'Minneriya Deviyo' - Born 100 years ago today - CP de Silva – he could have been the Prime Minister – born 16th April 1912

He was a Civil Servant, who was also a GA for Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa being junior to my Grand Father (CBP Perera who was a specialist in land development) and was a later an MP for Polonnaruwa from 1952 through to 1970. He was Minister of Land development, then Agriculture, Lands, Irrigation and Power from 1956 through to 1970(at which time he was my grandfather’s boss when he was CPs permanent secretary till he retired in 1963) under both an SLFP and later under Dudley Senanayake’s 1965 to 1970 UNP government, and deputy prime minister as well. It is said that when SWRD Bandaranayake was assassinated, CP should have been the automatic choice for Prime Minister, but owing to fate as noted in an article I extracted from the net, it fell to Mrs Sirimavo! How the fate of the nation could have changed had that happened:

“The senior leader of ability and stature in the SLFP was Charles Percival de Silva (C.P. de Silva). Born in 1912, CP as he was known was an old Thomian and an ex-civil servant. He retired early as a Government Agent and entered Parliament in 1952.CP was Minister of Lands, Irrigation and Power in the Cabinet and also Leader of the House. He was widely regarded as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s able deputy and potential successor.

However, CP was taken ill after a Cabinet meeting on 25 August 1959. He had drunk a glass of milk in the boardroom where the Cabinet met. It was suspected that the glass contained some vegetable-derived poisonous substance. The intended victim was supposed to be the Prime Minister himself. CP’s condition proved so critical that he had to go to London for medical treatment. It was in this manner that fate played a trick on CP.

While CP was yet in London, his Prime Minister too was scheduled to go abroad in late September. S.W.R.D. was to go to Britain and the USA. Prior to his departure, S.W.R.D. made arrangements for Education Minister Wijayananda Dahanayake to be sworn in as Acting Premier to be in charge during his absence from the country. Had CP been in Colombo, he and not Dahanayake would have been acting for Bandaranaike.”

The 100th Birth of Charles Percival de Silva falls today. He died on 9th October 1972. He was born to a prominant Balapitiya family. His sister the first female pediatrician, Dr Stella de Silva died days ago and whose funeral was yesterday.

It is sad that only MrKHJ Wijedasa who worked under him in the Civil Service is the only person who has remembered this date and contributed all the articles that have been written about him in all the Sunday publications and the internet. Such is the fate of the good! http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120415/Plus/plus_07.html and http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/10/17/appreciation-c-p-de-silva-2/ http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/10/10/appreciation-c-p-de-silva/ http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/10/24/appreciation-c-p-de-silva-3/

I recommend that an interested student of Rajarata history read this article, as it gives a perspective of the impeccable character of the man, someone we rarely find today. I quote from the first two paragraphs to give the reader a flavor as to why HE MUST read this article to better understand some of Sri Lanka’s understated heroes, so we can encourage future generations to emulate such persons.

Men of great distinction and high calibre such as Charles Percival de Silva are rarely born. Such men live in the hearts of the people long after their demise. Popularly and fondly remembered as C.P. he dominated the administrative, social and political life of Sri Lanka in the mid 20th century.

C.P. was an eminent civil servant, gentleman politician and above all, a lover of humanity. His sincere dedication and selfless service to the people of Rajarata in general and the people of Polonnaruwa in particular is indeed legendary. Even today people of Polonnaruwa fondly refer to him as “our Minneriya Deviyo”.

I believe it is important that young people who live in settlements he created know who originated this, what he did for them, how he lived amongst them, and how he really believed in his mission, infused with the original concept of regaining our agricultural heritage that DS Senanayake began as Minister of Agriculture in 1935 and CP a young Civil Servant sent to Polonnaruwa then to help follow it through.

Apart from the family connection, I stayed in CP’s bungalow over 12 years ago on many occasions in Minneriya when we were helping the forces to retain people in their homes, when they were terrorized by the LTTE to abandon their land and flee, to thereby extending the land under LTTE control.

