We are bang in the midst of the season of goodwill and cheer; hence this feline too should be purring sweet nothings. Easier said than done! She opens a newspaper and reads controversy; she watches TV and sees biased reporting; she switches on her small radio and there lies consolation – DJs laughing away and Christmas carols belted out so she happily glows in the shine of Rudolph’s nose and wonders what Dad would say seeing Santa kiss Mum as a too excited young one lies abed sleepless wondering what the jolly bearded old man brings him.
Liaison of sworn enemies
A news item that surprised this cat no end was that the Prez and ex-power wielding brother were telephoning each other. Did not catch who initiated the calling but it was surprising, nay shocking, to think that Maithripala Sirisena was in telephone contact with Basil Rajapaksa. They couldn’t be talking about the weather or about a palatial house left to be taken over by the government having no claimant to it. They couldn’t be enquiring about each other’s health or that of respective families; so it had to be on the forthcoming elections and whether the lotus bud could be enveloped by the betel leaf. Gawd Forbid!! How can hatchets which were in reality lethal knives be buried so easily even in the face of the saying ‘In politics there are no firm enemies nor friends’ and ‘never turn your back to foe or friend.’ Surely, surely Maithripala S has more innate dignity. He should have sharp caution too.
Sycophantic predictions
There is a political commentator who plugs Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the next President of free Sree Lanka. Gawd forbid again! To complement this prognosis, another political commentator, this one with high academic qualifications and who may be singing for his kiributh and cadju curry, plugs the point that this same Gotabhaya R who with his brother, the Prez, saved the nation, (as if the two went together to the midst of the LTTE and vanquished Prabha and all other Tigers with one fell swoop), should not be even accused of any foul play, leave alone investigated and questioned by the special police forces and brought forth in a Court of Law, whatever the crime may be. These so called ‘war heroes’ can get away with any crime, cold-blooded blue murder included. That is the height of absurdity. If a single individual saved a country in modern history it is Winston Churchill who succeeded the pale Prime Minister Chamberlain with his furled umbrella who kept giving into Hitler and his supremacy in Europe. Churchill rallied Britain around his war cry and every British, man and woman, was willing to fight on the beaches, fight on the streets, fight overhead and on the seas to curb the advancing Nazis. And soon after WWII was won, he was defeated in Parliamentary elections. Not for the democracy upholding British to vote for him just because he was a war hero. They wanted the Conservatives out and Labour in. Also Churchill was discredited for his outspoken scorn of anything Indian and particularly Mahatma Gandhi who he maligned atrociously by referring to him as the’ half naked fakir’ who dared climb the steps to the Viceregal Palace in Delhi, little knowing or preferring to ignore the genuine admiration, love and respect the Mountbattens had for him.
So if any Rajapaksas of Medamulana fame did any wrong, they have to be punished.
Dabbling in dirt
On Tuesday 19th night, TV news had Wimal Weerawanse and S B Dissanayake casting aspersions at each other. This cat gathered it was Wimal W who threw the first fistful of dirt and Ass Bee responded. They wallowed in talk of faeces. This cat turns red with shame to even write that word. Ass Bee even said that Wimal and his wife are both mired in it. We cannot but agree. Just goes to show the depths they can sink to, depths from which they rose to build themselves mansions and live like kings, but forever going down again.
Need to recognize senility
Once a person gets old, beggar or businessman, academic or politician, more especially, the last named, he should realize that age brings on disabilities which develop to senility. A second childhood comes creeping in. What are the signs? This cat with great observation says that in men, a sure sign is pretending to be virile and manly. With age the flesh gets weak. Now science has come up with remedies, the commonest being a little blue (it seems) pill. Take it and you are a man. Take one too many or if you are too old for such games, you become more the man, embarrassingly so, and medical treatment defying. So once a person goes through badly in that test by pill, he should gracefully retire. No, Minister John Amaratunge, a.k.a. Long John has, as reported in a daily on Tuesday 19 December, volleyed and thundered at media persons. He is now hollering and thundering against junior UNP MPs for demanding his resignation. The poor man has run to the Prime Minister and asked him to curb the young cubs. If the ginger group of the UNP feel he should go, he should go. He is reported to have said that he was in politics even before the young MPs were born. All the more reason, Mister Minister, that you should call it a day and retire to gentle retirement.
That is quite enough maligning our politicians. We get whom we deserve. So let’s wish each other a superb season of Christmas cheer. Cheers!
Menika