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Morning Spice by Ginger
CEB shouldn’t darken people’s livesAt around 3 o’clock in the afternoon Ginger opened his ‘fridge’ as he was feeling a little peckish and thought he would make himself a snack with the left overs. The light in the fridge had gone off. Thinking it was the usual 15-minute break — down that Ginger is used to, he did not worry. Then when the cut was dragging on beyond the usual daily cut Ginger rang up the local substation only to discover that they had put the receiver down. This is their usual trick when there is a break — down.
Ginger rang up his wife only to learn that her work place too did not have lights and more disconcertingly that it was an islandwide power failure. No one appeared to be answering the phone. Now what was the purpose in doing such a stupid thing. You let all sorts of suspicious thoughts germinate in the mind of the public and create panic and set all types of rumours going by giving it all a real hush-hush treatment. A straightforward reply even saying, they were not sure what caused it instead of taking the hook off the receiver, it would have been better just start getting furtive and evasive and the people begin suspecting the worst. In other words the CEB should not keep people in the dark.
Economic reforms in China
China may be for economic reforms in her own style and appears quite amenable to accepting certain strategies that are very much part of the market economy. But politically she is wary of any reforms that may erode power at the center. Often the jack boot comes down rather hard on those who attempt to effect radical political changes.Now take the case Bao Tong, a one time top notcher, of the Chinese Communist Party. He was once an adviser to the party sec as well but he and his son were purged after the Tiananmen conflagration. He has been refused permission to visit his son in the states because he may talk out of turn as the analysts say.
Fearing ghosts
Now what would you do if you feel your house is haunted. Some advocate uttering four letter words on the ghost. Others suggest going to devil dancers and so forth but now most Sri Lankans are losing their fear of ghosts. In Thailand, however the fear of ghosts still lives on in many homes. They take their precautions as well.Almost every house in Thailand has what they call spirit houses. They are tiny temple-like houses for spirits to live in. As many feel that these spirits could be a bit of a nuisance at times they feel it is best to keep them outside the house. They are kept happy with food, incense and burning candles.
I found Mrs. Rene Aryaratne’s "A Plea for Peace and Austerity" which appeared in "The Island" of 10th December not only both refreshingly sensible and heartening, but also most timely. Her request seemed to me to be the reflection of a compassionate and cultured mind.
In making her plea for austerity during the Christmas season, Mrs. Aryaratne has articulated the thoughts and hopes of thousands of silent and sensitive people of this country who are appalled by the vulgar lifestyles of the opulent sections of Colombo society, even at a time when the country is a graveyard. With the onset of the Christmas and new-year season, there are already signs that merrymaking and midnight revelries will increase in intensity as the "holy" Day draws nearer. Mr. Aryaratne advocates austerity during the forthcoming Christmas Season. I venture to think, at any time, under any circumstances, austere living is beautiful living because it is intelligent and balanced living. It is simple living.
Austere living does not lie in any outward symbol or act, such as wearing a loin cloth or a monk’s robe or a clergyman’s cassock or taking one meal a day or living the life of a hermit. Often such acts are merely an outward show without an inner reality. It is comparatively easy to have a few things and be satisfied with a few possessions; to be content with little and may be share that little with others. But ‘a mere’ outward expression of simplicity in things, in possessions, does not imply the austerity of inward being. A great many of us think that we shall be austere or simple by withdrawing from the world. The really austere man lives in this world but is not a part of it. He is a stranger to the ways of the world. Austerity which is real because it is fundamental can only come into being inwardly; from there it is an outward expression.
Austerity cannot be found unless one is free i.e. mature inwardly and what is maturity? It is a state of mind which comes into being when one awakens to the vanities of the world - wealth, power, pomp, glory prestige, fame, learning and so on. The mind of a mature man is purged of insatiable desire. It sees the emptiness and hollowness of the things that most of us hawker after - wealth, power, pomp etc. which are all a part of self-enjoyment which Mrs. Aryaratne writes about. For a man with a such a mind, Christmas becomes an occasion for prayer and meditation. He does not gorge himself upto his neck, with food, especially the flesh of innocent animals and birds, and drown himself with gallons of liquor. Instead, at least during the "season" he would live for others, having realized that a man who does not live for others is more dead than alive!
Put differently, the mature man would rise above self-centred activity, at least in the coming weeks. To my mind, that is what Christmas is all about. Austerity is the hallmark of a mind that is not caught in the fire of greed. It comes naturally when the mind is not attached.
We, in Avadhi Lanka, entirely endorse Mrs. Aryaratne’s plea that people spend Christmas in prayer and meditation.
Stanley Jayaweera of Avadhi Lanka
At a recent seminar the Minister of Transport & Highways rightly said that "Sri Lankans are known the world over as very courteous people but behind the wheel they are the most ruthless monsters".
