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For many decades, Sri Lankans have displayed their ingenuity at historic moments even if what they said or did bordered on insanity.

Some 65 years ago, an ayurvedic physician cum astrologer, came out with a recipe for a cocktail that would make dark women turn white. This was when the sun, moon and the earth aligned itself during a total eclipse that brought darkness during daytime. When sunlight arrived later, they were either in hospital or vomiting from the inebriating wild brew. Instead of changing into white, they had turned red. That health disaster is immortalised by the baila song Bivva Neyda Vadakaha Sudhiya.

Mocking at the coronavirus preventive measures in photos that appeared in the social media: Left: A man ties garlic, lime, ginger and medicinal plants. Right: Another man ties a coconut husk or pol lella.

Over five decades agon, Neil Armstrong landed on the moon with a historic declaration that it was one small step for man but a giant leap for mankind. That giant leap, which then sparked visions of colonising the moon, was good news for them. There was no need to work, for every day would be a holiday due to full moon. One could say that was in jest.

And now, even before China could contain the outbreak of coronavirus, Sri Lankans had invented their own cure. The price of Asafoetida (or perunkayam) which stood at a mere Rs. 10 for a small piece shot up to Rs 300. It was said to be a hygienic deterrent when worn in a part of the body. It is a plant that has a bad smell and tastes bitter, sometimes called “devil’s dung.” People use the plant’s resin, a gum-like material in solid form, as medicine.

Some tied ginger, lime, garlic and medicinal plants in their waist or neck. Various other so-called cures were trotted out, but the Department of Ayurveda flatly denied that any ayurvedic remedy had been found.

Just this week, Dr Sita Arambepola, till recently the Governor of Western Province, declared on a television channel that a state institution has invented a medicine to cure coronavirus or Covid 19. She said, “it was now a top secret” and will only be made known in the coming days. Dr Arambepola is now on the National List of the SLPP. Her announcement was after the World Health Organisation (WHO), the premier UN international health body, declared it would take more than a year to find a cure for the virus.

Now comes a prescription from an unexpected quarter. It is from Sajith Premadasa, till recently the Leader of the Opposition and now Prime Ministerial aspirant at the upcoming parliamentary elections. In a video clip of a statement he made, now doing the rounds, he says, “I suggest the people to use Platanol instead of Chloroquine because it will control the coronavirus.”

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Dr. Seetha Aramabepola

latinol is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body.

Mr. Premadasa is not a doctor; neither did he study medicine. His biography says that he studied at the London School of Economics. That was after attending Millhill College in London.

An aide to Premadasa received a call from London from the brother of a Colombo district parliamentarian, once a State Minister. He asked that Mr. Premadasa be told not to let down those who were backing him by making such “stupid” remarks.

His prescription was aired on a TV clip in the social media hours after US President Donald Trump told an internationally televised news conference that the cure for coronavirus was Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine. His remarks came in the presence of doctors and officials of the national health services in the US. Soon after the event, a coronavirus patient who took the drug was poisoned. A man in Phoenix, Arizona, died after self-administering the drug whilst his wife is seriously ill.

In the video, Mr. Premadasa does not say on whose advice he made the recommendation. But a staunch Premadasa loyalist told another equally staunch supporter, both holding top positions, “Anna eye ayith kata arala” or “there, he has opened his mouth again.” The second man replied “Eyata Kata vahagena inna kiyanna” or tell him to keep his mouth shut.  Mr. Premadasa later made a statement apologising for his remarks.

Mr. Premadasa has won more space in the social media after his medical prescription. One account said he should be sent to Italy where the virus is wide spreading and greater medical attention is required for the victims. Another praised UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for not ceding the UNP leadership. There were also caricatures of Mr. Premadasa with a stethoscope around his neck and the titles MD and FRCP (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians) after his name.

Sajith Premadasa

Retired officers head anti-poverty task force

Retired Deputy Treasury Secretary S. B. Divarathne and retired Major General Sumedha Perera have been appointed as co-chairman of the Task Force for Poverty Eradication and Livelihood Development as established by the a Presidential Directive.

Quarantined radio hosts make history

One of the innovations triggered by the fast-spreading deadly coronavirus is the birth of a new concept: “working from home.” But how many are really equipped to do this?

A hilarious anecdote recounts a waiter who tells a guest in a restaurant: “Sorry Sir, your order will be delayed because our chef is working from home today”.

But despite the fact that our radio stations are not equipped to relay from homes, three hosts of the top-rated morning talk show on E FM, have continued to air their daily programmes remotely — thanks to basic modern technology, including a smart phone and a laptop.

The three hosts in Sri Lanka’s premier radio channel E FM’s morning show — Thoshan, Suzie and Deen– decided to go into self-isolation after they attended a fortnight ago a sporting event at which two Covid-19 positive cases were identified. The three “musketeers,” as they’re fondly known by their fans, initiated the isolation as a self-imposed preventive measure. The Network COO, ChandanaThilakaratne, says the three have set an example to the entire country.

Perhaps it was one of the first such remote radio programmes in the history of broadcasting in Sri Lanka.