Gatecrasher at almsgiving: Food for thought

My heart goes out today to President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose popularity seems to have plunged especially among his Cabinet of Ministers. Where in better times they would have fallen over themselves to invite him to their house-warming all night pirith ceremonies and would have afforded him honour and respect, the President has now been reduced to gatecrashing their almsgivings.

The President did make a beeline to the almsgiving and have his frugal lunch of greens and rice. But apart from the popularity reason, I wonder whether there is something far more serious that prompted the President to flout all norms of social etiquette and determinedly gatecrash almsgivings.

Could it, heaven forbid, be due to the insurmountable problem that besets his millions of subjects? The rising cost of living where in order to survive till tomorrow it has become necessary to scrounge a free meal from another today?

HYMN FOR SRI LANKA

(The words and music of this hymn were composed by Lakshman Kannangara, whose birth and death anniversaries both fall in August.) Look down upon Sri Lanka Our lovely land, O Lord. Keep it from harm and danger, To us thy grace afford. Keep this our land united, Our people as one kin. The flame of peace ignited, To cleanse us of our sin. To each no one a stranger Let Lankans so abide. Look down upon Sri Lanka Our Counsellor and Guide.

Dehiwela