The Will of the People

This was how they have behaved in the past,  those who are now claiming to be here to protect the “Will of the People”.

The 2005 Presidential Election was won by bribing the LTTE Terrorist in US Dollars (something they loathe so much only in open) and preventing the peace-loving voters in the East and North from casting their votes.

The 2010 Presidential Election was done by a Compute Jilmart and holding the Election Commissioner hostage in the Water’s Edge.

Tried the same thing in the 2015 Presidential Election again but had to leave the Temple Trees because of external pressure.

In 2018, they staged a political coup and came to power to be kicked out in a few weeks’ time by the Supreme Court.

When they realized that they could not muster enough votes, they tried to buy parliamentarians from other parties by offering bribes up to US Dollars 5 million.

And now they are claiming to be here to uphold the Will of the People.

Will any sensible person believe that someone who had been violating the Will of the People, just to stay in the power and loot more from the country for so many decades, now come clean and work like a saint?

Maybe a few Bootlickers want them to be represented by these crooks but not the peace-loving others.

We can find more suitable people to represent us when the time comes to exercise our hard-fought universal suffrage.

Purely Speculative

𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑎 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑆𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡.

𝐴𝑙𝑠𝑜, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑀𝑎ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑎’𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑎 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑚o𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑦𝑎?

What is the underlying message in those two statements?

𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡?

𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒?

Over to our Legal Eagles.

Health Benefits of Black Sesame Seeds

• Encourages Bone Health and Prevents Osteoporosis: Sesame seeds are a good source of bone-forming minerals (calcium, phosphorous, magnesium). One tablespoon of unhulled seeds contains about 88mg of calcium, more than a glass of milk. Plus the high zinc content increases bone mineral density.

• Helps you sleep better: Sesame contains the stress-relieving minerals magnesium and calcium. It also contains amino acid tryptophan that helps produce serotonin, which assists moods and helps you sleep better by restoring the normal sleep pattern.

• Skin beautifying: The oleic acid in sesame seed offers skin softening as well as cell regenerating benefits. And the linoleic acid helps restore skin barrier and prevents moisture loss from your skin. While the high phytosterols are great for reducing redness and itching and combating weather-damaged skin.

• Relieves arthritis: The high copper content in sesame seeds helps in reducing pain and swelling associated with arthritis. In addition, this mineral keeps your bones and joints flexible and healthy.

• Prevents Cancer: Sesame seeds contain anti-cancer compounds including phytic acid, magnesium and phytosterols. And the phytosterol content of sesame (especially the black sesame seeds) is the highest of any commonly consumed seeds and nuts.

• Protects Liver: The antioxidants in the black sesame seeds protect the liver from oxidative damage, helping you maintain healthy liver function.

• Alleviates Anemia: Black sesame seeds have higher iron content than other varieties, so they’re highly recommended for people suffering from anaemia.

• Good for cardiovascular health: The lignans (sesamin and sesamolin) present in the sesame seeds are believed to reduce blood cholesterol levels and prevent high blood pressure. Also, magnesium and calcium are important essential minerals that help regulate blood pressure.

• Prevents Asthma: The magnesium in the sesame seeds help to prevent airway spasm in asthma patients.

• Improves eye health: As per traditional Chinese medicine, eyes are closely related to liver health. When the liver is affected the eyes become tired and dry and vision may become blurred. Black sesame seeds are a natural tonic for the liver, which in turn is believed to nourish and support eyes’ function.

Can be bought at King's Trove Exporters

Et tu, Brute?

My take on the Coup d'état yesterday,

• RW has nothing to prove because in the last No Confidence motion that he proved that he has the adequate numbers,

• Now the onus of proving that they have the required number is with MR,

• If he can prove it on the parliament floor that he has the number, then RW has to accept and handover the charge gracefully,

• If MR is unable to prove that he has the number then the government should start proceeding to impeach the President first and then bring treason charges against both MS and MR,

The biggest mistake RW did was, not that he brought in a crook friend to rob the CB but simply ignoring the elders’ wisdom.

