A ‘Byway’ and Productive Thought from Sanath Jayatilaka in Lanka !@#!!
Thalif Deen in New York
When Daya Perera was our UN ambassador, I had a perennial battle of wits -– and, most of the time, he had the last word. He once dismissed news stories in the Lake House newspapers as largely “bogus”. Defending my old establishment, I told him that people in Sri Lanka read the Daily News, at least for its obituaries. And Daya shot back: “Even those obituaries are bogus!”.
Errol Fernando to one “Gavin,” 25/26 June 2022
Predictions under the McCullum/Stokes alliance are totally impossible, Gavin. England 55 for 6 chasing 329 and now 264 for 6 starting all-important Day Three. I was WAY off with my prediction in the previous Test. Way off indeed, even by my standards.
However, I now have the perfect solution. I will make my usual prediction which I will keep to myself. I will then send you the OPPOSITE prediction – something completely absurd and ridiculous – and sure enough that is most likely to happen under McCullum/Stokes! If I had done that in the previous Test I would have been hired by the bookmakers.
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Captain Elmo Jayawardena, whose original title runs thus “Ratmalana — in Emperor’s New Clothes”
A few days ago, I read in the papers that Sri Lanka has opened another International Airport (RML) at Ratmalana on the 27th of March. There was a photograph too, the arrival of the first plane, a Maldivian Airline Dash-8, twin turboprop 50-seater that flew from Velana Airport in Hululle to Ratmalana. The aeroplane was welcomed with arches of water canon salutes created by the fire engines of the Airport Fire Brigade. There were Kandyan dancers in attendance too plus a VVIP contingent to celebrate the opulent opening of the new International Airport. Of course, the day’s fanfare cost millions, that is what the newspapers said. 
Saluted welcome-then cancelled flights
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I: An Appreciation from Patrick Ranasinghe, 1 February 2022 …. Aubrey Collette 1920 -1992
Remember the cartoons of the mid to late 50’s and early 60’s. The issues he touched on are more relevant than ever now.
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Capt Elmo Jayawardena … whose preferred title for this tongue-in-cheek essay is “Rata Yana Grandmothers”
Remember the bygone years! Daughters got married and became pregnant a few rounds more than the current rate. The average production line extended to a foursome. Some even went further, “A” team types and came close to two-digit figures of adding new inhabitants to walk the planet.
Today the story is different. “One is enough, and he will get all we have,” is quite a common comment and a few over-step the planned reproduction limitations purely by accident and reach the second round. Either way the count is kept low relative to the statistics of the previous generations.
Thank God.
Let’s make a few comparisons, I do recall the yesteryear, same show, as common as grass blades. The drum major of a mother-in-law invaded and took over the whole show, lock stock and cradle. Of course, she did not come alone but with Asilin or Cicilin who was her lifetime faithful in the domestic department, Mary and the little lamb type who accompanied her everywhere.
Senaka Weeraratne
Extraordinary times produce unusual personalities and unusual concoctions. Like the Dhammika Paniya now offering a cure for COVID – 19.
Ruhuna Putra, in Island. 22 July 2020, with this title “Galle’s famous Fibber’s Tree”
It was a giant tree of the Banyan family (Ficus altissima), fairly tall, most of its branches canopied and dotted with many a rookery, while some branches bent downwards to the ground and propagated. It also had several subsidiaries. It was centrally located within the town of Galle in a small section of the large cattle pen of the mighty King Ravana covering vast acres, opposite the present police station and close to the war memorial roundabout.
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thuppahi