In addition as my two properties in Ratmale, Minneriya and Raja Ela, Hingurakgoda are directly related to what he did for the area, as well as the Clock Tower roundabout, where I have historical connections with all 4 statesmen, Sir John as a friend of my other grandfather appointed him Director of Information and later an Ambassador and DS and Dudley who were known to us, completes my claim to a part of Minneriya history both past and present day.

This man who had two chances to become Prime Minister but did not, is worthy of more attention to historians than he has currently been given. Due partly to the fact that he devoted his life to the people of Rajarata with whom he developed an immense empathy, there is little written about him, as he did not marry and have children who were able to document all the events of his life, as all the stories and anecdotes would have been with the people with whom he lived, who never thought of penning his life, in that they felt he would live forever. He lost the election of 1970 in the Sirima landslide by 1000 votes for the Minneriya electorate.

The Central Bank Annual Report 2011 – Presented to the President last week

I purchased a copy of the above at the Central Bank book store at the Center for Banking Studies which opposite the Presidents College Kotte on the Parliament Road near Rajagiriya on Wednesday 11th of April 2012. Only the English version is currently in print, the Sinhala and Tamil ones will take a few more weeks to arrive, as I suspect it was prepared in English and then translated later into Sinhala and Tamil. The above photo was take from the official Govt. news website which says the President is being presented with the report in all three languages. I suspect it is three copies in English but to fool the public the forever lying News.lk makes another lie about even a simple presentation of a report. Just imagine what bigger lies they are capable of if they need to lie about the inability of the Bank to have the report in all three languages at the same time!!!

So the copy presented to the President by the Governor of the Central Bank on April 9th was the English version 3 copies of the same book so the Governor thinks he can get three time the credit for it!! costing Rs400 and comprising in excess of 600pages, not bad for the price, which must be heavily subsidized but the back of the book says it was a product of Printcare a private company, which may have obtained the contract, at a far more favorable cost than a highly inefficient and high cost Govt. Printer which was probably incapable of handling the contract.

It is a hugely detailed, comprehensive document which was purchased as a reference book as I am constantly in need of statistics when it comes to referring to some figure on another in the course of my research and in also my blog articles.
I have to rely on its accuracy, though at times I have questioned the data due to the manner in which it was collected. I do have some reservations of the recent Census Data as the enumerators, whose job it is to extract that from the households, probably do not fully understand what should and should not be included and the accuracy of the data, especially when a household, and a householder has multiple sources of income, and very often misguidedly gives one that only contributes 30% of his income, as his main income source, especially when it comes to farming!
Nevertheless full credit to the Gnomes of the Bank and the Research and Data Collection Units of the Bank, most of them fairly highly paid, educated and with foreign Masters or PhDs that dot the Bank have been involved in its preparation.

The first 200 pages are the only ones that are actually page numbers with the rest being tables of statistics of one thing or another. The numbered pages is a rosy picture of the policies adopted and the general direction of the economy, showing the economy in very good light, and upon reading this one would think one was in a developed first world country with hardly a problem that requires solving.

Go out on to the streets and nearly everyone is wondering how they can survive on the income they currently receive bearing in mind the costs of everything that they consider to be essential. I wonder if there is a huge expectation and reality gap between the two and the one area I find almost impossible to comprehend is the huge GDP per capita of US$2500 or Rs310,000 for every man woman and child.

The Report of course talks about per capita at US$2800, but that was at the exchange rate average for 2011. I have taken current rates. So if the rupee falls further, the average for 2012 may show next year that in $ terms it has fallen, and so he will change the statistics to show some other basis!! Such are some of the examples of fools accounting resorted to by the Bank which has become highly politicized, losing its fiercely independent streak much to the chagrin of most of the staffers working there.

The Census Enumerators still to receive a stipend! – how broke is the state?

The article from which this image was taken stated that 100,000 (yes one hundred thousand) supervisors and 80,000 enumerators will take part in the census. Only in Sri Lanka can we have more supervisors than those who actually do the leg work literally.