විසගොර සර්පයා දැක නාරු මෝඩයා.

If he had done this on the 09th of January, three years ago, things would have changed better for him at least.

Cinnamon Oil ( Leaf & Bark ).

𝙀𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮.

𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑓 𝑂𝑖𝑙

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 (%) 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝐸𝑢𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑖𝑙.

𝐼𝑓 75% 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦.

𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝐵𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑂𝑖𝑙

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 (%) 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝘾𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙝𝙮𝙙𝙚 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑖𝑙.

𝐼𝑓 65% 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦.

King's Trove Exporters

ඔබට මතක නැතිවුනාට

ඔබට මතක නැතිවුනාට

• ඉන්දියන් හමුදාව එලවන්න කියලා කොටින්ට ආයුද දීපු හැටි,
• චන්දේ දිනන්න කියලා කොටින්ට ඩොලර් දීපු හැටි,
• කොටින්ගේ කොඩිය වතිකානු මාලිගාවට අරන් ගිය හැටි,
• දළදා මාළිගාවට බෝම්බ ගහපු එකාට පක්ෂේ උප නායක කම දීපු හැටි,
• විල්පත්තු වන විනාශයට රාජ්‍ය අනුග්‍රහය දීපු හැටි,
• දැන් කොටින්ට වන්දි ගෙවන්න උත්සහ කරන හැටි.

Sweet Cinnamon - Sri Lanka

Cinnamon

Ceylon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zylanicum) a plant indigenous to Sri Lanka.

Cinnamon was one of the first traded spices of the ancient world and was a popular spice in the ancient Arab world.

The Arab traders have paved the way for Cinnamon to travel a long distance through the spice route to the European market.

Cinnamon has motivated many historical voyages leading to the discovery of New World by Christopher Columbus and Vasco De Gamma.

Introduction

Taxonomy

Family                            –          Lauraceae

Botanical name           –          Cinnamomum zeylanicum

Common Name           –          Cinnamon

Cinnamon grown and produced in Sri Lanka has acquired a long-standing reputation in the international market due to its unique, quality, colour, flavour and aroma.

Cinnamon is used in bakery products, Asian foods and flavoured tea with its distinctive aroma & flavour.

With growing concern on health hazards associated with synthetic flavouring agents used in the food industry, there is an increasing preference for natural flavours worldwide.

The Ceylon Cinnamon belongs to the family Lauraceae and it contains about 250 species and subspecies.

‘Ceylon Cinnamon’ (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum) and Cassia are the more important ones that are traded in the international market.

Cassia is originated from different countries such as China, Vietnam region, Java region, Indonesia and India.

‘Ceylon Cinnamon’ referred to as “sweet cinnamon” and “true cinnamon” is considered superior to the variety known as Cassia.

The unique method of processing and curing of cinnamon entices the characteristic Flavour over Cassia. 

The preparation of Cinnamon quills involves a combination of art and skill unique to Sri Lanka and has been handed down from generation to generation over centuries.

Health Benefits of Cinnamon

•    High Source of Antioxidants

•    Anti-inflammatory

•    Protects Heart Health

·         Helps Fight Diabetes

•    Helps Defend Against Cognitive Decline & Protects Brain Function

•    Help Lower Cancer Risk

•    Fights Infections & Viruses

•    Protects Dental Health

•    Help Prevent or Cure Candida

•    Benefits Skin Health

•    Helps Fight Allergies

•    Used to Sweeten Recipes without Added Sugar

•    Used as a Natural Food Preservative.

King's Trove Exporters

The KING of Spices

Pepper ( popularly known as the " King of spices " ).

Pepper is the fruit of the pepper plant from the Piperaceae family and is used as both, a spice and medicine.

The chemical piperine, present in black pepper, causes the spiciness.

