Break the Mafia Grip

Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) interrupts power for at least 8 hours (from 9am to 5pm) every month in this area citing the reason as regular maintenance.

Despite this regular maintenance, we experience at least 2 to 3 power interruptions daily.

The interruptions last from a few minutes to hours even.


Experiencing them daily I could not fathom, what sort of maintenance work they have been carrying out every month.

It is time that we voice loud to break this Mafia unit and insist on privatizing power supply.

A Bit of Soul

List of Endless Impossibilities

Snuffing the Life Out

Last Dance

All Questions

Degree

Human Protectors

Evolution Ever Failed to Tame

360 Degrees

Otherwise Ubiquitous

Endless Impossibilities

List of Endless Impossibilities

Guess, Who will have the Last Laugh !

A video started circulating in many social media platforms immediately after the results of the recently concluded presidential election in Sri Lankan was officially announced, where a group of claiming to be youngsters started beating war drums and openly threatening other communities living in the country.

I decided to share the same on my Facebook wall with the title “Is this what the country needs today”?

The purpose of the posting it is, hoping it would go viral and eventually get the attention of the authorities and put an end to such actions.

Immediately after it appeared on my wall, many likeminded people of those war drummers in the said video started engaging me in heated arguments, defending their actions and some were even started hurling insult too at me.

12 hours later I got a message from the Facebook stating that they have removed the video from my wall after receiving many complaints as the video does not meet their set community standards.

However, they have given me two options, either to accept their decision and do nothing about it or to appeal for reconsideration of their decision.

My initial reaction was to let it pass as I use this very social media platform to keep connections alive with my relatives and friends in various parts of the world.

Without having such a platform, it will be impossible to keep a track and contact with those who live in far-flung places.

Knowing well that I may lose my long-held account with them is a real possibility due to undue external pressure being applied; I decided to contest their decision on principles.

These were the very words that I have used in my justification for posting it in my appeal for reconsideration.

The purpose of posting it is hoping it will eventually get the concerned authorities attention and it will help to book those who are openly beating war drums and threatening other communities to justice.

Further, such acts are a flagrant violation of the Election rules in the country.

They were inciting violence which is a serious crime in any decent country and at the same time violating the election laws of the land openly.

Now, I am waiting for their final verdict on the video but I am sure, given the prevailing atmosphere in the country after the election that it will not be back on my wall again, which I have no issue but shooting the messenger is sending the wrong message and it will add more concerns to many decent and peace-loving people living in this country.

Whoever has reported it may think that he /she has won it today but tomorrow he/she will repent for his / her foolish actions today once the realities started to sink in deep but then it will be too late for him or her but surely it will not for me or to my family.

We will have the last laugh.

බොඳවෙන සිහිණ

පෙරේරා
"මට හිතෙන විදියට ලගදීම ඔය ඔස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ, ඇමරිකාවේ, මැද පෙරදිග රටවල ලොකු ආර්ථික වල කඩා වැටීමක් තියේවි".

සිල්වා
"ඇයි එහෙම කියන්නේ මිස්ටර් පෙරේරා".

පෙරේරා
"නැහැ අයිසේ මේ චන්දේ දාන්න කියලා මෙහේට දැන් එන සම හරක් ආයේ ඒ රටවලට නොගිහින් හිටියොත්?".

සිල්වා
"මේක සුරපුරක් වේවි කියලා හිතාගෙනද මිස්ටර් පෙරේරා?".

පෙරේරා
"ඔව් අයිසේ".

සිල්වා
"එහෙම උනොත් ඉතින් ඒ හරක්ට මෙහේම ඉන්න කියල මේ වයසක තමුසේලා අපිවත් ගිහින් ශපාන් එකේ ඉම්මු එහේ".

Mounting Garbage & Maharagama Municipal Council Inaction

For almost three (03) weeks now, the Maharagama Municipal Council Garbage truck did not come to collect the garbage and things have started piling out at various places.

It is an eyesore and not forgetting the health risks it poses too.

Usually, the truck comes twice a week to collect the segregated garbage.

The Council was called this morning and the switchboard was unaware of the situation but was kind enough to give a Public Health Inspector’s (PHI) phone number.

