King Sasanka – Sri Lankan Writer & Retired Aviation Professional.

Historical importance This area has historical importance. 40,000 years or so ago, when the first humans stepped onto this land from the east, they settled in and around the area to seek refuge. Years of archaeological excavations done in the area have found many artefacts dating back to that time. People from far-flung places like Morocco have come here as traders and later found safe heaven and a trading base around the seaport. It is said that the famous Omani seafarer Sinbad visited the area during his epic journey to China from Sohar in the Sultanate of Oman. However, in the present context, the area has taken some beatings not because of the year 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami but because of the political-ideological point of view. Some feel the location is the epicentre of the country's current calm and infrastructure developments since the terrorist group's demise in May 2009. Others, however, believe that the area has taken a Pariah status as a result of legacy-creating wh...

Recently, the Ceylon Electricity Board has increased their service charge from Rs 30/= to Rs 540/=. What a monumental increase that was. We live in Kottawa and we are connected to the Pannipitiya substation. These days, in addition to the island-wide power interruptions, we experience at least 2 to 3 power interruptions ranging from a few minutes to hours. It is an obvious fact then that they have no reliable service at the moment, and hence I see no reason why the service charge has to be increased so much. I was told that a simple meter reader is taking home a six-figure salary, despite the fact that the entity is losing money so much and the treasury has to supplement them for their existence. Social media is awash these days with details of some of the bigwigs’ take-home salaries. The interesting question is, why should they be paid so much when they are really not making any profit and are also bleeding the country’s coffers so much? One of the world's leading ...

  පාඩු ලබන ආයතන ප් ‍ රධානීන්ට මෙච්චර ගෙවිය යුතුද? ඔබේ චන්දය

I posted on my Facebook wall,   “විදේශ්ගත ශ්රමිකයිනි, අපි කරපු මෝඩකම් නුඹලාත් නොකිරීමට වග බලා ගන්න.” What I meant by this was, • We paid for half of the protracted war effort by sending money home, and our leaders siphoned off the majority of that money by issuing exaggerated invoices and claims. • In exchange, we received nothing tangible, unlike others claiming to be professionals and politicians and receiving duty-free car permits, etc. • We have been subjected to unnecessary inconveniences, beginning with boarding an aircraft and continuing through customs, immigration, and even taxi stands. • We were treated as if we were worthless even at local banks. That is why I suggest these to you: • Send the smallest amount of money possible home, just enough for the family back home to live comfortably. • Make as many savings as possible. • While working abroad, obtain a trade or technical certificate that will allow you and your immediate family members to legally migrate to a develop...

Air travel has an alluring charm even for a seasoned veteran. We flew back from New Jersey a few days ago, and we were anticipating a pleasant flight on a carrier regarded as one of the best in the region. And, in the end, it was a complete disappointment owing to the encounters we had along the route. In all three sectors, complimentary face masks and hand sanitizers were only given in one aisle, but the other aisle was not. The crew members were carrying meal trays in hand stacked up to their chins, and that was not a very professional way of conducting service. They remind me of head loaders who work at south Indian railway stations, transporting passengers' luggage back and forth. The normal meal service was started 25 to 45 minutes after the delivery of special meals, with the shorter sector registering the shortest time. When we boarded from Athens, we discovered that the bathrooms and seat pockets had been left unattended and that the former had been left in an extremely uns...