Introduction

Taxonomy

Family                            –          Piperaceae
Botanical name           –          Piper nigrum
Common Name           –          Pepper

Sri Lankan black pepper has higher piperine content than product from other parts of the World.

Health Benefits of Black Pepper

•    Anti-inflammatory
•    Antioxidant
•    Antiasthmatic/anti-COPD
•    Immunomodulatory
•    Chemopreventive (prevents cancer cells from growing)
•    Controls progression of tumour growth
•    Anticancer
•    Assists in cognitive brain functioning
•    Boosts nutrient absorption and bioavailability of herbal and conventional drugs
•    Improves gastrointestinal functionality
•    Antimicrobial
•    Antiulcer (gastro-protective)
•    Antidepressant
•    Antiamoebic
•    Weight Loss.
•    Skin Care
•    Respiratory Relief.

Preparing grounded pepper powder at home is better than buying it ready-made.

However, even home-made powder retains its freshness for only 3 months, while whole peppercorns can keep their freshness indefinitely.

Thus, adding a pinch of black pepper to every meal helps to improve both, taste and digestion. It also improves your overall health and well-being.


Word of Caution: Pepper may cause sneezing. Patients who have undergone abdominal surgery should not add excessive pepper to their diet because it can have an irritating effect on the intestines. 

King's Trove Products

Sri Lanka Telecom Shoddy Service

Has anyone recently tried the Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Hotline 1212?

First, you will be forced to listen to one of their latest and insipid Ad before an agent come online.

The Ad says in (the nutshell) that “We are different than others and that is why they provide different types of internet packages”.

I agree with the first part of their statement that they are different.

Because, unlike any other service-oriented industry, they do not care for their customers’ complaints.

For the last four days, I had been battling to get my internet connection to a decent level without much success.

The agents have a different story to tell you each time for the reason of disruption.

Now I am confused which one to believe.

The Agents are happy to give their maintenance section number which had been ringing for the last four days but no one was there to pick up and give us the true picture.

How long more I have to wait I have no idea and I think it is the time to think of an alternative arrangement soon than rely on their shoddy service.

මේ සාහිත්‍ය මාසයයි - HUGE book exchange

Hello there!

Looking for people to participate in a HUGE book exchange.

You can be anywhere in the world.

All you have to do is to buy one of your favourite books ( just one ) and send it to a stranger.

The book doesn't have to be a collector’s item; second hand is fine too, just as long as it's in English.

Hopefully, you'll receive many books back to you, to keep.

And they'll be favourite books from strangers around the world!

And the recipient’s details will be sent in a private message.

If you're interested in being part of this, please comment “ IN “ below (Please leave your email in the Comments column). and I'll send you all the details in a PM.

Happy reading!

An Open Letter to Mr Rohan Pallewatta.

Dear Mr Pallewatta,

• Surround yourself with people who have achieved something in their life than surrounding with people who have inherited something,

• Do not Surround yourself with those who had been "Clock Watchers", "Paper pushers" and "YES men",

(Sadly, most public servants fall into one or all three categories above),

• Surround yourself with real academics who have proven past track records than not mere title holders,

• I am yet to see that you are blaming any of the past regimes for all our misery and it is a superb quality, so please maintain the same approach,


Once you are elected,

• Give all those who had been accused of misappropriation of state funds a general amnesty,

(You need not follow Mahathir Mohamad or Mikheil Saakashvili’s styles),

(Start with a clean slate so waste of more public funds spent in the form of Investigations & Commissions can be saved),

• However, ensure Treason, Murder, drug-related crimes, rape/sodomy and stealing and or destroying state properties and funds are crimes punishable with a Life sentence without parole,

• Set up a Big Tax Office immediately (help is available with many well-known International World bodies and well-known donor entities to set this thing up from the scratch) and once the wheels started moving the results will be visible

• Make it mandatory for all above the age of 21 to submit their income tax filing,

• Recruit good Investigative team (kind of Eliot Ness calibre guys/gals) and create enough revenue within to meet our recurrent expenditure,

• Borrow externally only for much-needed Megaprojects needed to develop and take the country to the next level than for "Legacy creating White elephant" projects and schemes (scams),

• Create opportunities than trying to create more jobs,

• Create an atmosphere for educated Sri Lankans who are currently serving other nations to come back and participate in the Nation Building Effort, even on an Ad-hoc basis,

Finally; 

Do not associate with people with "Tribal mentality" in politics as they would become dead weight later in your political life,

(Have seen many pledging their support simply because they and you have attended the same school.  And to me, this is no valid reason to pledge support),

Good Luck!

