Irangani's life changed by small Buddhist book

 I was a born Catholic .... what changed my life was a booklet which I received by mail

Distinguished film actress Irangani Serasingha is an actress who has been subjected to respect and honour. One of the most shocking incidents in her life was one of her sons losing his life from an accident. Irangani who was a Catholic by birth changed her life to some extent because of a book  on Buddhism which she received by post during the period when she was mentally drained.

She exposes this by joining in a discussion with a newspaper today. The discussion is as follows:
*You were Irangani Meedeniya before you became Irangani Serasingha, weren't you?
 Yes.... I got the name Meedeniya from my generation. My father was Joseph Hercules Meedeniya Rate Mahatthaya. My mother was Violet Ellawala. She was the daughter of a Rate Mahatthaya in Ratnapura.

*Though you had your education in Colombo, you were brought up in a charming environment .... weren't you?
 Yes .... my hometown is Mudugamuwa in Ruwanwella. Our ancestral home is Meedeniya Walauwa. Our childhood was spent in this environment.

*Where did you have your education?
 I had my initial education in Colombo, St. Bridget's Convent and Bishop's College. After that I went to Kandy High School to do my SSC exam. 

*How did your first marriage take place?
 He was a person whom I came to know when I was at the university. At that time he was lecturing at the Dental Faculty. My mother didn't like the marriage. The marriage took place on my own wishes. After getting married my husband got a scholarship to go abroad. So both of us went abroad.

*Then during what time did you study acting abroad?
 It was during the time when I was in England. We stayed there for about 4 years. I studied for about 2 years in a university towards the West of England. After that we came to London and studied there for about 1 year.

*Was your husband in favour of it?
 He didn't like it. But it was the Professor under whom I studied drama who motivated me to go and study at those universities. Because of that there was nothing that he could do.But if I had freedom I could have studied further.

*Was it those disagreements that resulted in the marriage coming to an end?
 Yes .... those factors also contributed towards it. There were various other reasons also. Whatever it is,we came to Sri Lanka after 4 years. After a few months on returning, we separated. By the time the film 'Rekhava' was being shot,we had severed connections.

*Then you met Mr. Serasingha?
 We had met a long time before. We had known each other and we were good friends But this matrimonial attachment took place only after I returned from abroad. By that time we had already acted on stage together.

*Did your mother like the marriage?
 Yes .... there were no problems. My mother passed away after getting a chance to see our children.

*Aren't you a mother who spent a successful marriage with Winston Serasingha and brought up your children?
 Yes .... because both of us were taking part in dramas .... we both had a busy schedule. When we set out to go for dramas both our children started crying. Now I think what a mad thing I did by making the children cry.

*Now isn't it only one child who is with you?
 Yes ... the other son died from an accident 21 years before. That was the biggest sorrow that I underwent in my whole life.  I went mad .... not being able to bear hat loss. One of my best friends was Manorani Saravanamuttu, Richard de Soysa's mother. At the time Richard passed away I was at her home. Seeing how she bore that loss, I then make up my mind. But what made me totally make up my mind as such was a booklet I received by mail one day.

*Upto that time were you a Catholic?
 We had been baptized. Went to church when going to school .... studied Christianity. But after a short period I lost the faith I had in the religion. After that I stopped going to church. 

But my husband was a good Christian and we got married in church. Because I was baptized ... it was easy. 

But as far as I remember, even our children didn't go to church. When we were at home, the temple was near our home. Daily the monk in the temple used to come to our house when our sister was there.A chair was kept ready with a white sheet draped over it and a spitoon was always kept ready. Though we did things like that we didn't study Buddhism as such. After I got that booklet on Buddhism I got  very much drawn towards Buddhism. Now I always read books.

Notes on discussion -- Hemali Wijeyratna
Photos -- Sudam Gunasekera