Abandoned newborns

New born babies are being left unattended on the wayside, dumped in cesspits, abandoned in bushes and thrown into unused wells. The frequency of such incidents have been increasing in recent times. Those who are fortunate enough to be rescued are entrusted to hospitals. These infants, when they are adults will have a stigma attached to them because they do not know who their parents were. Legally punishing the mother adds further insult to injury. The unfortunate mothers are often very young unsophisticated girls mostly from rural areas. Society has a responsibility to assist such unfortunate mothers and explore possibilities of providing legal protection to them so that the child and the mother will not encounter embarrassing situations in their locality in the future.

The necessary legislation should be passed where such expectant mothers can, with or without the knowledge of their parents inform a doctor in charge of a government hospital to maintain a secret record in addition to providing the necessary medical care to the extent of even keeping her in the hospital premises to allow a legal birth in the hospital. Sometimes the name of the father may not be divulged and this should be legally accepted. If the mother cannot take care of the child and does not desire her identity to be known, the law should provide the doctor in charge of the hospital the authority to hand over the baby to a recognized institution to live a decent life with pride.

There are families without children requiring babies for legal adoption and there are foreigners keen on adopting babies irrespective of nationality.

Several babies adopted in foreign countries have re-visited their country of birth to meet the mothers who gave birth to them. Some religious dignitaries may object to these suggestions but the child who was unaware at birth of his antecedents and being not guilty of an offence should be able to live without any stigma. The Island reported that Miss India and Miss Universe Sushmita Sen of India had adopted an orphaned child and calls herself a 'single mum'. And now Sri Lankan beauty queen and Bollywood actress Jaqueline Fernandez [ Island 20.12.10.] had told the Indian media that like Sen, she would like to be a single mother. Thus, there is an opportunity to provide legal protection to babies born in unanticipated situations. But unless the President gives directions, the relevant authorities will not take the initiative to canvas opinion and take necessary action.
Courtesy - The Island - Kasi Silva

2010 Year-Ender...

By Gwynne Dyer (Courtesy - The Island)

Fake elections in Egypt, Burma and Belarus. A massive earthquake in Haiti, devastating floods in Pakistan, and a volcano in Iceland that killed nobody but inconvenienced millions. Something verging on civil war in Thailand, a reviving civil war in Ivory Coast, and a real civil war in Afghanistan (with lots of foreign help). As these things go, not a bad year at all.

There are 192 countries in the world – or 202 countries, whatever the number is this week. There are almost seven billion people. All those countries and all those people will unfailingly supply enough bad news to hold the ads apart all year, every year. It doesn’t mean that the planet is really going to hell. The media will always search out what bad news there is and highlight it.

A broader view of events would report that not one country in the world was invaded in the past year. Not a single one out of 192, or however many it is. That’s not bad, considering our history, and it’s not just a fluke. No countries were invaded in 2009 either, or in 2008. In fact, the last time a country really got invaded was Iraq in 2003.

It is the absence of really big events (which are generally really bad events) that characterises the year. No Second Great Depression, for example (though the essential work on avoiding that was actually done in 2009). No Great Flu Pandemic. No war in the Korean peninsula despite the sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan in March and North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in November.

No American attack on Iran, despite all the threatening language. No large-scale killing on the Israeli-Palestinian front, though of course no progress towards a peace settlement either. No high-casualty terrorist attacks on Western countries, though lots in Pakistan, Iraq, India and Afghanistan. (Why do attacks on Western countries matter more? Because they tend to go berserk when they are targeted.)

No financial meltdown in Europe, though both Greece and Ireland have been put through the wringer. No recession at all in the emerging economies of the former Third World, which still account for less than 40 percent of the world’s economy but provided two-thirds of the world’s growth over the past year. And maybe that’s the real news of 2010: this was when the new world order finally became manifest.

This revolution has been predicted since economist Jim O’Neill at Goldman Sachs first grouped the big developing countries with fast-growing economies together as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) in 2001. Subsequent Goldman Sachs studies predicted that their combined economies would be larger than the combined economies of today’s rich countries by 2050, and every update of the study has brought that date closer.

It is still probably five to ten years away, but this was the year when China, the biggest of the BRICs, overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. It also overtook the United States in 2010 to become the world’s biggest producer of cars. For all practical purposes, the revolution is no longer imminent. It is here.

This is as big an event as the end of Pax Britannica and the rise of the United States, Germany and Japan to great-power status at the end of the 19th century. Just last year the G8, the group of seven rich Western countries plus Japan, was still at least notionally the board of management of the world economy, while the G20, incorporating the emerging economies, was a mere courtesy gesture to the new players.

This year, the G20 was where real action was, and the preceding G8 meeting was just a regional strategy session before the big event.

The consequences of this historic shift in the world’s centre of gravity will play out over the years and the decades to come, but the reality and irreversibility of the change is now undeniable – even if China’s economy, at the moment, is the biggest bubble in the history of the world.

Apart from that, what else can we say about 2010 that is in any way meaningful? Lists are traditional at this time of year, but there isn’t really much point in a list that includes an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a British royal wedding, and 33 trapped Chilean miners. If you must have a list, go online and you’ll find hundreds of the things. They all mean virtually nothing.

And then there’s predicting the future. The year-ender format always includes some predictions about the future, but the real future is full of surprises. Just consider what a reasonable person would have predicted, on the available evidence, in the last couple of years that ended with "10".

In 1810, all the European empires had been at war for more than fifteen years, with fighting in every continent. In the next five years, Napoleon would invade Russia and lose an army of half a million men, Britain and the United States would fight a war that included the burning of Washington and Toronto, and after Napoleon was finally defeated at Waterloo in 1815 the old absolute monarchies would come back all over Europe.

So who would have predicted in 1810 that after a few more bad years Europe would enjoy a full century of almost uninterrupted peace and soaring prosperity, or that democracy would spread to most of the big European countries? Nobody.

Same with 1910. It was very near the end of the Long Peace by then, but nobody knew that at the time. The First World War would shatter the old world in only four years’ time, the Second World War would come only a quarter-century later, and by the end of the 20th century the European empires would all be ancient history. Nobody foresaw it. Nobody could.

And the future? Who knows? One could seize the opportunity to bang on about the world’s failure to address the threat of radical climate change, but this year’s failure is not worse than last year’s, nor in all probability than next year’s.

Lankan student killed in robbery identified

Kansas City police yesterday identified a gas station clerk fatally shot during an ambush robbery Tuesday as 25-year-old Sri Lankan student Sujendra Amarasingham.

The Ad Hoc Group Against Crime is sponsoring a prayer vigil at 5 p.m. today for Amarasingham at the scene of the crime.

Amarasingham was working at Inner City Oil at 59th Street and Swope Parkway when he was shot by a gunman about 4:40 a.m. The gunman waited for Amarasingham to come outside from his secured bullet-resistant booth to empty trash. Amarasingham apparently saw the gunman and ran back into the building but was shot at the front door. The gunman stepped over Amarasingham’s body and stole merchandise, but no cash.

A customer arrived a few minutes later and tried to pay for gas. The customer saw Amarasingham dying on the floor and stepped over him to steal cash from the register. The customer left without offering help or notifying police.

 Another customer arrived about 20 minutes later and called police.

 Amarasingham died at a hospital.

 Police publicized photos of the gunman and the opportunistic customer from the store’s surveillance system. Police received eight to 10 tips that investigators are tracking down.

 Amarasingham was studying electrical and computer engineering at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He was from Sri Lanka, where his parents live, Kansas City Star reports.
The Island

J’Pura campus in the Maldives

The Higher Education Ministry is exploring the possibility of setting up a campus of the Sri Jayewardenepura University in the Maldives.

Minister S.B.Dissanayake met with the Maldivian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Hussain Shihab to discuss the feasibility of the project and initial discussions concluded that it was possible to set up several faculties and name it the Maldives Campus of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and to commence academic programmes in the management studies stream, ministry sources told The Island.

The establishment of the campus would be done next year. The

meeting was held at the Higher Education Ministry and was attended by the First Secretary of the Maldivian High Commission Ahmed Mujthaba, Vice Chancellor of the Sri Jayewardenepura University Dr.N.L.A Karunatahne, and the Minister's private secretary Mrs. Tamara Dissanayake.

Both the incumbent and former presidents of the Maldives, a large number of ministers and heads of business establishments had their education in Sri Lankan education institutes the High Commissioner pointed out, adding that the Maldivian people have high regard for the Sri Lankan education system.

In 1998 the first and only tertiary college in the Maldives was established. It is called the Maldives College of Higher Education (MCHE) and offers 28 certificate and seven diploma programmes. The academic staff members have been brought in from other Asian countries such as Singapore and India.
Courtesy - The Island - by Dasun Edirisinghe

Sri Lanka to drop references to colonial 'Ceylon'

Sri Lanka is to drop all remaining references to its British colonial name "Ceylon" from state institutions, a government spokesman said Thursday.The cabinet considered a proposal to rename the Ceylon Electricity Board and decided it should be extend to other official organisations, an information ministry official told AFP.
"The cabinet decided to bring in legislation to effect the name change not only for the electricity board, but other organisations which still have 'Ceylon' as part of their name," the official said.
Ceylon was a transliteration given to the Indian Ocean island by its British colonial rulers from the Portuguese name Ceilao.
The island became independent from Britain in 1948 and reverted to its traditional Sinhalese name of Sri Lanka in 1972 when it became a republic.
Ceylon however is likely to remain in common use in the tea export industry, where the name is highly-valued for denoting the distinct flavour of tea produced on the island.
(AFP) COLOMBO

Skype Adds Video Calling to iPhones, iPad, iPod touch | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

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Pregant women urged to take swine flu vaccine

The Health Ministry on Wednesday urged pregnant mothers to get the swine flu (A N1H1) vaccine from all MOH clinics since they are in the high risk group.