Sasanka De Silva

Ode to සුදු හාමිණේ ( Sudu Hamine).

Accidentally or destiny

You walked into the neighbourhood 

Some years back.

Became the Pet of all

The Protector of the 

Cul de sac.

Escorting neighbours 

And chasing away the unwanted elements

Day or Night.

Like all of us

Even you must have wished

If you had wings too when monkeys

Invade your own Domain.

You left us on a very auspicious day

And were buried with so much care

By your neighbourhood friends.

Your eyes were closed then

So you may not have seen

But there was none 

Who did not shed tears?

Among the crowd.

You gave us protection

And Joy and

Most importantly

An Opportunity for us to

Earn more merits 

In this journey of Life.

May you be blessed with

A better Birth

Next time around

With all the accumulated 

Merits.

Until we meet again

In a better place 

And in better circumstances

We say Good Bye

සුදු හාමිණේ  

This is What You Called GIVING !

DUMBFOUNDED IN DEHIWELA: What else would you expect on hearing that an owner of a company has gifted, yes GIFTED, his business to his employees.

In today’s world of avarice and greed, this is indeed a remarkable story of a man, who given a second chance in life, has shown that the well-being of people is far better than the pursuit of riches.

Meet Ranjan Ratnasena, 66, the former owner and chairman of KleenPark Auto Detailing who probably is the only man in Sri Lanka to have given away an enterprise built from scratch, and after 30 years of hard work, to his employees.

Why? This is the first question for Ranjan, a very private person, someone who didn’t even want his photograph taken for this story. “Most people think that material success has a relationship to happiness and well-being. Even the government and the media hoist this concept on us as they try to encourage the pursuit of consumerism in a bid to boost economic growth. But this is wrong,” says Ranjan.

“I firmly believe that wealth should be distributed among the people who have rightly earned it, if not in its entirety, at least a major portion of it. Why should anyone need so much of wealth, accumulating money, cars, houses, especially when we know so many people live below the poverty line.

“We have to renounce materialism and admit the futility of wealth accumulation. Every religion tells us this but do we follow this. People change these teachings to suit their wants and needs,” Ranjan adds.

Last year when Ranjan revealed his plan to retire and give away all the shares in KleenPark to his employees it was greeted with incredulity and shock by his circle of friends. Why gift a business – most car owners will know of this company which cleans your vehicle, both inside and out, and turns it into an aesthetic pleasure to drive – with a book value of more than Rs.300 million to employees?

“Everyone was surprised. The first question they asked me was whether my family supported me and when I said yes, they were speechless. I asked them why they were shocked and they said they had never heard of someone who gave away their business,” Ranjan explains.

Mother helped people

“I did not see any novelty or any extraordinary aspect of this gesture, because, from the time I was small, I was encouraged by my mother to give and help people. She used to help people a lot, in the small way she could, and I was inspired by that. She always told me to give without expecting anything back.

“My mother was a practising Buddhist and always said: ‘don’t do any good expecting merit, or to go to Nirvana, or to get a good birth next time. Just give for the sake of giving’. She was a remarkable lady’,” Ranjan harks back to his mum, who passed away from a heart-attack in 2002.

Twenty lucky employees at KleenPark were given the shock of their lives when they became overnight millionaires (well at least on paper) on May 1. Ranjan had picked each of them – out of a total workforce of 70 – interviewed them individually over the space of a month, drawing the promise from each not to tell their colleagues of his plan to give away the company to them.

