Financial Times

Wake up before the Upheaval!
Last Sunday evening the blues were attempting to demonstrate togetherness on May Day whilst their bedmates were apart. They did not announce the much-dreaded compulsory salary increase for the private sector.

Greens were trying to act like reds and blues, typical of those in opposition. The reds were passing resolutions to safeguard the interests of a few, sacrificing the future interests of the nation.

They even threatened to control the activities of NGO's. " Those caring for the genuine working class community are at home taking a well deserved break. The opportunists and power hungry politicians, unionists and misguided supporters are out in the streets wasting their energy in the name of the working class," said one wise owl.

A genuine and caring professional with a heart focused on the village working class, most likely branded a capitalist by those screaming from platforms had invited friends to meet a genuine worker on May Day. A farmer from Kiula, Ambalantota, who never completed formal schooling, was uncomfortable in his shirt, but was not inhibited to be partly bear bodied (as he is usually in the village) and ask his audience for complete silence.

John Mama was the star and was given pride of place amongst leading professionals, academics, businesspersons and maestros in music and films. He had the main seat in the drawing room and at dinner. He entertained those present with folk tales and verses. His pel kavi delivered lesson to the leaders of Sri Lankan society.

"Maname" in verse was different to the stage play of Sarathchandra. The new dimension was an exchange of lyrics between a wolf and the Maname queen. According to this folk song, a wolf walks past the queen recently abandoned by her lover, the Veedha king, (the wolf being the God Sakkra) following her betrayal of the king by giving the paramour the sword and king the sword case.

The wolf with a chunk of meat in its mouth sees a big fish in the river near by and jumps in to catch it and looses both the fish and the meat. The queen ridicules the wolf for its foolish act, greed and mocks at it. The wolf in turn reminds her of her own foolishness and infidelity in seeking the arms of an unknown Veddha and sacrificing the life of the respected Maname king, despite the king having cut his shoulder and fed her his blood to satisfy her thirst.

As the wolf vanishes, the queen realizes her folly, drags her tongue out and bites it to choke and commit suicide. A lesson that greed and betrayal of loved ones never gets one far.

The group then settles in to view "The Upheaval" a documentary film by Sumathy that portrays a struggle of an old woman in Pothuvil trying to hold her only daughter away from the grasp of the freedom fighters, whilst fending the clasps of poverty. The old woman, a widow has lost her husband to the clutches of the army and the son to the movement.

Her daughter portrayed alternatively as a sea goddess and as a fighter with a gun has only a few choices with no resources to be feed, clothe and buy books for schooling. Join the movement, marriage or become a servant in Colombo are the hard choices.

The tsunami then devastates and takes all in its way. The lyrics present the end of the film with the waves having gone above the palmyrah trees and the children having gone out to sea to play with the waves.

In reality are not the children of this nation both born and unborn torn between the acts of slavery imposed by the uncaring leaders of politics, business, governance and society on one hand (servants in the film)-subservience and bondage to narrow minded interpretations of history, cultural heritage, ethnicity, and religious beliefs (marriage in the film) and scheming and warring extremists of the north and south on the other hand (the freedom fighters)? The enraged sea is the result of these actions of society sacrificing precious resources (represented by children) and destroying the oneness, prosperity and happiness of future Sri Lankans.

Will our leaders continue to take Sri Lanka forward within these narrow boundaries for personal aims, gains, glory and position ignoring the lessons from the Maname story and the interpretation of the Sumathy documentary.

The Upheval is near and leaders beware, your challenge is to have courage, conviction and leadership commitment "to take not the much traveled path of the past, but the new and challenging paths of discovery before you" suggested to the last Development forum by Ms. Mieko of the World Bank. The nation looks to its leaders to unite and begin this arduous but rewarding journey beginning from the next Development Forum.

(The writer could be reached at - wo_owl@yahoo.co.uk).

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