The spokesman for the Ministry said there had been an influx of people at government hospitals wanting to be vaccinated following the announcement made by the Health Ministry.

The WHO provided the Ministry with a limited number of Swine flu vaccines. Each vaccine costs over Rs. 10,000. However, the vaccine need not be taken by all. Only high risk groups such as health workers, those suffering from chronic diseases (including senior citizens) and pregnant mothers should get vaccinated.

The Number of confirmed A N1H1 cases by Tuesday stood at 371 while the number of deaths were 22.

Health Ministry sources however said there were over three thousand unconfirmed cases with symptoms of the flu.

The Island - By Dilanthi Jayamanne

Gratian Ananda dead

Veteran singer and guitarist Gratian Ananda passed away at the National Hospital yesterday. He was 52 years old at the time of his death.

His remains will be kept at Art Gallery from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. for the public to pay their respects and thereafter, the funeral will be held at the Borella Cemetery, Kanatte this evening.

He had been a playback singer for nearly 200 Sinhala films and in 2006 won the best singer prize at the Sarasaviya awards ceremony.

Colombo under 24 hour CCTV surveillance

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa with the IGP Mahinda Balasuriya and other Senior Police Officers at the opening cere

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa opened the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) Surveillance System for the City of Colombo at the Colombo DIG’s office yesterday.
The Defence Secretary were accompanied by IGP Mahinda Balasuriya, Senior DIGs NK Illangakoon. Gamini Navaratne, Keerthi Gajanayake, KPP Pathirana and several DIGs, Senior SPs and ASPs attached to the Colombo Division.
This CCTV system uses modern technology to trace the suspects in robberies and major crimes in the City of Colombo.
Defence Secretary Rajapaksa with other senior police officers viewed the Colombo City on a giant screen.
Senior DIG Gamini Navaratne and DIG Fernando explained the details about 24 hour CCTV system to the Defence Secretary.
This special Close Circuit system was set-up at a cost of Rs 228 million.
Courtesy - Daily News - Sarath Malalasekera

As early elective births increase so do health risks for mother, child

A dramatic increase in the number of U.S. women and physicians choosing an early childbirth comes with new health risks for mothers and newborns, experts say.

The average time a fetus spends in the womb has fallen seven days in the United States since 1992, according to researchers and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers see an "evolutionarily dramatic event" in the trend, and perinatal health experts see dangers. Shortening gestation could affect lung development and some fine-tuning of brain functions, they say.
One concern: Babies born too early often sleep longer than normal and have trouble learning how to breast-feed, causing dehydration and jaundice
"For every day and every week before 39 weeks, it's an increasing risk to the baby," said Dr. Bryan Oshiro, vice chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Loma Linda University in Southern California. "The vast majority of early term babies do fine, but it's like playing Russian roulette."
California Watch reported in September that women are significantly more likely to experience C-sections at for-profit hospitals across the state. In February, California Watch reported that the number of women in the state who die each year from causes directly related to childbirth had more than doubled since 1996.
The rise in deaths during childbirth indicates that obstetric health has deteriorated in many important ways, according to the California
Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, a task force of medical researchers.The group has recently focused on the number of babies delivered for nonmedical reasons before they would naturally arrive. For the most part, the public has been left in the dark; the problem has been confined to articles in medical journals and among maternal health experts.
A normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, although researchers believe it probably is safe to induce delivery at a full 39 weeks. Women often naturally give birth earlier than this, and in some cases medical problems call for an early delivery. The problem comes when babies are forced out of the womb.
Of all births from 1990 to 2006, the number of babies born at 36 weeks increased by about 30 percent, and babies born at 37 and 38 weeks rose more than 40 percent, according to national statistics. There was a corresponding drop in the number of babies born in later weeks. Now, more babies are born at 39 weeks than at full term.
The data examined is considered fresh by academic standards and covers such a long period of time -- 16 years -- that experts say the trend is unmistakable
"The entire bell curve has shifted," said Dr. Jeanne Conry, California district

chairwoman of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Some early births are scheduled for the convenience of the mother or doctor; some are judgment calls that require weighing relative risks.
A California Watch inquiry through the Public Insight Network, which solicits opinions from a group of nearly 100,000 Americans, asked mothers around the country about their experiences with early deliveries. The questionnaire elicited responses from more than 300 women and produced several cases in which mothers said their doctors had argued for early births.
One mother, Michelle Van Norman, gave birth to her second child, Christian, 11 days early in 2006, with no need for urgency noted in her medical records. "This is a pleasant white female in no apparent distress," the doctor wrote on her chart:" Van Norman, a 31-year old mom living in Las Vegas, said her doctor didn't seem worried about the date.
"There were no medical reasons for the delivery being early," Van Norman said. "He told me the week he could do it and asked me to choose which day was best for us."
None of those days was best for the baby. After his birth by C-section, one of Christian's lungs collapsed. He spent three weeks in intensive care and 10 days on a ventilator with six tubes going into his chest.
"The whole experience was horrific," Van Norman said. "It didn't end with the birth, it continued for the first year of his life, and we still don't know if the oxygen deprivation has had any affect on him." When Van Norman's surgeon cut the cord, Christian seemed robust. The doctor declined to comment about the case.
"The doctor came in the day after and asked where the baby was," Van Norman said. "When I told him, he asked me if I was joking. "... I swore from that day on I would never put another baby through that kind of torture for any reason."
In California, the state Department of Public Health, March of Dimes and California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative have released what its authors call "the Toolkit." The authors note that deliveries at 37 and 38 weeks account for about 17.5 percent of total births in the United States
Babies born early through induction or C-section without a medical reason are nearly twice as likely to spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit, researchers say. They also are more likely to contract infections and need breathing machines, according to a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine and a number of other reports.
"We are finding out that the last weeks of pregnancy really do count," said Leslie Kowalewski, an associate state director for the March of Dimes.
"At 35 weeks, the brain is only two-thirds of what it will weigh at 40 weeks." Many organizations are responding with programs designed to eliminate early elective deliveries. Most significantly, chapters of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have begun to notify doctors about the serious consequences of performing early elective births.
Authors of the Toolkit make the case that cesarean sections and artificial induction of labor before full gestation should be eliminated unless medically necessary.
The state chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is taking measures to see that the recommendation is carried out, holding teaching sessions and reaching out to obstetrics leaders at every hospital in the state.
"Nothing on this scale has ever been done before in California," Conry said. At the same time, physician groups are rolling out the Toolkit's guidelines in New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas.
Confusion and ignorance complicate the issues.
Doctors start the pregnancy clock at a woman's last menstrual period before becoming pregnant, which is usually about two weeks before conception. This is confusing enough that women can grow impatient when doctors tell them they are at 36 weeks gestation and must wait at least a month before starting labor, Conry said.
"We call it tired of being pregnant," she said. "Some women have 36 weeks in their heads as the end point." Societal changes also push women to seek an early delivery. Some women schedule births before their due date so they can better plan time off work and flying in relatives, Kowalewski said.
A little information can change this.
"I haven't met a woman who wasn't willing to continue her pregnancy if given information," said Debra Bingham, an author of the Toolkit and vice president of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses in Washington, D.C.
"I've had experience with women who clearly didn't understand the risks of an elective induction, but it's also fair to say that there are a lot of doctors, nurses and childbirth educators who aren't aware of the risks."
Mercurynews.com

