I wish to join all those who have written about the late Candaswamy in your journal during the last few weeks.

Coming from Mahinda College in Galle, I entered Nalanda in May 1938 and joined Mr Candaswamy’s class - Form IA. He also took the subjects of Latin and Mathematics. He was an excellent teacher and a strict disciplinarian but had a kindly heart. In addition he was the Sports Master of the school.

As one writer has described him he was always dressed in impeccable white and wore a white toupee as well. All of us loved him. After the promotion test in December, he used to take out the three boys who secured the first three places in the class to the YMCA for tea and afterwards for a boat trip in the harbour. If I remember right he lived on Rajasinghe Road in Wellawatte, and had no children of his own. It is said that he helped a boy by the name of Alwis and put him through the medical college to become a doctor. A sister of the Alwis boy was a teacher at Nalanda during this time and this Miss Alwis took part in several plays put up by the then Principal Mr J. N. Jinendradasa who was a great lover of drama.