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| Sunday, 16 October 2005 |
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Man of the moment: The born again Buddhist Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake Many years ago when Aubrey Collette was producing his inimitable cartoons in the Lake House newspapers, he had a series in the Daily News titled "Lanka Laughs". That was a time the abolition of the dowry at marriage had become a subject of social and political discussion.
The only girl who raised her hand was the least pleasant looking of the class. That cartoon gave the very simple message that the dowry was a boon to those who were physically disadvantaged in terms of beauty or being attractive. Foot in mouth But the man of the moment, Ranil Wickremesinghe, so named not because of any momentous pronouncements of his but because of his ability to put his foot in his mouth each moment he addresses the public, has thought the abolition of the dowry is important enough to be included in his manifesto for the Presidential Election. Be that as it may, his determination to ban the dowry made him the laughing stock of audiences who saw his performance at the inaugural rally of his campaign at Kandy. Rabana rhythm After making quite a fool of himself by trying to play a rhythm on a rabana during his 'Jana Bala Meheyuma', he moved on from hand clapping to dancing on the stage at Kandy. The first time any candidate for national leadership has done so. Man of the moment no doubt. He also made a great point of telling his audience that no sooner he is elected President, as he believes he would be, he will take immediate steps to ban the dowry. He asked all the young men present there to get married as soon as possible, before November 17, so as not be the victims of his proposed ban on the dowry. Little did he realise that what he told the young men there was not to marry a woman of their choice very soon, but to somehow grab a dowry instead. In the past week, there are reports from many parts of a strange contradictory development. One the one hand, young men are eager to have a quick wedding, even where the girl is not in such a hurry, putting parents of both parties into considerable difficulty; on the other hand there are reports of many long term romances breaking up. There are fears that the number of those committing suicide may increase due to these suddenly broken romances. All this follows some youth seriously taking the advice of the UNP's presidential candidate urging marriage before he is elected president and immediately abolishing dowries. Young men with brides to be with dowries are seeking early marriages, while those whose future partners who cannot afford dowries, or are opposed to the very idea of it, are breaking up their romances. True conscience Speaking elsewhere Ranil Wickremesinghe has admitted that among his faults is the fact that he cannot make false promises. One would expect that an inability to make false promises is something laudable and not a fault. But his subconscious must now be well aware of his proclivity to give false promises to the people, to the point of his consciously having to say that he is faulty in being unable to make false promises. Cash on Ranil While it has now come to a situation that the more Ranil speaks the more he trips over, those who are marketing him are not doing much better either. "Badaginna Nivaganna - Ranil" is the pay off heard on all those FM radio ads meant to promote his candidature for the presidency. It has been heard so often by the people that many have begun to ask their friends whether they intend having Ranil for their next meal. There are also stories about some business people trying to cash on this slogan of "Badaginna Nivaganna - Ranil" or "Ranil - the answer to your hunger" who are taking speedy action to make noodles, sausages, and other foods with the brand name of Ranil. Similarly, the 'Pohorata Ranil' slogan has prompted companies in agricultural sector to soon market urea and other fertilizer with the brand name of Ranil. Promise The Registrar of Trade Marks has said Ranil Wickremesinghe's permission is not needed for this. He has tripped over the promise of a new Perakum Era, of being the next Pandukabhaya; of making Sri Lanka the centre of Theravada Buddhism and of building the largest Dagaba in the country. His latest is about the First Sangayana and where it was held. According to Ranil Wickremesinghe it was held at Buddhagaya. What ignorance! No wonder that many have come to think of him as a born again Buddhist. |
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In one unforgettable cartoon at the time, he showed a classroom in what
appeared to be a school for upper class and richer girls, with the teacher
asking the question, which one of you is against the dowry system being
abolished. 
