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Thank
you to all those who helped this victory
Mahinda maama was busy packing up his belongings at Temple Trees
to leave for the Janaadhipathi Mandiraya when Basil Malli walked
in."What is this big pile of unsent mail?" Basil asked,
pointing to a corner.
"Ah,
those are the 'thank you' cards that I have to send all those people
who worked for me…" Mahinda maama said.
"I thought you thanked everyone who worked for you and voted
for you on television the other day…" Basil said.
"Yes, yes," Mahinda maama said, beginning to sign the
'thank you' cards, one by one, "but I still think I should
thank some people personally for their efforts…"
"Who are they?" Basil wanted to know.
"Why, we should thank Satellite first and foremost…"
"What for?" Basil asked, surprised, "for asking the
people to vote for the person supporting a federal state?"
"No, no," Mahinda maama said, "at least she didn't
come on television the day before the election and ask the people
to go and vote for Ranil…"
"Then we must thank Mallo also…" Basil suggested.
"Why should we do that?" Mahinda maama wanted to know.
"Why, without his support we won the Gampaha district with
over a hundred thousand votes; I can only imagine that this majority
would have been a lot less if he campaigned for us…" Basil
pointed out.
"Then maybe we should also thank SB too…" Mahinda
maama suggested.
"Why is that?"
"Why, he too did not campaign and that helped us a lot, even
though he had to stay away for different reasons…" Mahinda
maama pointed out.
"And speaking of campaigning, we must also thank Milinda and
Naveen…" Basil said.
"Ah, yes," Mahinda maama agreed, "when they went
and said the Greens split the Tigers and sank their ships, I was
not sure whether they wanted me to win anyway…"
"Although we nearly had our own share of Milindas and Naveens…"
Basil observed.
"Who are you talking about?" Mahinda maama inquired.
"Why, Mangala called that priest a 'Mahaththaya' and Somay
said he wanted to disband the Armed Forces which nearly cost us
the election…" Basil recalled.
"Then we should thank the Elections Commissioner too…"
Mahinda maama proposed.
"Why is that?" Basil asked, "he was only doing his
job…"
"But thankfully he didn't order a re-poll in the North although
he could have and if he did that it could have been all over…"
"Then maybe we should thank Ranil too…"
"What would we thank him for?" Mahinda maama was puzzled.
"Why, he kept on harping on this 'Perakum Yugayak' theme…"
Basil explained, as Mahinda maama finished signing all but two cards.
"And I have finished signing all the cards except these two…"
Mahinda maama said.
"And who are those special cards for?" Basil queried.
"They are for the two people who mattered most in this election,
being the people who made the difference…"
"And where are those cards going to?" Basil wanted to
know.
"Ah," Mahinda maama said, signing one of the cards, "one
is going to someone in the jungles of Kilinochchi; without whose
support I would have been the one thinking of retirement today…"
"That maybe so," Basil agreed, "but what about the
other card?"
"That," Mahinda maama said, "is being sent to someone
who made everything possible…"
"And where is that being sent to?"
"Ah," said Mahinda maama, "that is going to somewhere
in Hulftsdorp…"
Basil thought it is best not to say anything. After all, he thought,
he didn't want to spend two years in jail for saying the wrong thing.
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