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By Zanita Careem
The festival season of Christmas and New Year will never be the same for the people of this country reeling under the burden of galloping inflation and price rises of all commodities, mainly the essentials.For the great majority of people across the country while income of the household remains the same, prices have doubled or tripled of most of the basic items.
The average housewife is groaning under the high cost of living. She is compelled to spend more than double, she gets to ensure proper nourishment of the family.
The prices on almost all fronts has started showing an upward trend just before the festive season and there are no signs of respite.
Onions, one of the most essential food items are scarce now and what is available is beyond the purse of the very poor.
One housewife lamented "we were able to eat plain rice with onion salad, now we are deprived even of that." While the housewives are busy looking for an effective substitute for onions to add to the taste of the dishes, the menfolk are sweating it out in the milling crowd before sales outlets and mobile vans provided by government agencies for this precious commodity given at subsidized rates.
However it is not only the price of onions which is giving spasmodic pains to the people. The prices of all seasonal vegetables, rice and eggs have touched new heights this season.
Consumers every morning gets heart breaks as the price of one or other essential food items is jacked up without warning. "One month back we sold onions for Rs 30 a kilo. Now we sell the same for Rs 80" said a vender at the Wellawatte market.
Working Director of Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) Anton Ratnayake says that a gamut of factors are responsible for this price rise, which includes a sharp fall in the import of onions from India.
In India the lowly onion has brought a government to its knees. Angry at soaring prices for the vegetable, an essential ingredient in most Indian cusine, voters handed the Bharatiya Janata Party a resounding rebuff in four state sassmebly polls recently.
Meanwhile a cross section of housewives interviewed voiced their dissatisfaction over the price hike of Bombay onions.
"It has been very disheartening that the price increase has affected us badly this season. We only buy half the quantity of onions now. Since no curry or sambol will be the same without it. I bought only 250 grams."
We don't like the imported variety. It is tasteless but we have to decide between the quality and price. Finally the price was the deciding factor for me, so I opted for the imported one from India.
According to most people the sudden drop in supplies of onions and potatoes from India is the cause of escalating of prices of these very needy commodities.
To help the people, the government now imports stocks from other countries to keep price rises to the minimum.
"Right now we are getting down onions from Holland," said Anton Ratnayake.
"The onion crisis has affected the entire South Asian region. But CWE's timely intervention has helped the consumers in a big way neutralizing the shock of sudden price increases. Indian exports are likely to continue until next June or July. We will have ample stocks to last for another six months. So there is no need to panic " said Anton Ratnayake, Working Director, CWE.
90 percent of our onion consumption depended on imports with only 10 percent supplied by the local growers.
However the common people are not satisfied with the government's jugglery with statistics. What they want is the decrease of the prices of essential items.
Political, economic and the statistical debate kept aside the million-dollar question, haunting the consumers across the country whether there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Forgotten Heritage
The Sinhala bridge buildersby Gamini G. Punchihewa
Ancient Lanka was divided into three kingdoms/Ratas. They were Raja Rata, Pihiti Rata, Maya Rata and Ruhunu Rata (Rohana), this boundaries demarcated by rivers such as Mahaweli Ganga, Deduru Oya, Walawe Ganga and Kalu Ganga.Pelanugala stone inscriptions
Pelanugala a prominent rock outcrop that stands close to the banks of the Kalu Ganga lies along the Nagashandiya-Horana road (From Kalutara North) and is a popular bathing and mining spot.Pelanugala (rockboulder) is split into two halves exposing its fissure conspicuously. Towards the landside of Pelanugala is another rockoutcrop called Godagala on which carved a few lines of fast fading inscriptions, believed to date back to the 5th century A.D which have been deciphered to say that Kalutara was densely cultivated and well populated them. (More about Pelanugala in the forthcoming articles).
Gangatillake Vihara
Another historical landmark on the banks of Kaluganga on its hillock is the white dagaba, while the sacred Bodhiya stands below by the roadside. The Kalutara Bodhiya is believed to be a sapling of the Sri Maha Bodhiya of Anuradhapura.The Pandyan Prince, Vikkaram Pandu in 1048 A.D, who ruled Rohana, had his kingdom on this very mount where the present dagaba stands. Though he was a Pandyan prince (who drove away the Chola invaders of the time), the people accepted him as their king. He fostered Buddhism and built a vihara named Gangatillake whose relics are still shrouded in obscurity. No one appears to know where the Gangatillake Vihara had stood as the dagaba and other Royal buildings built on this mount were destroyed by the invading Portugue's forces in 1595 A.D when they overran Kalutara. They built a fort there after demolishing the royal buildings and the vihara.
In the Sinhala Sandesaya like Tissara, Paravi, the existence of the Gangatillake had been vividly described.
