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Mirror Magazine

Clothes Line

Show more tradition
Sri Lanka recently hosted the ICC Champions Trophy. But it greatly disappoints us that the officials concerned did not make full use of this valuable opportunity to display our traditional culture.

We were indeed disappointed to see dancers displaying modern dance items in place of the Kandyan dancers, Sabaragamuwa dancers and our traditional ceremonial dancers who display our rich cultural heritage.

The item displayed was said to be showing the sun rising from the east and how the people of Sri Lanka gather their harvest, the tea pluckers and Kandyan lasses half dressed in Kandyan sarees. But I fail to see how our farmers gather their harvest in mid air. When ladies dressed in green dresses tying a red cloth on their heads made their way to the grounds I seriously thought that they were labourers about to drag the covers onto the pitch. This is not displaying our traditional culture but exploiting it. The only traditional item was the Kandyan drummers.

I'm afraid the same must be said about the Asian Athletics Championships too. It was the same dance items that were seen at the ICC Championship Trophy. It would have been absolutely perfect if they had included our traditional dances instead of the pathetic display they had for the ICC Trophy.

Should we ever get another opportunity as important and as rare, I hope we can portray the truly rich heritage we have that most people around the world find fascinating.
Bhagya Wickremasinghe
Kandy

Treat raggers like criminals
Ragging in universities and to a lesser extent in schools and training colleges is a scourge that has entered the august precincts of these academies of learning. The incidents of ragging have reached such grave and dangerous proportions that quite a number of innocent victims have died in the aftermath of being cruelly ragged. Unable to bear the humiliation, some have even committed suicide.

Ragging occurs all over the world but the degree of ragging in foreign universities is at a much lesser level, compared to the universities in Asia, especially in countries like India and Thailand where suicide rates fairly high among the student community.

Some of us are made to believe that ragging is conducted in good fun and that it is harmless. After much study and competition, a fresher enters the university with great expectations but barbaric ragging makes this dream a nightmare. Ragging, as we know helps the seniors to establish their dominance over the juniors. The so-called fun has degenerated to verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment and physical torture.

The majority of students believe that they should go through this necessary evil because if not, they would be treated as outcasts and denied the opportunity to take part in any social activities of the batch.

Ragging is known to cause severe psychological damage such as anxiety and depression. Other than being a blow to a person's ego and self-esteem, ragging deprives victims of their ability to think rationally and critically.

Can we effectively control ragging? One of the biggest difficulties faced by the present university authorities is the lack of evidence to incriminate those guilty of ragging since the victims are reluctant to give evidence for fear that if they are identified, they would face grievous consequences. Parents should be encouraged to stand up against the injustices done to their children. Universities should prohibit ragging and violators should face expulsion. Those found guilty of ragging should be treated as common criminals and punished under the law of the land.

Universities are places for philosophers to dream, artistes to create and scientists to discover. Those in the system should not be bullied by the ugly spectre of ragging in future.
Amaranath Gnanasampanthen

Angel in disguise
No physician is capable of healing the wounds of the heart.
No counsellor will have the power as it is all in the hands of time.
With time your anger will cool, your ideas will change.
Love affairs with the not so suitable ones, extra-marital affairs all will fade away.
With time you mature, you understand better
So why not give time and take time to sort things out.
Time the healer, is not at all a costly remedy for all the wounds.
Time will apply the world's best balm when the heart burns.
Physician time will be on your side when the heart is full of pain and sorrow.
So precious time is an angel to you and me, an angel in disguise.
Manel Chandrasene

We don't lick fingers
A certain pizza advertisement, popping up every five minutes on the TV screen these days claims to be in true Sri Lankan style.

There's this guy who comes in his suit, removes his jacket, eats the pizza, first with his fork and then with his fingers, orders plain tea and licks his fingers! It says in the end something to the effect about it being all Sri Lankan.

Whoever made this ad obviously didn't realise that Sri Lankans don't lick their fingers. Sri Lankans only eat with them.

Sri Lankans are people with honour, dignity and know their manners. It's sad the way we are made to look silly on these commercial jingles.
Shani

Hormones and acne
The activity of the sebaceous (oil) glands is regulated by male hormones (androgens), in both men and women. Very few individuals with acne have any hormonal imbalances. Development of the sebaceous glands is essential for acne to occur. However, under certain circumstances, particularly in women, endocrinological abnormalities may play a role in acne. In most of these cases, the women have on-going acne that does not respond well to the various therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, there are a few severe endocrinological disorders that have acne as part of their clinical spectrum.

If hormonal therapy is indicated, estrogens (female hormones) are usually administered to suppress sebaceous gland activity. In the past, oral contraceptives containing high dosages of estrogens were utilised. Today, however, there is a trend toward the use of oral contraceptives containing lower doses of estrogen. Some of these may be less effective than others, and a dermatologist should be consulted. Sometimes oral contraceptives are used in combination with corticosteroids to inhibit the adrenal glands, which may also produce androgens. However, as stated earlier, the number of women who require hormonal therapy to control acne is relatively small. If you suspect a hormonal abnormality, you should consult your gynaecologist and or dermatologist.

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