Mother, from cradle to grave

The day I was born my mother was in a pool of blood. A trail of blood followed her from home, right up to the operating theater. The placenta had preceded me. I had had no nourishment for some time. My survival was very remote. Chances 95- to 5+. My mother too. My father had asked the good specialist obsterician about my mother’s and my condition. My parents had never forgotten his reply.
“We are taking her for immediate surgery. Just now. I am just an instrument of God. Please pray. Tell him to be with me all the way”. What beautiful words from a man of medicine. My mother survived. I survived. Her very first words when coming out of the anesthesia had been “How many teeth has our baby?” It became the joke of the day and many days to come in the nursing home. Also among our friends and kin life went on.
My father had been flitting from one vehicle to another, begging, appealing to all his friends at Polonnaruwa to help him get to Colombo. He was an engineer. He made it.
The anxiety and the stress made him a blood pressure patient. In later years, we remembered with love, how our neighbours had rushed to hospital with mother, throwing dressing gowns over their night dresses. One had coconut scrapings and flour on her hands. She had been mixing them to make ‘pittu’ for breakfast. She had not even bothered to wash her hands. Such people are indeed rare. God bless them.
I lost my father when I was twelve. His blood pressure and an ailing heart took him away from us. His pension and mothers salary as a trained teacher kept us going. One day, I was injured while cutting a tree in our garden. Mother was in the varandah. She ran out with a cry. I ran up to her holding my arm. Bleeding. She tripped. Struck her ankle on a zinc sheet. Profuse bleeding. We sat on the steps. My blood was mingling with hers. We laughed. She embraced me. An unforgettable incident. Neighbours took us to the doctor – recalling identical memories. I did well in my exams. My mother being a dedicated teacher was always with me in my studies. We lived in contentment.
I excelled. Mother knew that I would follow in the footsteps of my dear departed father. I had a dream. A vocation. I told my mother about my dream. She cried. Held me close. Kissed my forehead. I could feel her tears on my face. I wanted to join the army. Told her that my greatest assets were my mother and my motherland. She understood. She nodded. She gave her assent with a smile. A truly great Lady.
Two wonderful mothers. One, a donor and the other a recipient. Excelled in the army! Specialized training in sandhurst and many other countries. I loved the army.
The army loved me. Came home for a short vacation. A proud mother to welcome me. Never let me out of her sight. Your place in here with your mother” she said. “Tell your friends that they are welcome here at any time”. She invited her good friends and relatives home. She made all my favourite dishes and sweets that I used to enjoy. We spoke for long hours. About our beloved father. About our wonderful life together with father and later the two of us. Our trips to the hills, the seaside. About our truly great neighbours who were by our side the day I came to this world.
Returned to the front. My assignments took me to the very vortex of the battlefront, highly classified work was injured. Serious. Much blood lost. Airlifted to Colombo. Mother was beside me. At my bed side. Concerned, But acting brave. I told her that the blood I had lost was nothing compared to the blood that she had, had to part with when bringing me to this world. She cried. She smiled. She said yes. She stroked my head and my face. She was there with me for long hours, holding my hands. Sometimes resting her head on my pillow. At times fast asleep, much to the sighs and sympathetic whispers of the hospital staff. Visitors marvelled her. I felt very very proud. Wanted! another three pints of blood. Ours was a very rare blood group. Unobtainable. So, three pints of love in the form of maternal blood began to mingle once again with mine in my veins.
I was back to near normal. Mother was very elated. Had to get back to the front soon. Maternal pampering unlimited. Mother was worried. Worried about my future. A suitable partner? I told her most lovingly that, being a solider, and at most times in danger zones, engaged in highly classified activities, my life was at risk. At all times, and that should I marry.
I would be transferring a part of that risk to my would be partner. It would be for better not to start building a family bridge, than to start building one and then wreck I half way. She understood. She was an angel. Back in action. Injured. Honourably relieved of my duties. With mother. The happiest mother in the world. I was with her. Felicitations, decorations galore. Even from the highest in the land. Mother was there by my wheel-chair at all these functions. Smiling, with a glimpse of pride and glistening eyes as if to say “Look all of you, this is my son, my only child”.
My many injuries were taking their toll. Back in hospital with several haemorrhaging. I knew that I was going. Asked my lovely doctors. Yes, things were bad. Very bad. The irony of it. I had to keep my doctors and colleagues in a happy mood than vice-versa. But mother should not be even given the slightest indication about my condition. Another transfusion.
My mother was once again watching her beautiful red blood being fed in to my blood stream-drop by drop. My mind went back to that immortal song Lay Kiri Kara La” How true. Yesterday, I sucked life giving milk from her, today, she is feeding me with her blood. I cried, turning my face from her.
That evening, a very high ranking officer colleague and his family were by my bed side. He told me that my mother had told some of them. “I know and I am proud of him. I am honoured to be one of the many mothers who have gifted their sons to our motherland”, she had cried. “We too were terribly upset” said my friend wiping a tear. “A very brave and gallant lady. I wish all our mothers be made of such quality.”
“Then I knew. Then I knew that she knew. I was now prepared to embark on my long journey.
So this recording of my life. I am entrusting my sweet and honourable friend to take care of my recording on my mini tape.”
I made peace with the one whom I believed in. Now I am with the ordained one. He spoke to me. I feel so peaceful. Mother is here with me.
I sang her favourite song-CT’s immortal ‘Maa Baala Kaalay’. Many are around me. Three hours to midnight. I can feel her hands. The very same, that hugged me and held me close when I injured my hand. I am drifting. She is looking at me. A look, only a mother shows on her face. I am tightening my grip on her. I made a gesture. Yes! She is bringing her face to mine. She is bringing me close to her bosom.
I must smile. She is smiling. I said “Can you remember my famous words?” She is nodding. Biting her lips. “Thatha and you were thrilled to hear them.“ Amma Ukum Bibi Dhoi, Amma Ukum Bibi Dhoi, Amma is controlling herself. Now she is holding me tight. Both her arms are round me. I feel so full of joy. Now it not her blood, but her maternal warmth that was giving fountains of heat to me, a dying son. No, never. No one on earth can replace a mother.
As for me, my darling was with me from Cradle to Grave.”
I am going to switch off my recorder. I am about to set off on a very long journey of no return.
May the blessed one to whom I am so grateful Bless my Mother and My Motherland.
Courtesy - Daily News - Siripathy Jayamaha 

Private Universities, Free Education and JVP

The JVP’s is against private institutions. They vehemently opposed the setting up of the North Colombo Private Medical College and it was abandoned. As a result, parents, some of whom, being not so affluent, had to mortgage their houses to send their children to Russia, New Zealand, Australia, India, England, USA and in recent times to Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and to many other countries.

If the Colombo North Private University functioned, perhaps those poor parents would have saved much money. Some students never returned, being enamoured of alien ways; and some even neglected their studies, but managed to find employment somehow in those countries. But a different situation prevailed in England over two hundred years ago prompting Adam Smith in his book ‘Wealth of Nations’ to state that, "in England, it becomes every day more and more customary to send young people to travel in foreign countries immediately upon their leaving school, and without sending them to any university. Our young people, it is said, generally returned home much improved by their travels." Even if private universities are opened some parents may still send their children abroad for higher studies and this should not be discouraged.

Now they are opposing the setting up of private universities and the main objection is that there prevails a veiled intention to destroy free education. No political party will dismantle free education and free healthcare. The JVP is attempting to win over the uneducated parents and the gullible university students by trying to mislead them into believing that private universities are meant for the rich and that students who graduate from private universities will deprive the local university graduates of well-paid jobs in the country.

Even before free education was introduced, the writer had the benefit of free education, due to the generosity of a benevolent educationalist, but think of any nephews, nieces or grand children joining a private university.

With the commencement of a private university, parents of a few students eligible to enter the local universities may decide to admit them to a private university, thereby creating a few more opportunities for some who otherwise would not have had the opportunity of a university education. Most of the children of politicians will be sent abroad for higher studies. A few parents, especially because of ragging and other problems, sent their children, mainly daughters, to foreign universities. Some of the local university academics may join the foreign university and to avoid such a situation financially they should be better looked after. Perhaps, some of the academics working abroad may return and join the foreign universities.

Private hospitals, private banks, private schools and private TV have been beneficial to the people and we could expect a similar situation from a private university. With the commencement of the first private school, the demand rapidly increased and currently a large number of private schools are functioning. The government is canvassing for foreign investment and a foreign university could be such an investment. The aspirant for the UNP leadership too is opposed to the opening of private universities, but he received his higher education in England and he may not have been successful in his attempt to enter one of the few universities we then had in our country.

The JVP has not realized that by frequently interfering in the universities and creating dissension among the students, and creating antagonism against lecturers and damaging university assets they are losing the support of the parents and the general public and after graduation for the worries given to them during student days the students will not vote for the JVP either at future elections and like the old red parties will have to sacrifice their policies and political principles to live the rest of their wretched lives. More than four decades ago, the then LSSP and Communist Party leaders educated and familiarized the university students about Marxism, Leninism and Socialism but did not initiate student uprisings, or the harassment of lecturers, or the breakdown of university education, and as a result, such parties had an educated and distinguished membership and some later were members of parliament and members of distinguished professions counting over 25 PhDs in 1970 according to a news report. The JVP, while destroying the local universities are objecting to the introduction of private foreign universities.

The JVP contribution in parliament will be admired and they stand to gain if they stop interfering in university education and involving students in clashes. They could win more parliamentary seats if they acted with restraint and opposed the government only where the people are not benefitted. The writer has the least confidence in politicians who cross over and change parties and vote for petty gains, but if wide publicity is given to the bill before it is passed by parliament, the academics and other professionals and their associations could express their concerns and also propose amendments. The minister has announced (Sunday Leader 19.12.10) that the government intends to open at least 15 private universities. At least experiment with one or two; start with a business university and observe the progress and the results before commencing the others. But why a private university for fashions, where the local fashion icons with local investment could commence a private university and the likes of Otara should start a local fashion university with the help of others.
Courtesy - The Island - Amor Patriae

Regulator test: Broadband speeds far below advertised rates TRC says corrective measures led to improvements, asks subscribers to complain Mobile broadband speed results out next month

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRC) said broadband speeds have improved after corrective measures were taken by it after it was discovered that fixed broadband service providers have been providing download speeds far below what was being advertised. The TRC recently released results of broadband download speed test conducted on fixed broadband service providers, Dialog, Lanka Bell and Sri Lanka Telecom. The tests were conducted by a fully equipped broadband monitoring unit set up by the TRC.

"The initial test results recorded during September 2010 have shown that the speeds were far below the advertised rate during the peak hours especially in respect to the international domains," the TRC said in a statement.

"During peak time the download speed slows down heavily causing innumerable problems to internet users. Recent download speed tests conducted on fixed broadband services by the TRC and subsequent corrective measures adopted by TRCSL have led to broadband operators improving their download speeds by over 60% and in turn ensuring a much faster service to broadband users during peak hours," it said.

The TRC said if subscribers did not continue to receive proper broadband download speeds, complaints should be made.