The Sinhala bridge builders
Even bridges across rivers were constructed by the ruling kings of the time. Culavamsa records that King Parakrama Bahu II (1234-1269 A.D.) constructed a bridge at the mouth of Kalunadi (Kalu Ganga). It is quoted thus: "Thereupon a high dignitary betook himself to the landing at Boimatiththa (Bentota River) and built at the mouth of Kalanadi a bridge eighty six cubics long (length being 129 feet)".The same chronicle, mentions that King Parakrama Bahu II also planted coconut groves from the banks of Bentota river (Bhimatittha) to the land place of Kalanadi (Kalu Ganga) on a space of yojana broad, a great garden of coconut palms called after Parakramabahu beautifully shaded and rich in forest."
Another noteworthy recording in the Culavamsa is that king Parakrama Bahu II uprooted a forest called Mahalaujagachcha (bedi del - wild breadfruit) and planted it with jak trees that extended as far as Kosgoda.
Kotte Period
The Kotte period of Parakramabahu VI (1412-1467 A.D) saw intrigue and conspiracies among reigning kings and princes of Kotte exploited by the Portuguese who fished in troubled waters.In 1521, the Kotte kingdom was divided among three princely brothers at Kotte, Rayigama and Sitawake. King Mayadunne ruled the province of Sabaragamuwa (1521-81 A.D.) with capital at Sitawaka. Rayigama Bandara ruled Walalalawita, Pasdun and Rayigama korales, while the sea ports were vested with Bhuvanaika Bahu VI.
Bhuvanaika Bahu VI connived with the Portuguese to wrestle power in Kalatura. King Mayadunna and his gallant son Rajasinghe I attacked the Colombo Fort, when the Portuguese retreated from Kalutara. Thereafter Kalutara came to be annexed to the kingdom of Mayadunne of Sitavake.
During that time Kalutara became a busy calling port for foreign vessels coming from the oriented, far east and China. The items of export were arecanut, pepper, elephants, gems, while the main imports were cloth, silk and dry fish.
With the fall of the Sitawake kingdom following the death of King Rajasinghe I in 1591, and the death of King Don Juan Dharmapala of Kotte in 1597, Kalutara formed part of the Portuguese rule including the port of Kalutara.
During the Chola invasion of Lanka, kings sought asylum in Ruhunu Rata (Rohana). A court official called Kithsri Senapathi was king for only eight days. He was slained by Mahala Kithi when he became overlord of Rohana but was defeated by the Cholas and he committed suicide. Following this tragedy, the Pandyan prince and the only son of that Mahala Kithi by the name of Vikkama Pandi became king of Rohana in the 11th century A.D. and reigned for eight years. He was killed by another prince called Jagaripala. He who reigned for four years over Rohana having his capital at Kalutara. Later he was killed by the invading Choals and Parakrama came to the throne. Kalutara then fell into disuse until the Kotte period of the 15th-16th centuries under the kingship of Parakrama Bahu VI in 1418.
After the deaths of King Rajasinghe I of Sitawake and King Dharmapala of the Kotte Kingdom, Kalutara fell into the hands of the Portuguese. The Dutch succeeded then and in the 18th century the British took over the rule of Kalutara and the maritime provinces.
Sri Lankan film at the international festival
By Zanita Careem
"Dorakada Marawa" (Death at the Doorstep) directed by Vasantha Obeysekera and produced by Sarath Abeysena has been accepted as an official selection from Sri Lanka for the 1999 Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival to be held from January 7 to 18, 1999.Over 130 films including 25 world premiers, 37 US premiers representing more than 35 countries will be shown.
'The screening time and date have been prescheduled. Upon the acceptance of the invitation, the producers of the 'Dorakada Marawa' will be given the exact location, date and time of the screening' states Monica Breckenridge, Director of Programming, The Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival in her invitation to Mr. Sarath Abeysena and Mr. Vasantha Obeysekera.
1999 will be the tenth year the Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival is to be conducted.
Film producers, directors, actors, and those involved in producing a film are being invited for the Palmsprings Award Gala on January 9. Those interested in attending have been requested to contact Director of Programming.
Phone - 760-322-290 ext. 249
Fax.. - 760-322-4087John Travolta, who was playing a high school kid 10 years before the launch of the Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival is next year's festival's career achievement award winner.
Actress Debbie Reynolds is expected to be named the lifetime achievement winner.
The festive season has come around once again, with a New Year about to dawn, but to a large number of children around Sri Lanka, this season of goodwill or the dawning of a New Year make absolutely no difference. Many of them who are destitute orphans, would never experience the priceless gifts of love, affection and happiness with family and friends, due to the fact that they do not have any to call their own!
Today there are over 173 orphanages in Sri Lanka filled with children who are parentless, destitute or from single parent families. The Lions Clubs of District 306C together with MTV/Yes FM/Sirasa Radio is reaching out to these children through 'Kid's Cause', a project through which the District 306C hopes to collect gifts in cash and kind, at collection points around the country, which would be distributed to these children in a spirit of 'giving and sharing.'
About 50 Clubs in District 306C would function at these collection points islandwide while on the 27th of December, all Lions would visit an orphanage nearest to them, for the purpose of sharing the gift of joy and friendship with the children at these orphanages.
