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Roshan Ranasinghe turned martyr after he was sacked as Minister of Sports on Monday afternoon following his relentless crusade against corruption at Sri Lanka Cricket Institute.

His sacking came as no surprise. It was only to be expected. It was writ on his brow on the first day itself he launched his brave crusade against the entrenched towers of corruption at Sri Lanka’s Cricket institute which has become a state within a state. It’s an Unholy See whose officials jealously protect its monopolistic hold on the national sporting religion of our times, and in cricket’s revered name, exploit the riches it churns out to further their own interests.

FAMILY MAN: It’s back to home sweet home for Roshan Ranasinghe to spend more time with his wife and family as he becomes again a mere backbench MP

It zealously guards its territorial borders – as a State would do to protect its sovereignty – and, shrouded in secrecy, protects its interests by warding off any inquiries made into the rotten state of Sri Lanka’s cricket as an infernal interference into the internal affairs of a de facto sovereign entity. It does not hold itself accountable to the public and varnishes its torrid existence by occasionally condescending to drop the jangling donation to the government’s proffered bowl.

In the wake of his campaign to expose corruption at the SLC, ruffled feathers questioned his motives and even attempted to taint his character with ludicrous allegations of corruption.

It doesn’t concern us what his motives were to expose in Parliament corruption at Sri Lanka Cricket. A man without motive is a psychopath who acts without rhyme or reason and a most dangerous item to have on the loose. If his motive was to further his political ambitious by attempting to disassociate himself from his corruption ridden SLPP, to distance himself from the scarlet colour of corruption that has made Sri Lanka bleed, so be it. It’s a commendable act for others in the party to emulate if – even at this late hour – they wish to save, at least, their deposits at next year’s elections.

Neither must it concern us whether the man is corrupt or not. One who has broken bread with corrupt SLPP party men can hardly be expected to rise from such perverse company without carrying with him the stink of the sewers. Suffice to say that the few ludicrous allegations that have been thrown at him since he began his mission to dethrone the corrupt at Sri Lanka Cricket have been hurled by his detractors with knives out for his blood.

His recent track record seems to suggest that he is a man who stands up for his beliefs. One who doesn’t sacrifice his principles for a mess of political pottage.

On 2nd April last year Roshan resigned from President Gotabaya’s government as State Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils. He also resigned as the SLPP District organiser for Polonnaruwa. The issue over which he quit was Gotabaya’s failure to provide quality organic fertiliser to enraged farmers following the presidential ban on chemical farming.

The strength of his mettle was proved when it withstood the furnace fire. He was alone among his SLPP peers to have resigned over the Government’s betrayal of farmers. He was however recalled to join the Government on May 22nd in Gotabaya’s revamped cabinet as Minister of Sports.

If the Lankan public have to wait for a thoroughly rinsed haloed messiah to come along, one whose personal motives are above question, whose character is beyond reproach, one driven only by a compelling patriotic zeal, prompted solely by an ardent altruistic love for his motherland to cleanse her broadacres of the black soot of corruption, they might as well await the promised advent of a saint.

Are the 6.9 million people – nearly half of the qualified voters – that brought back the Rajapaksa regime four years ago, still stuck with guilt? Do they not truly wish to see corruption totally eliminated? Is there some deep inexplicable reason why they quickly rush to find some flaw or chink in the armour of a new inquisitor at corruption’s gate? If so, as Anne Bronte said, ‘they who dare not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose.’

The pressing need of the hour is to rid this land of corruption. It hardly matters if it’s the devil himself who does the job. If the whole acreage cannot be weeded overnight, then, at least, let it be done weed by weed, acre by acre. But what hope is there for the land to be redeemed when, in these accursed times we live, even the Gods appear to side with agents of corruption to let evil reign.

The nation should be batting for those against corruption: not be striving to bowl them out.

Four weeks ago, in an unusual but welcome show of unity, the Lankan Parliament unanimously passed a resolution which called for the immediate abolition of the Sri Lankan cricket Board. Yet, today, the entire Board still rules the cricketing roost while the inquisitor lies in the dust, impaled upon his sword; and a unanimous parliamentary resolution, which could have impeached a President, lies rendered impotent. This would suffice to starkly show the reality of Lanka today.