If one analyses the ever increasing problem there are numerous causes for it. But the most serious cause is the fact, that driving licences are issued by those responsible for issuing them for bribes. It is also obvious that driving schools and officials are working hand in hand. Obtaining a driver’s licence by such means is beyond imagination in the civilized western world. If this problem could be tackled with success, I as a senior citizen and an experienced driver, think we could bring more discipline on our highways.
Therefore I appeal to the authorities responsible to take serious note of this fact and take drastic measures to apprehend and punish such corrupt officials.
Brindley Jayatunga
Colombo
In a few days time Christians throughout the world will celebrate the birth of Christ. Year in year out religious ceremonies and celebrations take place. It is a fitting moment for the Church authorities and its followers to take a closer look at the state of Christendom as we reach the end of the 20th century.
An alarming and graphic document was released by the "Worldwide Church of God," Pasadena, California under the heading "Has Christianity failed"? It read "Christ’s teachings was revolutionary, but it was not what people expected of the messiah. Yet some people think mankind would have been better off without him. Certainly much good has been done in the name of Jesus Christ. But also much harm.
Christ taught against violence, yet the armies of the so called Christian nations have slaughtered, raped and pillaged their way across the pages of history, Christians have often become the persecuters "you are the light of the world" said Christ to his disciples (Matthew 5. 14) Yet nominally Christian nations and empires have like other peoples, a grim record of suppressing, persecuting, torturing and martyring those who get in their way in the name of religion. The history of Europe and the colonies of a number of European powers witness to this tragedy. Christ preached unselfishness and generosity. Yet sincere missionary efforts have often become the end of the vedge of greed and expolitation. Christian colonisers have ruthlessly enslaved, decimated and even exterminated native populations. Christian nations led the world in the two world wars. A Christian nation was the first to have used nuclear weapons (ironically) Dropping one almost directly on a Japanese cathedral.
Christ prayed that his followers would unite in peace and harmony. But to day Christianity is fragmented. For example in Northern-Ireland, rival Christians plot against each other and in Lebanon, Christian militias stalk both Christian and non Christians’ political enemies. Nations with an underlying Christian culture feature prominently in crime statistics in divorce, in the abuse of children, wives and the elderly and in drug and alcohol addiction. Arch Bishop William Temple (1881-1944) once observed "Christianity is the most materialistic of all great religions.
False conversion has been and will yet be the cause of such heartache and disillusionment "Is Christ divided" asked apostle Paul some say he is, although "shattered" might be better word to describe the current state of Christianity. To day Christianity is fragmented more than any other major religion. 25,000 different churches, denominations, sects, cults divide Christianity and the world Christian Encyclopaedia suggest that the number is growing by five every week. If Christ were to return to earth to day where would he go to worship — which church faithfully teaches his doctrine. Tragically such of Christianity has drifted for from the principles of its Founder. Millions have called him, "Lord" but have not followed his teachings.
Properly understood Christ’s words never have produced the quarrelling factions, muddied theology, watered-down doctrines, exploitation and down right brutality characterising so much of what has been done in the last 19 1/2 centuries in Christ’s name".
In another development a Reuters message from England poses a new trend on the state of Christianity. In a world with wide spread violence and terrorism, all Christians should react to the following report.
"British Christians, traditionally reliant on prayer and scripture, are putting their faith in modern advertising techniques to boost congregations and spread the word.
Four thousand churches of various denominations have contributed one million pounds ($1.6 million) to fund what they say is the country’s biggest ever poster campaign, with adverts appearing on more than 4,000 church notice boards in addition to roadside boardings and in regional newspapers.
The posters carry messages such as "You are born. You live. You die. End of story?" And "Job. Flat. Girlfriend. Car. Season ticket to United. Still not satisfied?"
Church leaders believe that the kind of marketing strategies used to sell consumer goods and services can help reverse falling church attendance and feed what they see as a spiritual hunger across Britain.
Regular congregations in Britain’s Christian churches have fallen to 3.98 million in 1995 from 4.77 million in 1980, according to Christian Research, an independent research group.
The campaign aims to boost enrolment on the Alpha course, a 10-week course of informal meetings where participants are invited to make their own minds up about religion."
Hamilton Senanayake,
Panadura
Original settlers of Sri Lanka
There is controversy over the original settlers of Sri Lanka. The issue is debated on racial tendencies as related to the country.
Sri Lanka has been inhabitated 500,000 years ago whilst stone culture had its beginnings around 10,000 B.C. with the Balangoda culture coming to the fore in and around 5000 B.C. Those inhabitants were neither Aryans nor Dravidians.
The word ‘Aryan’ appears to have been derived from the ‘Iranian Plateau’, the inhabitants of that area being called Aryans, who spoke one of the languages of the Indo-European family of languages — Sanskrit and Pali inclusive.
