Thalaivar at a conference

The thalaivar looks 'round, wary,
Noting the *dorais *at the desk -
The *peria dorais,* the Union *dorais,*
And who is this, he seems to ask,
seeing me, in my no-war zone,
Presiding, cautious, stiff,
Weighing his demands against
our own interests.

I watch this man covertly,
He sits forward on the bench.
And in the stillness of the room
spreads his stench.

The sun glares down along
the blue black thickness of his nose,
Reflects from his young eyes
and oily head.

Beyond his compressed lips I hear
songs sung to the tappu tunes ,
Sense him feel the odours rising,
roti and dried fish had at noon.
Warm sugared tea, half a lattu
the juice of the betel that he chewed,
The smoke of a beedi in his lungs

And the scent of joss-sticks

In the gloom.
In the background I see children,
Learn the self- same tappu tunes.
Munch the roti, keerai chundal,
Chase the fowls and prance to school.
Gaudy dresses, spangled ribbons -

On their arms sweet - chinking bangles,
In their bellies worms a-tangle,
At their hips their siblings drool.
Heave in, heave out, the heavy fork,
And look to the cloudy sky.
No roots, no claims On these vast fields, Where they're born, and toil and die. All of them cogs in a vast machine, Just numbers set out in neat little files "And theirs not to reason why." - Sakuntala Mohini Sachithanandan Dorai - master, Peria dorai - senior master or in this case, superintendent. Tappu - a crude version of a tabla Roti - unleavened flat bread Lattu - a balled-up sweet made of semolina and sugar syrup Beedi - A crude unfiltered cigarette Keerai chundal - semi-cooked dish of shredded leaves mixed with scraped coconut and onions. (Sinhalese - "mellun") Thalaivar -leader

In this poem, the poet portrays a gory picture of labourers' life in the plantation sector. Particularly the last stanza epitomizes the sorry plight of the labourers who toil in tea estates. Over the years, they have all become mere numbers in a dossier. The poet in an evocative manner recalls the life through a series of potent symbols such as *Dorai, Tappu, Toti and Beedi. *The poet uses down-to-earth language to convey the harsh life condition of workers in the plantation sector - Indeewara

The Truth

Corpses strewn over the parched ground,
Blood-soaked uniforms,
Smeared with grime,
And torn with bullets, shrapnel....

Open wounds, where the bluebottles,
Mount guard;
Exposed entrails and raw flesh,
The scene of an abattoir....

But, stripped of uniforms,
Who could tell the honourable,
From the despicable,
The good from the evil? Jayashantha Jayawardhana, Faculty of Business Studies and Finance, Wayamba University.

The poet eloquently expresses the harsh truth concealed in attire. It is the senseless war which will destroy everybody and there is no way of distinguishing good from the evil. The poet is successful in portraying a bloody scene of the battlefield with evocative diction - Indeewara

Homoeopathy for mankind

What is this life so full of pain and care
If we have no energy to live and dare

To enjoy the pleasures of this short stay
Without having to drug ourselves every day
Antibiotics, painkillers, tranquilizers kill my will to say
Enough, its enough, is there no other way.

Hahnemann the genius was born to save the day With minimum doze given in the single way.

To make strong all immune systems By adopting the homoeopathy system You will be cured of all the ailments That go back even to generations. So take heart and laugh with joy From now on your cares will not last long As Homoeopathy has entered your life, where it belongs. Homoeopath. Bin.A. Azhar. Dehiwala.

Though the poet eulogies the prose of the Homeopathy system of medicine, it also raises an important issue of abuse of drugs. We must think again whether it is necessary to have pills for each and every ailment. Cannot we minimize using drugs? However, the answer to the question depends on many factors. -Indeewara Thilakarathne

The Rainbow

Aurora's shawl some one believes
Rather than the truth of it,
Illusion gives gladness to every one
Making up moods even
In the time of depression
Hidden truth will come out
Through the help of philosophy.

The fragile combination of
Hydrogen and Oxygen
With the reflection of sunrays
Makes it a miracle
Knowing the truth
I choose to admire it
Because it will be eternal
Until the eyes can see
And sun remains in this Earth Santhushti Ekanayake. Mahaweli National College of Education. Polgolla