“When all 20 had gathered in the boardroom and I told them they would each get an equal share of the company and that I was retiring, they were all stunned and couldn’t believe it. They were looking at each other in shock,” Ranjan laughs delightedly at the memory.

Asoka, who joined in 1990 as a trainee detailer and is now managing director, still shakes his head in amazement. “This is probably the first time someone in Sri Lanka, if not the entire world, has done something like this. I can’t still get over it,” says Asoka who hails from Badulla.

Shocked but happy

Mohan, a quality controller, who comes from Talawakelle, adds: “I’m just shocked. We are all very grateful and happy by what the boss has done. He is a great man.” Both Asoka and Mohan have been at KleenPark for more than 25 years.

Yet they were not part of the original team of four when Ranjan began his business in 1988 with an investment of Rs.50,000 and a few detailing types of equipment leased out. Only one member of that team is still around, Muralitharan, another shareholder who came to Colombo from Hatton accompanying Ranjan, barefoot and with just his clothes on his back.

It all began with Ranjan being “reincarnated”. Having failed dismally in his education – both in a village school in Deraniyagala as well as private schools in Colombo – Ranjan ended up in his father’s business, importing and retailing food. It was a resounding failure.

“My father’s business crashed due to my mismanagement. I lost everything including my reputation. All I had was my wife and daughter,” recounted Ranjan. “I was sent to live with a relative who had a tea estate in Hatton, but after six months, felt I should do something than just live on my father’s handouts.”

With no academic qualifications to boast about, Ranjan decided to do something he always loved – keep a car clean – so he started learning everything he could about automotive detailing.

“At that time no one in Sri Lanka was involved in this business, and since cars had always been my passion I decided to give it a go,” revealed Ranjan.

With encouragement from his parents, he mastered the art of detailing – he also went for a short stint to California to learn the finer aspects of cleaning and restoring a car’s looks – before setting up his first workshop on a small piece of land owned by a friend down Wasala Road in Dehiwela.

Reincarnation

“I was reincarnated in my second life. I was determined not to take one rupee from my father as I had ruined him and I wanted to show him I could succeed without his help. The journey was not easy, there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears but it has been worth it after all these years for I have created something which I’m proud of,” Ranjan relates.

Today, KleenPark has expanded with an outlet in Jaela as well as express service centres at Crescat and Borelasgamuwa. From just two customers a week at the outset, there are 5,000 regular customers now. You have to book days in advance for a service.

The 20 new shareholders are barred from selling or trading the shares formerly owned by Ranjan and his wife and daughter, who were also all for the transfer of the wealth.

“I told the new owners that the shares will keep growing in value with the growth of the company and that they will be able to enjoy the benefits through dividends, extended welfare service (already employees’ children get education perks, the family gets medical coverage and housing loans, etc) and other privileges.

“I want them to treat their shares as an asset that would benefit them as long as they serve the company. I want to impart a valuable lesson to shun greed through the sale of shares. Today, society is rife with greed and avariciousness so I wanted my team to learn the value of sharing wealth even in a small way,” Ranjan explains.

If the shareholder wants to leave the company, or upon retirement, he/she is required to return the shares to the remaining shareholders which will be equally distributed among them. The 20 shareholders have also been told to distribute their shares to the rest of the employees – they have to select the deserving people themselves – over a period of time so that the ‘wealth’ is spread around.

“The selection criteria will be the same I used to pick the original 20 – a good attitude, ethics, loyalty, skills and efficiency, and finally seniority. They must be honest, disciplined and show commitment to the customer by providing a quality service,” Ranjan stressed.

So what about Ranjan? Well, he continues in an advisory capacity as a consultant. He gets a car as well as a salary. A pittance for a guy who sold his flat a few years ago as the company was having cash flow issues.

