It is not formally announced, but, jumping the French Embassy gun, I have to break the news that our Professor Ashley Halpe has been honoured by the French government for his "achievements in education'', and has been made Chevalier de Palmes Academique. He is naturally bucked - who wouldn't be? When I met him, he was packing, ready to leave for India to participate at three conferences.
The first, in New Delhi, was organised by the Shakespeare Society of India, where the performances of Shakespeare's plays in South Asia was discussed. Ashley's contribution was on how Shakespeare is performed here, with special reference to the University production of "Hamlet" by Gamini Hatthotuwegama.
ln Baroda, he will present a paper at the National Congress of the Indian Association of Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies. This is preceded by a seminar on the Reassessment of Indian Writing organised by the English Department of the University of Baroda.
Ashley' s paper for the conference will be on the set theme, "Journeys and Destinations," and is titled "Travel, Travail and Poetry'' where he reflects on the writing of Jean Arasanayagam, Rienzie Crusz and yours truly.
Considering the fate of Raja, the killer elephant, a tourist, Dr Martin Cranfield, who met me at the Queens, said that elephant behaviour is affected by the way the animal is brought up in what he ca11s "elephant society".
He said that even elephants are subject to stress. They are also complex and intelligent creatures.
He said that the problem of delinquency among elephants is now seen in many African game parks. "Wardens there have found that young elephants have killed several white rhinos. The elephants simply knock them down and gore them to death." Apparently, zoologists have discovered all orphans, brought up in the parks by the rangers and deprived of their normal hierarchical structure. "In other words, these killer elephants were deprived children," Cranfield said.
I asked about Pinnawela, where many orphan elephants are being raised. He shook his head. "It is true, we want to preserve this threatened species, but we must remember that elephants live in close-knit groups Normally there is always a dominant older male to keep the young bulls in line. If young relocated elephants as we find in Pinnawela do not have role models, there could be a psychological effect."
Maybe we won't have a bunch of elephantine delinquents raising the dust at Pinnawela, but I would certainly like to have the comments of zoologists and the Director of Wild Life. If this is the reason for unbalanced elephant behaviour, how do we cope with it. A reply would be most welcome.
Received a postcard from Mr A.S.M.Zarook of 115, Castle Street, Kandy, objecting strongly to my story on chicken and for having canvassed the opinion of Kandy lawyer Mr. Zavahir. He is riled at my calling Zavahir a "leading lawyer". Relax, Mr. Zarook, I like to think all lawyers are " leading".
They lead evidence in court and lead (or if you like) mislead the jury !
Mr Zarook's advice is that it is better for you to boost, not insignificant persons, but madness in Kandy. There are a lot of mad people in Kandy."
Phew! Don't I know it! Maybe I will take Mr. Zarook's advice and begin by interviewing him.
When a Perahera elephant ran amuck in l959, the animal was eventually brought under control with the use of tranquiliser guns. Thousands watched as the elephant crashed through barriers, making a passage for itself before it fell, stunned. That passage is still called "Aliya Giya Maga".
"Now, with a dollop of Kandyan humour (and God knows we need some humour right now) a new passage has been christened. You guessed it"Kotiya Giya Maga''!
For years and years Kandy had this antediluvian fire engine that snorted and wheezed along like some "what is it that roareth thus" bus. Then, we received a fine new fire-fighting vehicle, long, sleek, in fact, very long. lt was tenderly parked in the Fire Station and patted and rubbed and everybody made speeches and patted each other on the shoulder. A lean, mean firefighting machine.
Nobody thought about its exits and entrances. On the morning of the Maligawa blast, it took over 20 minutes to get the fire engine out of the station. The entrance was, to the new machine, a sort of Chinese puzzle. It was too small, no room to turn, and bemused people watched the engine do a tortured twist as the driver struggled to get the vehicle out of the station. You see, the present entrance accommodated the old engine very well, but this new machine needs a lot of room to manoeuvre. Here's hoping the Municipality will do something fast.
Some of the moonstones have been dragged away. People in Nilambe tell me that planters in the area actually used elephants to haul some of the moonstones and stone columns to their bungalows. Squatters broke up the carved stone capitals and split the granite into convenient blocks. A four-pillared stone bed once existed. Only the holes in the rock remain, showing where the legs of the royal bed were once embedded.
The ancient royal pavilion of Nilambe. First built by King Wimaladharmasuriya. A royal retreat. His grandson was King Rajasinghe II - and to this retreat did he come in the 17th Century; came to hide when the Dutch attempted to storm the hill country. In the times of revolution too, the men of Nilambe rose up to buck the British. Villagers still talk of the Nilambe Revolt, of the secret paths to Hanguranketa used by rebels and fugitives.
Today, the Nilambe Oya flows with some exuberance past the ruins - the broken, vandalised Maligawa of a fugitive king. Even the State land along the farther bank has been fenced. Fenced by who'? The ruins of the pavilion are wiped out. Nobody seems to care. History? Pfui!