That number rings eternally but the owner seems to be unaware of its existence and I could not help thinking of the purpose of giving such facilities to public servants if they do not how to put them to good use.

The Chairman’s office was tried and after a few rings, it goes to a fax machine.

The Vice Chairman’s number is no longer in operation, according to the automated recording being played.

The Secretary’s office was called and after many rings, it was picked up by a gentleman called Indrajeeth.

After a proper introduction and giving the location correctly, I briefed him about the predicament of the residents of the area.

He response was “ OK, I will inform ”.

When I asked to whom he will escalate the matter up, he had no answer to give, instead wanted my contact number.

I know well that this is just another evasive and or delaying tactics usually being put to good use by many public servants in this country.

If such important offices do not have the Caller Identification facility, then it says the pathetic state of such offices.

So here I am waiting for a call from SOMEBODY to brief me about the reasons for their failure and what actions have been taken to correct the situation immediately.

Will, it ever comes, your guess is as good as mine. 

Sauntering Down the Memory Lane - Three Decades Later

Wije & I were in one group and once a GF flight came pretty late and with big dead loads in & out too

To add more misery, the flight was overbooked as well.

He & I managed to finish our work ahead of time and sitting on the ledge of the old departure building near the gate.

Counters were not closed then and we were waiting for someone from GF to come and get the clearance to board the flight.

Usually, KP does this and instead of him, Kamalini M came to the gate and looking at the aircraft which was parked right in front of the gate.

Wije asked her what she was looking for and then she said KP had told, "Today I do not have to worry about the Ramp" and she was looking for who was handling the flight, as it was all quiet then no activity under the aircraft.

One of the Best Compliments, we ever got.

Wije was elated and said "How can I delay my own aircraft", confusing Kamalini more.

To put her at ease, he said to her "Look at the Registration of the aircraft".

It was A40TW Tristar.

Sadly, she did not get the joke.

Not only he was a good worker, but he was also extremely witty too.

It was a pleasure working with such guys in the past.

Rolling stone gathers no moss but it will get well polished.

It is a Choice !

Remember when elections come nearer; "Air is full of promises and promises are full of Air" only.

The past behaviour of someone is a good yardstick to measure the likely future performance of the same person.

Remember as to why we all had to leave the country to earn a decent living and the future of your young kids too.

If you think that your action today will ensure a good future for your kids and family tomorrow, then you are free to do whatever you choose to do.

But do not forget that you will be held accountable for your kids someday of your action today.

Take the right decision, not for your own future because we are almost at the end of the wick now.

But kids today do / should not have to endure and experience the same that we all have gone in some form or the other.

Let them go out and see/conquer the World in their terms and not on anyone else's terms.

It is time to change the "Pecking order" of society today.

Will they stay a "Bonded Slave" forever or a "Free person" is not luck, Karma vipaka or whatever you want to call it, but a Choice.

Make the right choice for those who have no voice or choice right now because they are just Kids today.

Demand accountability and meritocracy to be installed in the country.

I am sure, my family and I can survive in such a society and thrive too. 

Ask yourself, will you be able to fit well into those big shoes?

You be the judge.

Follow your heart.

Good luck.

This is My Clothesline !

Good old days, every house (should I say almost all) in the villages had a fair amount of front garden as the land was not an issue then and they were spread well in any village.

One thing distinctive in the beautiful front lawn was in one corner of it, there were Clothes Lines to put their washed linen to dry under the sun.

No Gizmos, like Washers and Dryers then and all were hand washed and dried under the Sun always.

This clothesline was used subliminally to showcase one’s possessions and status symbol as well.

Fast forward a few decades to the front and things have changed quickly.

With the population, explosion gizmos have taken over the world.

Houses are so close to each other now that one can hear his or her neighbour snoring in the nights and not many front gardens anymore.

With this change of scene, the Front Lawn clotheslines too have gone missing.

For a period of time, many were lost not knowing how to expose their stories and wealth, of course subliminally with the missing clotheslines in their front lawns.

Then the Social Media platforms have come and taken over the world today.

Nowadays it has become the vogue and it has surely replaced the much loved and much missed front lawn clothesline.

Today, many use them as their clothesline and use them for the same subliminal purpose.

