It is a great pleasure to give a short account of Mr. V. Eeswaranathan who was long time member both at the Hartley College Past Pupils Association (Colombo Branch) and at Hartley College Past Pupils Association (Canada Branch). I can still recollect when I came from Malaysia and admitted at Hartley College and at the Hartley Hostel in 1954, one of the first persons I met was Mr. V. Eeswaranathan. At that time Eeswaranathan was the opening batsmen for Hartley College and we used to cheer him from the hostel which was in front of the playground. Hostel students were famous for entertaining the Hartley cricketers whenever they play the match with Jaffna schools. Still it is a wonder how I became so close to him, A. Sithananthan and C. Navaratnam. All three had great trust on me and my brother and hand over all their belongings to me before the match. Likewise, mention should be made that Easwaranathan was also in the Hartley Soccer team as well as in Athletics. I can still recollect how he broke Pole Vault record at that time. Above all, he was a Prefect of our college.

Let me also remind you that Mr. V. Eeswaranathan was the only student to get A in history as well as in other subjects and entered the University of Peradeniya. The late S. P. Nadarajah was his history teacher as well as my history teacher.

With the passage of time Hartley College Past Pupils Association (Colombo Branch) was re-structured with A. Navaratnam (DIG) as President and V. Easwaranathan was one of the Vice-Presidents. He encouraged us to strengthen the Association by way of increasing the membership. While the Association was in progress year by year, communal disturbances broke out. As a result, many Hartleyites were compelled to leave Sri Lanka. V. Easwaranathan also left for Canada and was instrumental for the formation of Hartley College Past Pupils Association (Canada Branch). Even when I came to Canada in 2006, he came and helped me. Finally, it is he who enrolled me and my wife as members of this Association. His role in the Association, both in Colombo and Canada, was remarkable. I want to thank him for all the outstanding job he has done in training the members of this Association and ensure they feel comfortable starting their roles.

He always had a captivating smile and a majestic posture while at College and on the playground. I must mention that he is a kind-hearted gentleman.

I wish to take the time to thank him for the fantastic job he has been doing for the Hartley College Past Pupils Association to date. He did an excellent job by training the members of this Association on the leadership qualities and I am confident that they feel rewarded and recognized under his guidance. He is indeed an inspiration to all of us and definitely played an essential role in the Association. With deep appreciation for his efforts, I thank him once again.