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| Sunday, 10 February 2002 |
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Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Padparadscha, Padmaraja or Padmaraga? At the annual exhibition "Facet 2000" held at the Hilton hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka, the main theme was "The source of Padparadscha - the sparkle of natural beauty". About two weeks later, when a conference held at the Public Library auditorium, Kandy, the most tourist attraction city in Sri Lanka, I felt that the German word Padparadscha should be changed to its original and correct name Padmaraga. At this conference, a well-known Sri Lankan gem merchant, who also owns a laboratory, pronounced the word Padparadscha in Sinhala, the main national language in Sri Lanka, as "Padpa-rad-scha" with difficulty and I happened to notice this with uneasiness. Padmaraga is one of the most valuable gems found in Sri Lanka and belongs to the corundum family, which is chemically aluminium and oxygen (AIO). There are many varieties of gems in this family with beautiful different colours, and because of these colours, different names are used for them. When found in red and blue, they are known as Ruby and Blue Sapphire respectively. Yellow or light yellow stones are known as Pushparaga, Ratnapushparaga has red mixed with yellow and gems with the star effect are called "Stars", which are in blue or red shades. When founding the colour of the "Lotus" flower it is called Padmaraga and blackish dark blue is known as Kakanila. There have been several occasions when foreigners have written or commented on these gems which are found in Sri Lanka in large quantity. They would have used various names for gems found in this country. The nations who were in the forefront of mineral - study, must have used different names for different gems according to their pattern of identification. There are names derived from Sinhala such as - "Sinahalite" and "Uvite" from Province Uva, in Sri Lanka, "Ekanite" from the name of Mr. Ekanayake, the founder of this gem and so on. Of the Europeans who invaded Sri Lanka, the Portuguese who were first to come were not interested in gems. The Dutch showed a little interest but their targets were the less valuable gems such as Tourmaline, Zircon etc. The British conquered the entire country and ruled till 1948 A.D. who were interested in the valuable gems. Among the other foreigners, Germans came here with the sole purpose of buying gems. When the Germans visited Sri Lanka their interest was forcussed on the valuable gems. Although they came here for blue sapphire and ruby, the best "cornflower blue" is found in Kashmir and the "pigeon blood red" ruby is found in Thailand. But Padmaraga which has the beauty of Lotus flower, is found in Sri Lanka. According to the way one hears it spoken, or for easy pronunciation, one might have termed this gem as Padmaraja. This wrong interpretation, taking "Padma"as lotus and "Raja" as king leads to Padmaraja meaning "king of flowers", and this interpretation could have gone to the purchasers or customers. Sri Lankans have given this wrong interpretation to the Germans, and because of this incorrect name given to the Germans, they have begun to use the word Padparadshcha which has crept into the world market. There is no single letter in the German alphabet for the English 'J' sound, and they use the four letters "dsch" for that sound. The letter "J" is pronounced as "yot". For example Ajantha is spelt as "Adschantha". There is no name as Padmaraja and that should be corrected as Padmaraga. According to Dr. Arisen Ahubudu, well-known Sinhala language scholar "Padma" is Lotus and "Raga" is colour. Being a stone endemic to Sri Lanka it has got a name representing its colour. This is improperly used as "Padmaraja" in Sri Lanka as well as in some other countries. What is still more humorous is that the wrong word. Padparadscha used by Germans, has been attempted to be used as a Sinhala name. In no way, this can be accepted. His mistake should be corrected in the following manner; * In future the word Padmaraga which means the colour of Lotus flower should be used. When written in Latin letters it should be correctly written as Padmaraga. * When writing in German, Latin letters can be written in the same way and they find no difficulty in pronouncing it. Therefore, when dealings are being done with Germans, the word Padmaraga may be used in place of Padparadscha. * Whenever the incorrect term Padparadscha is used, the users must be made to understand that both Padmaraga and Padparadscha are one and the same gem. Prof. Mahinda Rupasinghe, Expedite beatification of Fr. Thomas Rev. Fr. Thomas O.M.I., who founded the Congregation of the Rosarians in tholagatty, Vasavilan, Jaffna on 2.2.1928, died thirty seven years ago on 26.1.1964. It should be remembered here that Fr. Thomas was the first Sri Lankan, the Holy See had instituted investigations for beatification as the first step towards Sainthood. This