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The wewa, dagoba and watering hole
TIMES POSTCARD
By Rajpal Abeynayake
Shanghai is the most happening city in the world. This was stated by TIME magazine in its latest edition. Should we go and check out Mao Tse Tung's grave to see whether he is turning in it? A city in Mao's China is turning out to be the most celebrated city according to the arbiter of good-living in the cash rich capitalist world, TIME magazine.

TIME exults that the city did it the capitalist way. City of excess, it exults, implying that excess should be celebrated. Of course capitalist way or communist route in Shanghai they did something. They made it a city of great shopping good transport and great places to eat out.

In Colombo, whereas, the Maoists are debating. About what? About whether to go capitalist or remain communist? ISGA or no ISGA? Now the boys have seen the leader of China as well. But they have still no plans for the development of at least one city in the country. Colombo is receiving by-pass surgery next week. One of the main traffic arteries are being by-passed, and traffic being converted to relieve the congestion. No new roads and no new flyways. Just by pass surgery only, like Bill Clinton. But Shanghai signifies excess. It is better according to the boys to keep to the wewas. Says the JVP's Nandana Gooonetilleke that what the UNP did cannot be undone in a day. He says so everyday on TV. But these days we don't have anyone in Shanghai saying what Mao did cannot be undone in a day.

There is construction going on in Shanghai, says TIME magazine. Foreign architects are amazed. The people are surrounded by construction material and the sound of workmen all the time but they do not care. They feel they are on an upward trajectory. But the JVP likes re-construction only construction is passé. Re-construct the wewas,. that's where the votes are , no harm in that? But the city can stew in its own juice. No Shanghai's in Sri Lanka. Shanghai is only for the JVP to go-look-see. And then splash the photo-op in the newspapers. Shanghai is a showcase and you only get the opportunity to go there if you were a follower of Mao, and wore a red beret. Then you can go there, get the red carpet, and come back and say 'we met the big Chinese brother."

But the JVP believes that being Red means you need to be a nationalist pronto. Therefore there will be no decadent traffic underpasses in Colombo , no subway trains, no Skytrains. These are decadent remnants of western civilisation. But then they have all this decadence in Shanghai don't they - the most happening city in the world? How come? The thing with China is that they do not have 1000 ancient wewas to reconstruct. Why China does not even have a peasantry, the JVP can say. What about Mao's peasant revolution. Tut - tut. That was during Mao's time.

But Sri Lanka unlike China has peasants to look after. No harm in that. But peasants alone will be looked after. Let the urban wallah get stuck in a traffic by-pass. Let him sweat for his indi appa. Let him vote UNP.Let there be no Shanghai in Colombo. We will look after the wewas, Colombo has its own watering holes.

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