Paintings on the walls that do not help national unity

We appreciate all men, women, university students, artists, clergymen and youth who voluntarily come forward to beautify the country by creating colourful paintings on the walls by the side of roads.

Now there are no walls left for politicians, tuition masters, traders and theatres to paste their posters.

The pictures drawn on the walls most often depict historical scenes and cultural events. But some pictures do not suit the place and deliver the wrong message. The painting at Galagedera- Rambukkana junction (Y junction) shows three unhappy faces of people from different ethnic communities staring in different directions as if they are not on good terms with each other.

What is the message given by this painting? Will it encourage unity and harmony among the communities?

It would have been better if the artists had drawn happy and smiling faces facing each other and perhaps holding hands to symbolise national unity. It would have been even better if they had drawn Galagedera’s forgotten national hero- T.B. Jayah who joined hands with D.S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of this country and Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, in helping gain Independence. T.B. Jayah’s parental home lies only about 150 metres from this junction.

They could have even drawn pictures of the former Ministers and MPs such as K.A. Jabbar, Tamara Kumari Ilangaratne, Tikiri Banda Ilangaratne, Sarath Amunugama and Rauff Hakeem who have done some service to the country, particularly to the Galagedera electorate .

A.W.M. Kaleel Galagedera