was initiated in 1990. Due to the unsettled conditions as a result of the civil disturbances in the country, especially in the North, the investigations could not proceed as it would have been had the conditions in the country had been normal. The Tholagatty Ashram itself had to be abandoned and it is under the control of the army with no one allowed to visit the place even. It is hoped that the peace process that is being initiated in the country will yield the desired results and that the Tholagatty Ashram of Rev. Fr. Thomas will also be given back to its administrators very soon. There had been several administrators of the Congregation since the death of Fr. Thomas, among them Bishop Emeritus Dr. L. R. Antony being one of them. The present Administrator of the Congregation in Sri Lanka in Rev. Fr. A. M. Stephen, C.R. who is working with dedication to speed up the beatification process under the present difficult and trying conditions. May peace dawn in the country very soon and Fr. Thomas too may be made a Blessed early. ARUL, Open letter to Minister of Interior Affairs While wishing you the very best of luck for Herculean task of restoring law and order to our once righteous and peaceful nation, I wish to inform you that even we the UNPers are beginning to wander whether you and your colleagues would eventually tread the very same path of your predecessors. Hence this open letter to you. People are getting restless as they only see the euphoria of Ministers reporting to work with their kith and kin, (like gamayata magic, never done by people assuming duties in the private or even the public sector), but no obvious changes as such in the country. In my opinion, your Ministry has the unique power to bring about immediate radical changes on the roads by putting an unarmed police force out in the streets, 24 hours of the day, to enforce to the letter, the Highway Code, instead of them wasting precious time guarding lamp posts on both sides of roads and jumping into the nearest drain for shelter when a bomb explodes nearby. I had the rare opportunity of witnessing this feat by the guardians of the Ministers. The credit of converting our dangerous roads to safe roads like in UK and Singapore will then be yours. Moreover we Sri Lankans will witness immediate results. If this task is carried out by honest policemen treating both prince and pauper, the educated and uneducated, the politician his goons and the ordinary motorist alike and imposing heavy fines, as is done in UK and Singapore, you will be able to run your Ministry with the huge sums of money collected as fines. Moreover you may be in a position, with the excess money collected, to fill the empty treasury coffers our Government has inherited - the commonest lament made by your colleagues, the new Ministers. Let me point out a few of the traffic offences committed every split second by 99.9 per cent of motorists on the Sri Lankan roads. The irony of it is, most of the drivers, including drivers of the three armed forces and the Police, may not even realise they are committing an offence. 1. Driving vehicles with tinted glasses. 2. Failure to stop at pedestrian crossings. 3. In a traffic block, stopping on pedestrian crossings and on yellow chequered areas. 4. Driving against red traffic lights. 5. Starting off before red lights come on. 6. At traffic lights, stopping the vehicle beyond the stop white line drawn on the road. 7. Overtaking from the left side. 8. Driving on right side of the road. 9. Crossing double white lines. 10. Reversing on to a main road. 11. At roundabouts, not giving way to traffic on right hand side. 12. One way roads, driving in opposite direction. 13. Driving belching vehicles (serious hazard to everybody's health). 14. Reckless driving. 15. Drunken driving. 16. Speeding. 17. Driving vehicles without valid tax disc/licence. 18. Driving without proper lights. 19. Driving unroad-worthy vehicles. 20. Parking in no parking areas. 21. Failure to drive between two white lines (keeping to one lane). 22. Taking U turns in prohibited roads. 23. Failure to use indicators. 24. Buses stopping all over the roads to pick up passengers instead of bus halts only. How do we get about this business of educating our motorists who are driving like lunatics? Very easy, once again this does not involve spending a cent. With every traffic offence, impose a heavy on the spot fine and endorse the driving licence, with the third endorsement confiscate the driving licence and send an appointment for a fresh driving test. Result more money and better informed safe drivers. That is not all, automatically discipline gets instilled not only on the driver concerned but on every passenger. They too learn a lesson on good driving. This applies to your police drivers. When they are not on emergency duty. Do they stop for pedestrians at a pedestrian crossing? Do they stop at traffic lights? Are they polite drivers? Sadly the simple answer is no, definitely not. To cap it all, often the Superior Officer is seated by the side of the Police