The first proper all Island census for the last 30 years was completed less than a month ago. The enumerators picked usually by the Grama Niladari of which there are about 15,000 islandwide, were promised a payment dependent upon the households allocated to them. Usually a GN division has about 750 dwellings and on average about 5 persons would have been given the task, meaning that there are at least 75,000 people islandwide who have NOT been paid. I know the amounts are not massive. Many have other jobs and did this for some pocket money, but still having a bit of extra cash on hand for avurudhu would have been nice. We are talking in the region of Rs 5000 that is about US$40 a person.

Does the establishment have to be reminded of common decency in everything they do? We must add paying for work to the long list which includes being rude, lazy, deliberately evasive and obstructive and downright hostile to this list.

The task was not made easy due to the added information, sometimes intrusive which was required on the census questionnaire. I had to state that I did not have a TV and or music system and only a laptop for the household. Cooking is using firewood in the outhouse kitchen, the LP gas cooker in the pantry is only used to boil the fresh milk in the morning before refrigeration.

I was fortunate that the enumerator came when I was here on the farm in Godagama, as there were not even house number tags in the apartment in Gregory’s Rd let alone an enumerator!

I asked an enumerator I know, about when they expect to be paid, to which the answer was they had no idea. I am sure the submissions are being collated and inspected and some of them may be contacted again to obtain clarification from some households as to the information supplied, however that is no excuse to delay the payment to people who value any additional cash in hand.

I await the outcome of the Census data, to be able to comment on them, as it MAY reveal some surprises. However I do believe the data sheet could have been more comprehensive in being able to gather information of the family members who reside overseas, who fall into two categories, namely those who have gone for a short period, intending to return, many of whom remit funds to their families and the others who have effectively migrated, with little chance of return for permanent settlement who take a resource out, but contribute little in.

I would love to know how my house in Ratmale, Minneriya and the agricultural plot in Raja Ela, Hingurakgoda was classified in the Census data, that is if it was included at all!! Maybe I should contact the enumerators assigned there to find out. What am I classified as primarily, a farmer or a manager of one? Surely not a politician’s helper!

The special delicacies for the New Year – Spare a thought for the cook

Go back 50 years, and look at the way the traditional eats were prepared almost exclusively at homes, under wood burning fires, using clay pots and natural locally produced containers, and then consider how they are prepared today, with all the plastic, kerosene or LP gas cookers, air-tight containers into which they are put and the fewer people in the household, engaged in the preparation thereof.

The coconut oil was usually from one’s own coconuts in the garden, dried and then taken to the local mill to be pressed into coconut oil. Rice flour was either from one’s own harvest a few weeks previously, and then milled in the local mill.

I listen to people in the villages relate the stories and the fun times they had in preparing the food, I don’t see that anymore, and the young lasses fight shy of helping their mothers with the preparations, leaving the mothers struggling all hours to finish the chores of cooking and cleaning before the times when the hearth is left and cleaned before the boiling of the milk.

In urban areas people really find it very difficult to make these preparations and often rely on catering services or shops to do the needful, whilst in rural areas due to time, cost, and lack of help fewer and fewer eats are now prepared, and many young people do not even like the food, often complaining that they are not as good as the fast and convenience foods they are used to. This generation gap is widening, so much so that I fear some of these traditions passed down through the ages will disappear soon. Families now rarely having no more than two children mean that many households do not have any daughters, and if there are only sons it is left to the mother to do the needful burdening her with this chore as she sees it!

We must therefore be mindful, that despite tradition, if we are to keep the customs alive, we will have to engage the males in the family to help prepare the eats, and also to know how to do so from beginning to end.

It may be the sign of the times, but young people spend less and less time in the kitchens much to the annoyance of their parents, and carry on with their pass times watching sports on TV or spending time with friends a rarely helping around the house. It is therefore vital to know what may happen if they continue in this direction and be advised, coaxed or encourage to help their mothers and learn the art of making these foods, before it becomes too late, with no one to teach.

Let us all make an effort this season irrespective of gender to learn to prepare at least a few items of food, so we know how unique this task is for this time of year.

Redda – the ultimate casual outer wear around the home and about town!

