‘We never miss Pol Sambola at home’

By Panchamee HEWAVISSENTI

Mahindananda Aluthgamage is the Minister of Energy and the Deputy Whip of the Parliament

Being the youngest in the family of eight with a lot of love, care and attention from others, you became headstrong. It was simply because your parents and elder siblings pampered you thoroughly. It is said when a new little member was brought home you became envious of him and developed a rebellious attitude towards the little fellow.....

Yes I was very envious of my little nephew - my elder sister’s son. I was about six years then. Till he was born I was the pet of the family who received great deal of love and attention. I was jealous to see the familial attention being focused on my newly born nephew. All that time, I’d been pampered and suddenly I felt that I got less attention simply because my mother spent a lot of time with the little fellow.

When my sister went to school, my mother used to look after the child. One day while my sister was away at school, I dragged the little one from the bed and threw him on the floor. The poor little fellow had a close shave that day!

And I threatened my mother saying that I would kill the little child. I had such an anger and envy towards him that my parents were careful enough to show more affection towards me fearing possible harm from me to the poor thing.

You were a snake charmer at one time and used to collect money....

I wasn’t a snake charmer.......! I didn’t have any snakes with me. I mean ‘snake dance’ in the sense that I used to put my hand under knees and make hood like that of a snake and dance. It’s very difficult to stay in that position for more than ten minutes.

When I went to my mother’s ancestral home at Kotmale, I used to perform ‘snake dance’ before my relatives. They used to give me money.

You seemed to be a businessman from the very young age. Why did your ‘boutiques’ run bankrupt?

Whenever I got money from my relatives for ‘snake dance’ and pocket money from Appachchi I used to buy sweets from near by shop. And then I put up little tent and start a small boutique to sell those sweets. My brothers always took those sweets on debt and within one hour I had to put an end to my business. I lost both money and the sweets. Out of eagerness to embark on a business, I didn’t eat any of those sweets. When I asked money from my brothers for what they have eaten, they denied having any money with them to pay. I cried at the top of my voice but my brothers paid no heed. I never learnt a lesson out of that, I committed the same folly of starting ‘sweet business’ only to cry in despair.

Why did your teachers send the exam report directly home, without sending it through you? Usually the report is given to the student.....?

Oh.....! That’s solely because of the mischievous clement in me. I hardly did homework or engaged in studies at home. That’s why I ranked lower in grades under such circumstances. My father said he would buy me a bicycle if I got a position among first ten in class. My aim was to get a bicycle somehow but I was too lazy to study anyway. I was very strategic and had manoeuvre those days. I would do anything to come by what I wanted.

Ok....... The story is that. After the term test I showed my report to my family with my position on the 7th in the class. My father was very happy to see my position among first ten and the very next day he bought me a bicycle.

When a new term started we had a parents meeting and parents were due to attend the meeting with their children. Then the teachers would analyse the progress of each student from the first one to the last one. When the teacher had finished commenting on the sixth in the class, my father was getting ready to give his comments on my developments and to receive favourable feedback from the teacher and other parents. He went on to tell the teacher that he was confident of his son being among first five in the class next term.

Teacher finished his analysis of student who was 7 in the class and father thought that there might have been two 7 positions in the class. The teacher started telling about all the other places 8, 9, 10.... and so on.

My father was wondering what was going on. He believed that teacher had missed me by mistake and he observed silence till the end of the meeting. But he didn’t have to wait till the end of the meeting. When the teacher finished 10 and started anaylysing my report.

“The 17 is Mahindananda Aluthgamge”

My whole body sweated out of shock and dismay. My father frowned at me in an undescribable manner. At the end of the meeting he showed my report to my teacher and she was amazed at the fraudulent report I had made.

I had erased the 1 of 17!

After that my teacher was careful never to send the report home through me. My father used to come to school to collect the report.

Was that the reason why you got detention?No, no, not for that. I used to skip school and loiter with guys. I was very belligerent at school. I had verbal conflicts with my teachers and became a constant headache to them I used to scribble unnecessary things on the blackboard. I was hardly attentive to academic work and became a nuisance to teachers. I was very opinionated and teachers couldn’t control me. Due to my irritative and irresponsible behaviour I got detention many times.

I was the person behind many big brawls at big matches.

All that happened at Gangasiripura Vidyalaya or at Royal College?

At Royal College - I studied at Gangasiripura Vidyalaya, Gampola only up to Grade 2. I entered Royal College, Colombo in Grade 3 and studied there till I finished my schooling.

After leaving school...... for some time I was engaged in planting work with my father in a small estate that belonged to us. He was also an MP. But I had no interest in it since I was not a type of a person who could stay at one place. I wanted to enjoy my life so I told my father that I wanted to find a job in Colombo. I left the tea estate and joined “The Finance” as a Land Sales Manager. I worked there for about 10 years from 1983. I first got the appointment at Kegalle branch and then in Kuliyapitiya.

So, were you able to lead the type of life that you longed for when you came to Colombo to work?

Yes of course! I had a happy and merry life there. That was a turning point in my life because I met my girlfriend Asha, when I was working at ‘The Finance’, Kuliyapitiya branch.

But, Asha was not the only girl friend you had at that time...

Yes, that’s true. I had around ten girl friends before I had fallen for Asha......

Not only before you met your ideal girl, but also while you were carrying on the affair with her, you had many extra affair d’amours... right?

To be honest, yes....

Was she aware of those things?

No.... She was not aware of anything those days.....

That means those things are an open secret to her now?

Hmm..... She’s now joking at me about those crazy things. She knows my nature.

What an inconstant lover?

Oh.....! Don’t think of me like that. Those affairs were not serious as the one with Asha.

Don’t you know boys.....?

