  Through the looking glass
by Tissa Hewavitarana
Today, we are very familiar with
materials such as nylon and perspex. They are not found naturally, as
wood or stone. They are said to be man-made materials. The pedigree of
my ancestors goes back to 3000 years making it the oldest in the world.
I belong to a category of handmade stuff formed by a mixture of sand,
soda and limestone. From my young days, I was subjected to various
changes in my body. The three components, sand, soda and limestone are
ground together and heated to about 1,500 degrees Centigrade.
They form a clear jelly-like substance. When this cools it sets into
a hard brittle glass. By now, I have passed my childhood days and
blossomed into a perfect figure. Most of my admirers were manufacturers
and leading stalwarts in the business world. Manufacture of glassware
was in the lands of Muslims. They purchase huge glass sheets and used
them for making jars, bottles, mirrors and other vessels.
There was an excellent range of glassware turned out by expert
craftsmen. Now I was considered a commercial commodity for local use and
export which was in high demand. Many variety of products in different
sizes and shapes came out of these factories. It was time to explore
wider distribution.
So I was packed along with my other companions in cardboard boxes to
shopping malls in Colombo city, Here I was kept in a glass showcase to
get a glimpse of my body. My popularity has spread also among opticians,
camera manufacturers and many other business tycoons. Glass is used to
make windows, doors and for making lenses. Lenses are used in making
spectacles and in many instruments such as telescopes and cameras.
 This is known as optical glass.
Once there was a grand display of my variety in a shopping centre.
Visitors to this grand display came from every corner of the globe.
These included stars from Bollywood and the crème de la crème of the
high society in Colombo 7.
I was fortunate to be picked up by one of the visitors. She was
beautiful and elegantly dressed, dark in complexion, medium height with
all the statistics a woman could possess. She belonged to the upper
class and owned several properties, dressed in the finest of clothes.
She drove great limousines and used the finest glassware in her
beautiful villa. She once had a lavish banquet to many of her friends
where diplomats and other distinguished guests wined and dined.
Everyone who gathered was highly impressed with my pretty looks. I
was quite happy with performing the task allocated to me, receiving
accolades from all the visitors who came that evening making Sri Lanka
proud of the best glassware. |