"The released test results reflect the performance of fixed broadband services in the country. The download speed represents the peak time rates between a test terminal and a server located in a foreign territory. For this particular test the performance and speed of broadband services in the United States and United Kingdom were chosen for the evaluation of International download speeds. Though the tests were conducted over a period of 24 hours on a regular basis for the last two months, the test results between 9 a.m. and 12 midnight were used as the basis for the plotting of the graph," the TRC said.

"The TRC has commenced discussions with operators to examine the possibility of hosting a test file at ISP’s international POP in the future. In addition the TRC is planning to introduce a testing facility to enable users to test their broadband download speed accurately by running a service which will be available at the respective operator’s web site. It is a well developed user friendly system that gives valuable information to the user about the service being provided which includes RTT, packet loss, jitter, upload and download speeds. Until such time this mechanism is in place, the TRC will continue to publish download (Intl’) speed test results.

In respect to fixed wireless services, the TRC will conduct remote tests in other parts of the island to identify their last mile issues; if they exist," the TRC said.

The TRC has also begun work on developing new standards for broadband services in the country.

"In this respect there will be two distinct standards for volume based and unlimited broadband services. The main objective of this endeavor would be to offer the best service to end - users by lowering the access charges in high speed services above 1Mbps. However with the introduction of a minimum download speed level in unlimited packages, operators have stressed the importance of having a FUP to minimize network abuse in the future," the TRC said.

"The new proposed standards would not only regulate broadband speeds but they would also create new market opportunities for the operators to serve a wider customer base especially in under-served urban and rural areas where individual income is relatively low. The results of mobile broadband services will be published in January 2011," it said.
The Island

Test can predict which pregnant women will have life threatening condition

By Rebecca Smith

Pre-eclampsia affects up to one in ten pregnant women, causing high blood pressure and protein in the urine.

Only a minority of women with the condition will go on to develop life threatening complications but all must be monitored closely.

The only cure is to deliver the baby early but doctors have a fine balancing act to consider which women need to be induced early because they are at risk of complications and which can safely carry their baby to term.

Now researchers at University of British Columbia, in Canada, have found a collection of measures and tests which can predict the one in 100 women with pre-eclampsia that will develop full blown eclampsia, where the mother may suffer seizures, fall into a coma and die.

The findings are published in The Lancet medical journal.

The researchers formulated a calculation using data on the mother’s characteristics, past medical history present symptoms; cardiovascular signs; results of kidney, blood, and liver tests; and fetal assessment tests such as fetal heart rate and estimated weight.

They tested the calculation on more than 2,000 women with pre-eclampsia of whom 13 per cent went on to develop complications. None died.

The calculation called fullPIERS, identified more than three quarters of women who subsequently had events as being at high risk, whereas only 16 per cent of the population was incorrectly identified as being at high risk.

Older tests could be abandoned in light of these findings and replaced with simpler ones, saving money on laboratory costs, the researchers said.

Co-author Dr Peter von Dadelszen, from the Child & Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, write in the journal: "The fullPIERS model identifies women at increased risk of adverse outcomes up to 7 days before complications arise and can thereby modify direct patient care (eg, timing of delivery, place of care), improve the design of clinical trials, and inform biomedical investigations related to pre-eclampsia.

"Although the model-making process is not finished, we hope that the planned external validation (through prospective data collection and use of extant international databases) and implementation of fullPIERS will help to reduce the risk of the life-ending, life-altering (eg, stroke), and life-threatening (eg, eclampsia) complications that make pre-eclampsia so important."

In an accompanying comment article, Dr Gary Darmstadt, from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Family Health Division, in Seattle, said: "Hypertension in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia challenge the public-health community because of the need to simultaneously protect the mother and baby and to balance sometimes competing needs to accelerate or delay the end of the pregnancy.

"This study focuses primarily on maternal outcomes but also has implications for neonatal health. Hypertension in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia are conditions that call for further collaboration between maternal and neonatal health experts.

"We hope that this new knowledge will be translated into effective and immediate action and further adapted and validated for use in low-income and middle-income countries, and thus used to its greatest advantage to save the lives of mothers and babies."

© The Telegraph Group London 2010

Sanath, Murali among greatest

Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has named two Sri Lankan veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan as candidates to form the greatest One Day International team of all time.

Muttiah Muralitharan

Dashing left hander Jayasuriya and legendary off spinner Muralitharan both members of the 30 members World Cup squad are slotted in the opening and spin category respectively to form the greatest One Day International team of all time.
The other Sri Lankan players who are included in the list of players are Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Chaminda Vaas.
The International Cricket Council's official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest One Day International match and team of all-time to mark the 40th anniversary of ODI cricket.
In his Greatest ODI Team of All Time, Lloyd believed quite a few West Indies players would make the cut. "Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, would be some of the contenders for sure."
Lloyd named some of the candidates for the team: Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralidaran, Daniel Vettori, Sanath Jayasuriya, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Javed Miandad, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram. "I would love to lead a side like this. It will be dream come true. If I cannot lead, then there is no one better than Imran Khan for the job,"
As ODI cricket celebrates its 40th anniversary in January 2011, Lloyd went down memory lane about his side which is rated the best ever in cricket history.
"I think the approach we had, showed the way. We played quite a few shots and enjoyed our cricket. I am sure some of the teams picked it up from there. Sri Lanka certainly did with Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana in 1996.
'It was our thinking that shots must be played and the paying public must be entertained. That is the reason the crowds enjoy watching one-day cricket," said Lloyd.
Lloyd acknowledged that one-day cricket has changed quite a lot since his time at least in terms of batting.
"At least now they are playing a lot more shots. Now they innovate a lot. You have the Dilscooop, the reverse sweep, slog sweep and a lot more. That's what crowds want, entertainment. All this makes one-day cricket exciting," added Lloyd.

Sanath Jayasuriya

Lloyd calls one-day cricket the greatest innovation for the sport.
He was part of the early years of the format in the 1960s in England when it was played on Sunday afternoons between a select side called International Cavaliers and retired and current county cricketers.
"Whoever thought this format up deserves credit. As the craze grew everybody realised it was a bonanza. It started off as a 40-over game, went to 60 overs and we even played 55 overs a side in county cricket. It (ODIs) has improved the standards of fielding, raised tactical awareness and also brought in innovation."
Lloyd was also part of the other key moment in history when World Series Cricket (WSC) brought in new things like day-night cricket, white ball and coloured clothing in the late 1970s. "We have to thank Kerry Packer for these things.
He was instrumental for that. We owe him a great debt of gratitude," said Lloyd.
So dominant was Lloyd's side in that era that it made the final of the first three ICC Cricket World Cups with absolute ease and even won two of those editions (1975, 1979).
Daily News

Heavy rains trigger flooding in Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sri Lanka (CNN) More than 200,000 people have been affected by flooding resulting from heavy rains in Sri Lanka, a disaster management official said Monday.
Heavy rains lasted from noon Sunday to about noon on Monday, said A.R. Jayarathne, assistant director of the country's Disaster Management Center.
Large tanks in the region, set up to irrigate rice paddy fields, overflowed, forcing authorities to open sluice gates, he said.
While no one had been forced from their homes, food waters had entered homes and caused minor damage in numerous locations, he said. At least 532 houses reported partial damage.
Some 2,915 people living in Internally Displaced Persons camps were also affected. The camps remain after the nation's opposition Tamil Tiger rebels were militarily defeated in May 2009.

A Buddhist temple, Somawathiya, located in the North Central Province capital of Polonnaruwa, was cut off after a nearby river overflowed, Jayarathne said. At least 40 people, including 20 soldiers, were stranded, but were not in danger, he said.

එකගෙයි කෑම

එකගෙයි කෑම පිළිබඳ ව කොතෙක් මතිමතාන්තර තිබුණ ද මෙය අපගේ සම්මත විවාහයක් ලෙස පිළිගැනීමට ලක් ව තිබුණ බව පෙනේ. එහෙත් බොහෝ විට අභ්‍යන්තර ගැටලු පැවති බවද අනාවරණය වේ. විශේෂයෙන් ම කාන්තාවන් දෙදෙනකු එකගෙයි කන විට නොයෙකුත් ගැටලු පැන නැඟී ඇති බව අතීත තොරතුරුවලින් අනාවරණය වෙයි. පිරිමි දෙදෙනකු එකගෙයි කන විට බොහෝ විට බාල සොයුරාගෙන් පවුල් දිවියට ගැටලු මතුවී ඇති බව පෙනේ. කෙසේ වෙතත් ගැහැනු දෙදෙනා අතර මතුවන ගැටලු විසඳීමට පිරිමියාත් පිරිමි දෙදෙනා අතර මතුවන ගැටලු විසඳීමට ගැහැනියත් මූලිකව ක්‍රියා කළ බව පෙනේ. දේපළ තත්ත්වයන් හෝ සිරිත් විරිත් අණ තහංචි කොතෙක් බලපෑවත් මානුෂික හැඟීම් හා කායික අවශ්‍යතා හේතුවෙන් මෙබඳු විවාහයන්හි අභ්‍යන්තර නොසන්සුන් බව නම් නිරන්තර ව පැන නැඟී ඇත.

