Avurudu blues

It was a warm Thursday morning when Aldoris, the choonpaan karaya, came in his tuk-tuk with an Avurudu song blaring from his loudspeakers. Stopping at the gate, where the trio had gathered, he proceeded to offer kavum and kokis but was stopped by Kussi Amma Sera. “Aiyo maeva hari ganang nae. Mama maeva gedera hadanawa. Apita maalu-paan denna (Aiyo, these are expensive, I am making these sweetmeats at home. Give us some maalu-paan),” she said.

“Mae avuruddath harima amarui. Aluth andum ganna saha avurudu charithra warithra karanna minisunta harima amarui (It’s another difficult year for Avurudu celebrations. People are struggling to buy new clothes and prepare for the annual festival),” said Mabel Rasthiyadu.

“Kochchara amaru kalayak wunath apey gam wala minissu kohoma hari avurudu samaranawa pahu giya kala wala wagey (Despite these hard times, somehow in the village, the people will celebrate the New Year as in the past),” noted Serapina.

Hard times it is despite an economic recovery, more dollar inflows and less pressure on imports. Worker remittances have improved and tourism is fetching more dollar earnings but the country is not out of the woods.

The World Bank said in a report this week that while the economy is showing signs of stabilisation, poverty rates continued to rise for the fourth year in a row, with nearly 26 per cent of Sri Lankans living below the poverty line in 2023.

It said households are grappling with multiple pressures from high prices, income losses and under employment. This has led to households taking on debt to meet food requirements and maintain spending on health and education.

World Bank concerns come on the back of a report by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) which said poverty has increased in the country.

In a report, the DCS said the minimum monthly expenditure per person to fulfil the basic needs was recorded at Rs. 17,014 in January 2024, as compared to Rs. 16,524 in December 2023.

Another media report quoted DCS’s Additional Director General (Statistics), Shyamalie Karunaratne as saying that the official poverty line had risen sharply in the past four years by over 140 per cent. In 2019, a person required Rs. 6,966 per month to fulfil their basic needs while in 2024 it has risen to Rs. 17,014.

She has said a family of four members needs Rs. 68,056 a month to fulfil the basic needs as per the Official Poverty Line calculated based on statistics of the Household Income and Expenditure survey.

I wonder whether my readers remember the foot-in-themouth statement by Bandula Gunawardene, then Minister of Education in 2012, when he said an individual can live on Rs. 2,500 or a family of three on Rs. 7,500 “if they used the money wisely”.

Speaking at a public event at Homagama, he said that if people refrained from wasteful expenditure they could live happier, fuller and pleasanter lives. (My response: What about politicians, don’t they waste state money and rob the country?)

His evidence was based on the Education Department running student hostels in several schools where students have three square meals and two cups of tea a day for Rs. 2,500 a month. “This is a clear indication that a family of three needs only Rs. 7,500 for a month if they manage their expenses properly,” he said without realising that these hostels must have been subsidised by the state.

More ‘interesting titbits’ from that statement: “The number of cellular phones in use in the country exceeds the population. Many individuals are using super- luxury cars at tremendous costs. It is in doubt whether they really need such expensive vehicles. No government has been able to contain the increasing cost of living.” (My response: Politicians are the ones who have multiple mobile phones, their luxury cars run at state expense. If the government cannot bring down the cost of living or increase incomes it must quit!)

His statement triggered an outpouring of anger from the public and led to the minister blundering through many other missteps in response to the criticism.

As I reflected on these issues, the phone rang. Calling this morning was ‘Koththamalli’ Fernando, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for many ailments) expert who has a remedy for any issue.

“I say, this year the Avurudu celebrations will be subdued due to the cost of living crisis. In the midst of this is also a dispute over the ‘nekath’ times for the festivities,” he said.

“Yes there seems to be a disagreement over the auspicious times,” I said, adding that this, however, has no impact on the fact that people are going through another miserable year in trying to celebrate the New Year.

“Thinking about the cost of living, I remember when Minister Bandula Gunawardene said an individual needs only Rs. 2,500 per month. What nonsense was he talking?” said Fernando.

“He has since then not spoken about the issue. I would like to see what he has to say today on poverty levels which according to the Department of Census and Statistics requires a family of four to earn an income of nearly Rs. 70,000 for basic needs per month,” I said.

The World Bank report said poverty has risen since 2019, from 11.3 per cent to 12.7 per cent in 2020, adding over 300,000 new poor in that period. It continued to increase in 2021 and then doubled between 2021 and 2022, from 13.1 to 25 per cent. This increase has added an additional 2.5 million people into poverty in 2022.

While inflation soared to unbelievable levels in 2022/2023 but has come down sharply, the fact remains that consumers are still paying for goods at 2022 rates. This is while income levels have come down, many people have lost their jobs particularly those working in the SME (small and medium scale) sector and there is a category of workers who continue to receive only half their original wages as companies struggle to recover lost ground.

The government has lost its ability to recover tax revenue with billions of rupees not collected.

There are two segments that would, however, celebrate Avurudu – despite difficult times – in grand style: the politicians and the super-rich. Politicians and their flunkies will celebrate in style with an eye on the elections, all the reason to give a super feed to their constituents.

As I relished the thoughts of some kavum and kokis as Avurudu approaches next week, my thoughts also went to those who are unable to afford festive food or even three square meals a day.