A lunu ambul summary of what’s what in this fair isle

Saturday, January 9 from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m. This cat wished she had a voice recorder to take down verbatim what a trishaw driver had to say about the present government and past leaders. He let drop some choice verbal gems.

In Sinhala they were so succinct and entertaining and to this feline always alert to political comment and, it must be admitted opinionated too, he was dead right. Unfortunately much is lost in translation. Also some lost through memory failure.

Menika got into this trishaw not able to clearly see the driver. She usually peeks into the face of the driver and if she sees a ruffian, murderous and impatient, she waves him away, often receiving vituperation for having slowed down and stopped to take her in. Well, later in this instance she narrates, she had a full view of the man as she descended to go do some shopping with the man agreeing readily to wait for her.

The perceptive trishaw driver

He was in his fifties or early sixties, dressed in a white shirt and trousers with a face that showed decency. As she slid in and gave directions, he asked her how she felt about the anniversary of the new President’s tenancy of the post and how it was for the country.

Not knowing at all to whom his allegiances were, and not wanting to be dumped or driven so fast the heart was left a–thumping, she murmured non-committedly. He, on the other hand, with his very first sentence showed he was all for Maithripala Sirisena.

He was, however, more in praise of the Prime Minister and that was novel since most of these types of people do not approve of Ranil Wickremesinghe for the obvious reason he does not try to be a ‘people’s man’, currying popular favour with all the gimmicks of trays of jasmines, smiles at all and sundry, and taking notice of babies (even babes).

The driver first said: “Madam, can you remember how frightened we were to open our mouths and express an opinion on Mahinda Rajapaksa. I did not give my views to other drivers. I only discussed nikan de gena. Even at my home I was careful. There were spies around. Who wanted a ride in a white van?”

This feline warmed to the man; approved of him because though he was chatting his eyes were straight ahead and he was not bothered about the reception of what he said. This too he commented on. “Could people talk and say things like I am saying to you before January 9 of last year?”

He praised Ranil Wickremesinghe more than Maithripala Sirisena. Ugath, honda pavulakin, salli eyata oné ne were words and phrases he used. This cat was surprised at how discerning he was. Most of that type of people liked the show, the smile and the bonhomie exhibited by politicians. He commented that it was not for the Prime Minister to go from temple to temple being blessed by bhikkhus. And then in the very next breath he says: Dakkada hitapu janadipathi lajja nethuwa pansal gaane yanawa. As hari ne, moona hari ne. Balaya kohethma atha harinne ne. Here he brought in the pithy Sinhala saying of ‘give a monkey a hat and watch the fun.’

Subject to a land grab

He launched into a tale of woe which Menika absolutely believed. He said that his family along with about fifteen other families lived to the interior of a Colombo 7 road – was it Horton Place or Gregory’s Road, Menika forgets which. One day a ruffian VIP of the time (he mentioned the name minus the doctor part) had come to their area and demanded the land saying Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had marked it out for a development project.

Dannawa neda ea manussaya gena? Their pleas fell on wickedly deaf ears. The Minister, then a top favourite of the ruling Rajapaksa family and able to get away with any crime or misdemeanor, gave the poor dwellers two weeks to quit. They felt they had no recourse since people they consulted said that if Gotabhaya wanted land it had to be given.

The VIP came again and had said that they had better leave peacefully accepting the compensation given (about three lakhs for land in Colombo 7!!) or otherwise . . . The threat was clear and deadly. Here he quoted the comparison of a jackal in a hen coop. So they bundled their belongings and left the homes they had grown up in. He outlined the favours this man had rendered to the Rajapaksa’s and how he was placed above the law when they were in power.

The driver added they had formed a group and had approached the present President and Prime Minister whose officials had said the matter would be looked into and a more justified compensation payment made. He added the rhetorical question as to why conditions in Sri Lanka have improved so much.

He too discerned, as Menika has along with many others, that the very atmosphere that envelopes the country is so much calmer and secure since January 9, 2015. A leader’s goodness or badness percolates down, the driver intoned.

After stopping in two places to accommodate Menika’s shopping, she was dropped at her home. She gave the man an extra payment as he richly deserved it, being patient with her two stops en route and his wise judgements.

People definitely are beginning to recognize the fact that the Prime Minister is concerned about the country and has sterling qualities mixed with his aloofness interpreted as pride and his seeming reluctance to tolerate fools as hubris. They realize he is a politician with experience and wisdom.

This cat mews with satisfaction though clever political analysts write darkly about the future of the country. They say the first year of the Prez and PM working together has produced next to nothing. This is overlooking benefits people enjoy now: serenity, democracy, the 19th Amendment in place, and extravagance and self-glorification pruned. We hope the second year of this government will be more fruitful. A cynic said he has lost all hope. “They are all the same.”

We hope he is wrong.

- Menika