As we move from a rural based society to urban, we appear to lose some of the gloss of the traditions, foods, dresses and games associated with the New Year. I would like to concentrate on commenting on those who actually make the delectable preparations we imbibe in so greedily at New Year, and wait eagerly to eat some fresh preparations of Mun Kavun or Halape or a host of other foods.

Before I get into that, I want to mention an incident yesterday, just before we left our work place to family or our homes in different parts of the country. We were all given material from our boss on account of the New Year, which I think is a wonderful gesture. I was given a trouser length from which to have a pair of trousers tailored, and one of the girls in the office was given some material, and I innocently asked her, “did you receive a cheettha length?” A cheettha length is enough material for a woman to make a sarong like wraparound traditional dress. No she said in a stern face, as if I insulted her, she said she had a gown length!!!

The implication was that she was slighted that I would have thought she would wear a wraparound cloth, and instead must realize that she would only make a gown, a western style skirt with it!!! So for a 22yr girl in Sri Lanka, it appears that it is an insult to even think they would wear a cloth at ANY time, even at home.

What may I ask have we become? I am lost for an explanation. Yes I did wear a sarong to office during the first three months of my recovery from my second operation after the bone graft was taken from my hip, to fuse with the femur on my thigh, as it was not healing on its own. I was never ashamed of wearing the sarong to work, and but for the convenience of trousers as a practical measure, think nothing of wearing a sarong to work!

Am I showing my age? Making such a statement, that young people today will not even dream of wearing a sarong. I know chauffeurs wearing sarongs today are hard to find, possibly only those over 55 may occasionally be the liveried type who wear a white sarong in their duty. It is now considered out of character so to do!

I digressed from my intended post, which I think I will defer till tomorrow and leave you the reader to ponder, comment or in any other way express your opinion on this matter of dress sense and dress as a form of a pecking order in society or even dress as a personal statement of your conformity, or non-conformity.

I conclude by lamenting that it is ONLY the avurudhu kumari who will wear the wraparound today, and even the rabana players now wear dress!!!! YES!!!!!!!

The Criteria used to measure success – an alternative view - On the state of the Economy

Interestingly today’s FT printed a Central Bank propaganda piece titled ‘REALITY’ Behind the Headlines. The Lankadeepa also had the Sinhala version of it titled “Sirasthala athara sangavuni aththa kathawa”, which no doubt those with some knowledge of economics, and students of Commerce will be able to understand. They are just performance indicators to ‘in essence’ show that all the indicators are positive and that the CB and the Govt. are doing a sterling job despite all the claims to the contrary.

The first point I question very sincerely is ‘Is the Central Bank or the Govt. the body who should take the credit for some of the positive indicators? No, it is the people of Sri Lanka both within and outside who have contributed much to the success.
Another point of contention is the massive infrastructure projects, namely the road development work that has given jobs to a lot of people. There are two sides to it. One is the amount of money borrowed on market terms, and soft terms to finance this, as well as the high cost of market borrowings. The second is the inflated cost of this project where there is a significant leakage, as much as 40% of the total cost of the projects. That is a heavy cost for future generations to repay along with the high US$ borrowing rates from Banks such as EX-IM Bank of China.

Then there is the intervention that kept exchange rates artificially high for years, and the Govt. is apparently taking credit for that, saying they were able to keep the exchange rate steady during this period of high inflation, which effectively was a period of exchange rate appreciation where imports relatively were cheap and more people found it cheaper to go overseas and holiday, rather than in Sri Lanka, worsening the balance of payments situation. This was also made possible by the huge inflow of remittances that helped to keep the exchange rate high, and also stimulate the economy from the rural areas, as well as pay for the foreign cost of the armaments imports, all thanks to our hardworking citizens overseas who remit.

I did not go into detail on all the graphs that are presented, and I do not doubt the positive growth in the economy, but I repeat that if there was less interference by Govt. and less of the policy shifts we saw as well as the uncertainties that come with it, we could have actually had better performances, trickling down to all segments of our society, something that this supposed growth has failed in.

