But his base bellow, accompanied by suitable chuckles which punctuated the delivery whenever he was interrupted, were enough to convince those transported henchmen from Wattala Mabole and those parts that the Minister was putting on a good show, all for their benefit. Even Mahinda Rajapakse replying, seemed to have suddenly turned Amaratunga honcho. He thumped the table, and looked like a school debating team leader in full tilt - but eventually he spewed out wordy nothings like "personally John is a good man''. On all sides of the House, and even outside on the Diyawanna divide, they were either nodding or nodding off.

This was the ultimate parliamentary fireworks display for the aid of the hoi polloi. The gallery would have guessed that these people are the sort who will go back home and call each other and say "good show no?'' They'd say 'how can they all not be in it together when each side accuses the other of unleashing the police on them when in power?'

From the press gallery, what looked like an enlarged powder puff turned MP, turned out to be Anura Bandaranaike, with his greying pate crowning his pink rotundity.

His audible prompting of Mahinda Rajapakse when the latter was characterizing John Amaratunga as IGP, OIC and police constable rolled in one, may have been the high point of the day because even the gallery henchmen had to strain in order to decipher what exactly Bandaranaike was saying in his prompt mode. I saw one almost falling off the railings onto the powder puff. But sartorially they could be slotted perfectly, even if there was no means of classification by the substance of what they said. Even Latha from Wattala told me later she knew they were going through the paces of the debate and putting on the show for herself and friends.

Rajapakse was the Ariya Sinhala man, speaking in Sinhalese and with his kurrakan colored shawl saying something for his upwardly mobile progressiveness.

Amaratunga was the man in between. No Ariya Sinhala for him, but a kapati kit and slacks, because he was both identifying with his men in the gallery and keeping his distance from them. Anura Bandaranaike had already arrived, if you know what I mean, so he wore the full regalia, and smiled knowingly when Amarautnga said "the colonial police force will be transformed into a people's police force.''

Outside, there was big crunch, and somebody was getting garlanded later. It turned out that if the rulers were entitled to have their party inside the house in aid of the plebeians, the ruled were entitled to have their party outside the house for the patricians.

And party they did -their drums were baser in every sense than Amaratunga's maha kalu Sinhala voice that echoed around Bawa's sepulchered decor a moment ago. I am sure Amaratunge was on the verge of being crushed to death and had to call the police. What am I saying? He is the police.

Talking of the police, Amaratunge even said that police officers during the PA time had to 'lick the backsides' of various people to get their promotions. In the Gallery, they thought he was adding to his other profundities (examples: 'Father forgive them for they do not know what they do'/ 'They looted like Mobutu Bokasa and Marcos'/ 'when the PA ruled it was like the swimming Olympics in a river of blood.') I thought I saw Pavitra Wanniarachchi blushing. But, Loku Bandara might have told you her name is pavitra, not necessarily her being - otherwise do you think she can take all this, dressed as she is in the deepest pink, lest she be mistaken for Anura Bandaranaike's skin?

Back to Top

Back to Columns

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Webmaster