Roshan may have failed, made mistakes and, perhaps, his somewhat rebellious attitude may have made him outstep his ambit in his crusade. But he has been brave to raise his sword against corruption which the IMF warned in its forensic report, as the biggest drain on Lanka’s resources. The obstacles that arose and which finally defeated his crusade, reveal the dangerous extent corruption’s tentacles have coiled around and tightened its grip on the pillars on which democracy rests.

The President, no doubt, may have had his own good reasons, other than Roshan’s crusade against corruption at SLC, for stripping him of all his cabinet portfolios – the Ministries of Sports, Youth and Irrigation – but whatever those reasons were, the end result has been to, even unintentionally, deliver just what his enemies had yearned: Roshan’s decapitated head on a platter.

Alas, the people briefly glimpsed with hope, a light at the end of the black tunnel of corruption. Their forlorn hopes were made more forlorn when it became clear it had been nothing more than the last burst of flare from a dying firefly’s light.

The whole episode shows that one David alone cannot combat and slay this fattened Goliath of corruption in Lanka’s cricket den.

Marie Alles celebrates the spirit of ‘Ganbarimasu’ in art Accomplished artist Marie Alles Fernando revealed last week the secret of her artistic success which she summed up in one exotic oriental word found in the Japanese lexicon: ‘Ganbarimasu’. As she told this newspaper last Sunday, it had been ‘ganbarimasu’ or perseverance that had resolutely enabled her to proceed from one artistic milestone to the next artistic accolade of success. Ganbarimasu had been the impelling force that made her first embark on a journey inspired by art. The spirit of perseverance had seen her develop from lass to maiden, had seen her mature from belle of the ball to dutiful wife and devoted mum; its’ spirit still sustains and still propels this graceful grandmother of six. Simultaneously, it had taken her from her artistic mother’s brush and canvass to the inner circle of Lanka’s then art world where, led by Lionel Wendt, graced the founder members of the ground-breaking 43 Group. GANBARIMASU: The Spirit of Perseverance in her enduring art In such esoteric surroundings, she apprenticed under masters of renown. Among those who had ‘‘lit the way to the future for the next generation of artists’’, she regards Ivor Baptiste and Prof. Douglas Amerasekera as her gurus and Harry Pieris as her mentor. They saw and groomed her artistic bloom to freely blossom at its best. Under their tutelage, she matured as a young artist in double quick time. They led her to the Muses’ seat and left her to drink deep from the Pierian Spring that flows at Muses’ birth site, and let her spread her artistic petals in the style or fashion she wished. She bathed in many streams of art but soon discovered what soothed her the most was the one that sprung from impressionism’s deep well. Since then, immersed in the stream of impressionism, she has continued to express her artistic experiences and made impressionism her signature art and theme. With her born artistic talents enriched, perseverance or ‘ganbarimasu’ has prodded Marie’s every step in her long artistic voyage that had taken her to almost all the far-flung corners of the world; and steeled her with determination to endure the loneliness and the waywardness of an artist’s mind. THE ARTIST: Marie Alles Fernando ‘Art became the centre of my universe,’ she says, ‘a driving force for change that enabled me to achieve my life’s mission. It made and makes my life worth living. My art reflects those rare moments of vision, when everything seems to focus on a particular point. It may be a loved person, a poem, a sunset, or a moment of pain or ecstasy. When the moment strikes, the barriers of space and time begin to fade and everything mergers in unity’. In a life of bondage to art, which has spanned over sixty years, she celebrated the spirit of ‘ganbarimasu’ by using this meaningful word – which best conveyed to her the philosophy of artistic endurance – as title of her annual pre-Christmas two-day private art exhibition which ended last evening at her home studio. Amidst her latest artistic array, the show’s title painting ‘Ganbarimasu‘ commanded pride of place. The art depicts the lotus in the spring of promised bloom, and then to blossom in the summer with all the joys that time grants youth, and then leaves her to wilt and wither on the wintry stalk that brings her chilling end. But not before in throes of death, she had scattered her seeds on her watery grave to make them bloom next spring. And even as Marie’s artistic works will long endure, no doubt, the spirit of ganbarimasu will sustain this blossomed lotus of Lanka’s impressionistic art on her artistic voyage to espy and paint the beauty of a world denied to lesser mortal eye.