පාරම්පරික විවාහ ක්‍රමය අනුව දීග විවාහ බින්න විවාහ ආදිය ප්‍රමුඛ වන අතර එකගෙයි කෑමේ විවාහ ක්‍රමය ගැන ද සඳහන් වෙයි. එකගෙයි කැම යනු එක ම ගෙයක සහෝදරයන් දෙදෙනකු එක් කාන්තාවක් සමඟ දීග කැමයි. මෙය බොහෝවිට උඩරට ධනවත් පවුල් අතර පැවැති අතර පසුකාලීන ව සාමාන්‍ය පවුල් අතරට ද ව්‍යාප්ත වූ බව පෙනේ. පවුලේ ධනයට උරුමකම් ඇති සොයුරන් දෙදෙනකු කාන්තාවන් දෙදෙනකු කැන්දන් ආවිට ඒ දේපළ දෙකට බෙදීයයි. මේ තත්ත්වය වැළැක්වීමට සොයුරන් දෙදෙනා සඳහාම එක කාන්තාවක් පාවාදීම සිදුවිය. මේ තත්ත්වය ද ක්‍රම තුනකින් සිදුවූ බව පෙනේ.
1. සොයුරන් දෙදෙනකුට එක කාන්තාවක්.
2. සොයුරියන් දෙදෙනකුට එක ස්වාමිපුරුෂයෙක්.
3. සොයුරන් දෙදෙනකු විවාහ දෙකක් කරගෙන එක් සොයුරකුගේ අඹුව මිය ගිය පසු දරුවන් නොමැති අවස්ථාවලදී වැන්දඹු වන පුරුෂයා ද සොයුරාගේ බිරිය සමඟ එක් ව පවුල් කෑම.
කෙසේ වතුදු මේ කුමන තත්ත්වයක් යටතේ වුවද එකගෙයි කෑමේදී පුරුෂයන් දෙදෙනා විසින් පිළිපැදිය යුතු චාරිත්‍ර කීපයක් ඇත. එය සම්මතයේ පැවත එමින් එහෙත් අප්‍රසිද්ධ ව තිබුණු සිරිත් ය. ධනය මුල්කොටගෙන ආරම්භ වූ විවාහ ක්‍රමයක් වුවද මෙය ලිංගිකත්වය මූලික වූ ක්‍රියාවලියක් නිසා මේ තත්ත්වය ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ කියා පෑමට බොහෝ අය මැළි වූහ. විවාහයට අදාළ ගැහැනිය හෝ පිරිමින් දෙදෙනා වුවද නිහඬ ව එළැඹෙන තත්ත්වයට මුහුණ දුන්හ. එහෙත් කිසිවිටක සම්මතයට පිටු නොපෑහ. එහිදී ඔවුහු එදිනෙදා ජිවිතයේදී මේ තත්ත්වය පිළිබඳ අවබෝධයෙන් කටයුතු කළහ.
1. ගොවිපළේ සිට හෝ වෙනත් ගමනක් බිමනක් ගොස් ගෙට එන විට තමන් පැමිණි බව දැනුවත් කිරීම සඳහා ශබ්ද කිරීම (උගුර පෑදීම – බල්ලකුට පූසකුට මහ හඩින් කතා කිරීම හෝ වෙනත් උචිත යමක් කිරීම)
2. පිළ් බිත්තියේ ගසා ඇති මුව අඟේ හෝ වෙනත් පේනමානයේ තැනක සොයුරාගේ දිය කෝනම (අමුඩේ) ඇත්දැයි විමසිලිමත් වීම, එබඳු තැනක අමුඩය ඇති විට සොහොයුරා ගෙයි ඇතුළේ සිටින බව අනෙකා අවබෝධ කරගනී.
3. සිය අවශ්‍යතා පිළිබඳ ව කාන්තාව සමඟ කතා කොට නිසි දින වකවානු හෝ කාල වේලාවන් පිළිබඳ ව දැනුම්වත් වීම.
4. සහෝදරකම දැඩි ව ආරක්ෂා කරගැනීම හා වැඩිමහල් සොයුරාගේ අභිමතයට හිස නැමීම.
මේවා සොයුරන් දෙදෙනකු එක ගෙයි කන විට පැවැති චාරිත්‍ර වූ අතර සොයුරියන් දෙදෙනකු එක සැමියකු හා වසන විට මීට තරමක් වෙනස් පිළිවෙත් අනුගමනය කළහ. සැමියාගේ අවශ්‍යතා පිළිබඳ ව සැලකිලිමත් වෙමින් ඊට මුල් තැන දෙන සෝයුරියන්
”අරයා අද හේනට යන්ඩ මට කතාකරනවා”
”අරයා කතා කරනවා මං බලලා එන්නන්”
අරයට ඔලුවේ කැක්කුමයිලු. මම ඉසේ තෙල් ටිකක් ගාලා එන්නන්”
වැනි කතාබහකින් සැමියාගේ ඉල්ලීම ඉටු කිරීමට පෙර සොයුරියන් තීන්දු ගනී. ඒ හැර එක් සෝයුරියක් ගෙයි සිටින විට ඇයගේ ඇඳි වතක් (චීත්තයක්) දොර ලෑල්ලේ වනා තිබීමෙන් අනෙක් සොයුරිය දැනුම්වත් කරනු ලැබේ.
එකගෙයි කෑම පිළිබඳ ව කොතෙක් මතිමතාන්තර තිබුණ ද මෙය අපගේ සම්මත විවාහයක් ලෙස පිළිගැනීමට ලක් ව තිබුණ බව පෙනේ. එහෙත් බොහෝ විට අභ්‍යන්තර ගැටලු පැවති බවද අනාවරණය වේ. විශේෂයෙන් ම කාන්තාවන් දෙදෙනකු එකගෙයි කන විට නොයෙකුත් ගැටලු පැන නැඟී ඇති බව අතීත තොරතුරුවලින් අනාවරණය වෙයි.
පිරිමි දෙදෙනකු එකගෙයි කන විට බොහෝ විට බාල සොයුරාගෙන් පවුල් දිවියට ගැටලු මතුවී ඇති බව පෙනේ. කෙසේ වෙතත් ගැහැනු දෙදෙනා අතර මතුවන ගැටලු විසඳීමට පිරිමියාත් පිරිමි දෙදෙනා අතර මතුවන ගැටලු විසඳීමට ගැහැනියත් මූලිකව ක්‍රියා කළ බව පෙනේ.
දේපළ තත්ත්වයන් හෝ සිරිත් විරිත් අණ තහංචි කොතෙක් බලපෑවත් මානුෂික හැඟීම් හා කායික අවශ්‍යතා හේතුවෙන් මෙබඳු විවාහයන්හි අභ්‍යන්තර නොසන්සුන් බව නම් නිරන්තර ව පැන නැඟී ඇත.
මගේ ය කියන සහකාරයා හෝ සහකාරියට අපේ ය කීමට තරම් උපේක්ෂා සහගත මිනිකම් පවතිනුයේ අතලොස්සකි. මේ මානුෂික යථාර්ථය තුළ මෙබඳු පවුල් ජීවිත හැම අතින් ම සාර්ථක එකක් ය යන්න හිතලු කතාවකි. එහෙත් එවකට පැවැති සමාජ ආර්ථික තත්ත්වයන් තුළ මේ වැනි විවාහ පවත්වාගෙන ගිය සොයුරන් හෝ සෝයුරියන් තුළ උපේක්ෂා සහගත බව මැනැවින් පැවති බව සිතාගත හැකි ය. අනෙක් කරුණ දේපළ පිළිබඳ ව පැවැති ආශාව හා සමාජ චාරිත්‍ර විසින් මේ පවුලේ මානව ත්‍රිත්වය කිසියම් හික්මීමක් සහිතව දිවි ගෙවූ බව නම් පෙනේ.
මේ එකගෙයි කෑම සඳහා පිරිමි දෙදෙනකුට දීග යාමට ගැහැනිය අකැමැති වුව ද දෙමව්පිය බලපෑම මීට හේතු වූ බව පෙනේ.
අනෙක් කරුණ නම් තරුණිය දීග යන්නේ පවුලේ වැඩිමලාට ය. ලෝකෙට එසේ කීවද සිදුවන්නේ වෙනත් දෙයකි. මේ සියලු තත්ත්වයන් බාහිර ලෝකයෙන් වසන් කොට තබාගත් අතර පැවැත්මේදී බාහිර ලෝකය මේ තත්ත්වය අවබෝධ කරගත්හ.
අය්යාට දීග ගේනවා කියමින් ගෙට ගෙන ආ තරුණිය පිළිබඳ ව මලයා තුළ පවතින්නේ වෙනත් ආකාරයේ හැඟීමකි. එහෙත් බාල සොයුරා එකගෙයි කෑම කෙරේ යොමු කර ගැනීමට මුල් විය යුත්තේ කාන්තාවයි. වැඩිමල් සෝයුරා ඊට අනුබල දෙමින් කටයුතුª කිරීමට වග බලා ගත යුතුය. ඒ අනුව එකගෙයි කෑමේදී බොහෝවිට වගකීම් දරන්නේ වැඩිමහල් සොයුරා ය.
දරුවන්ගේ පියා වන්නේ ද ඔහු ය. මේ සියලු තත්ත්වයන් දෙස බැලීමේදී එකගෙයි කෑම යනු උපේක්ෂා සහගත තිදෙනකුගේ එකමුතු පැවැත්මක් බව නම් නොකියාම බැරි ය.

