The Man for all Seasons
Kadalay of Royal
Kadalay, the gram seller who sat on the block of concrete at the entrance to College with his rectangular shaped glass box filled with various flavors of gram, of Royal, was a man for all seasons known to every single Royalist of that time as a friend, colleague, supporter, and most of all, a fantastic cheer leader at all Royal sporting events. He was ever loved and cherished by Royalists from so many generations during his famous sojourn at College in the sixties through eighties. His dark skinned demeanour, clad in white shirt and sarong with the bright red pottu ornamenting his forehead, was always a very pleasing sight for all the students who walked past him on the way in to school. During school interval times he used to move into the west wing lobby area so that the boys could take a peck at his delicious rata kaju, pori kadalay and bola kadalay.
His biggest and best performances were always seen at the annual Royal-Thomian Battle of the Blues cricket Match and also the two legs of the Royal-Trinity Bradby Shield encounters played in Kandy and Colombo. He also never failed to attend almost every single sporting event where Royal participated, even if he had to travel to far off places in sunny Ceylon, then, and Sri Lanka later. How many times have we seen him boarding the Kandy train from Colombo Fort Railway Station to join the rest of the gang at the upcountry leg of the Bradby? How many times have we seen him lying silently on the grass at the Oval after a days play of the Roy-Tho, immersed in stupor and splendor, after a long days event of cheer and beer?
His charming swagger, smile and sentiments will always remain the hearts and minds of all Royalists, young and old, who knew him and cherished him as someone truly special, in their hearts.
Like other collections of people and history, The Kadalay of Royal blog makes a sincere endeavor to collect, collate and publish all available history of this wonderful man called 'Kadalay" and some of those wonderful gestures and statements that he has made from the past.
Kadalay will always live on as an integral part of every single Royalist of that time. His life story and anecdotes will certainly live in the memories of those who have 'learnt of books and learnt of men and learnt to play the game'.
Born, Thangiah Ponniah, to a simple Tamil family from Slave Island, Kadalay was always seen as a mascot at all College events, be it sports or otherwise. He passed away in 1990.
This blog attempts to capture and portray the many wonderful stories that took place around Kadalay during his era, no doubt the man for all seasons.
Kadalay of Royal by Eardley Lieverszhttp://royal-1961.blogspot.com/2006/02/kadalay-of-royal-by-eardley-lieversz.html
Please send all information, pics, stories and events to kadalay@gmail.com for publication on this blog.
Managed by Royal College '59 GROUP
RC '59 Group
Royal Thomian Cricket
Kadalay, the gram seller who sat on the block of concrete at the entrance to College with his rectangular shaped glass box filled with various flavors of gram, of Royal, was a man for all seasons known to every single Royalist of that time as a friend, colleague, supporter, and most of all, a fantastic cheer leader at all Royal sporting events. He was ever loved and cherished by Royalists from so many generations during his famous sojourn at College in the sixties through eighties. His dark skinned demeanour, clad in white shirt and sarong with the bright red pottu ornamenting his forehead, was always a very pleasing sight for all the students who walked past him on the way in to school. During school interval times he used to move into the west wing lobby area so that the boys could take a peck at his delicious rata kaju, pori kadalay and bola kadalay.
His biggest and best performances were always seen at the annual Royal-Thomian Battle of the Blues cricket Match and also the two legs of the Royal-Trinity Bradby Shield encounters played in Kandy and Colombo. He also never failed to attend almost every single sporting event where Royal participated, even if he had to travel to far off places in sunny Ceylon, then, and Sri Lanka later. How many times have we seen him boarding the Kandy train from Colombo Fort Railway Station to join the rest of the gang at the upcountry leg of the Bradby? How many times have we seen him lying silently on the grass at the Oval after a days play of the Roy-Tho, immersed in stupor and splendor, after a long days event of cheer and beer?
His charming swagger, smile and sentiments will always remain the hearts and minds of all Royalists, young and old, who knew him and cherished him as someone truly special, in their hearts.
Like other collections of people and history, The Kadalay of Royal blog makes a sincere endeavor to collect, collate and publish all available history of this wonderful man called 'Kadalay" and some of those wonderful gestures and statements that he has made from the past.
Kadalay will always live on as an integral part of every single Royalist of that time. His life story and anecdotes will certainly live in the memories of those who have 'learnt of books and learnt of men and learnt to play the game'.
Born, Thangiah Ponniah, to a simple Tamil family from Slave Island, Kadalay was always seen as a mascot at all College events, be it sports or otherwise. He passed away in 1990.
This blog attempts to capture and portray the many wonderful stories that took place around Kadalay during his era, no doubt the man for all seasons.
Kadalay of Royal by Eardley Lieverszhttp://royal-1961.blogspot.com/2006/02/kadalay-of-royal-by-eardley-lieversz.html
Please send all information, pics, stories and events to kadalay@gmail.com for publication on this blog.
Managed by Royal College '59 GROUP
RC '59 Group
Royal Thomian Cricket
posted by Colombaan at 6:46 PM
2 Comments:
December 31 2007??? You are certainly in an interesting time zone :D
Oh sure. The top post is post dated to Dec 31 20076 in order to keep it at the top since all posts are displayed in descending calendar date and time.
Just another way of skinning the cat...as they say
Post a Comment
<< Home