THE MONK WHO HUSKED HIS ROBES | A PASSION FOR FLIGHT
For nearly a decade, young Kudagammana Dhammarathana thero, sneaked out of his cave, to access the airfield behind his temple. It was a passion albeit intrusive that led him to navigate the narrow footpaths that led to the fence of the nearby airfield.
In the relatively brief time span that he was out of the temple, he would be able to spot a Cessna 152 training in the circuit, or a military jet or helicopter loitering among the clouds above. However, Dammarathana thero never had the opportunity to talk to an aviator; military or civil, who could respond to his yearning concerns on aviation.
One day during the Easter break of March 1986, I was trekking towards the Ratmalana airport in the scorching sun, to be on time for my flying lesson at the Upali Aviation Flying School, when at the BATA barrier I happened to notice three unfamiliar men trying to get past the SLAF check point. The men were extraordinarily clean and more academic looking compared to the grease monkeys, ramp rats , stick jockeys, and Bravo Juliets who are constantly discharged through the rickety barrier.
I pushed my way through and continued past the three men, when one of them stopped me. Thrusting a slip of paper under my nose, he asked me if I could guide them to the person mentioned in the note. The name read “Capt. Chira Fernando”. Suggesting that they tag along with me, I continued towards the Upali Aviation Hangar.
Soon we got acquainted with our visitors. The gentleman leading the team was a Professor from the Kelaniya University and his two companions were Tour Guides attached to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. The ensuing trilateral interview, was a life changing moment for one of the Tour Guides; who hardly spoke a word.
A few minutes into the conversation I learned that the quiet man, Dharme, shortened for Dharmaratne was very keen to obtain a flying licence. However, the potential aviator remained completely mute while the Professor did all the talking on behalf of him. Remembering my very own first day in aviation as a clueless aspirant, I empathized with the man and initiated a conversation in Sinhalese. Dharme promptly warmed up to me during the rap session, revealing that there was more to his story than meets the eye.
Dharme was one time a monk who went by the sangha name of Dhammarathana thero.
Dharme was fluent in Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit and Japanese, but had problems with English proficiency. Next, he did not know to choose a flying school, as breezily as he had decided to pursue a flying licence. Whenever he tried to reach out to accomplished aviators, none of them were willing to share their stories or advice him.
One day, on somebody’s advice he had walked into the Civil Aviation Training Centre on Kandawala Road Ratmalana, to find out details of flying training courses, but sadly their mockery and sarcastic attitude irked him to the core. Next, he reached the Air Traffic Controllers at Ratmalana. Once again he was ridiculed and promptly shooed away. A kind soul at the Ratmalana Airport terminal building directed Dharme to the Civil Aviation Department in the Colombo Fort. Alas, the DCA administrator there was stubbornly uncooperative and would not hear of ‘such nonsense’.
“I say, thamuse kohomada flying igana ganne ingreesi vachanayakvath baruwa? ? Thamuse danne pali sanskruta vitharayi neh.. thama dannawada aviation vala sammatha bhashava ingreesi bawa?”
[I say, how can you learn to fly when you cant speak a word of English? You know only Pali and Sanskrit! Do you know that the universal aviation language is English? ]
“Sir, mata ingreesi therenawa..mama ikmanatama ingreesi igana gannam”
[ “Sir, I can understand English, and I will learn the language fast” ]
“Pissu vikara katha nokara innawa ayise..eka wennema naha. Echcharayi. Dan karunakarala yanawa mage kaale nasthi karanne nathuwa”
[“Don’t talk rubbish! It’s Impossible! Period. Now please go away without wasting my time…” ]
So, the dream of flying nearly didn’t happen for Dharme, if he hadn’t stumbled upon the kind professor Senaratne of the Kelaniya University. Senaratne steered him to pioneer aviator Dr Ray Wijewardene who gave him some sage advice over lunch. “Stop going from pillar to post. There is only person who can, and will definitely help you. His name is Captain Chira Fernando” Ray emphasized.
And so, a few scant weeks after Dharme’s first visit to Ratmalana, we won the battle of obtaining a Student Pilot Licence for him. After much explaining, advocating, cajoling and doling out a couple of bucks to ‘charity’, the Department of Civil Aviation agreed to allow Dharme to enroll at CA Aviation Ratmalana, initially for ‘Ground School’ only.
Since he had brushed up his primary English at the nearby Buddhist temple, Dharme was able to dive straight into his lessons, but had trouble adjusting to Capt Chira’s accent and pronunciation of the English language. Also, although the lesson plans were explicit, Dharme found difficulty in responding to ‘essay’ questions. Thus began my role as his personal guide and mentor; my primary task being to explain the PPL course work to him in Sinhala!
“Teach him to draw pictures with labels” Capt. Chira asserted.
Still in my formative aviation years myself, I didn’t have much advice for my titular protégé who was much senior to me, a lot smarter than me and had more life experience than me. To the contrary, I had much to learn from Dharme who never skipped a single class or fell asleep during lectures. The regimentation he had found so constricting in the monastery, made more sense now in this chosen discipline — Aviation. A few months later Dharme passed his PPL Ground school exam — at his first sitting — scoring above 75% for all subjects.