Silumina - කට්ටඹුවාගම විජයපාල කුමාරසිංහ

ඔබ හඬයි කියා සැකයි අත තියන්නටත් බයයි

ඔබ මලක් මලක් මලක්
සුදු සමන් පිච්ච මලක්
සිප ගත්තොත් එක වරක්
පෙති හැලෙයි සිතෙන මලක්

දෙතොලේ
මුවරද සැලෙයි
රස බලන්න මට හිතයි
ඔබෙ දෙතොල්වලට රිදෙයි
ඒ නිසා හිතට බයයි

දෑසේ
සෙනෙහස ගලයි
අතගා බලන්න සිතයි
ඔබ හඬයි කියා සැකයි
අත තියන්නටත් බයයි

ගී පද - සුනිල් ආරියරත්න
සංගීතය - රෝහණ වීරසිංහ
ගායනය - රොහාන් ශාන්ත බුලේගොඩ
 

රොහාන් ශාන්ත බුලේගොඩ අද නිහඬ ය. කලකට ඉහත සෑම ගුවන්විදුලි නාලිකාවකම ඔහුගේ හඬ ඇසිණි.
”සඳක් නම් බැසයන්න තිබුණා”
”නිහඬ අරණ දලුමල් පුබුදයි”
”එක්පෙති මලක් විය නුඹ මගෙ අත්දෙකට”

මේ ගීත නෑසෙන දවසක් නැති තරම් විය. එහෙත් එක්වරම ඔහුගේ ගීත නෑසී යන්නට විය. ඔහුගේ දෙවන සංයුක්ත තැටියේ ගීත ශ්‍රාවකයන් වැලඳගත් බවක් නොපෙනිණි. එහෙත් මා මේ ගීතය තෝරාගත්තේ ඔහුගේ දෙවන සංයුක්ත තැටියෙනි. මගේ මතකය නිවැරැදි නම් ඒ තැටිය හඳුන්වාදී තිබුණේ්ද “ඔබ මලක්” යන වෙළඳ නාමයෙනි.
ස්ත්‍රිය මලකට සමාන කිරීම සාහිත්‍ය කලාව බිහිවූ දා පටන්ම දක්නට හැකිවූවකි. ලාංකික සරල ගීතය තුළද එක මලක් වත් ඉතිරි නොවන ලෙසින් ස්ත්‍රී වර්ණනා දක්නට හැකිවිය. එහෙත් සුනිල් ආරියරත්නයන්ගේ මේ පදමාලාව එබඳු අනුකාරක පදමාලාවක් නොව සුවිශේෂ වූවකි. ආදරය රාගය වැනි සංකීර්ණ සිතුවිලි ඉදිරියේ යෞවනයකු මුහුණ දෙන සංකීර්ණ අනුභූතියක් මේ තුළ අන්තර්ගත ය. යෞවනියකට ප්‍රේමය ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමට ගොස් මානසික ආතතියකට මුහුණ දී අවසානයේ මුනිවත රකින යෞවනයකු පිළිබඳ ව අපූර්ව පද්‍ය නිර්මාණයක් ජී.බී. සේනානායකයෝ “පළිගැනීම” නම් කෘතියේ ඉදිරිපත් කළහ.

පෙදෙස වසාගෙන පැතුරුණු
දැඩි නිහඬ බවින් මිරිකුණු මම
ඇගේ රන්වන් දිගටි
මුහුණ දෙස බලා
කරබා ගතිමි
(පළිගැනීම 1946)
ඒ යෞවනයා නිහඬ වන්නේ පරිසරයේ නිහඬ බව විසින් ඔහුගේ ආත්ම විශ්වාසය බිඳ දමන බැවිනි. එහෙත් මේ යෞවනයා තුළ ආශාවන් දමනය වන්නේ තමා අබියස සිටින තරුණියගේ සියුමැළි බව නිසාය.

ඔබ මලක් මලක් මලක්
සුදු සමන් පිච්ච මලක්
සිප ගත්තොත් එක වරක්
පෙති හැලෙයි සිතෙන මලක්

ඇය සමන්පිච්ච මලකි. අනෙක් මල්වලට වඩා භක්තිය ජනිත කිරීමේ හැකියාවක් සමන්පිච්ච මල සතුය. එසේ එය අතිශයින් සියුමැළිය. සිපගන්නට බිය ජනිත කරන්නේ ඒ සියුමැළි බව නිසාමය. තම සුන්දරියගේ මුදු මොළොක් බව හේතුවෙන් තරුණයා තුළ ජනිත වන ආත්ම සංයමය මේ මඟින් මනාව ධ්වනිතවේ.

ඇගේ තොල්පෙති ඔහු තුළ යළි රාගය අවුලවයි. එහි මල් මුව රද උරාබීමේ ආශාවක් ජනිත කරවයි. එහෙත් ඒ දෙතොල්වල ඇත්තේ අසාමාන්‍ය සියුමැළි බවකි. ඒ අසාමාන්‍ය සියුමැළි බව නිසාම ඔහු තැති ගනියි.

 
දෙතොලේ
මුවරද සැලෙයි
රස බලන්න මට හිතයි
ඔබ දෙතොල් වලට රිදෙයි
ඒ නිසා සිතට බයයි

ආශාව හා බිය අතර දෝලනය වන මේ යෞවනයාගේ් හැඟීම් සුනිල් ආරියරත්නයෝ මැනවින් ස්පර්ශ කරති. ඒ සංකීර්ණ හැඟීම අතිශයින් සරල ව්‍යවහාරික බස් වහරකට ගොනුකර ගැනීමට රචකයා සමත් වෙයි.
දැන් ඔහුගේ දෑස් ඇගේ දෑස් සමඟ ගැටෙයි. ඒ දෑස්වලින් ගලා එන්නේ අපරිමිත ආදරයකි. ඒ ආදරයේ මට සිළුටු බව ස්පර්ශ කිරීමට ඔහුට සිතෙයි. එහෙත් ඒ ස්පර්ශයට පවා දරන්නට බැරි සියුමැළි බවක් ඔහු බාහිරව දකී. නැවතත් තැතිගන්නා තරුණයා තම හැඟීම් පාලනය කර ගනී.

දෑසේ
සෙනෙහස ගලයි
අතගා බලන්න හිතයි
ඔබ හඬයි කියා සැකයි
අත තියන්නටත් බයයි

මෙහිදී රචකයා යොදාගන්නා “අත තියන්නටත් බයයි” නැමැති සරල ප්‍රකාශය මෙහිදී ව්‍යංග්‍යාර්ථ නංවන කාව්‍යොක්තියක් බවට පත්වෙයි.
සුනිල් ආරියරත්නයන්ගේ මේ නිර්මාණය අපූරු නිසඳැස් කවියකි. එහෙත් සංගීතඥයකුට යා හැකි දුරක් ඔහුතම නිර්මාණයේ ඉතිරි කර තිබේ. ඒ නිසා තනු නිර්මාණය කිරීමේදී රෝහණ වීරසිංහයන්ට මනා ඉඩ හසරක් අන්තරා කොටස්වලදී ලැබී තිබේ. සමස්ත ගීතයේම පවතින සංයමය සුරක්‍ෂිත කරමින් ගායනා කිරීමට ද බුලේගොඩයෝ සමත් වෙති.
රොහාන් ශාන්ත බුලේගොඩ, ජානක වික්‍රමසිංහ, සමන් ජයනාත් වැන්නෝ ගායක ලොවට එකට පිවිසියෝ වෙති. තාම පණනල අවදිවී ඇත්තේ ජානක වික්‍රමසිංහගේ පමණි. අනෙක් දෙදෙනාටම සංගීතය එපා වී තිබේ. නැතිනම් රසිකයන්ට ඔවුන් එපා වී තිබේ.
වෙන කවදාටත් වඩා මේ ගායකයන් ගැන මා සඳහන් කළේ අප ඔවුන් ගැන ඉමහත් බලාපොරොත්තු තබා ඇති බැවිනි. සමන් ජයනාත් ඉංජිනේරුවෙකි. එහෙත් බුලේගොඩ දකුණේ සිට කොළඹ ආවේත්, ජානක වික්‍රමසිංහ පොළොන්නරුවේ සිට කොළඹ ආවේත් සින්දු කියන්නටය. එහෙත් සිදුවී ඇත්තේ කුමක්ද?
ඒ පශ්චාත් මරණ පරීක්‍ෂණය පසෙක තබා මම නැවතත් ප්‍රශ්නයක් මතුකර ගනිමි. ඉහත ගීතයට සිදුවූයේ කුමක්ද? මෙයද චැනල් මල්ලිලා විසින් නො අසා විසිකර දැමූ තවත් දහසක් ගීත මෙන් අකාලයේ වියෝවූවකි.
ලංකාවේ බොහෝ ගුවන් විදුලි නාලිකාවල ගීත තෝරා ගැනීම අසාර්ථකය. සංයුක්ත තැටියක ගීත බාග අසමින් ඒවා “හීට්” ද නැති ද යනුවෙන් ඔවුහු තීන්දු ගනිති. මොවුහු වැඩි දෙනෙක් ගමෙන් කොළඹට පැමිණ “ටයි” දමාගත් ඇත්තෝ වෙති. නව සංස්කෘතිය, බලෙන් වැලඳ ගත්තෝ වෙති. මාර්කටින් පොරක් වෙන්නට තැත් කරන්නෝ වෙති. (යහපත් මාධ්‍යවේදිහු මේ ගැන කමත්වා!) ගායකයන්ගෙන් කැසට් මුදලාලිලාගෙන් තුඩු පඬුරු ලබන්මෝ වෙති. තළුමරන කුකුළු කටුවලට ආවඩන්නෝ වෙති. සිංහල ගීතයේ මහා භාරකරුවෝ මොවුහුය. වචනයේ පරිසමාප්තාර්ථයෙන්ම මොවුහු බහුතරයක් බූරුවෝ වෙති.

