A New Tale of Two Cities: Colombo and Los Angeles

Reflecting on the diametrically opposed political views raging in Lanka’s political debate, we were reminded of the opening lines of Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, which we studied long years ago as a text book and have read many a time thereafter. The opening lines of the wonderful story is now an often used ‘quotable quote’ in journalism in relation to emerging situations.

Dickens opened with the lines: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was, season of darkness, it was the spring of hope it was the winter of despair....

Considering the economic and political turmoil in this -- as someone recently described as the ‘Paradoxical Paradise’ -- Charles Dickens appears to be prophetic.

The story was set amidst the French Revolution of 1748 and how the revolutionary forces impacted on the lives of people who shuttled between Paris and London in stage coaches.

We imagined a 21st century Sri Lankan literati writing A New Tale of Two Cities between Colombo and Los Angeles where a powerful family shuttled between the two cities not in stage coaches but in jumbo jets or even more luxurious modes of air travel.

If Dickens were to write about Sri Lanka after the French Revolution he would have been as we say: spot on.

It all depends on which side or city you are in. To some everything what the Rajapaksa government has done and will do is absolutely right and will be right. To those at the receiving end of the stick everything is obviously absolutely wrong.

It was (or is) the best of times, and the worst of times. Yes, of course for some wielding power in Lanka and those with parts or entire families living in Los Angeles -- it could be the best of times. To those farmers in Lanka now on the roads protesting as they have no fertiliser for their crops and are threatened with starvation, it could be the worst of times for generations. Thus, could this be another Tale of Two Cities?

Dickens says: ‘It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness’. To do away with chemical fertiliser in one fell swoop, farmers having progressively increased their harvests for decades using this variety of fertiliser for Lanka to reach the self-sufficiency target in this staple food, was it a wise or foolish act, particularly at a time when the Treasury had run out of foreign currency and Covid 19 had stalled the economy for two years?

Rajapaksas and their cohorts will say it was a wise far seeing move to rid the soil of chemicals and improve its quality. Not so, farmers will say, claiming that their harvests are ruined and they can’t even buy a packet of milk powder for their starving children.

Dickens says: It was an epoch of belief; it was an epoch of incredulity.

How will this relate to the present state of Lanka’s foreign exchange crisis which, according to rational, scientific and thinking on economics, is the root cause of all the current crises? The Central Bank Governor, who claims to have ‘Cabinet Rank’, boldly declares on TV that he has no problem with hard currency. How is it that we have been meeting our commitments paying back billions of dollars taken on loans? he asks, But the people know that he along with the Finance Minister and some ambassadors are Loan Rangers scouring countries with begging bowls for loans that will be given at their own price not only in monetary terms but also for gaining strategic interests detrimental to the sovereignty of the country. This denial is essential for their political survival say critics.

Dickens writes: It was the season of light; it was the season of darkness. It is relevant to us both if the ‘season of light’ is that of enlightenment of thought or of physical illumination. The Rakjapaksas and their followers, no doubt think that their periods of governance were the most enlightened of all in the 72 years of Independence but critics ask for results. The highways are there but they lost the presidential election after that and the grandiose monuments are also there -- a harbour, an airport, cricket stadiums -- still not earning significant revenue while the country sinks neck deep in billion dollar debts.

As for a season of Light-- physical illumination -- the nation awaits with candles on stand and oil lamps topped up in readiness at homes for blackouts while the country’s Lone Rangers manage to scrounge a few tons of fuel each day to keep power houses generating electricity.

Dickens goes on: We had everything before us.... We had nothing before us.... We were all going to heaven, we were all going directly the other way.....

In this New Tale of Two cities there will be those who firmly think we are all going to heaven -- Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour etc-- as spelt out in the president’s manifesto and others on the road who think that they are already burning in hell.