“I’m building a small three-bedroomed house in Halpe, and currently live in a rented house in Colombo. I don’t even have 50,000 rupees in my bank account but my wife and I are very happy. My daughter who lives and works in Canada as well as my wife fully supported me when I came up with this plan to gift my company. I firmly believe wealth has a negligible impact on life, especially on how happy you are.

“As long as I have the basics in life, shelter, food and something for a rainy day, I’m more than happy. KleenPark is not a financially rich company when compared to others in Sri Lanka, but I believe we are rich in a different way as we have the happiest staff,” Ranjan reminds us.

මාරාලන්තයෙන් බිදක් !

පෙරේරා - කොහේද ගිහින් හිටියේ දැක්කෙත් නැහැ හුග දවසකින් මිස්ටර් සිල්වා,

සිල්වා - මමත් හිතුවා මේ 20-20 තරගෙට ඉදිරිපත් වෙන්න කියලා, ඉතින් ඒකට ලැස්තිවෙවි හිටියේ,

පෙරේරා - ඔවාට ඉතින් වියදම් කරන්න කෝ සල්ලි?

සිල්වා - ඔය හොරකම් කරලා යටි මඩි ගහ ගත්ත කෙනෙක් ඉදිරි පත් වෙයි අයිසේ,

පෙරේරා - එතකොට මිනිහා නිකම් සල්ලි වියදම් කරයිද එහෙම? අර කතාවට කියනවනේ මීයක් කඩන්නේ අත ලෙවකන්න නෙමෙයි කියලා,

සිල්වා - මිනිහා ඔනේ එකක් ලෙවකා ගත්තාවේ මිස්ටර් පෙරේරා, මට තියෙන්නේ දැක්කේ නැහැ වගේ ඉන්න එක විතරයි,

පෙරේරා - ඉතින් මිනිස්සු කැගහන එකක් නැති වෙයිද මිස්ටර් සිල්වා,

සිල්වා - මිනිස්සු ඔහේ කැහපුවාවේ, අපිට තියෙන්නේ ඇහුන් නැහැ වගේ ඉන්න, ඔය දැන් අපුරුවට දෙගොල්ලක්ම කරගෙන ගියේ,

පෙරේරා - තමුසේ තමයි මිනිහා දවසකටවත් මිනිහා මිස්ටර් සිල්වා. මටත් ඉතින් බලලා හොද හැන්දක් දෙනවකෝ එපා නොවෙන්නම බෙදා ගන්න,

සිල්වා - බලමු බ්ලමු ඔවට තව කල්තියෙනවනේ මිස්ටර් පෙරේරා, අනික ඉතින් යාලුවෝ අමතක කරන ජාතියේ මිනිහෙක් නෙමේ නේ මේ සිල්වා.

I can afford to live without it but can it afford to live without us?

The banning of social media platforms in Sri Lanka due to some seemingly communal violence is as despicable as the orchestrated violence.

I think it is the time for all of us to think as one nation and stand up against the banning of such platforms.

Whether you are a Sri Lankan living in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the World, it is the time for us the show our collective power by not accessing the Facebook, until and unless the full and free status is restored.

We can afford to stay without it but can it afford to stay without us.

Some Doubting Thomas’ will ridicule the idea of Self-imposed boycotting of accessing the site by stating that we are a small nation and the impact will be minimal and or would not even felt at all.

Those who are interested in the history know, how a small bunch of people who were determined to get the due justice brought a big bus company to its knees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_bus_boycott

I have decided to boycott the Facebook site until the full and free status is restored.

I can afford to live without it but can it afford to live without us?

එකක් කඩතොලු වසාගන්නට ගොසින් මටවු කාරියා?

"එකක් කඩතොලු වසාගන්නට ගොසින් මටවු කාරියා නෙකක් කඩතොලු සදා දුන්නේයි ගාල්ලේ ආචාරියා".

I could not help thinking of this verse every time when I think of the present crisis in the country. 