Silumina - ධම්මික බණ්ඩාර

40,000 prostitutes in the country

There are around 200,000 prostitute seekers and around 40,000 prostitutes in the country, according to a survey, Dr. Sujatha Samarakoon attached to the AIDS prevention unit of the Health Ministry said..

She said that these figures are something that has to be seriously taken into account considering the fact that Sri Lanka is a small country, in spite of spreading of HIV/ AIDS in Sri Lanka being considered to be minimal.

She called those who suspect of their vulnerability to the deadly disease to get their blood tested as there are arrangements to get it done confidentially.

There are around 3000 people identified as those infected with HIV and the number of people yet to be identified must be larger than that, she said and added that there are 50 infected mothers and 46 children who had been infected through their mothers.

212 people have died of AIDS in Sri Lanka since the first AIDS patient was found and they were between 20 and 49 years of age.  Daily Mirror (Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa)

New action plan for Higher Education

A five year National Action Plan (2011-2015) will be implemented for the Higher Education sector. The Higher Education Ministry has taken measures to implement it by January next year, Ministry Secretary Dr Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne told the Daily News.
The action plan includes the vision, mission, goals, targets and the strategies that the Higher Education sector should follow in the next five years. According to the new Action Plan the Higher Education sector would be categorized under three sectors namely State, Professional and Non-State, said Nawaratne.
The State sector will supervise the 15 local universities and two Buddhist universities while the Professional sector will deal with professional institutes such as Chartered, CIMA, CIM, CMA and ACCA.
The Non-State sector will supervise the private institutions which are offering degrees and Diplomas in Sri Lanka, he said.
The aim of the Action Plan is to upgrade the Higher Education sector and bring local universities to international standards.
The Action Plan is consistent with the strategies on upgrading the local universities, improving the quality of the undergraduates and establishing international universities in Sri Lanka.
The Ministry plans to attract more foreign students to local universities and enhance research activities also.
We are planning to produce entrepreneurs from universities.
“The new action plan will help to build a public-private partnership,” he said
He further said that with the support of all universities and other relevant parties, we will create productive and job oriented graduates for the country.
“We will monitor and evaluate the Action Plan every three months. We are sure this New Action Plan will carry the Sri Lankan Higher Education Sector in a new direction,” Nawaratne said.
Daily News - Dinesh De Alwis

Sajith Premadasa to run for leadership of Sri Lanka's main opposition party

Dec 26, Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian for Hambantota District Sajith Premadasa is to meet the current UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe this week to inform his intention to run for the party leadership.
Ending weeks of speculation Premadasa along with the pro-reforms group in the UNP has arrived at the decision to run for the party leadership on last Thursday (23) during a group's meeting.
Following the meeting the group together with Premadasa has decided that he should inform party leader of his intentions to run for the UNP leadership.
The new Constitution of the party states that appointments to five key posts including the party leadership should be made within 120 days after the Constitution comes into effect.
Secretary of the UNP Management Committee, Bodhi Ranasinghe has told the media that Wickremasinghe would be given the senior leader's post if he was willing to accept it.
Premadasa had summoned party professionals, Provincial Council, and Pradeshiya Sabha members last week to hear their ideas. More than 95% had wanted Premadasa to take up the leadership before the next local government election. The remaining members have asked him to be the deputy leader of the party until end 2011.
Ranasinghe has said that three senior party members will accompany Premadasa to meet the party leader.
"Victory for the UNP is uppermost in my mind, and that will be the main objective, and that will percolate down, as far as my other subsidiary decisions are concerned. We are working towards victory for both our party cadres, and the people of the country as a whole. Not merely through words but by deeds," Premadasa wrote on his Facebook page.
Present leadership under Ranil Wickremasinghe has come under severe criticism from party members after his party's continual loss of successive elections.
Colombopage

A Secret (Un Secret) Or The Burden Of Truth…

French movie A Secret could be categorised as irritatingly beautiful. Slow moving, filled with silences and unspoken emotions, the film gradually unfolds in very minimalistic layers, allowing viewers to understand the burden which seems to be weighing down Maxime (Patrick Bruel), his wife Tania (Cecile de France) and some of their family members.

The film is built around flashbacks which are in colour and the present day in black and white. Narrated by Francois, Maxime and Tania’s son who desperately attempts to understand his father’s emotional coldness and distance towards him; the story takes us back and forth to pre and post World War II in France with short spells into the present.

Francois who was born premature and frail to two super athletic and good looking parents a little after the end of the Second World War finds comfort and the affection and understanding he lacks with a family friend and neighbour Louise. When Francois enters his teens Louise begins to slowly unveil the family secret.

Maxime had another wife Hannah and the little son of his dreams who won every sporting competition and was a popular and perfect child. But throughout his marriage to Hannah, he is passionately attracted to Tania, who when they first see each other is married to Hannah’s brother. The scene in which they are magnetically drawn to each other will probably leave more than one of you thinking: ‘Oh no, Oh no what bad timing!’ Maxime lays eyes on Hannah for the first time at his own wedding and it is simply love or lust perhaps, at first sight. And though it is at the beginning a purely platonic relationship with Tania feeling embarrassed about the whole situation, their desire for each other is so evident that everyone around them, even Hannah realises it.

Ludivine Sagnier who plays Hannah has let go of her extremely sensual roles to play a true to life mamma whose revenge will be unbelievable and mark everyone forever.

Though the film focuses on the plight of this Jewish family, the Holocaust does not play a very prominent nor visible role in the story despite always being in the background and conditioning the actions of the characters. Some may find that a little disturbing since many films and novels have accustomed us to see a certain aspect of World War II where concentration camps and ghettos play an important part in the story. Here the family, or at least some of them, get away and are able to live a decent life despite being in hiding and on fake IDs.

Critics of the film have said that A Secret trivialises the Holocaust which I don’t agree with though I too was surprised that not once during this entire story is a death camp ever seen. However, the tragedy of the situation is not lessened the least bit. Jewish families are rounded up, never to be seen again. Maxime refuses to wear a yellow star of David on his clothes which causes tension amongst his other family members. It is just a different approach to a tragic part of our history, masterfully controlled by veteran French director Claude Miller.

Patrick Bruel who plays Maxime is a popular French singer. He had dabbled before in acting but has never been so good. The weight of his secret just seems to physically debilitate him, making it impossible for him to smile, fully enjoy his new family  though he does love them deeply, in other words function as a human being with responsibilities as a father and a husband.
Francois who idolised his parents and thought of them as demi god like figures takes them off their pedestal once he realises what damaged human beings they are. With that comes in a way his liberation and a newfound confidence, late in life.

One cannot help but wonder what Tania’s character would have seen in Maxime who walks around with an aura of doom around him, but love is never rational, secrets always come out and sins eventually don’t go unpunished.

A good film for a mature audience.

The Sunday Leader - By Sumaya Samarasinghe

Sri Lanka to remember deadly Boxing Day tsunami with a two-minute silence

Dec 24, Colombo: Sri Lanka will remember the thousands of people who lost their lives to the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami that hit the island six years ago with a nation-wide two minute silence from 9:25 a.m. to 9:27 a.m. on Sunday, December 26.
Sunday also marks the National Safety Day and this year events will be held at the Weerasingham Hall in Jaffna.
The Sri Lankan government has declared December 26 as the National Safety Day to promote a culture of preparedness among the communities for disasters and to commemorate the people who lost their lives due to all natural disasters.
The Cabinet of ministers has decided to hold this year's event in Jaffna and the Minister of Disaster Management, Mahinda Amaraweera has asked all citizens in the country to observe the two-minute silence as a mark of respect for those who died in the tsunami.
According to statistics 35,322 people lost their lives in Sri Lanka and over 500,000 lost their homes when the island was struck by the tsunami resulted from the Indian Ocean earthquake in Indonesia on December 26, 2004.
The government has taken the initiatives to set up an early warning network with 100 warning towers island wide.50 tsunami warning centers have already been set up throughout the coastal areas of the country which also includes setting up of fire units under local government authorities.
Colombopage

New subject streams for O/L, A/L students

In a move to introduce more vocational training-based subjects to the school curriculum, the Education Ministry is making arrangements to introduce a new subject stream to the Advanced Level and Ordinary Level examinations from next year, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the Sunday Observer.
Minister Gunawardena said the Education Ministry along with the Youth Affairs and Skills Development Ministry is now conducting discussions to introduce a new subject stream called Technological Studies for the Advanced Level syllabus.
“The National Institute of Education and the Youth Affairs and the Skills Development Ministry are having discussions to formulate the syllabus for this subject stream”, Minister Gunawardena said.
Minister Gunawardena said this subject stream would be introduced in addition to the three subject streams-Science, Commerce and Arts for Advanced Level students.
However, he said it is compulsory for students to have obtained at least a pass for mathematics at the GCE O/Ls to follow technological studies for the Advanced Level.
“Students who could not pass maths at the O/L can only study Arts subjects”, he said.
He said the Ministry has also taken the initiative to introduce a vocational training-based subject named Life Skills for Ordinary Level students.
“They can select Agriculture, Technology and Entrepreneurship as a subject under Life Skills for the O/L examination”, Minister Gunawardena explained.
Sunday Observer - by Ranil WIJAYAPALA

Christmas celebrations worldwide

Finland

Finnish people believe that Father Christmas (Santa Claus) lives in the north part of Finland called Korvatunturi, north of the Arctic Circle. People from all over the world send letters to Santa Claus in Finland. (It is only fair to say that the people of Greenland say that really, Father Christmas lives in Greenland!) There is an even big tourist theme park called 'Christmas Land' in the north of Finland, near to where they say that Father Christmas lives.
Everyone cleans their houses ready for the three holy days of Christmas - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Christmas Eve is very special, when people eat rice porridge and a sweet soup made from dried fruits (plums, raisins, apples, pears, apricots and figs). It's eaten in the morning or at lunch time.

Baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem

They will then decorate a spruce tree in the home. At mid-day, the 'Christmas peace declaration' is broadcast on radio and TV from the Finnish city of Turku by its Mayor. In the evening, a traditional Christmas dinner is eaten. The meal will include 'casseroles' containing liver, rutabaga, carrot and potato, with cooked ham or turkey.
Some families eat liver pate. Rawpickled slightly salted salmon, herrings and salad called "rosolli". Mushroom salad is also common. Rosolli is cold salad made from peeled, cooked and diced potatoes, carrots, beetroot and diced apples, onions and pickled cucumber. Season with salt (some people use also pepper).
Whipped cream (+ salt, vinegar and beetroot colour to make it pink) is served with rosolli. Food traditions during the Christmas period depend on which part of Finland people live.
In Lapland and in Finland's islands there are different foods. Other foods include cooked peas, different kind on salads, roe, cold fish-dishes, pates, other casseroles such as beetroot casserole with cheese or with blue cheese, sweet and spiced breads, carelian pies, and cheeses. Gingerbreads, spiced cakes, different kind of cakes and cookies and others to eat with coffee or milk.
You eat these at "day-coffee" time on the Christmas eve (after the Christmas peace declaration which everybody watches on TV, or before going to the church and graveyard), in the evening.
Christmas smells include mulled wine, gingerbreads, spices - cinnamon being the most common - Christmas tree, burning candles and hyacinthe. Poinsettia and hyacinthe are the most popular Christmas flowers.
On Christmas eve many go to church, on the afternoon or late afternoon (time depends of local churches) - this is new tradition.
The "real" and old Christmas church is early on the morning of Christmas day. Many go there too. Graveyards are very beautiful places on the Christmas eve, since there are lot of soft white snow and the only lights come from candles people bring to the graves of loved ones. If relatives are buried in other graveyards, there are places in graveyard you can lit your candle to remember them.
Sauna of course is part of celebration. People go there before church and graves, or after them. After sauna is the festive dinner. The high moment! After that comes Santa Claus (if there are children) or the presents that are under the Christmas tree are opened.
In some families where there are no small kids, the presents are not put under the tree, but collected to big sacks, which are carried near the front door. Then a family member might say, Did I heard sound of reindeers and bells...
Or Did I hear Santa Claus... When they go to check, there are big sacks full of presents there. So it was Santa after all. Then people drink coffee and eat cakes, cookies and other sweet things.
Enjoy presents and play games. Small kids go to bed but others stay up late. Many families will visit cemeteries and graveyards to place a candle onto the burial graves of family members. Cemeteries are very beautiful at Christmas-time.
Children receive their presents on Christmas Eve, usually with a family member dressing as Father Christmas. As children grow older, they come to realise that 'Father Christmas' is really a bigger brother, sister or family member.

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Romania

On December 6, St Nicholas comes and puts small gifts in children's shoes that have been polished and placed near the windows and if children have been naughty they get a little stick.
Usually people in the country side grow their own pigs which are sacrificed for Christmas on December 20 and the meat is cooked in different ways for the Christmas meal, like home-made smoked/unsmoked sausages. Each part of the pig is used in different ways to make different dishes. Mince is made and together with rice, onions and spices is used for the stuffed cabbage or vine leaves, which are called 'sarmale'.
So pig is traditional for Christmas meal. On Christmas Eve usually children go around houses and sing carols and get fruit, sweets or money in exchange. On Christmas Day everyone has a big family meal and visit relatives. In the country side people dress as bears and goats and go and sing special traditional songs at each house in the village.
People from Transylvania serve stuffed cabbage on Christmas Eve, and next day for lunch. Most likely the reason for that custom is that stuffed cabbage is the best on the second and third day after it was cooked. Moms can prepare the food a day earlier, leaving more time for decorating and organizing. Very practical.
On December 25, the whole family used to attend church and eat stuffed cabbage for lunch.

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Russia

In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas was not celebrated very much. New Year was the important time - when 'Father Frost' brought presents to children. With the fall of Communism, Christmas can be openly celebrated - either on December 25; or more often on January 7. This unusual date is because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old 'Julian' calendar for religious celebration days. Special Christmas food includes cakes, pies and 'meat dumplings'.

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Sweden

The most important day is Christmas Eve. A special Christmas meal is eaten on Christmas Eve - ham (pork), herring fish, and brown beans - and this is the time when families give presents to each other. Many people attend a church meeting early on Christmas Day.

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United States

The USA is so multi-cultural that you will find many different ways of celebrating Christmas. A friend writes about Christmas meals, "Our family (Eastern European origin) favor turkey with trimmings. My grandparents and their relatives preferred keilbasi (Polish sausage), cabbage dishes, and soups.
My husband's Italian family insisted on lasagna!" Another friend wrote: All year long children are told to behave, or they will get coal in their stocking. On Christmas Eve, they hang highly stylized stockings on the mantle of the fireplace, then go to bed early so that they will find presents in the morning.
They are told that at midnight Santa will come, bringing a huge bag of toys. He will come down through the chimney, leave candy in the stockings and presents under the Christmas tree (anything from a Pine or Fir to a Spruce), then 'plug one nostril' and shoot up through the chimney. (This comes from the story "A Visit From St. Nicholas," where St. Nick laid a finger "aside of his nose."
He wasn't plugging up his nose - he was making a sign for secrecy.) Cookies are traditionally left for him, and a carrot is commonly left for Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, very much a part of Christmas tradition (Santa will land on the roof with his sleigh and nine reindeer).
On Christmas morning, things such as cinnamon rolls or coffee cake are served for breakfast, and for dinner there is typically ham (and occasionally regal plum pudding). That is it for celebration? Boxing Day is never celebrated, Epiphany is only celebrated by Catholics, and Advent not commonly celebrated. Another American reader wrote in with the following:
Advent is celebrated in almost all Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant churches. I was RC until I was 15, as were my grandparents, and we always followed the four weeks of preparation before Christmas in our church services.
I found the same to be true in my father's Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, my friend's United Methodist Church, my in-law's Presbyterian USA congregations, and for myself as a member and pastor of the United Church of Christ for the last 16 years.
We also recognize Epiphany in mainline Protestant churches. On the first Sunday following January 6, our service tells again the story of the Magi who came to Jesus presenting their gifts following his birth. As a child, I fondly remember leaving carrots and sugar for all of the reindeer, along the milk and cookies for Santa!
www.soon.org.uk/country/christmas.htm

Christmas in Sri Lanka

During Christmas, giving of gifts, putting up of Christmas trees, singing of Christmas carols and lighting of candles have been very prominent. Perhaps these traditions have become noticeable with the natural integration of these customs with the culture of Sri Lanka enriched by various religions
In Sri Lanka, Christmas is called Nattal (most probably derived from the world Nattal). This word has come from the Portuguese who ruled the coastal areas of this island from 1505 to 1658 CE. This introduction of Christmas was enriched by the Dutch and the British who occupied this land from 1658 to 1796 and 1796 to 1948 respectively.
Today Christianity is known to the people of this land mainly through the celebration of Christmas. Just as in many other countries, in Sri Lanka, Christmas is commercialized, with Santa Claus or Father Christmas as the central figure.
However, in Sri Lanka, Christmas is a time of joy for the entire island. In the north and south of Colombo where there are Christian communities of fisher and carpentry respectively, Christmas is celebrated on a grand scale. All the urban Christians have subcultures and in those areas Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims and others who belong to various cultures and ethnicities and who also have created subcultures join in the celebration of Christmas with Christians.
During Christmas, giving of gifts, putting up of Christmas trees, singing of Christmas carols and lighting of candles have been very prominent. Perhaps these traditions have become noticeable with the natural integration of these customs with the culture of Sri Lanka enriched by various religions. Perhaps unconsciously, giving of gifts has become meaningful in the context of "merit making" which is very prominent in the popular culture pregnant with Buddhist and Hindu values.
In an environment where trees are respected and venerated, the Christmas tree has become meaningful by representing the vitality of Christmas.
This is enhanced with the lighting of candles, making it a festival of light along with the Hindu festival of Deepavali (which literally means a row of lights) and the Buddhist celebration of Vesak (celebration of the birth, enlightenment and passing away of The Buddha). In a surrounding of ritualistic elements such as chanting of Ghatha in Buddhism and singing of Bhajans in Hinduism, Christmas carols have become very popular and meaningful in Sri Lanka. In predominant Christian areas and in other urban regions there is an increasing trend for people of other faiths to be involved in singing Christmas carols.
This shows that beneath the popular and commercialized culture of Christmas or Nattal this festival of light and life has been rooted in Sri Lanka by going through a process of contextualization. Therefore, in the post civil war background of Sri Lanka it is the responsibility of the followers of Christ to enhance this process to make this festival an effective celebration of life-affirming and light-generating celebration to incarnate the Word in Sri Lanka.
Daily News - Fr Keerthisiri FERNANDO