Popular writer,educationist Meeadh is no more

MOHAMED WAFEER

DOHA: Respected M. Y M. Meeadh, B.A. (Dip in Edu – UoP) An Educationalist, Writer, Poet, Journalist, Lecturer and a Teacher breathed his last at the ripe age of 82 on Sunday, Jan 9.

A long-lived beautiful soul has disappeared from us, leaving everyone in our region in deep sorrow. He had been in an era, contributing to the society out of his mastery in all four languages English, Tamil, Sinhala and Arabic and writing skills, for more than four decades in various parts of the island and especially in our region, as an educationist, poet, writer, translator, journalist, teacher and lecturer.  

He has served in many schools as English teacher across the island including our area schools, especially in Al Azhar College – Hemmatagama and Dumbuluwawa – Al Arafa school. For some years he served in UoP department of English too, as English lecturer after retirement from his teaching yeoman service.

In addition to his teaching profession, he conducted tuition classes for English language in schools and in the specially established center also, not for the purpose of making money but to promote the language amongst the students’ community, to pursue their higher education conveniently in English medium in the universities and colleges. Many have benefited from such tuition classes. 

Morning and Evening English teaching sessions conducted at his home had always been very interesting over the weekends and many times in the week days, in the good old days.

These sessions were mainly conducted upon the requests of the youths and elders who were with utmost keenness to become proficient in English language. These sessions were conducted freely or for a very minimal payment. He had set up a hut/class room which was to accommodate the learners, behind his residence and sometime in the front too. It has been the very quiet and calm environment surrounded by the nature’s gift of greeneries of well grown trees and plants adjacent to his home.   It should be noted that English teaching had been not his profession but his passion. If you look at the list of individuals who learned under him, you will be surprised and amazed. Today’s, many doctors, engineers, accountants, lawyers, lectures, teachers who are still serving or retired, hailed from our region, have learned English from respected Meeadh sir. 

He for some period of time, spent few years in Maldives also, serving as English language teacher indeed. His skills and abilities have been extremely high and to such extent our generation didn’t benefit from him and it is an undeniable and bitter truth and we got to apologize for it. He served in the Masjid Administration committee also in Dumbuluwawa village as president for some time and served in the Zakat committee also, as an advisor. He formed a library also in the village with a view to encourage the growing younger generation to develop the reading habit. This library has still been functioning with the name given by him, Al Falah Islamic Library. 

He has contributed to the literature of Tamil and English languages immensely by writing research articles, short stories, poems to the journals & magazines while publishing some number of books in Tamil and English as well. He had published periodic magazines too during a period of time; to name a few, Kalaimalar, Vasamilla Malarizu, educational digest etc. He also has contributed to Muslim Service of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Cooperation, occasionally, in the past. He had got the talent and skills to write in all four languages (Tamil, Sinhala, English and Arabic) and you will find very seldom individuals possessing such multi skills in the island itself. Hailing from a very remote village and attaining such great status in education is something incredible. He later on, formed an association known as “Hemmathagama Writers Circle” to promote the young writers in our zone and he continued encouraging the young writers enthusiastically till his last moment on this earth. He had been awarded the titles Kalaboosan and Badrul Uloom for his long standing literary works. 

It must be mentioned here that he won an award in a poetry competition held in USA, thus he was invited for a ceremony for him to be rewarded in the United states of America, back in 1990s. We heard that the poem was published in an American magazine. This is something for us to be proud of him indeed.

 Above all his activities such as writing, teaching, involving in social activities and extending helping hands towards the needy, he had been a wonderful character and a down to earth personality, respecting everyone in the society regardless of social status, age difference etc. and talked to everyone kindly. You would have never seen him without a smile and calling you “son how are you”. He was a verysoft-heartedd person. His humbleness had been remarkable indeed. We could observe the humbleness which someone could gain, solely because of good education, reflected in him throughout his life.

I feel much proud of myself for being simultaneously his favorite student and him to have/had been my favourite teacher. He has tremendously assisted me excelling in English language not only in the formally conducted classes at the school but in his evening tuition sessions and personally advising and making me read from his personal library which was setup in the room you could see once you enter his home. He had been well in touch with me until he breathed last. My last meeting with him was on 30th Jul, 2021 when I paid my last visit to SL. He was very much happy to see me and welcome at his home on that day, not knowing that it was the last meeting of ours. I am saddened in the extreme to hear the news of his demise in this late evening. 

He leaves behind a rich legacy for his children and tens of thousands of his students to carry forward to the next generation. He has earned a great deal of good deeds for his next life, by leaving very well brought up children with good knowledge & virtue and a student community of many thousands in number, to send him prayers in instalments. He deserves all three important points which are covered in the below mentioned prophetic saying “When a person dies, all their deeds end except three: a continuing charity, beneficial knowledge and a child who prays for them,” (Hadith, Muslim). What more do you need when you depart this world? I believe Meeadh sir  have done his best in this world out of what he had been blessed by lord Almighty and he would have been much happy and pleased to see his Lord. Meeadh sir follows our two legendary English teachers Respected Abdul Wahid Principal and Respected Mahroof Sir, who left bit earlier than him to next life. Their decease indeed has created a huge vacuum in our region and loss of such pioneers of education is irreparable. 

At this moment of deep sorrow and sadness, I express my profound sympathies from bottom of my heart to the members of bereaved family, and pray to Lord Almighty to place Meeadh sir amongst those who have been successful in attaining lofty status in the next life.