"Thaaththa," Bindu Udagedera asked, "who is this Avurudu Kumaraya?"
"Why do you suddenly want to know about the Avurudu Kumaraya?" Bindu's father Percy asked.
"Why, thaaththa," Bindu said, "they said that the Avurudu Kumaraya visits during the Sinhala New Year…"
"Yes, they say that," Percy said, "but I am not sure whether he will do that again this year…"
"Why is that, thaaththa," Bindu asked, "is he not visiting Sri Lanka because of the Geneva resolution?"
"No," Percy said, "it is nothing like that, but I think he has already visited us and left…"
"Why do you say that?" Bindu wondered.
"In fact," Percy declared, "the Avurudu Kumaraya who visited us this year may not have brought any sense of goodwill…"
"And why is that, thaaththa?" Bindu was puzzled.
"That is because the Avurudu Kumaraya seems to have visited us in disguise this year…" Percy declared.
"How can you be so sure about that?" Bindu inquired.
"Well," Percy said, "the Avurudu Kumaraya appears to have visited us with a foreign passport…"
"And why did he do that?" Bindu was confused.
 "The Avurudu Kumaraya may have thought that he would have to face problems if he used his Sri Lankan passport …" Percy said.
"So," Bindu wondered, "what did the Avurudu Kumaraya do while he was here?"
"Apparently he has been here for several months before the New Year but no one really knew about his presence…" Percy observed.
"But, thaaththa," Bindu demanded, "why did you say that he did not bring any sense of goodwill?"
"That is because he suddenly disappeared…" Percy pointed out.
"And why did he do that?" Bindu wanted to know.
"Ah," Percy said, "that is the big question that we need an answer to…"
"Why do you say that, thaaththa?" Bindu was curious.
"The Avurudu Kumaraya claims that he was abducted…" Percy said.
"Now, who would want to do that?" Bindu asked.
"Well," Percy said, "there may be those who believe that having the Avurudu Kumaraya with them gives them an advantage…"
"So," Bindu asked, "is it possible that the Avurudu Kumaraya was really abducted?"
"Yes, it is," Percy agreed, "but the problem is with what happened next…"
"Why, thaaththa," Bindu queried, "what happened next?"
"Then," Percy recalled, "the Avurudu Kumaraya suddenly reappears and walks into a Police station…"
"Ah," Bindu said, "the police must have been very happy…"
"I am not so sure about that…" Percy declared.
"Why, thaaththa," Bindu asked, "who wouldn't be happy when the Avurudu Kumaraya walks in?"
"Well, Bindu," Percy recalled, "they were not very happy because even though the Avurudu Kumaraya walked into their offices, they were not allowed to be with him for long…"
"And why was that?" Bindu was puzzled.
"They say that the country which the Avurudu Kumaraya came from was keen to have him back…" Percy said.
"Of course," Bindu asked, "which country wouldn't be happy to have the Avurudu Kumaraya with them for the New Year season?"
"Well," Percy said, "I don't think they wanted him back for quite that reason…"
"And what has happened now?" Bindu wanted to know.
"The Avurudu Kumaraya is back in the country that he came from and is now claiming that he was tortured while he was here…" Percy remembered.
"So," Bindu was excited, "had he really been tortured?"
"If he was, his abductors must have been very kind and gentle with him…" Percy suggested.
"Why do you say that, thaaththa?" Bindu asked.
"Why, Bindu," Percy pointed out, "the Avurudu Kumaraya didn't have any injuries to suggest that he was tortured…"
"I suppose you could say that if he had no injuries…" Bindu agreed.
"Of course," Percy said, "there is another possibility as well."
"What possibility is that?" Bindu inquired.
"Why, Bindu," Percy said, "it is possible that the Avurudu Kumaraya just lost his way during his travels in this country and then, because he couldn't do his job properly, claimed that he was abducted to cover his embarrassment…"
"But why would he do that, thaaththa?" Bindu wondered.
"Well," Percy said, "that way, he prevents people from asking him a lot of questions and besides getting a lot of publicity for himself, he gets a free ticket back to where he came from with no questions asked…"
"But thaaththa, why did we let him go?" Bindu argued, "shouldn't we have got him to properly explain what happened?"
"That is also true," Percy conceded, "and that is why the Avurudu Kumaraya's visit this year remains a mystery…"
"Maybe the Avurudu Kumaraya fooled the entire country…" Bindu said.
"I think there is more to it than that, Bindu…" Percy said.
"What do you mean by that, thaaththa?" Bindu asked.
"It seems as if the Avurudu Kumaraya not only fooled this country, he appears to have hoodwinked the country he came from as well…" Percy suggested.
Bindu knew he couldn't quite disagree with that.
|
E-mail