Ms. Ranjani Kumarasiri
Some time this afternoon I was reading a Facebook email notification from a friend and schoolmate who announced on a private message that her mother had passed away. I was shocked, and had to read the message several times to confirm that I was reading it correctly. Her mother was my history teacher when I was in Secondary 2, Ms. Ranjani Kumarasiri. We called her “Ms. Ranjani”. Her daughter Loch eventually became a good friend so even after Secondary 2, we would have casual conversations with Ms. Ranjani at school.
Ms. Ranjani was a very calm and firm teacher. You know how some teachers earned their respect by being incredibly strict so students would have no choice to respect them out of fear, while other teachers would be such pushovers that students would be able to walk all over them? Well, Ms. Ranjani found that good balance of being really ‘nice’ that it commanded respect. We didn’t fear her because she was like a friend to us, but she was definitely not a pushover. It’s difficult to describe.
As I compose this post, the reality is starting to sink in that she is no longer with us. This has come to a surprise for many of us because those of us who were on her Facebook friends list were being updated with images…but I guess many of us didn’t see the signs of her ill-health. It’s heartbreaking because we didn’t get a chance to let her know that we will never forget her. 
The following are Facebook screenshots of my last few conversations with her. One was during her husband’s birthday which I accidentally mistook it for hers, and the other screenshot was when I got the birthday right.
My most deepest and sincere condolences to her family and my friend Loch, I can’t even imagine the pain you must be going through. I am sad and still a bit confused. I was unaware.
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