Sometimes, someone washing his or her and or someone else’s dirty linen is visible but the majority still uses it for the same purpose as a few centuries ago.

For one purpose only and that is to subliminally showcase one’s wealth and status.

Those who had no big front lawns with clotheslines then do not know what to do with these Social Media lawns now other than being envious, resentful and bellicose.

This is my front lawn clothesline now but I do not hang other’s washed dirty linens here.

Instead, I showcase my Mood and Wealth here.

But if my clothesline upset any in any way, it only tells who they were real and not me.

My clothesline, my moods and my wealth.

පර සුද්දෝ vs පර සිංහලයා !

ක්‍රිකට් ලෝක කුසලානේ වෙලාවෙත් " පර සුද්දෝ " කියලා සුද්දන්ට බනින්න තරම් අපි අමන ජාතියක් වෙලා.

සුද්දෝ ආවේ අපේ රටවල් වල තියෙන සම්පත් අරන් ගිහින් පොහොසත් වෙන්න කියන එක රහසක් නෙමෙයි.

ඒ උන් ආදරේ උන්ගේ රටට නිසා.

අපේ රට හදන්න කියලා ආපු රටට ආදරේ කියලා කියන අපේ කට්ටිය මොකද කලේ?

උන් ඉස්සරා දනින් වැටිලා රස්සාවල්, වරප්‍රසාධ ඉල්ලන අය ඇයි " පර සිංහලයා " කියලා මුන්ට නොබනින්නේ ඇයි?

මේකට උත්තරය හොයා ගත්ත දවසක අපි දිනුම්.

නැත්නම් එක්කෝ පර සුද්දෝ කිය කිය දිගටම උන්ටම බැන බැන එහේන්ම කකා බිබී ඉදන්, මැච් එක දවසට විතරක් ලංකා කොඩ් වනමු.

නැත්නම් සුද්දා ගෙන් ලැබෙන ආධාර එකෙන් කකා බිබී 2500 ට වැඩි ඉතිහාසය ගැන ලොකු කතා දෙමු.

තිරණය තියෙන්නේ පර සුද්දා ගාව නෙමෙයි, අපි ගාව.

Missing Gentlemen in Gentlemen's Game

When we were in primary level, an extraordinary thing happened while watching a cricket match between Alma Mater and St Benedict’s College and it was played on the home soil.

One batsman was given out by the umpire and it was a time when there were no reviews and re-appeals sort of things.

So he had to leave.

But after he left, the team Captain had a chat with the other team members and with the consent of the officiating umpires decided to recall the batsman who was given out as the team felt that the catch was not taken cleanly.

The Captain walked into the visitor’s den and invited him to come back and have a go again.

This drama took little time and the match was held and not many were aware of what was going on in the middle of the ground.

When the captain and the opposite side player were walking back to the pitch from the pavilion only many realized, what had really happened and there was a dying and disappointing moan from many corners of the ground.

The guy who had a second life took the opportunity well and started hitting the ball all over the ground and one huge six ended up, one bounce into the garden of the former MP for Moratuwa, Mr Ruskin Fernando.

His Cavalier fashion of batting ended again in the same fashion but taken cleanly this time after reaching the century mark.

He walked back to the pavilion happy and not dejected like the previous occasion, after shaking hands with the entire team and the officiating umpires.

After watching the World Cup match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies, I could not help thinking about where the Gentlemen in this gentlemen’s game are now.

Technically speaking, that runout is all legitimate but Isuru Udana should be ashamed of trying to take the credit for it and Dimuth Karunaratna for not letting the batsman continue by revoking the initial decision.

It was the Sportsmanship lost there and not the West Indies.

I was thinking, we should have more Ray Fernandos’(Captain of my Alma Mata) among us today.

Degree of Any Sort

Degree of Any Sort

Blind hunger for a Degree of any sort

Irrespective of whether the much-needed grey matter

Perseverance, discipline and or endurance

Are there or not

Is something sad to watch.

Fly by night Colleges and Universities

Springing up at every street corner 

Is fuelling the frenzy

Making everyone wants to hold on to something

Whether the capacity is there or not.

