Visit to Kande Vihare

 

Needs No Intro !

හඳබැදි නත්තල

I was saddened watching the above-titled Tv programme for a few reasons.

Firstly, like most of our other local programmes, it was just another failed attempt to imitate a foreign setup.

Secondly, there were no invitees either from the Tamil or Muslim community and I wonder why?

They have acknowledged the contribution of many segments of the society but have conveniently ignored to acknowledge the contribution of our Migrant Overseas Workers to the country.

And again I wonder why?

Lastly, despite their initial claim that social distancing will be maintained and all instructions given by the authorities to prevent Covid Virus spreading will be adhered to, they were mere words and never materialized into real actions in the end.

And I wonder, what the authorities are going to do about it as well?

Has the Writer in Me Died along with Jottify?

 Why I miss Jottify?

It is a funny question to answer but let me try and see how successful, I would be at the end.

Accidentally I stumbled upon this site, after watching a Click programme on the BBC news channel.

It was a good place to start up a good conversation and also to stir a few hornet's nests too.

I think that I was successful in both ways.

We had good conversations and banter too.

When one day I found that it was gone, I felt part of me has gone missing.

A few weeks later, it appeared back again miraculously.

It stayed a few more months and then it was showing the signs of gasping for the last breath.

I was lost as I did not know what to do to keep it alive.

So were many.

We tried individually and collectively but eventually the worst happened.

It is gone now for almost half a year.

Some of us still keep occasional contact through other media but sadly, I have not done anything constructive, after it disappeared.

All that I have done was to Spit & Polish my past work but nothing new is yet to be born.

Has the writer in me died along with Jottify? 

R&D Vs පැණිය

I do not know the effectiveness of this latest Dhammika Paniya ( පැණිය) against the Covid virus.

But, many are convinced and trying their very best to secure it, no matter what.

The purpose of this write-up is not to give my two cents on the effectiveness or its ineffectiveness.

However, it has somehow managed to get the seal of approval from the Ayurvedic Authority and it was all over news media last night.

I hope it would not create another influx of people again and increasing the possibility of contracting the dreaded virus while seeking protection for the same.

In the latter part of the Media Announcement, the lady spokesperson said something very interesting but many, I am sure have failed to get the full blast of that part of the statement right because they were just in euphoric mood for no apparent reason. 

What she mentioned was “The Scientific Testing of this Paniya (පැණිය) is yet to begin but we have decided to grant our Seal of Approval” to it.

This itself states the state of this country.

The only thing I can say now is “God save this Country”; if that is the way the R&D apparatus is working right now.

Transforming a Donkey to a Scholar

Transforming a donkey to a scholar is considered an easy task by some these days. 

But, it is not.

Loading a load of books on the back of a donkey will not immediately turn it to a scholar.

The load will only break its back and that is why the present day, the world is full of (so-called) scholars who are without backbones.

Yet a few others opted to live like a donkey with their backbones intact.

That is their choice and they are indeed not donkeys but truly wise ones.

Others who opt to have more books than they can carry and at the end having their back-bones crushed are the real donkeys, even if they pretend to be scholars.

Inapt and Inefficient Sri Lanka Postal Service

My present work involves dispatching items to various parts of the country.

Last week, someone requested certain items and since it was bulky in shape decided to give it to a private courier service.

The parcel was given to them in the afternoon and the following day morning I received the confirmation from the receiving party that the item has reached them intact.

Again the same party requested the same item ordered previously but it was in small quantity.

Despite previously having bad experiences with them I foolishly decided to trust the Sri Lanka Postal Service again.

Not to save money or anything else but I was not having the appropriate packing materials with me and I was aware that the Postal Service have their own bubble-wrapped manila folder, just well enough for my need.

In fact, it cost me more than using a private courier service in the end.

At the time of accepting the item, the Kottawa Post Office staffs behaved very unprofessionally and were making not only me to feel but others who were there too that as they were there to do us favours and not to serve us.

Since I have already come there, I have decided to swallow my pride a bit and go along with their directions.

The parcel was accepted and a receipt was issued.

Details are as under.

Receipt No – 4219 dated 10th December 2020.

Since good three (03) working days have already gone and no confirmation received from the receiver, I decided to call the party to get to know that the parcel has still not been delivered.

I called the Postal Service-Hotline 1950 next.

After listening to my issue, I was given another number to call and that was 011 2440159.

I may have tried hundreds of times but no one picked up the call from the other end.

As the last resort, I went back to their Hot Line again, where a totally a different number was given to me this time.

That number was 011 2328359.

After many attempts of ringing, someone picked up the call, just a few minutes after 3pm, where I was told to call back again at 9am tomorrow morning as all staffs have stopped their work at that time.

Needless to say, I was shocked because I never knew that state employees stop work at 3pm and it was news to me too.

However, because of my insistence, the person from the other was trying to give me a Cock & Bull story and was trying to defend their staffs and their lackadaisical level of service.

When I asked him to be identified him, he was very reluctant to disclose details but again thanks to my insistence that he finally said that he was the CC meaning Chief Clark over there.

But again the credibility of that information I doubt very doubtful.

Immediately after getting off from that toxic telephonic conversation, I sent a written complain electronically with a copy to the Post Master General, but I am more than confident that I will never get an acknowledgement from even

Up to now, I do not know what happened to my parcel sent under the registered post or its whereabouts.

Now I have to wait till tomorrow (15th December 2020) to start the same agonizing process again to locate the parcel.

At the moment all I know is that I have lost a very credible and regular client of mine, thanks to inapt and inefficient Sri Lankan Postal Service.