5th Column

My dear Dayasiri,
I thought I must write to you because you seem to be in the news these days, whether you like it or not, mostly since you are the man supposedly in charge of sports in general and cricket in particular. But I am not sure whether you are in charge, judging by what has happened in the past few weeks.

Remember, you approved of the recent elections at the place that controls the game? After all the shouting was over and the votes were counted, the Dark Horse was elected and Captain Cool, although he could win the World Cup and was able to win a seat in Parliament, lost this one badly.

Then we heard the Green Man saying that those who won will be supervised by another body, reporting to the ICC. And we heard you protesting about what the Green Man wanted, saying that anything of that sort would need your approval — and that you had not given permission for that!

Pardon me, Dayasiri, but we remember you best when you were in the Green camp and in the opposition. With your youthful good looks and the gift of the gab, you were a leading light in the Green party and we applauded when you took Mahinda maama to task in your characteristic style.

We also remember you appearing on television screens, singing love duets and dancing with actresses. It was not quite what we expected from our politicians but, being a politician who had to win enough ‘manaapeys’, I suppose you would have thought that any publicity is good publicity.

But you were not only fighting with Mahinda maama, you were also fighting with the Green Man. That was the time when the Green Man and the young man in a hurry were squabbling for the Green party’s leadership – and you had firmly pledged your support to the young man in a hurry.

Why, you even contested party elections and wanted to become its National Organiser but you lost narrowly to another Daya, from Ampara. All that was well and good, Dayasiri, because even though you lost that contest, everyone knew you had great potential and hoped that it would be realised.

That was when you made your biggest mistake. You left the Greens and crossed over to Mahinda maama’s side. Many people did so, but they were at least given a Cabinet portfolio. You, on the other hand, were asked to resign from Parliament and run for Chief Minister. I think you got a bad deal.

Joining the Blues, you had to retract every criticism you made about Mahinda maama and sing his praises instead and we watched in amazement at the ease with which you spoke with forked tongue. You may have become Chief Minister, but many were asking whether you had had a brain transplant!

Of course, under Mahinda maama you had to campaign for him because a general election was to follow soon and you had to score your brownie points with him and return to Parliament. So, when the presidential election came along you were tongue lashing Maithri to the best of your ability.

You attacked Maithri during the election, saying he didn’t have the personality to match Mahinda maama. You poked fun at him for using the word ‘hitang’ often and asked people not to vote for this ‘hutang’. You said that Maithri squirmed before Mahinda maama because he didn’t have a backbone.

We all know what happened at the election. But what we didn’t know was that shortly afterwards you would be happy to forget everything you said about Maithri and bend in two in front of him and accept a ministerial portfolio! I guess you were wrong about who didn’t have a backbone, Dayasiri!

We do realise that in politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent interests, only permanent interests but even in this country where crossovers are common, your somersaults raised eyebrows. That is perhaps why, Dayasiri, people now call you the ‘Thondaman’ of the Sinhalese.

To get back to cricket, when we hear you challenging the Green Man and saying that he cannot tell you what to do, based on your history I can now think of only one possibility: very soon you would be praising him like no other and doing exactly as he wants! You may even return to the Greens!

I am sure that Mahinda maama, Maithri and the Green Man, who have all played this game longer than you have, know what you are capable of. They will make use of your talents but I don’t think you should expect them to trust you. So, take care, Dayasiri about what you say and what you do.

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: They say that the saddest words are ‘what might have been’. Indeed, Dayasiri, had you remained with the Greens, you would have been a top minister today instead of being given an ordinary ministry. But, if it is of any consolation, at least you have done better than that other unfortunate chap, Tissa!