Driver. If the Law enforces fail to set an example, how can one expect the lay motorists to abide by the law. M. Fernando, On March 2001 I made a complaint to the local Municipal Authorities regarding dangerous coconut tree belonging to a neighbour that is continuously damaging my roof. When I just escaped a nut falling on my head I made a personal appeal to the Mayor who sent his officers a week later. When they requested that the owner cut the tree he mentioned his relationship to the deputy Mayor, which in turn was conveyed to me. On 20 June, I got a copy of a letter from the authorities requesting the owner to tie the tree and cut the branches. This was not done satisfactorily and subsequently when branches and nuts kept falling I was compelled to report the matter to the Police on 16 October. One month later on 16/11 when they still hadn't come I contacted the OIC who sent someone some days later. An observation report was made and we were called to the Police station. He volunteered to cut the tree when I threatened legal action. However, he asked to speak to the OIC after which he refused to cut the tree. The OIC informed me that the police had no authority to act in the matter. I then contacted the Municipality again and the Mayor sent one Mr. Soysa on 19/11 who saw the tree and the damage caused and assured me that it would have to be cut as it was definitely dangerous. I subsequently contacted the Municipality who told me that a letter had been written requesting that the tree be cut and that I would got a copy the following day. Weeks have passed and I'm yet waiting. After daily calls I was informed today (10/12) on the telephone that the owner refuses to cut the tree but I have not received any written cfm. I am told that the Municipality has the power to cut the tree if it is considered dangerous. Today a huge green branch has fallen. I'd like to know that as a rate payer what is the Municipality doing to protect my rights? Will the municipality pay damages for injuries sustained to life and/or property in the light of its non-action in this urgent, dangerous situation? Are they waiting till someone is seriously injured. G. EDEMA, I refer to the comments made by NGO - Greater Colombo, regarding the National AIDS Control Program in Sri Lanka and its Directress. We are an NGO network being in existence for over 10 years and during this time conducted some of the most effective programs on AIDS awareness and control and also Vocational training for high risk groups in 06 centers in the Southern and Central provinces in Sri Lanka over 3500 disadvantaged youth have benefited and most are now gainfully employed. We can only offer praises to the Directress and the entire staff of the National AIDS control program for their support at all times. The allegation that the Directress has travelled abroad often is absurd because going overseas is a must if we are to keep Sri Lanka in line with the advancements in prevention and control taking place in the rest of the world especially South Asia, further there are other efficient persons who are suitably qualified to manage in her absence. The allegation that this particular NGO has not received information on the whereabouts of the infected persons is an indication of the efficiency of the program because surely if this NGO is really interested in AIDS control they should be aware of the confidentiality rights of the patient as per Sri Lankan legislation. Many NGOs involved in work in Sri Lanka who complain of lack of support are not genuine organizations and naturally they do not get the expected response from the Government, many such NGOs are family concerns and also groups that have got together because they feel that there is money in this area of work. Any efficient Government official can see through these "wolves in sheep clothing". Specially those who write anonymously. S. Tissera , We hear the Hon. Minister and the CEB officials talk about schemes to increase the electrical power production potentialities. Regretfully nothing is said now a days about economising the generated power. Going back the memory lane I can recall the following being suggested by various authorities to save and use economically the available power. Reduce loss of power due to defects in the CEB's distribution system. The percentage of loss in distribution in Sri Lanka is said to be comparatively high. Treasury grant to Government departments to convert conventional electrical fittings to energy saving ones (tube lights or CFL). CEB's scheme to provide its consumers with CFL bulbs on easy payment terms. Departments of Public administration and or Local Government to take severe action against unnecessary wastage of power in offices and street lighting (The individual officer responsible must be punished). Introducing power saving methods in factories etc., that consume heavy loads of electricity. Encourage architects to design buildings so as to consume less electricity. RETIRED CHIEF POST MASTER |
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