𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒍 ( දුක් ගන්නා රාළ )

This letter was published in the Week magazine, published in the sultanate of oman and i think the contents therein are applicable in sri lanka too. thus decided to put it up in my blog.  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR March 18, 2009 Shopping mall failing The norm today is to go green and use only renewable and reusable products. But be aware of the pitfalls and unwarranted troubles one invites by doing that. Recently someone gifted me a reusable jute bag. Since then I have been using it when I go for my weekly shopping to the nearest mall. The mall started selling the same jute bags, but they are only available at the checkouts and customers do not have access to their display location. If you need a bag then you have to request the person who is behind the checkout to give you one. Despite all these precautions, on every single occasion when I have approached the counter, I have been questioned as if I have committed a crime. The queue gets held up, security personnel converge on the scene an...

Human Rights, Democracy, tolerance of other religious believes etc are some of the topics, often we hear when the West or the so-called developed world talk about another country. Some of the big institutes in the so-called developed world, such as The United Nation, Lending Organizations and the European parliament etc are happy to hurl such topics, when discussing an internal affair of another country, especially a poor one. Let us take the issues one by one and see who is right and who is wrong. First tackle the human rights issue. Even up to this moment, many people are being held against their wills in Military camps, without any credible charge being brought to justify their detention. Who indeed was instrumental in killing leaders like Major Thomas Sankara or Patrice Lumumba? The list is long and bloody too. The latest reported case is Binya Mohammed, who was released without being charged after holding and torturing for more than six years in a Military camp. If...

The suicide bomb attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) in southern town of Matara in Sri Lanka on the day of The Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebration, tells us two important messages. The first and the most important one is that the Tigers have no respect or tolerance for peoples of other faiths, except theirs only. This was not the first instance; the Tigers have killed innocent peoples of other faiths, during their religious celebration times or desecrated their places of worship. But I am confident that this would be their last. The second message is that there is no truth in their or their acolytes claims that the Tamils are not safe anywhere else except in north of the country. If that is true, then how come a sleeper can wait for it’s pray in a town predominantly Sinhala Buddhist and a southern city like Matara. 

Heroes are born instantly.  Some get due recognition and others fade in to obscurity. When the Captain of the airliner ditched his aircraft safely in the Hudson River, few weeks back, he was transformed instantaneously in to a hero. Indeed, it was a heroic act and he deserves all the credit he gets from media and others. Unfortunately, when the coach driver of the Sri Lankan Cricket team drove his coach to safety amidst gun fire in Lahore recently, he did not even get mentioned in the media. My understanding is that aircraft pilots are taught and trained to glide aircraft without engine power and ditch in water. It is part of their training. But I do not think that anywhere in the world, coach drivers are being trained to drive with deflated tires and that too amidst gun fire. If one puts those two incidents juxtapose, one has performed an act that he was taught and trained to perform successfully and became a hero.  The other too has successfully performed an act th...

What happened in Lahore Pakistan this morning was despicable and shocking but it was something that was expected to happen sooner or later. Pakistan has been a friend of Sri Lanka, politically and sportingly for many years. We all remember their support given, during the 1996 World cup cricket tournament times. However, not that we were concerned about some issues going on there, but we were like a hapless but concerned fellow watching his good old friend going on a destructive path. The predicament, our good old is in now, reminds me of an old Sinhalese saying that says “when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas”.  

My salutations to all those invisible (invincible too) guys, who were manning the anti-aircraft batteries for job well done. If the intelligent reports are spot on then the score is, three down and only two to get only. Six air-strips are already in Army’s control and one more to fall soon. Do not blame the government, if there is another island-wide power failure again. This is another defense mechanism introduced to protect us only. Let’s stop watching all those imported soap operas being telecasted every night. Instead let’s all scan our skis for any intruders. Like the President once said, let us use our own resources and know-how to protect our own land than depending on more expensive and sophisticated equipment. Finally, let us stop using Fire-crackers, whenever there is anything military or otherwise to be celebrated, instead use beating of drums like the good old days to show our appreciation. It would also be a boon to those who are there to mai...

What is wrong with calling joker a joker? The Sri Lankan Army chief’s recent remarks about some of the south Indian politicians have not gone down well in some segments. One becomes a real joker only when he or she fails to perform his/her entrusted duties. The Sri Lankan Army chief is a decorated soldier and not a politician and his entrusted duty is to defend the country. He has achieved great success, so far as a soldier. The catcalls hear from across the strait is an affirmation of his success. Can the same be told about those politicians that he branded as JOKERS? No, I do not think so.   My supplication is to those who are unduly perturbed by his remarks is to get on with your own works. Feed, cloth, educate and take care of your own people FIRST. In that respect, they still have a lot to achieve, when compared to Sarath Fonseka’s achievements’ as a decorated soldier defending his beloved Motherland.