HE WAS A RATNA – A GEM
By: Rev. Fr. Marshall Moran, S.J.
My early meetings with Dharma Ratna Yami was in 1951 A.D. and later years before the demise of Shree Panch Tribhuvan. We met at Embassy Parties on National Holidays, at the Royal Palace many times and then we would meet in the school itself frequently.
I always found him full of very interesting stories of his youth and days in Tibet and his social and political views and experiences. As I was most interested in the general history of Nepal, I can honestly say he was the most informative and interesting person in Kathmandu.
When he showed considerable interest in other religions, we used to talk about comparative religion and philosophy. I asked him to write a poetic life of Jesus Christ which he did in great length and details that showed deep understanding and a sensitive feeling of tolerance. So I had my students stage a drama of the early life of Lord Siddhartha Shakyamuni which was deeply appreciated by our parents of all faiths. It was performed with suitable music and ancient costumes and deeply impressed our worthy audiences.
When with a sad heart I went to visit Yami in his last hours on earth, I felt deep regret at losing such an attractive and valuable friend. Among the thousands I have met in the East and the West, he was a Ratna – a Gem most precious.
(Father Moran was the Founding-Principal of St. Xavier’s Godavari School. He first came to Kathmandu on the 2nd of October 1949 for conducting Patna University examinations and later on the 1st of May 1951 to start a boarding school in Godavari and has ever since been in Nepal.)