlis Ismail - [email protected]

Treasurer - Azim Rali – [email protected]

Committee - Yasas Ratnayake - [email protected]

- Jiffry Jameel - [email protected]

- Mifaz Ahamed - [email protected]

- Ulfath Uwais - [email protected]









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