Dharme began flying immediately. He re-located to Ratmalana, finding accommodation close to the airfield. Eager to fathom the mysterious art of flight, he would arrive early at the airfield to sign in for the first slot. After his session of flying was done, he would sit under the nearby Bo tree and meditate on his flying lessons; with Capt. Chira’s words and actions snapping the light bulb on him. On days that we had adverse weather, Dharme would would sit on a stack of old aircraft tyres, straddling a broomstick, to practice flying maneuvers until the weather cleared.
It’s almost 0700 hours on Boxing Day 1986, and the lethargic Ratmalana airfield is somewhat overcast. I spot Dharme on the ramp, conducting his pre-flight inspections around 4R-UAB in a very methodical and painstaking manner. Despite the howling relentless wind, he had wiped and polished the aircraft which was slowly beginning to gleam in the warm sunlight. It was a special day. He had got wind of the fact that he may go solo that day.
At precisely 0830 hours that day, 4R UAB taxied in between the haphazardly parked training and military aircraft scattered on the damp apron. Ratmalana was blessed with a natural pace of an unhurried airfield. Hardly anybody was in the sky that morning. Minutes later UAB lifted off from RWY 22 banking over the rustling Bo tree toward a wide horizon.
I watched as the Cessna 152 completed one circuit. On the second circuit the aircraft suddenly slammed brakes. We later learnt that it was a hilarious case of a confused communiqué. Instructing Dharme to advance throttles, Capt Chira had said to him in Sinhalese “power daala yanna” [advance the throttles and get the power up]. But with the sound of the roaring Lycoming engine, and the added disadvantage of Capt. Chira’s accent, Dharme heard it as “Maawa daala yanna” [Drop me and continue] Assuming that he was asked to boot his instructor somewhere on the runway and proceed solo, Dharme slammed brakes!
UAB took off once again to complete a few more circuits. After 40 minutes of flying, this time round, it was clearly communicated to him that his Instructor wanted to be dismissed on the runway.
Having worked hard at his flying lessons, Dharme completed his first solo that morning, after 9:30 hours of dual flying.
4R UAB cleared the taxiway and stopped short of the ramp and cut the engine. Capt. Chira walked to the aircraft curiously. We followed behind, with a bucket of our stinky concoction of discarded engine oil; all ready for the traditional dousing of the solo student. But, what happened next was unprecedented. Grinning from ear to ear, Dharme got off the aircraft, walked right up to Capt. Chira, went down on his knees, kissed the feet of his Guru and worshipped him right there, on the ramp!
Enraptured by the unconventional and emotional episode, we completely forgot the first solo bath for Dharme!
No sooner he was licensed with a PPL, Dharme started exploring Sri Lanka by air, flying almost every day; the novelty of flight never draining an iota. Carrying his Japanese friends around Sri Lanka, he flew a Piper Cherokee like nobody’s business. Sometimes he would be out hopping from airfield to airfield on multi-day circuits.
The Fire Department officials, Air Traffic Controllers, Air Force personnel and the Petroleum Corporation staff all went on to applaud and respect Dharme. Pilots in the field spoke highly of the monk-turned-pilot, who gave recreational flying a whole new meaning, setting himself a challenge to access most of our airstrips, despite the ongoing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
On days when flight slots were completely booked from 0600 to 2000 hours, our T-shirt-clad aerialist could be seen inspecting the aircraft as late as 2100 hours; enjoying the night breeze and completing the 360 with unhurried care.
Despite regular flying, there were times when communications clashed between Dharme and the ATC; in the most humorous manner. Case in point was the day ATC asked him to “Maintain Listening Watch”. He didn’t know what the hell the phrase meant, nor did he query the ATC, for fear of getting embroiled in an RT debate. Aborting his cross country flight he returned to RML, parked the aircraft, and walked right up to me.
“Mokadda vune?” [“What happened?”] I asked him.
“Hari waday neh! ATC eken dannathi ekak kiwwane!” [ATC said something that I hadn’t heard before”] he said
“Monada kiwwe?” [“What did they say? ]
“Maintain listening watch kiyala ekak kiwwa” [ “They said Maintain listening watch” ]
“Ithin?” [ “So?’ ]
“Ithin oya mata ehema ekak igannuwe naha ne!” [You never taught me that!”]
That day I ended up being the RT assistant to Dharme!
Dharme and I were a total mismatch. He the disciplined zen and me the hippie; pairing to operate a stick-and-rudder aeroplane. Nevertheless, we hit it off. Dharme is a firm believer that one does not need a fancy command of the ‘Kaduwa’ [English language] to fly within Sri Lanka. English is a must, yes, but lacking a polished command of the language is not a handicap to fly. Dharme went on to be a mentor to many Sinhalese speaking Aviation Students who were motivated by his success. He also mastered the English language to perfection.