Now all the indicators are taking a turn for the worse, so before it does the CB wants to blow their own trumpet before it is too late!!

The massive effort to reduce the Balance of Payments Deficit - Will it pay off?

The shock of the Trade Deficit in January 2012, rising to US$1Billion triggered a lot of kneejerk reactions which we are now coming to grips with. In essence we buy US$2Billion a month from overseas and we export US$1Billion, giving us a monthly deficit of US$1Billion.

This in itself is OK if we can plug it by a monthly remittance figure of that same amount, as was the case all this time, but there did not seem a way out of this mess, short of a huge forced devaluation which would have had far worse consequences for a country still unable to produce their own food, despite much shouting to the contrary. It would have cause riots and the Govt. had to make a tough decision.

They looked at a simple way to plug this deficit. Anyone with common sense would have said that since the end of hostilities the vehicles on the road have ballooned which only says that the oil import bill has doubled since that time. A huge increase in fuel prices did not even dent the usage, much to the surprise of the authorities showing how demand inelastic this commodity is in Sri Lanka.

25% of all imports were just vehicles of one sort or another. So the easiest action was to tax all these vehicles, and that is exactly what they did. Assuming for a whole year it stops the imports, then there will be a definite help on the balance of payments. However to be effective it is the people who are in the lower income categories who are the hardest hit. After all the person who wants a motor bike, or a three wheeler where due to the numbers, much of the imports came from, is now priced out of this purchase.

So the effect of this is many fold. It will reduce the import of vehicles, it will reduce the rate of increase in the oil bill, though it will not necessarily CUT the oil bill as is being trumped around. It will not really increase the tax revenue at all despite the increased rates of taxation, due to the huge reduction of the quantity of vehicles coming into the country.

The spanner in the works is the level of duty free permits granted this year. That will NOT give Govt. revenue, it will increase imports or shall we say not reduce the dollar value of imported vehicles on a strata of society. It will increase the oil consumption, as these are permits for cars and SUVs and not for smaller bikes and three wheelers. This anomaly must stop if they are to level the playing field a little.

In short all those who were involved in this decision to increase the taxes, will all be able to buy a duty free vehicle as they are all Govt. servants!!

The Govt. is hoping the fall out will be minimal; that the economic benefit arising is worth taking this step when they did. This does not bode well for consistency of policy, something that has been a criticism all along in Sri Lanka. Without a clear consistent policy on matters, it is very difficult to take a long term view of planning this economy well. IMF directed knee jerk reactions in the economy must be avoided as consequences of inconsistency is very bad for business.

The self-interest of the various groups are now coming into the open. For example the three wheeler drivers who use their vehicles for hire, like the new rules which will reduce the imports, so they will face less competition. They are already in for a surprise as the economic woes, will reduce the ability of the existing three wheelers to earn a living as their customers will fall, and their costs will rise due to the higher import duties on the spares. So they can’t be smug, not knowing it is a false sense of security on another person’s distress.

With the ban of cars over a year old from manufacturing date, the second hand market of unregistered imports will die, and they will have to survive merely on being second hand car dealers of the local market.

The huge increase in the tax on motorcycles will prevent another 100,000 prospective buyers from buying a vehicle for them to do their basic work. Maybe it would be to go to their job, as the public transport system was in want. Many three wheeler owners use it as their family vehicle, and that segment has been declined their mode of transport, unless they wish to avail themselves of a higher duty.

The main dealers in these vehicles will now face some hard times, and have to make a few tough decisions with regard to their survival, causing another storm in the CSE with insider trading allegations. It is just a matter of time.

These actions should have been tied in with a huge improvement in public transport to take vehicles off road, as it would then be more practical to take public transport. This they have not. Without that it is regressive against the less well off.

Public policy to reduce the import bill on fuel is completely different to that which was recently adopted. It can work by increasing fuel prices further which will reduce consumption, and increase Govt. revenue both at the same time, and it will be paid by all who us vehicles. It will not be discriminatory, and so will be acceptable to society. It is fuel usage that needs to be cut drastically and when saturation point on vehicles is reached, to avoid a nationwide traffic jam, traffic management methods must be introduced immediately, mainly to reduce congestion, and therefore consumption.

