LET’S NOT JUDGE

“I want a ticket to Kaduwela,”said Nihal as he handed over a hundred rupee note to the bus conductor.

“You can sit at the back of the bus next to the “Pem Yuvela”(Pair of lovers)”said the conductor as he returned the change to Nihal.

Nihal looked around the bus but there was no room except at the back. So he made his way and smiled at the young couple who smiled in return. They were holding hands and went back to looking soulfully into each other’s eyes. Nihal sat down and gave himself up to thought.”Make love, not war’ goes the adage and was the slogan of the Flower Children or the Hippie Movement in the Sixties. We in Sri Lanka need to have more loving couples. The trouble is that the majority of Sri Lankans still agree to arranged marriages and then concentrate on the children. They don’t hold hands and make love after marriage. Looking after a baby is a full-time job and the husband moves out into the world of work while the wife is busy with the child. If only all couples planned their pregnancies and spent a couple of years building up happy memories of their love life before becoming parents!”he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by the old woman next to him on the other side.”These young people

“But there is nothing wrong. It is better to be open than to have secret sex and have unwanted babies. Our parents were too strict. We should not judge young lovers but encourage them to form loving relationships ending in marriage.”

today don’t know how to behave. In our young days, we would have been slapped by our parents if we held hands or kissed in public,”she said.

“But there is nothing wrong. It is better to be open than to have secret sex and have unwanted babies. Our parents were too strict. We should not judge young lovers but encourage them to form loving relationships ending in marriage,”opined Nihal.