“You will be my APPCCHCHI for the rest of my life”

So said my son-in-law Captain Suraj Weerasekera on the day that his father died, three years ago, when I condoled with him on that sad occasion.

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I first met Suraj when he came to see me in my official residence in Kotahena when he was a student in a senior form at Nalanda College, My daughter Samanmalee, who is a Visakian asked me whether a son of a Brigadier named Ananda Weerasekera, training in Athletics with her at the Independence Square Grounds could visit us. She represented the national team here and abroad. I consulted my wife who readily agreed, indicating that she had been aware of an affair between Samanmalee and Suraj, going beyond the realms of the training grounds. A few days later a handsome, lanky lad visited us. He was soft spoken and exuded an aura of inborn innocence. Sooner than expected, the athletics training came to an abrupt end and Suraj and Samanmalee entered the bonds of marriage with the blessings of elders from both families in the year 1996 and became proud parents of two daughters and a son.

Before his marriage Suraj left for Texas for training as a pilot and having successfully completed the course joined SriLankan airlines as a pilot.

He got his command on A320 in November 2000 and he joined ETIHAD AIRWAYS in March 2006. He became a flight instructor in May 2007. He went to the BOEING Fleet in October 2012 as a line pilot and rose to the rank of Senior Examiner on the BOEING fleet.