Can specs give sight to blind elephants?

Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake

"It looks as if veterinary surgeons will soon have to master elephantine ophthalmology" said Samson Bulathsinghala.

"Why, is there any eye disease spreading among elephants?" asked Wilmot Puvakdunkola.

"Well, if there is no eye disease why have the elephants suddenly decided to wear spectacles when they go before the people?" asked Wickrama Bulath-hurulla.

"It looks as if the old elephants have suddenly realized that they are affected by the Hathalis Andiriya said Sajith Hamban-aliya from the southern herd.

"What is this Hathalis Andiriya you are talking about?" queried Sathosa Hora-aliya, from Kotte, who lost his fife in the recent local polls.

"This is the problem. You no nothing about the people; Hathalis Andiriya is the common description given by our people to the failure in sight noticed around forty years of age.

That is when most people begin wearing spectacles. It now appears that our old elephants have not known they were short of vision, at least for the past ten years or more, having controlled the Colombo Municipal Council for fifty years," said Navin Alipodda from the hills.

"When the elephants wear spectacles to seek the votes of the citizens of Colombo, they admit all the criticism of their having been blind to the problems of Colombo and its citizens all these years," said Wickrama Bulath-hurulla.

"I don't think the mere wearing of spectacles, even purchased at a very high price from some calculating political optometrists, can solve the vision problems of the old elephants," said Sajith Hamban-aliya.

"Had they been wearing spectacles when they filled in those nominations papers for the CMC polls, which were rejected as being invalid, they may have been able to spot the errors they had made, and saved them having to go before the people with jumbo spectacles to save them from blind folly" said Sanghadasa Parana-aliya, whose name had been struck off that list.

"There are some whispers getting louder each day that these spectacle vendors had already come to a very profitable deal to have a name tippexed off the nomination form, and insert the name of an underage person, to ensure that the jumbo list will be rejected, so that their list will be purchased.

The lowdown on it is that the Milinda Alivalige and Marzook Alimarakkala, was the duo involved in this deal," said Navin Alipodda.

"But the question is whether Sirisena Alikureya and his team of blind players can pull the wool over the eyes of Colombo voters, to believe they can now see the problems of Colombo, by looking though borrowed or leased spectacles," said Samson Bulathsinhala.

"I don't think the voters will buy into the idea that the same spectacles can give proper vision to those who have had major vision problems for a very long time," said Dr. Darshana Eskannadi, an ophthalmologist of repute, who had tried hard for many years to give the blind elephants at the Town Hall, the proper lens prescriptions for their vision problems.

"Sirisena Alikureya and his team of blind vote grabbers have put themselves into the position of those poor people, who go to mobile eye-clinics conducted by calculating opticians, to get a free pair of spectacles, without even a proper vision test done.

They are satisfied if they can see a wee bit better than before, and notice the vision drop within a month after they begin wearing those lenses," observed Dakum Chandaratna who came from a family that marked their ballot for the elephant every poll. "I don't think we can be fooled by this type of political corruption, even before they get control of Town Hall," he added.

"Bad enough they could not fill the nomination form correct, they are causing huge problems for even the traditional jumbo voters, with a whole puzzle of names and numbers, which is not sorted out by the candidates wearing spectacles in election advertisements," said Akmon Kuruvita, an old time jumbo who believed there will more bargaining, and huge bribery if the blind elephants of today get even a foothold at Town Hall, with their spectacles on.

"Don't forget that what they wear today are "Chandakannadi", which they will shed and return to their blindness.

"Why think of all that," said Sajith Hamban-aliya. "They are proving to the voters of Colombo, that they have all the time been so blind as not to see the pile up of garbage in the city".

"They are also admitting blindness about all the corruption going on inside Town Hall, for the past so many decades, and expect the voters to think they will see or do better just because they have borrowed some spectacle frames for political gain. It is just their blindness to reality, that has been affecting the party of the elephant in the past so many elections," said Navin Alipodda.

"This is not just a case of elephantine myopia, which can be corrected by wearing spectacles, whether borrowed or purchased at high cost," said Dr. Akshi Gajawansa, a veterinarian who specialized in treating eye diseases in elephants. "In many who are trying out these new spectacles, it is a case of cataract in both eyes, that are long past maturity that even lens implants may not help. In others they have simply lost all vision due to elephantine glaucoma.

No spectacles can restore vision in them. This is definitely a case of the blind trying to lead those who have good vision in both eyes."