The buzz for a while was the meeting and co-witnessing of a political wedding by the former Boss and the present Boss. Much was made of the meeting and probable greeting across the registrar’s desk and across the dining table at the wedding of the son of one of the Ministers of the present government who was a Minister in the previous government too.
This cat felt, on seeing photographs in the newspapers focusing on the two contenders at the last presidential elections: one who was winner who otherwise by his own prognosis, agreed to by this cat and others, would have been six feet under, not alone but with family members too; and the angry loser putting on a good face at the meeting.
They walked down the aisle of Shangri-la Hotel grand hall followed by a retinue. This feline’s feminine heart felt sad for the bride; she was upped into second place on this her wedding day. Shows how politics has percolated into even a society wedding, so that all cameras, forsaking the bridal couple, were focused on the two M-s: Maithripala S and Mahinda R.
Imagine what they would have said to each other! For M R it would have been easy – glib talk for the benefit of watchers. Maybe, it was not easy for M S as he is sincerer and not such an experienced political animal. We only hope egg hoppers was not a dinner item in a very sophisticated Shangri-La wedding menu!
Serenading pole vaulter
Yes, just missed Singing Star fame a couple of years ago; a staunch UNPer turned blue and follower of Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was Lord of All he Surveyed - air, sea and land, and when that man lost the presidential bid, pole vaulted to the arms of whom he called a korawakka. Now this spineless bird was very attractive as he was Lord of the Land. So the Song Bird landed safe in the Cabinet of him who he jeered at as a spineless fishing bird and was most recently appointed Sports Min. He caused stirs by measuring the cricketers’ waists and declaring them flab with indolence and taking it easy. Then the latest fiasco: off -loading members of the cricket team India bound for no fault of theirs.
The SLC authorities had not submitted their list of cricketers to go to India 21 solid days before date of departure. They had submitted the list 72 hours prior to departure, plenty time if the Minister had perused the papers on his desk. But no! He spies with his jaundiced eye the list while the cricketers had been driven to Katunayake and so in anger or spite or just cussedness, he gets them hauled out of the plane like common criminals, and then, after much additional agitation and expense, yes, expense (to be borne by them or who?) they are on-loaded and sent India-wards.
What was gained by this? Boost to the Minister’s clout? Now all this rigmarole started with the wedding of the offsprings of politicians recently where MS and MR had to sign together and break (hopefully not hoppers) but exquisite Chinese noodles together. The Minster of Sports sang it seems at this wedding.
Thus this woman remembered how Dayasiri Jayasekera, prior to his pole vaulting fame, came second at one of the mega star competitions. He and an Old Boy of Vidyartha College Kandy were the finalists. Well, most spectators sided with one of the judges Rosy Senanayake who obviously was ga ga over the said Jayasekera’s singing prowess. What else we do not know – maybe his debonair looks then with more hair on head. She continued giving him ten out of ten and saying she would give more marks if possible. Result: he came second and the gossip was that there had been a Vidyartha kumanthranaya of cell phoning.
From the Lotus Bud to the Hand
Election time is here again and it’s a coming of the migratory season. This cat does not mean the birdies here. Yes, it’s near winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the two legged, beaked fraternity have started making their presence felt. This cat has heard additional tweets and whistles to the bird song she hears of an early morning though she lives in the centre of the metropolis.
So it’s the migrants who have arrived to escape the cold; to build their temporary nests, lay eggs and when the fledglings are able to navigate the skies, to return to their cold clime homes. No, this cat doesn’t refer to the migrating birds; she means the humans who are crossing over from this party to that; the recent trend being from the JO to Maithripala’s SLFP. This cat congratulates the woman politician who led the recent migration. It is hoped it will be permanent and not temporary like the birds’ short-term sojourn to warmer climes this season.
Enough strikes, for goodness sake
This feline, with no travel by train or merciful visits to government hospitals and no need to fill a vehicle tank with petrol supplied by the always threatening CPC, still feels angered by the strikes going on eternally.
She spits on the railway folk who while getting quite good remuneration struck work and inconvenienced commuters, more especially GCE OL candidates. Led by example by the GMOA who have now descended to the pits in people’s opinion, workers strike for the most frivolous of reasons which can so easily be settled by discussion. Again the suspicion that a puppeteer is at work, or at least he will be smiling as the government gets embarrassed. Never mind what the general public suffer.
Bells are a-tinkling, Christmas carols and songs fill the air, cards are dropped in boxes by snail mail purveyors, so the mood must change from grousing to grinning, from meanness to magnanimous, from pessimism to optimism. The next time you read me it will be Christmas Eve. So bye till then! Bring out the plum pudding and rich cake, explode the bon bons and take a quaff of that which cheers.
- Menika