Instead, engage the society in a useful manner

Not always endorsing everything

Encourage intellectual rivalry

Stop following trends

And be different.

Ones who seek this path

May end up sans a hood or a cloak

Few photographs to adorn the walls

At the end of the day.

But when the push comes to shove

Sharpness earned in such a manner

Will hold their ground better

Than the ones bought cheap 

On street corners.

Human Protectors

Why some dare to cross lines

Wade waters

Conquer seas

With the intention of

Protecting Gods (or and even Goddesses).

Do Gods (even Goddesses)

Need humans as their

Protectors or

Why cannot they do it themselves?

Why not leave humans to protect

Their own kind

From murderers to rapists to wife beaters

To you name it.

What is our role here

Sometimes I wonder

Is it

To protect Gods (or even Goddesses)

Or

Protect our own kind.

This was something I wrote a few years ago and thought of reposting again after yesterday's bombing in Sri Lanka.

සිංහලයා මෝඩයා කැවුම් කන්න සූරයා

Kaum (කැවුම්) is an essential item in the Sinhalese New Year celebration.

The people of yesteryears knew Kaum is not only a sweetmeat but can be turned into lifesaving drug too.

Well before the western medicine identified the value and usefulness of Penicillin, people in this land knew about it and put to good use of it without calling the substance any particular name.

The first Kauma made according to the auspicious time during the Sinhala New Year Celebrations time is dedicated to Fruit flys (කොදුරු කැවුම) and hung in the kitchen for days until the surface of it turns into light greenish.

Fruit flies are essential in this transformation and with them, they bring in the Penicillium (ˌpɛnɪˈsɪliəm) ascomycetous fungi.

The fungi grow on the surface of the Kauma and turning the dark brown colour of the surface of it into a light greenish in a few days’ time.


Once that process is completed, the Kauma is then kept in a safe place and use as a First Aid, where all cuts and bruises are treated with by squeezing a few drops of oil into the affected area.

There is another saying concocted by the British that Sinhalese people are a foolish lot and they are only capable of eating Kaum.

සිංහලයා මෝඩයා කැවුම් කන්න සූරයා.

This saying came into being during battles with the British.

While searching bodies of the Sinhalese soldiers died in battles, the British have discovered that everyone was carrying a small pouch containing a few Kaum, so they presumed that Sinhalese were no good soldiers and only fond of eating Kaum, even during battles, not knowing that those pouches were indeed their life saving First Aid kit in the battlefields.

So Kaum is not only a sweetmeat prepared on a very special occasion and also a lifesaving medicine for the people of this land.

New Facilities at MMC

Makumbura was another sleepy village along the High-level (Colombo – Batticaloa Highway) road a few decades ago but suddenly came under the spotlight, when the Kottawa-Galle Highway (E01) was planned.

Makumbura got the first Entry / Exit point to the E01 Expressway then and everything started to change rapidly.

While the construction was going on, another place a kilometre away from the Entry / Exit point was commissioned to have a weighbridge to weigh in the heavy construction materials being brought in for the project.

Once the construction was nearing completion, the weighing facility got another life.

With the help of Japanese government grant, it was converted to a new Multi-model transport hub, the first of its kind in the country and seven more to be followed soon around the country.

With this novel concept of Multi-Modal Transport Hub, Makumbura got another facility.

In an era where everyone is concerned about the wellbeing, the newly laid Walking Path and exercise pad behind the main terminal building is the icing on the cake, so to say.

The Walking Path is well paved and well lit as well.

The rainwater drain adjoining the path is a good place for those who love Bird Watching as many marshy land birds and a few migratory birds can be seen there.

With the impending rains, the water level is to rise and so will be the bird population.

And preserving its serenity will be everyone’s responsibility.

Novel Concept of Travel in Sri Lanka being unveiled

Makumbura Multi-model Centre, a novel concept of travel in Sri Lanka will be declared open and handover to the public this evening.

All long-distance travel by road and Railway will be connected to the new facility.

At a later stage, the use of one ticket to avail both road and rail travel will too come.

By far this will be the most advanced and modern railway & bus stand in the country.


Most of its energy requirements will be obtained by Solar panels installed on the roof.

