Letters to the Editor

We cannot close our eyes and stay mum as crime is on the increase. We have to put a stop to it or we too will be aiding and abetting murder, rape, abductions, ransom killings, robberies, drug abuse etc.

Therefore, drastic measures should be taken immediately. All who commit crime should be jailed for life with hard labour till death and not pardoned for good behaviour as done now.

The introduction of the hangman's noose will do away with the accused immediately while a person sent to jail for life will be made to suffer pain of mind for his misdeeds. I think this punishment is better than hanging. Then crime will surely decrease.

Action is reportedly being taken to establish a religious centre on a small island just off-shore from the Sanath Jayasuriya grounds in Matara. Pigeon Island as it has been known from time immemorial, most probably because pigeons roost there, is also the roosting grounds of innumerable sea birds and migratory birds. It has been a bird reserve though not declared officially.

What purpose will a religious centre on this island serve? There are many temples, bodhiyas and other places of religious interest serving the spiritual needs of the people of this town.

This is also not the first time that attempts have been made to occupy Pigeon Island. In the sixties, a Buddhist monk tried to encroach on it, but was evicted. The authorities at that time knew better than to allow human activity there.

If the proposed religious centre comes up, the land would have to be levelled driving away the birds. How have the District Co-ordinating Committee and other departments engaged in preservation and conservation approved such a project? Or is it that nobody cares?

One hopes that nature lovers would take this matter up and thwart these attempts.
Henry Gallage
Matara

Vijitha Fernando said in the article 'Breaking away from the orthodox' (The Sunday Times, April 13): "For me any writing is creative. If you write about something you feel strongly about, and you take time over it, to make it appealing to a reader, you are being creative.”

Creative writing should have artistic value. If you write something you feel strongly about, you are just communicating. Even if you make it appealing to a reader, it still does not come up to the level of art. For, if so the work of journalists would all be creative. But all journalism is not creative. Journalism aims at mainly communication.
Gertrude De Livera
Dehiwela

A "motor village" should be set up on the outskirts of Colombo to reduce congestion and pollution caused by vehicles and also provide a one-stop-shop to motorists.
A 25-acre plot of unused land could be developed to house spareparts shops, repair and repainting garages, service stations and fuel sheds with areas for motorcycles, three-wheelers, cars and light and heavy vehicles.

A restaurant, toilets, vehicle wash areas, a track for test running repaired vehicles which can also be used by learner drivers and an area for overnight parking of outstation vehicles with restrooms will be useful.

The use of 'sound and fury' in the article Focus on Rights and in the editorial page (The Sunday Times, April 27) caught my attention.

The phrase 'sound and fury' is taken from Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth'. The context too is relevant, which may be taken as the Bard's comment on man's life on earth with all its complexities.

Macbeth, yielding to 'vaulting ambition' to become king ends up murdering Duncan, a guest in his palace. When faced with disaster resulting in the death of his wife and his plan gone awry, he comments on life thus:
"… Out, out brief candle

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.”
Similarly, Shakespeare's comment on leaders who try to dominate, conquer and enslave people is found in 'Measure for Measure'. A character points out that man can only expose his littleness when he tries to play the tyrant.
"Man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority
Most ignorant of what he most assured,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Play such fantastic tricks before high heavens
As make the angels weep."
M. Thowfeeq Hassan
Colombo 10

Sal flowers were in full bloom
Perfuming the air with fragrance
The golden beams of the Vesak full moon
Shone over the earth
Conveying the blessing ever great
The birth of Prince Siddhartha
The Buddha-to-be!
***

Another Vesak full moon has dawned
With the greatest message to the world
That Lord Gautama Buddha
Has attained Enlightenment
At the foot of the Bodhi tree,
Shattering evil Mara's attempts
Aimed at disrupting His attainment
The full moon beams enhanced
The radiance of the six-coloured rays
Spreading from the great Master's body
***

It was another Vesak full moon
That brought the saddest tidings
Of the passing away
Of the Exalted One, Lord Buddha
Between the twin sala trees of Kusinara
Every being and nature mourned
***

Hence, all Buddhists should commemorate
This 'Thrice Blessed' day
With good thoughts and deeds
Rather than with glamour and splendour,
Buddhists should cultivate compassion
Sympathy, generosity, patience
Towards all other beings
And live in peace and unity
May all beings be happy!
Malini Hettige
Galle

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