Young people hate long speeches, no they hate speeches.

I was at ceremony on Friday afternoon last week in the Kandy area in the Hewaheta Electorate to be exact, where about 150 youth almost all under 25 were gathered to receive sports goods for their respective sports club. This was organized by a Provincial Councilor of the Central Provincial Council, to commemorate 15 years in politics and he had decided to use some funds from the decentralized budget to gift, volley balls, bats and balls to these clubs.



In attendance were three parliamentarians and a host of other provincial councilors, and a sprinkling of Pradeshiya Sabha members. Due to the formalities of the proceedings in Sri Lanka style, people get offended when their names are not singled out for mention, so when each of the 10 speakers are called to the podium to address the crowd, they have to politely get the permission of all in the panel. The more speakers, the more on the panel and in the end mentioning their names alone multiplied by 10 in itself takes half hour.

The youth in the audience were stuck, having to sit it out to receive these items, a very unfair request, which people just say “if they want something for free a few hours of their time that is lost should not be begrudged” I am especially conscious of this issue, as one of my main tasks is to engage young people in leadership, community and political action for a better future for them. We do not want to jeopardize this chance by boring them out of their wits. We must make it valuable to them, and one where their active participation is sought, be it in a discussion format or question and answer format, where questions directly relevant to them are on the agenda.



The photos of the event are interspersed in this report, with the readers able to come to their own conclusion of how best to handle the event. It is worthy to note that as many people relevant to the subject are invited, and when invited are assumed to have to make a speech. One important outcome being that their public standing and their popularity must get a boost in this gathering.

There was only a fruitdrink served at the event, which due to the heat of the moment, TV camera lights etc barely even refilled the moisture loss from the body.


I would like these kids to be able to go home and relate a memorable event at the meeting to their loved ones, when discussing this event. I cannot even think what that might be. I hope that they even learnt something about the history of this country as even that knowledge amongst such youth who rarely pick up a newspaper is simply a void, not something they are aware of. Cest la vie.

Welikanda – a small island of despair in a relatively prosperous surround

In a spontaneous hastily arranged event, I asked Rajitha with whom we were staying the night, that we would like to meet some of his die hard supporters who went to bat for him in the recently fought Municipal Council Elections in Kandy, of which he was a candidate but failed to secure enough preferences to be elected to the Municipal Council.

So after the Bodhi Pooja at the Dalada Maligawa, where we were fortunate to get into the room where the sacred tooth relic is encased in the casket, we went to Welikanda. It was a hamlet of about 250 homes, in central Kandy, which was precariously appointed as it is liable to landslide. I was able to climb up to the home where the meeting was held, though it was a little dangerous negotiating some of the way due to the precipice on one side of a narrow path.

Most of the people were young male and female, who wanted to inform us of the conditions or lack of for the youth of the area, and the derelict state of their community hall, and the non-existent facilities for the sports club to operate in. Their grouse as is quite common is one where politicians at election time make promises, and once elected do not site the place nor honor any of their promises.
We went there merely to meet, but went away convinced that we had to do something for these people, as they gave the impression of being desperate for some help, with no one in authority they can turn to help them.

It was really a plea for help for basic things like some bats and balls for cricket and maybe a weight training set and some volley balls. We were also told that the local sports club with non-existent facilities had fielded a team to for athletics and did themselves proud. They were proud of their latent talent and bemoaned the lack of anyone able to identify this and take it to the next level.

One from a poor home, was unable to buy a pair of rugby boots, though he was an outstanding scrum-half at Vidyartha the school he currently attends. So we took note of that as something we must work on without delay to satisfy this basic need.

We were most warmly received, though none knew who or what we were about. These youth have no idea of politics or politicians. They do not read the newspapers nor do they watch any type of news on TV. Their TV viewing is restricted to Soaps, and all their knowledge is what they learn at school or in whatever job they happen to engage in. We promised to help without delay and begin a revival of the community spirit, which has drawn the people with a common purpose.

