One of my first memories of Gowry madam was from the start of my practice. I had been going to court for less than a month, and my senior had given me a brief to support in the Supreme Court, which I promptly lost on behalf of my client. I don’t know if she came up
and spoke to me because I looked so dejected sitting outside court, or because she knew my senior (who was a dear friend of hers, though at that time I don’t think she knew I worked with him), but I feel she did it, because that is just the type of person she was. Kind and empathetic. She came up to me and patted me on the shoulder and said “You tried. What more can we do.” and then took me to the canteen for a cup of tea. I remember that day not for the client I failed, or the case I lost, or the judge who was hard on me, or even that it was probably the first time I handled a case in the Supreme Court on my own, but I remember it for her kindness and her laughter. She was always kind to me, and helped me whenever she felt I needed it, especially in establishing a practice of my own. It was only a little later that I learnt that her kindness should never be misconstrued for weakness. She was both fierce and fearless. Qualities of hers, that I watched her impart on my own juniors, as I started an independent practice. They say you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a cup of tea. That day, for me, sitting and listening to her whilst having that cup of tea, they were both kind of the same thing. I will miss her strength, and her courage.

Pulasthi Hewamanna,
Attorney-at-Law