MYLVAGANAM, Ranee Chandramathi 'Chandra' (Alagaratnam) - Passed away peacefully on January 14, 2020 in Toronto.
She was predeceased in 1973 by her husband, Mark Ratnarajah (Raja) Mylvaganam and is survived by her sons, Chandran (Agnes Khu), Indran (Priyanthi), Mano and Anu, her grandchildren, Mark, Anna, Amelia, Michael, Melanie, Miriam and Ischaak and her great-grandson Cameron.
Chandra was the daughter of Winslow (W.T.I.) Alagaratnam and Daisy Alagaratnam (nee Anketell) and was the sister of Padmini Ratnesar (deceased) and Kamalini Senewiratne. She was born in Uduvil in the north of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and grew up there and later in various outstation areas, where her father, an irrigation engineer, was stationed. It was there that she acquired her love of the dry zone and the jungle and a passion for birds and wildlife in general.
She attended Uduvil Girls College and Ladies College, Colombo. Upon completing her degree in Mathematics, Tamil and Geography at the University of Ceylon, she began teaching in Colombo, but ended that career when she married Raja, who she had met at university, and started a family. After that her life revolved around her family to whom she was devoted. She was a music teacher and an accomplished classical pianist and her house was filled with music.
Like many Sri Lankans of her generation, she left the country shortly after 1983, not because she wanted to leave Sri Lanka, but to be close to her children who had moved abroad. Her Christian faith was very important to her and she was a longstanding parishioner of St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux Anglican church in Scarborough. She participated in life in Canada and continued a lifelong love of books and reading as a member of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. She paid close attention to current events and had a strong social conscience, supporting organizations which took care of the less fortunate. She never missed voting after she became a Canadian citizen. But her heart was always in Uduvil and she made frequent trips there, even during the Sri Lankan civil war, traveling by bus through contested territory. She also traveled extensively to see her extended family in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. As she grew older though, her travels slowed down and those trips ended.
She occupied herself with painting in watercolour, primarily landscapes and birds. She also wrote children’s fiction and before she grew more frail was writing a family history.
A private cremation will take place. A celebration of her life will be held at St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux Church in Scarborough at a date to be announced later.
If desired, donations in her memory may be made to the Salvation Army and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
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