A special bank account has also been opened to collect funds to establish a scholarship fund for these children, thereby giving them a very tangible and essential gift of knowledge and education. We are also launching and unveiling today, the 'Kid's Cause' logo.
The Lions Clubs of District 306C invites the general public to join this very worthy cause by donating gifts in cash or kind for these children. Anyone willing to contribute could call on the three Hot Lines provided by Dialog GSM - 077-344744 upto 6 - and they would be informed of a collection centre nearest to them. Cash donations could be deposited into a dedicated 'Lions/MBC Kids Cause Schoolarship A/C No. 601597, Seylan Bank, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo 7". All cash donations would be utilised for the singular purpose of ensuring the education of such underprivileged children.
This scheme has been formulated by Ms. Shevanthi Jayasuriya and Lion Fayaz Saleem, with the encouragement and total cooperation of District Governor of the Lions Club International District 306C, Lion W. M. S. Wijesundera.
This is a long-term scheme with a target of rupees 20 million set to be achieved by December 1999, so that as many parentless children as possible, could be provided with scholarships on an on-going basis. This could only be achieved with the assistance of the media who could help disseminate this need throughout Sri Lanka. Today's press conference is being hosted by the Colombo Hilton Hotel.
High Fashion
Where the rich and famous gatheredby Kirthi Karunaratne
Ice carvings and many blossoms in a galaxy of colour greeted the guest at the Colombo Hitlton when Himali Nanayakkara invited friends to join her in a celebration of her birthday. Besides soft music and food spread around the room at several stalls the women present patronised brought with them glamour to the occasion in their elegant attire. Himali for the event picked on a red dress which was bare shouldered and had a mild cowl at the neckline, off shoes string straps. A stole in the same red was draped around her neck. She wore a necklace and stud earrings in diamonds and her accessories were in silver.Sister Pradeepika Wimalaratne too favoured a dress in ivory lace over a shimmering foundation. The dress was knee length and bare shouldered with shoe string straps. A choker band of diamonds made her necklace, and her accessories too were in silver. Three sisters who dressed on the same theme, were Pathma Maharaja, Nadine Mahendra and Shobama Nagendra. Pathma had her silver grey saree of silk with the borders ad pallu fusing into a red, she teamed with a red blouse embroidered in cutch work, in green, yellow and purple and little dots in white. The work was on the shoulders, the back of the blouse, and on the sleeves. Nadine had her saree of white fusing into yellow at the hemlines and on the pallu with a gold Benarees border on it for simple beauty. Shobana had her saree in two shades of blue, with the sleeves of her blouse in the shaded colours with cutwork embroidery on them also shaded and picked out in sequins and beads.
Gowrie Pieris cut a dash with an individual style. Her palatzo pants and halter styled top was in a smudge printed chiffon in sapphire and royal blue. The pants dropped from a cummerband of gathering at the waistline. White dots of sequins sparkled sparsely, and she wore a double strand of pearls with a central pendent. The gold hued saree Geethanjali Chand wore was both of a lovely colour and tasteful embroidery. The sunshine gold charmless silk saree she had draped in the Gujarathi style, and wore a gold necklace and a long gold chain to dress it up in simple style.
The rich and famous were all gathered to wish total success when the popular shop Prenita Fashions moved to their posh new surroundings. The mother and daughter combination of Nita and Priyanthi Fernando who have with their enterprise, made a resounding impact on the saree worn by the fashion conscious women of Sri Lanka. For this evening where buying was brisk and the room was filled to capacity, was created an oriental ambiance with strands and strands of flowers woven into garlands, and banks of blooms sent by friends and well wishers. Quite apart from the sarees which were snapped up were evident fashions on a high level worn by those who came to grace the occasion.
Setting the pace was Priyanthi herself in a exquisite saree of crepe georgette shading from a moss green to a pale beige. The embroidered border in a design of a series of scallops was also in alternate segments of the two colours. The back of her cutaway sleeved blouse was in flesh toned nylon not completely embroidered in the scallops. Her jewellery was of diamonds set on white and yellow gold. Also making headlines from behind, was sister Sandamalee who had the net back of her blouse worked in a applique of paisleys in blue, picked out in the glitter of sequins and beads, the design echoing that on the pallu of her kingfisher blue saree. The ivory toned saree Kushani Radha were had an elaborate pallu and border on net worked in a design of roses in mettalic grey thread and gold. The sleeves of the blouse had the same embroidery, and her jewellery was in gold. Jennifer Ingleton matched her blue and white stoned jewellery, to a lovely saree of sapphire blue bordered in white and patterned in blue. Her blue blouse had unusual sleeves with a cutout at the shoulders.
The saree Padmina Fernando wore was also in a shade of blue. Small diamond motifs and a narrow border form was done in the same blue sequins. There were many other forms of dress and among them was Manohari Caderampulle in a suit in the smart combination of black and white. Both the blouses worn by Priyanthi and Sandamalee were designed by Tissa Tennekoon and the decor and display was the handiwork of Senaka de Silva. The occasion was also a celebration of the first Anniversary of 'Crystals' also another enterprise and brain child of Priynathi Fernando.
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