Any way, tell us how you met your fiancee....

which one......?

I mean...,. the girl you loved seriously... and the pretty girl who was lucky enough to be your life time partner.....

I met my princess charming when I was working at ‘The Finance’, Kuliyapitiya branch. She was boarded close to my office and was working at Singer. She used to go past my office everyday. She was coy though she showed an interest in me. That was a great clue for me. So without hesitation I made the first move because I knew that she would give her assent without speculation. She got a transfer to Colombo soon after we set our affair in motion.

How did you meet her after she got a transfer. Because you were working at Kuliyapitiya?

She used to go to Kurunegala her home town on Fridays. And on Sundays her parents used to accompany her to a bus, but she would get off at the next bus station. There I would await her with my Trailor bike. Then we used to hang around on the bike till evening and I would drop her at her grandma’s house.

Where did you go on dating?

We used to just hang around. There was no particular direction for us to go. We used to go to Kelaniya Temple once a month.

When it was heavily raining we got wet like hell. Because we travelled on bike even in heavy down four. We roamed in every nook and corner like that. We were like free birds. That life was really interesting. Trailor bike made everything possible for me. I had a craving to travel on my Trailor bike those days. We also used to call on our friends’ places and enjoy their company.

Are there any unforgettable events while you were courting?

There’s one hilarious incident I remember.... One day as we were on the way to Kandy, we were stopped by a Traffic Officer. He was my girlfriend’s brother’s best friend. Then he started questioning her “Hi.... Asha Nangi”, how are you? Then she said “Who?, no I’m not Asha”. He again asked “you’re from Kurunegala? She said, “No, I’m not from Kurunegala”. Then he said “Aren’t you so and so’s sister?”. She said, No, I’m not his sister, you’re mistaken.” She camouflaged her identity better than an actress on that day.

We met that friend again at Bathalegoda Lake when we went there after we got married. He too had come with his wife and my wife’s brother’s family. Everyone had a big laugh when he recalled the previous incident.

Another incident took place when I was bed ridden for several months after my collar bone was removed due to an accident. I was a very restless boy during my adolescent age, and used to ride my Trailor bike at a very high speed. My friends paid me a visit during my recuperative period.

When my friends were having Coca-Cola I drank the remaining half of Coca-Cola in her glass.

After they left, my elder brother inquired me of that girl because he’d seen me drinking from her glass. My brother spread that among other family members and I had to admit that I was having an affair with that girl.

You were bed ridden for some time. You might hardly have been able to communicate with each other....

Yes, there was no opportunity for intimate contacts. We could hardly stay without seeing or talking to each other. When the urge of meeting each other came to an irresistable point, we asked our friends to arrange a place for us to meet.

Yet you hadn’t fully recovered to go out. Did your parents let you go out with friends?

I got the permission from my family, since my friends took me to ‘Kotmale Seeya’ to take part in some religious observances over my condition. But the real reason was to meet my girl friend. We had a lovely time notwithstanding my bandaged body.

How was the story of your affair brought to light to your parents? Were you caught red handed?

“This was what happened.....” She wanted me to come home as one of her colleagues who worked with her at Singer. Under that deceitful plan I managed to come in touch with her. However her father suspected our hypocrisy and we couldn’t carry on our play for a long time. One day her father told me that he wanted to meet me in privacy. So, I met him with a trembling heart. He told “Putha”,, I have passed your age....., You can’t fool me. Tell me the truth. I’ll arrange things, if you’re serious and honest in this. I had no option, but to stop acting and make a point blank declaration of my honest move to marry her.

I also informed my family about our affair and we formed our marital union with the blessings of our elders in 1990.

Mahindananda as a father.....?

I have two children. My elder son is 15-years-old. He’s attending CIS and getting ready for his O/Ls next year. I also have a daughter. I hardly find time to look into their studies and share their feelings with me. My wife is always behind them providing necessary assistance to my two children.

As a policy, I hardly go out on Sundays since I have dedicated that day for my family. I don’t make any appointments and keep my phones switched off the whole day.

I heard ‘Pol Sambola’ is your favourite food?

Amm....., Yes...., I love to eat ‘Pol Sambola’ and red rice. Believe me! We never miss ‘Pol Sambola’ at home. I have an ‘Appu’ (servant) who’s been working for the past 15 years with us. He is expert in making tasty ‘Pol Sambola’. There’s nothing like eating rice with that ‘Pol Sambola’. No one at home likes to eat from out side. They enjoy the food cooked by ‘Appu’.

I don’t ask what your favourite drink is.....? Oh.....! I’m not a hard drinker. I take a little ‘shot’ when I party with friends. That’s very rare.

Are you a party addict?

Not at all. When I need a change I call my friends and throw a small party at home. I don’t like to go out for parties.

You’re a good singer too....?

Not only me..... Our whole family loves music. My wife plays piano very well. My son is a good guitarist. Daughter is good in playing both piano and Chello. When we arrange domestic parties, our family is the music band while my children and wife are playing instruments, I do the vocals.

You’re very eloquent Parliamentarian and a good debtor...... were you involve in speech contest or debates at school?

Not at all. You won’t believe, I wasn’t a good speaker at school. I never took part in any speech or debating competitions at school. I have developed that ability of speaking, after I entered politics.... not before that.

Why is not your wife talking to you for days?

She is a very hard critique of my debates and speeches. When I fight at Parliament or when I speak harsh at someone, she criticises that incident thoroughly and doesn’t speak to me for days. That’s how she gives vent to her anger. That’s good in a way because when I’m emotionally carried away I have no limits. I must tell you this, she is very stubborn and a rough diamond. She can adapt to any condition easily. That’s one of the reasons why I like her.