We moved into this idyllic and quiet hamlet called Makumbura from a very congested and noisy city, two decades ago after falling in love with the green surrounding, open spaces and calmness. 

Now looks like that we may have to vote with our feet again after the new facility is in full swing. 

අපිට විතරද පායන්නේ?

ඊයේ අපිට හිසරදේ ගෙනාපු එවුන් අමතක වෙලා,

අද අපි රවියාටයි, බදුර්දීන්ටයි බනිනවා,

හෙට අපි බෝට්ටුවල නැගලා අවතැන්වුන් අය හොය හොය යනවා කෑම පාර්සල් බෙදන්න.

අපිට විතරද පායන්නේ,

අපිට විතරද වැහි වහින්නේ.

මේ වැටෙන වතුර කන්දරාවට අපි මොකද කරන්නේ,

අවුරුදු සියයක කාලයක් අපි මොනවාද ඉගෙන ගත්තේ.

බැරි වෙලාවත් හිම ටිකක් එහෙම මෙහෙට වැටුනොත්,

මැද පෙරදිගට වගේ තද රස්ණේයක් ආවොත්,

අපි මොකද කරන්න හිතන් ඉන්නේ.

රැල්ලට කුණු අදින්න,

රැල්ලට ගස් හිටවන්න යන්නේ නැතුව,

කුණු කසල පාලනය සහ කළමණාකරනය කරන්න පුළුවන්,

ගස් කොළන් වන සිව්පාවන් රැක ගන්න පුළුවන්,

රැල්ලක් හදමු.

තප්පර 15 වේ ප්‍රසිද්දිය පස්සේ නොදුවා,

දශක 15 ක් ඉස්සරහට හිතලා,

වැඩ කෙරුවොත් නරකද,

අපිට.

Let Us Help Him Now !

A printing establishment in Ampara, Tharindu Offset Printers, had gained the attention of many in the country recently as its owner Mettananda Rubasinghe had cut off parts of a very expensive printing machine in order to save the hand of an employee. 

However, sadly the insurance company had refused to pay compensation for the machine. 

As a result, this printing press owner is facing a very pathetic situation,

I spoke to him little while ago and suggested to him that we would like to start a “Fund Him” campaign on social media, for which he politely declined to receive anything as “Donation” but would be delighted if someone or some institute can lend him Rs 1.5 million right now, so he can pay his previous loan areas straightaway and get his name out of the CRIB.

His compounded loss due to damage to the machine, loss of business etc run up to Rs 7 million but he was confident that he could make his business flourish again if his initial difficulty of finding Rs 1.5 million and get his name out of CRIB soon.

Also please note that he has to still take care of his injured worker, despite his own difficulties and the worker is responding well to the treatments and recuperating.

Share as much as possible and see if anyone can lend his the initially required funds to restart his business.

Was he xenophobic?

After watching the recently concluded Child Genius UK 2019 a couple of times, I think it is reasonable to assume that the conductor was openly favouring one contestant.

Every time when William gives a correct answer, the conductor was quick to compliment him by saying “Well done William”.

This he did five times to William during the competition and once to the other and that too was very tersely.

I think she deserves complimenting openly more because she managed to give the correct answer twice when William failed to do so.

How would you describe this behaviour?

Was he xenophobic?

Should such people be given such opportunities even in this century?

අනේ සර් අපි මිතුරන් වේදෝ ?

කෙනෙක් අමාරුවේ වැටුනාම මැසිවිලි කියන එක නරක තමා.

නමුත් අපේ පොලිසියේ ක්‍රියා කලාපේ ගැන සතුටු වෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?

පොඩි එකා දැක්කම එලව එලව ගහන එකා, ලොක්කෙක් දැක්කම කුක්කෙක් වෙන හැටි අපි දැකලා තියෙනවා ඇති තරම්.

විජිත රෝහණ විජේමුණිලා ලංකාවේ පොලිසිවලින් කවදා බිහි වේද?

එහෙම උන දාට ලොක්කෝ ඉස්සරහා කුක්කෝ වෙන අය ඉස්සරහා ලොක්කෝ කුක්කෝ වෙන හැටි බලන්න පුලුවන්.

දැන් පොලිස් ස්වාධිණ කොමිසමකුත් තියෙනවනේ.

