The heat is very hot, no?
The sun will be directly overhead Colombo and many other regions, for many days, the Meteorological Department said a few days ago. It’s sweltering with the temperature at around 31 degrees Centigrade and humidity 80 per cent (approx).
You can’t blame Gota, Mahinda and the rest of the gang for it is so in April every year.
Long years ago on an April afternoon, a teacher of ours uttered these memorable words: Phew! Boys, the heat is very hot, no? -- to which a boy from the back of the class added: And Sir, perspiration is pouring like sweat.
In our opinion, the sun being ‘directly overhead’ causes other implications than heating up Lanka. It affects our heads and their functioning. It may not be medically proven, but if the full moon makes people go loony why not the overhead sun around which all the planets go round and around, affect the peoples’ conduct?
Take that incident of Mrs World being crowned that made world news. We will not comment on the incident itself because there is the threat of litigation among the parties involved. But the issue raises the legality of the institution of marriage.
Can a woman be divorced if she had not married—that is at some stage she had to be married. And does a divorce take away her title of Mrs? If so, what is she to call herself? Miss? What happens to a woman who is legally married to a man who has many legal wives? Does she have full rights of a Mrs to enter whatever beauty contest for married or formerly married women?
We do not claim to be an authority on matrimony but the spirit of the Avuruddha set us thinking on these lines.
We failed to notice comments of Women Liberators, now called Women Libbers, in the media on this issue. Decades ago, some of them said that beauty pageants were like butchers’ shops where parts of the female anatomy were displayed attractively for sale -- pure capitalist commercial ventures. Women libbers it appears prefer women to be judged for their brain power rather than for their anatomical configurations.
Does it really boil down to brains vs beauty? What do men think? We leave it to our male readers, for it is they who have to make the ultimate choice.
Perhaps beauty contests et al are all old hat to veteran women libbers. They have passed that decades ago and are now forging ahead with the Women’s Revolution capturing key positions of the most powerful global professional, legal and financial institutions and are strategising to capture world political power.
We wish the ladies all the best, but they should know that every revolution is followed by counter-revolution. We don’t have to tell the ladies: Don’t trust men too much.
The sun being positioned directly overhead has also resulted in a tumultuous Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Even though the Covid 19 virus has taken much of the song and dance off the festivities as it did last year, this time it was causing greater problems. Gota’s absolute gift of Rs 5,000 for all poverty stricken victims and Bandula Gunawardena’s bag for only Rs 1000 ( Saagatha Malla) packed with Avurudu Goodies appears to have infuriated rather than pleased some, according to TV interviews conducted by some channels. Only Pohottuwa loyalists said ‘Something is better than nothing’. It proves that Sinhalayas cannot be pleased with free gifts. They think free gifts are their birthright and want more. Contents of Bandula’s bag are being criticised item by item. “They are not supermarket quality but CWE stuff,” a consumer said.
It reminded us of the comment of University of Ceylon Vice-Chancellor, Sir Nicholas Attygalle (The Iron Chancellor) in the mid-sixties on receiving complaints about the quality of food in the varsity canteen ‘You fellows want Galle Face Hotel food paying Lion House rates’ (Lion House was a popular hangout of undergrads at Bambalapitiya junction.
Then came the aflatoxin scare that nearly brought the Avurudda to halt. There was this cancer causing substance in coconut oil that had been imported, containers full, in the country and in Colombo harbour it was said. There could be no real Avurudda without Kavun, Kokkis, Aasme, Athiraha and the like, all of which have to be fried in coconut oil. There could be no Avurudu table sans these delicacies and the choice was: Kavun or Cancer.
It was a double whammy against celebrations after the warning by military and health authorities: Don’t go visiting your kith and kin in the villages and get Covid; stay at home and celebrate within limits.
But the Avurudu celebrations at homes went on as usual with those delicacies on the table and the Sinhalayas gobbling them up with delight true to the ancient saying: ‘Sinhalaya Modaya Kavun Kanna Yodhaya’ (Sinhalaya is fool who gobbles up Kavun like a giant).What happened to the aflatoxin scare, we don’t know.
A notable feature in this year’s celebrations was that kingpins of the country who invariably appear on TV during the celebrations and at temples with TV crews trailing were prominent by their absence.
It has already set the Chattering Class of Colombo chattering away as the Aluth Avuruddha dawned.