The way a life ended – Amaradasa or was it really Jakolis Aiya!

I attended a funeral a short while ago in Pahathgama off the Diddeniya Road, close to Hanwella. I only now gathered some information of the deceased which in life he was not unable to share even with his wife.

We knew him as Amaradasa, and so did his wife Seetha. They came to work on the farm about 14 years ago, and they were introduced by a farm worker named Suwaris Singho. They had met at a workplace not too far away and came and lived in one of our farm houses, soon after for a place to begin their life. He took care of the cattle, and the milking. They had both been married before he with 5 children and she with 2 daughters, but he had told her that he had not been legally married and so took her, though we have no proof if either marriage was legal. In the past this marriage thing only came into importance when it came to inheritance etc.

They left us about two years ago, for greener pastures on the say so of a relative who promised to help them. They begged my father, who generally gets taken in by a sob story,, to take them back about a month ago, and that they were living in a house in Marawila, and the owners used to lock them in whenever they went out and wanted out of there.

Within two days of their arrival Amaradasa was taken ill and was admitted to the Homagama base hospital and later transferred to Colombo National Hospital where he died ten days later of pneumonia. It appeared that his wife realized that he was going to die, and not knowing anyone where they were living felt that this was where their married life was most fruitful and came penniless back to us.

The Amaradasa’s family upon being informed of his death told us that they were unable to take care of the expenses, and so the basic costs of organizing the funeral were taken over by us, and once this was done, they decided to change their mind and the body was taken to one of his daughter’s homes in Pahathgama, which was also his village, where the final rites were performed today, and the burial took place in the adjoining cemetery in his village, which was how it should be.

In reality both families had rejected them once this marriage had taken place and till now they had little connection. Seetha’s daughter when given in marriage had put Amaradasa’s name as the father, instead of her real father. So as she is married to a person in the Army, they have taken it upon themselves to help out in many ways and the banners at the funeral were all from the Army. Though Amaradasa’s family were aghast at that, when they see some of the costs borne by the Army, are less inclined to complain, though when a lump sum death benefit is received by the daughter for the loss of her father, the real children will not be amused as they will not share in any of the spoils. I guess in death the family put aside their differences to give the deceased some degree of dignity in death, but once the burial is over some of the disagreements are bound to recur, especially when it comes to money.

Amaradasa had no birth certificate, and had no idea of his date of birth, hence he was not able to obtain a National Identity Card. So his wife may have difficulty in collecting his EPF money collected during his service with us, and so I asked her to get the help of the Army, explain the reality and the problems and try and get what is due, as otherwise it would simply revert to the state.

I suspect he may be about 70, but he never dyed his hair and his full head of hair was black in the end.

In his death her daughters have finally accepted her. I met the youngest who is married to the soldier, with the three little kids at the funeral and she has asked the mother to come live with her in Galgamuwa, in the Kurunegala district I think. Her parents are both alive, and will now accept her back into the fold.

Such is some of the reality, when families break up due to alliances they do not agree with, and before some finally pass on are able to patch up and live happily ever after, when a situation such as this arises.

I note this event in the blog, because one must think of some of the real life consequences of one’s action and take cognizance of it and make a decision on one’s life without regret. When this couple who together had 7 children between them and none in the marriage, had basically been disowned by both families, and we provided the only home they really knew as a couple, I wonder how it may have affected them mentally and psychologically.

Seetha took care of Amaradasa very well during his numerous illnesses, despite him having lied to her about his past and his name, which she realized only when Jakolis Aiya came home to be buried, not even to die.

I know not if their previous spouses are amongst the living or dead, but at least this story does have an end which provides a dignified acceptance to both, one in death and the other for the surviving spouse amongst the living.

I hope for Seetha’s sake it will provide a pleasant retirement with her grandchildren, finally back in the fold, and even she possibly in her 60’s has a full head of black hair with hardly a white to be seen. I wonder if that tells something!


Seetha and Amaradasa at a wedding of one the boys on the farm who married the daughter of another farm laborer.