Should such people be trusted and help anymore?

It was a bumper harvest for pumpkins this year.

The government intervened and bought large sums to ease the situation but many had to be thrown away later due to poor storage.

Another wasteful expenditure by the government again.

Recently a friend of ours sent an SMS asking those who visit outstations to buy as many pumpkins as possible without bargaining from poor farmers.

And it seems a reasonable and timely request.

Help another when in need is not a bad thing.

Last weekend we visited deep down south of Sri Lanka on a pilgrimage and on our way back bought as many pumpings as our car boot could hold.

No bargaining and paid the requested price.

We were thinking that we made both the grower and neighbours happy with that gesture as we distributed all the pumpkins among the neighbourhood later.

Today we went for our groceries to one of the nearby Supermarket and there I found pumpkins similar or larger than the ones we purchased on our way back on display.

Out of curiosity, I picked up the biggest among the lot and asked to weigh it and tell me how much it would cost us.

We were aghast to find that the grower has overcharged us at least 25% more than the current city price.

Last night on Tv news too I have seen paddy growers were going to Private vendors offering lesser prices than the government collecting centres.

And later blaming the government of not paying them a fair price for their products.

Should such people be trusted and help anymore?

Reached 60 & What's Changing ?

Yes, I am changing,
After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children, my friends, now I have started loving myself.

Yes, I am changing,
I just realised that I am not “Atlas”. 

The world does not rest on my shoulders.

Yes, I am changing,
I now stopped bargaining with vegetables & fruits vendors. 

After all, a few Rupees more is not going to burn a hole in my pocket but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.

Yes, I am changing,
I pay the taxi driver without waiting for the change. 

The extra money might bring a smile on his face. 

After all, he is toiling much harder for a living than me.

Yes, I am changing,
I stopped telling the elderly that they've already narrated that story many times. 

After all, the story makes them walk down the memory lane & relive the past.

Yes, I am changing,
I've learnt not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. 

After all, the onus of making every one perfect is not on me. 

Peace is more precious than perfection.

Yes, I am changing,
I give compliments freely & generously. 

After all, it's a mood enhancer not only for the recipient but also for me.

Yes, I am changing,
I've learnt not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. 

After all, personality speaks louder than appearances.

Yes, I am changing,
I walk away from people who don't value me. 

After all, they might not know my worth, but I do.

Yes, I am changing,
I remain cool when someone plays dirty politics to outrun me in the rat race. 

After all, I am not a rat & neither am I in any race.

Yes, I am changing.
I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. 

After all, it's my emotions that make me human.

Yes, I am changing,
I have learnt that it's better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. 

After all, my ego will keep me aloof whereas with relationships I will never be alone.

Yes, I am changing,
I've learnt to live each day as if it's last.
After all, it might be the last.

Yes, I am changing,
I am doing what makes me happy. 

After all, I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to me.

Salt of the Earth

Every time when I lose faith on humanity, something magical would happen to change my opinion again.

I went to the Tuesday fair this morning looking for some "Murunga" leaves to make a medicinal preparation.

Asked a few manning stalls with no success and finally the lady usually selling Waraka (Ripened jackfruit) at the end of the fair directed me to someone selling some other fruits at the very end on a makeshift stall.

I approached him cautiously as he was preparing his own stall and ask where if I could find some Murunga leaves.

He was still busy arranging the stall but asked me as to why I was looking it.

“To prepare some medicinal external application”, I blurted out without having not much of hope.

He immediately stopped his work and said, “Yes, I have a tree behind my house” and started heading towards his house abandoning his half arranged fruit stall.

I started following him not knowing exactly where he was heading.

Five minutes later, he arrived at a dilapidated house and started climbing up the roof of the house to reach the Murunga tree.

When he came down with the stuff that I was looking for, I offered him some cash for his time, effort and the value of the stuff which he bluntly refused stating that no money is needed for anything given as medicine.

I was watching as he was quietly walking back to his fruit stall and I could not help thinking in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus told his followers, who are mainly poor fishermen and other simple people, “Ye are the salt of the Earth.”

Today I found one such salt of the earth person and I thank him for restoring my humanity again with his kind gesture.