The ban placed access to many social media sites is doing more harm than helping to calm the situation down is my honest opinion.

“ ඔසු උයන ” ( Herbal Garden ) at Kahathuduwa, Piliyandala Sri Lanka.

A few days back I was fortunate enough to visit a “ ඔසු උයන ” (Herbal Garden) at Kahathuduwa, Piliyandala Sri Lanka.

The garden is full of rare and very useful herbs, plants and trees needed in Ayurvedic treatments.

Everything is given away free of charge.

The place is well known in and around the area and if anyone is interested in visiting the place, one has to take the Kahathuduwa ( කහතුඩුව ) exit on the E01 expressway and ask direction, which is another 05 minutes’ drive away from the exit point.

Snuffing the Life Out of Another.

Show a gentle and

Humane way of

Snuffing the life out of

Another.


Convince me that,

It will be

Easy and painless as

Breathing fresh air into

One’s lungs.


Open pens’ gates

Would they stay or

Would they run?

See what they would opt for

In one’s own eye first.


Convince me and

Show me the humane way

Of snuffing the life out of

Another.


Till then I rather

Prefer to stay

A Veggie forever.

Where are the Innovative Local Chefs?

It is a shame that being a tropical island with some much green around that being a vegetarian is a very difficult thing to follow when one venture out for an occasional Eat out adventure.

The choices available are extremely limited compared to non-vegetarian items on restaurant menus.

The invariably the waiter would suggest “How about a Chopsie Sir?".

See the grimace on the face he would change the tack “Then devilled Mushrooms Sir” or he will blurt out some “Kankun” something or finally cap up the blurting out by suggesting “Bean curd” something.

Where are the innovative local chefs?

I am sure they have not run out of choice vegetables available in the market.

Forget Alu Kehel (Ash plantains), Karawila (Bitter gout), Pathola (Snake gout), Nelum Ala (Louts roots), Kos (Jackfruits), Del (Breadfruit), Maiyokka (Cassava) or Bathala (Sweet potatoes), but what is wrong with Bandakka (Ladies fingers) or Wambutu (Brinjal) as substitutes, if the former ones are too difficult to cook.

The Chefs need to be innovative or we will remain just what we are as backward as we are now in the culinary world where most local recipes are no local anymore to have the local taste, aroma or the looks.

The World is changing fast nowadays.

People are now very much concerned about the Environment, Carbon emissions, healthy food etc and sooner our chefs have to learn to adapt to the changes happening around is better than have a slow natural death.

What is our share in this mess?

Trustworthy and farsightedness should be the prerequisites for anyone taking up a public office.

Not flamboyant educational qualifications and or lack of them.

Are we really seeking them when casting our votes?

I do not think so.

If that was the case, then Sri Lanka would have been a First World Country many decades ago.

The problem here is that we do not want to change the status quo.

Because then we will lose all our own networks and contacts, ( where we can get almost anything done by using them ), and eventually to lose our higher place in the hierarchy of the society's pecking order.

First, we send scoundrels to the legislature and then start lambasting them on social media platforms.

What is our share in this mess?

Dialog Tv Surreptitiously Fleecing its Customers

My family was away from the country for two months in the latter part of the 2017 and has realized on the return that the Dialog Tv connection has been disconnected due to non-payment.

The due amount was immediately paid and an official request was made to get the connection activated back.

After waiting a few more days without getting any positive results from their end, it was decided to call their helpline to get the matter resolved.

Again an official complaint was lodged but like in the past, no help came through.

After two failed attempts to get the connection activated again, it was finally decided to inform them that we were no longer interested in retaining their connection.

The Helpline was given all required details to enable them to finally disconnect us from their listing.

We thought that we have put the matter to rest finally but to our utter dismay, we have received another invoice recently billing us over Rs 5000/= of unpaid bills.

The Dialog had been known to fleece customers in this fashion.

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items08/291108-4.html

And now it is the time that we put an end to this unscrupulous practice.