The Catholic Church has declared the Year 2000 the Great Jubilee Year. At the Pastoral Centre at 141, Trincomalee Street, I learned that to fittingly celebrate the Holy Year, Christian writers from every nation are invited to submit scripts for an International Competition for new Theatrical Dramas.
Prizes are: First prize, 30 million lire; second, 20 million lire; and third, 10 million lire. The chosen plays will also be performed by professional theatre companies in major Italian cities throughout the year 2000. Submissions will also be graded for special merit awards.
Director of the Pastoral Centre, Fr. Milroy Fonseka, said that the competition is sponsored by Fondazione della Casa di Risparmio di Piacenza e Vigevano, a cultural foundation, with the approval of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, and the Artistic-Cultural Commission of the Great Jubilee Year 2000.
The Pastoral Centre will accept submissions from Christian writers and playwrights in Sri Lanka, which must be in triplicate and sent in by August I this year.
The plays must have as their themes: the saving power of Christ; the religious significance of the lives of individuals and nations; the heroism of martyrs and saints of all ages; the value of solidarity and charity towards those who are victims of poverty, intolerance, violence and loss, and the fear and conflicts in the consciousness of Man today.
As the Indian parliamentary elections enter the second phase on Tuesday with voting taking place in 183 constituencies, pollsters are hedging their bets more than they ever did before.
The cause of the caution is Sonia Gandhi's unexpectedly successful tour of the country in the past month. Her brazen barbs against front runner BJP had the habitually cocky party running for cover. The ruling United Front, never really in the reckoning, has been pushed further into the periphery. The Samata Party - TDP - Shiv Sena chant about amending the constitution to prevent Sonia, a white Italian by birth, from becoming Prime Minister, has had no listeners. But doubts about the Congress's ability to convert exuberant crowds into votes persist, because of its organisational weakness in several crucial states.
In its latest issue, India Today has drawn up three possible scenarios emerging at the end of the four phased election process, on the basis of a country wide survey done by the prestigious Delhi - based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS).
Scenario I: BJP led alliance forms government with 274 seats, just above the required tally of 273. BJP-214; AIADME 15; Telugu Desam Party (TDP) - 25; Assom Gana Parishad (AGP) - 5; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) - 10; Others 5. Total: 274.
Scenario II: Congress led alliance forms government: Congress - 165; Samajwadi party (SP of Mulayam Singh Yaday in Uttar Pradesh) - 17; Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC of Moopanar) - 15, Congress Tiwari - 1, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD of Laloo Yaday in Bihar) - 16, the Left Front - 53 and Others 5. Total: 272, but this is short by one seat.
Scenario III : A United Front - Congress (1) coalition with 292 seats. UF - 127 and Congress - 165. UF comprises Janta Dal, SP, TMC, TDP, AGP and others. The Left might support this, despite antipathy for the Congress. The DMK, however, may have a problem being in the group, because the Congress is against it on account of the Jain commission's findings. But in the post poll horse trading, the DMK could be accommodated if only to keep the BJP out of power.
Looking back at Sonia Gandhi's campaign and the reactions to it from the other parties, it is clear that the electoral battle has essentially been between the BJP and the rest. If Sonia was directing her fire against the BJP rather than the UF or the Left, the BJP's guns had been trained against Sonia, rather than the UF.
The BJP kept harping on her husband's alleged involvement in the Bofors pay off scandal, the scandal's Italiam connection, her Italian origin, and her not becoming an Indian citizen till quite recently. Sonia's chances of becoming India's Prime Minister were obviously seen as being bright, as otherwise Shiv Sena's Bal Thackarey, Samata's George Fernandes, and TDP's Chandrababu Naidu, would not have declared that they would amend the constitution to prevent a "non Indian by birth" from becoming PM.
Sonia's frontal attacks on the BJP had electrified the masses across India. Hinduism teaches tolerance of, and nonhatred for, other faiths, she said, attacking BJP's militant Hindu nationalism. The UF divides Indians along caste, regional and linguistic lines, she charged.
On Bofors, she challenged her detractors to come out with the names of holders of secret Swiss bank accounts. She charged her detractors of slandering her husband and family unmindful of the fact that her husband (Rajiv) and mother in law (Indira Gandhi), had laid down their lives fighting terrorism and separatism.
"Has any of their critics sacrificed so much for the country?" she thundered. Seeing the BJP running for cover, she delivered a typical Bollywood punch line,"E log ek aurat se dar gaye!" (These people have got scared of a woman!"), which sent audiences clapping and catcalling with delight.
According to the India Today - CSDS survey, Sonia has added 5 per cent to the Congress vote tally. But most of the gains are in states with a strong Congress organisation, as in Maharashtra, Andhra pradesh and Kerala. In states where the organisation is in shambles as in Uttar pradesh and West Bengal, the gains have been between 2.7 to 4.6 per cent only. If the organisation had been strong right through the country, Sonia would certainly be able to put the Congress in the driver's seat in Delhi. But alas, the party structure is too weak to exploit her charisma adequately. As of now, all three scenarios mentioned by the magazine are possible.
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