A part of South India in ancient times was called ‘Dravida’ and inhabitants of that part of the country invariably came to be called ‘Dravidians’. Tamil was one of the Dravidian languages.
In the 5th Century B.C. Vijaya, who was banished from Sinhapura, a kingdom of North India landed in Sri Lanka with 700 of his followers. He and his followers were of Aryan origin. Vijaya came to marry Kuveni, a local woman and his followers too would have had to do the same. The word Sinhalaya apparently emerged after the arrival of Vijaya from Sinhapura. The Sinhala language is a blend of Sanskrit, Pali and the language the inhabitants spoke then.
The South Indians (Dravidians) came to Sri Lanka as merchants or conquerors. Some of them stayed on and mixed with the locals.
The Portuguese, the Dutch and the British colonised the country and as a result there was further human blending. The present inhabitants of certain parts of the country and the names of people bear testimony to that. The American missionaries were in the north in a big way and that too could have added to the mixture.
Hence, as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, there are no pure Aryans or pure Dravidians, whether they be Jayawardenas, Gunawardenas, Ponnambalams or Naganathans. There are only Sinhala speaking people and Tamil speaking people. Let us therefore accept that reality and decide to live in harmony without making the language a barrier to peace and understanding.
Upali S. Jayasekera
Colombo
Down to Earth
Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo
by Derrick SchokmanHave you ever wondered why Colombo 7 is called "Cinnamon Gardens"?
Thereby hangs a tale! At one time the best quality cinnamon in the world was found in the wet forests of this country.
This aromatic spice had no use here, but it was in great demand by European nations. It was required to freshen the stale and unappetising meals that their people were compelled to eat during the long winter of five months from Martinas to Lent.
The Portuguese were the first to come, after Magallan had opened the sea route to the east. They were followed by the Dutch and the British. The Dutch parson Philip Baldeus very rightly described cinnamon as the "rich bride of conquest".
The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the period of Portuguese and Dutch occupation, were the golden age of cinnamon when the whole world received its supplies from this small island.
Four to five thousand pounds were sent every year by the Dutch to Holland and Batavia. Any excess was burned so as to ensure a world monoply.
Some of the surviving household accounts of great manors and castles in Europe reveal the fantastic prices paid for a few ounces of cinnamon. A gift of cinnamon quills in a gold and jewel encrusted box was recognised as a gift fit for royalty.
Although the Portuguese and Dutch ruled the western lowlands from Jaffna to Matara, they were dependent on the goodwill of the kings of the independent Kandyan Kingdom in whose territory the bulk of the wild cinnamon was found.
"We cannot stir", wrote a Dutch governor, "if we do not continually flatter and caress the court".
The Dutch sent an embassy annually with pomp and presents to Kandy for formal leave to harvest on Kandyan territory. And even when permission was granted, hostilities would often arise.
In sheer deperation the Dutch ultimately tried their hand at cultivating cinnamon instead of having to depend so heavily on Kandy.
The first cultivated cinnamon gardens were in Colombo and later in Negombo, Beruwela, Galle and Matara, where the guns and garrisons of the Dutch ports were close enough to protect the plantations from interference by the kings.
As the Dutch in Colombo then resided in the Pettah next to the fort, the cinnamon gardens were established in the area now bounded by Regent Street, Dharmapala Mawatha (Turret Road), Green Path and Gregory’s Road up to Borella.
The peeling and storing of cinnamon was done where Paranawadiya road or Ananda Mawatha is now.
Maligakande was the residence of the Maha Mudaliyar in charge of the cinnamon gardens.
When the British succeeded the Dutch as a colonial power, they maintained the gardens and the position of Maha Mudaliyar. In their time the Maha Mudaliyar was Adrian de Abrew Rajapakse, who died in 1824.
Consequent on the collapse of the very lucrative world cinnamon market and the abolishing of the cinnamon monopoly by the Colebrooke Commission in 1834, the gardens were neglected and allowed to run to scrub on the white sands that cinnamon preferred. It was in this state that an Englishman described them poetically as a "wilderness of laurel bushes growing out of a mass of snow".
The British who resided in Mutwal at first, gradually moved eastwards through Hultsdorf and Dematagoda where the Sinhalese had their walauwas to Kolonnawa and Borella till they finally arrived in the cinnamon gardens, which became Colombo’s premier residential quarter.
There is no cinnamon there today. Sadly not even a commemorative sign to explain this metamorphosis from scrub to cinnamon gardens and finally prime residential area.
In the words of another writer: "It would be a salute to history if the Colombo Municipality were to plant a little grove of cinnamon in Viharamahadevi Park, and label it with a historical noticeboard in the same way as American towns do regularly for the interest of tourists".
It is indeed a worthwhile suggestion, considering that this country is still the largest exporter of cinnamon in the world.
