It is a simple yet powerful fact of life that a mere moment or an experience is bound to change the way we view our purpose in life, and it happens always at a time when you least expect it.
The passing of Poorna was one of those moments which at the time could not be expressed in words, but as time has passed, accepting reality has been tough; but life moves on.
If anyone was asked to describe Poorna, they all would remember him for his utmost passion for the game of cricket and his loyalty to his alma mater. Everybody has different goals in life. For Poorna, it was not of shining in academics, but to devote his effort to the sport he dearly loved and to achieve a lifelong dream of being a part of a champion Royal team at the Battle of the Blues. As we all know, he did that in commanding fashion.
Although he was not blessed with the gift of time, he was blessed beyond nature. To his parents he was nothing short of a true and honorable son, to his brother and sister he was a pillar of strength and inspiration, to his teammates he was without a doubt, the glue which held an entire team together; be it on the field with his stunning off breaks and blinders at gully, or off the field with his jovial attitude which got us in trouble on many occasions, and to his friends who miss him dearly he will always be a memory that they treasure for the rest of their lives.
However, his untimely passing will never take away his achievements on the field; a regular in the ‘A’ division teams of all age categories, we shared many memories both on and off the field which for obvious reasons, cannot be shared within this tribute.
However, we all believe that his crowning achievement was lifting the Senanayake Shield in 2013, something that Poorna had worked extremely hard for. He fought not through pain or pressure but on pure ambition to bring glory to the school and people who he dearly loved.
Irrespective of all his achievements, he will always be remembered by us for the way he made us feel. His ‘live in the moment’ attitude is something that never made sense that his end was near.
What we can learn from our friends passing is that we cannot know for certain know how long we have on this earth and that we should live our lives with love, joy and treat everyone with respect. We hope to learn from our mistakes so that we may reflect one day and know that our time spent was well spent. This was how he lived, this was his legacy.
His undying passion will be missed on the field, his cheeky comparison to Virender Sehwag every time the ball passed point, his smile every time he took a wicket or the way he compared his slip fielding to Mahela Jayawardene.
The bonds that he shared with his friends and loved ones resulted in pictures and heartfelt tributes including people who may not have known him as well as some did. It further saw players and friends old and new rush to his bedside, from wherever they heard the news to say their prayers and farewells. This is what made him the greatest friend in the world.
The Batch of 2013 is currently in the process of organizing ‘The Group of 2013 Cricket Carnival for the Poorna Aluthge Memroial Triophy’ in his memory and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to his family. This tournament will be held on the 26th of May 2018 at the Moors Sports Club Grounds from 8 a.m. onwards.
