I received an email last Tuesday from one of my very best friend named Rukshan. It was titled as “Lathu Menike”. I thought it was mistakenly written as “Lathu” instead of “Rathu (color Red)”. I was amazed with pleasure when I’ve opened it. It was a snap of a baby with an opened mouth smiled. Suddenly I understood it must be the baby of my friend Rukshan. Once I realized I yelled at other colleagues of office and let others to see at it.“Ooh darling, woooow, how darling she is,” Butter Tharanga started once again as she was always used to be. The the lady-boss came and questioned it and gaze at it. When I said its Rukshan’s baby girl all spelled out “she smiles same as Rukshan” and many comments. It was born 6 months ago from now, a day of 6th of July.
Rukshan is a good friend, In the meaning of words. He was being a good friend to me when he was working at SLT as a programmer. Nishanthe, the web guru teased him every time saying “Rukshan is the one who made a web using Microsoft word”. So everyone starts laugh at lungs when Nishanthe begins the old story. Actually Ruki designed a web site using MSword. There are number of funny plots that I can write about him but all the time I end it saying “Rukshan is a good man”. Even though he and I get paid a good salary we ate peanuts as our lunch long ago because we had not sufficient money.
A good middle order batsman and wicket keeper of Ananda college and so was Sri Lanka telecom company. He has a funny recollection of Thilina Kandamby of Sri Lanka Cricket team. And I used to taunt him recalling the story. The story had happened when Kandamby made a school cricket record once both schooling at Ananda college.
After few years of working time Rukshan got married Rajitha Fernando. The wedding ceremony was at Negombo. And I must say he was so much lucky enough to marry the girl he loved at first time. And the “Lathu Menike” was the precious thing they earned from their wedded life. When I asked from him “why did you called it Lathu menike?” he replied the baby girl was totally Red when she was born.Actually the baby girl was a HONEYMOON BABY.
