28 March, 2024

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The Story Of A Tamil Boy’s Revenge

By Mahesan Niranjan

Prof. Mahesan Niranjan

Last week, I was invited to a wedding in Bridgetown. My regular drinking partner, the Sri Lankan Tamil fellow Sivapuranam Thevaram’s son Samaanthiram was getting married. Thinking it was going to be a Hindu wedding, where rituals are performed around a fire, I turned up with a portable fire extinguisher. Such is the level of health and safety training I have been given in my day job.

Welcoming the guests and congratulating the bride and groom, Thevaram said “One thing we Sri Lankan immigrants struggle with is the concept of the `best-before’ date on food packages. To me, if it looks and smells edible, I eat; but to Manimekali (Thevaram’s wife), if it says best before day-after-tomorrow, we should have consumed it day-before-yesterday!” 

It wasn’t clear where he was heading, but he put me out of my misery when he continued: “Another area in which we struggle with `best-before’ is our culture. There are aspects of it we carry in the form of social structures and rituals, claiming these to be thousands of years old, but fail in attaching to them a `best-before’ date.”

“So, if we had stuck to these customs,” he said, addressing the young couple, “there would have been a priest, he would have lit a fire, jabbered ad infinitum in Sanskrit and you guys would have had to walk around the fire some even number of times. And if you get your count wrong, there will be a perfectionist aunt who will complain: “Now, that was odd!”

“What is your problem with Hindu priest, machan (buddy)?” I asked him later. “Rituals are harmless. Sanskrit sounds nice to the ear, there is deep meaning in it even if we don’t understand what it is and it is dead.”

“No priest. No, not when I am in charge,” he snapped, with a heavy emphasis on the I. 

It was clear there was more to it than what met my eyes, which I was determined to find out. So, after the wedding, we adjourned to the famous Bridgetown pub and I bought the first round of Peroni. Liquid in, story out!

There is a little island called Couragenagar off the north coast of Sri Lanka. Some fifty years ago, a ten-year old boy, half asleep in the veranda of his house, overheard a conversation between his father and a visiting uncle. You might easily guess that the young boy is Thevaram and the father, Sivapuranam. Uncle Crinkle-Bottom (not he real name, but I have synthesized a double-barrelled name to illustrate his social standing in the village) is a regular guest at their place who reports a summary of his daily activities to Sivapuranam. It was mostly monologue, and, whether the recipient shows the slightest interest in the topic being narrated or not was never a consideration.  It might as well have been in Sanskrit, as far as the eves-dropping young boy often wondered. 

That evening, Crinkle-Bottom was particularly jubilant. “We stopped the hotel project,” he shouted as he walked in, “the village Council has voted against it and the Government Agent has accepted their decision!

“How can they even think of building a hotel in this sacred place of worship?”

[ Casuarina Beach, Sri Lanka; Phtograph via Wikipedia ]

Now, the place of worship is the lovely beach in the village. An exceptionally nice sandy beach with shallow water just up to an adult’s chest, half a mile into the sea. A sparsely populated region with a few fishermen and occasional local tourists which included Sivapuranam and his kids who went swimming and seashell collecting on a regular basis. Uncle Crinkle-Bottom lived a couple of hundred yards from the beach. He was originally a rice farmer but, probably having taken on-line courses on entrepreneurship, recently developed himself into a wholesale rice trader.  

There was a temple nearby with statues and priests. Every year, there was a festival. Part of the festival was the bathing of God. The gold-plated stone is wheeled out on a decorated chariot by devotees to the beach and given a through wash, before being returned to its holy pedestal. One day a year, the beach belonged to God, and the remaining 364 days to fishermen and the occasional local tourists including the Sivapuranam family.

There was a proposal to develop that beach, from some entrepreneurs with possible government backing, by building a hotel and better access roads. This is what Crinkle-Bottom boasted to have blocked on the basis that the beach, where God bathed, was sacred. 

To understand the rest of the story, aspects of the society in that region should be described. This is best done in the jargon of the professional statistician in me: Hierarchical and clustered. 

You belonged to a cluster, assigned at birth and supposedly in your blood! It had to be blood because the human genome had not been sequenced around that time. You knew your place in the hierarchy of these clusters. You do not question that arrangement. That was defined and accepted as your culture. It had no `best-before’ date stamped on it. 

“What was that all about, thaththi (dad), uncle was saying about blocking a hotel project?” the boy asked the father next morning. “It is ok to block building a hotel, no. After all, it is a place of worship? Uncle Crinkle certainly has his heart in the right place,” the boy said, with a sense of gratitude for the lego set he received from the uncle on his birthday.

The father took the boy to the beach. Kanthan the fisherman had just landed with his catch. Crincle-Bottom, after his early morning jog along the beach had arrived to buy fish. 

Kanthan takes the best of his catch and gives it to Crincle-Bottom. 

“How much?” asks Crincle-Bottom.

“Give me whatever you like, aiya (Sir),” says Kanthan. [/aiya/ refers to a senior person of higher status; /Sir/ is approximate, /aiya/ carries a sense of reverence which is not captured in the translation.]

Crinkle-Bottom gives him a few coins which Kanthan receives with both hands outstretched and a bow at about 45 degrees to the direction of gravity. 

“Did you see what happened there putha (son)?” the father said to young Thevaram. “Uncle is a rice trader. Rice is the staple food around here. Uncle sets the price of rice. He is also higher in the hierarchy of clusters in our society. So he sets the price of fish also!

“What would happen if there is a hotel here? Kanthan will sell his fish to the hotel at a higher price, wouldn’t he? And uncle Crinkle will lose the economic power he wields over Kanthan. So, he needs the social hierarchy, he needs the God, he need the rituals of the God having a bath once a year, this place has to be declared sacred and the hotel project blocked.”

The boy felt for the plight of the fisherman and the lesson in socio-economics got etched deep in his mind. Such social clustering and hierarchy carries to this day, we ought to note with a sense of shame. It was reported a couple of months ago, in a village neighbouring Couragenagar, when there weren’t enough young people of one cluster to take God to his bath, instead of letting those from other clusters to participate, temple management hired a JCB earthmover![ God being taken for a ride: photograph via newjaffna.com ]

Throughout his teenage years, Thevaram avoided temples in which poojas (rituals) were conducted by priests. They qualified to be priests by birth and blood. They did not take degrees in theology or even pass exams on Sanskrit as a second language. 

[ Shush. He did make exceptions to this boycott during his late teens when he wanted to be within the visual range of his admirers of the fairer sex.] 

In shame and anger, the young boy waited for a chance to avenge the system. Half a century later, in the far away city of Bridgetown, he got that chance. 

“No priest. No, not when I am in charge,” said Thevaram gulping the last mouthful of Peroni and slamming the empty glass on the table. 

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Latest comments

  • 4
    10

    Interesting narrative, but for a few snags.
    “walk around the fire some even number of times”?
    You are losing count, MN. Even numbers are mostly taboo in Hindu rituals.
    *
    To be consistent with “thathi” and “putha”, the “aiya’ could have been made “mahaththayo” and translated as “master”.
    *
    Against whom was the revenge? The Hindu priest, like priests of all description, whose livelihood depends on the stupidity of people, did not even enter the picture.
    Besides, the hotel will probably not buy Kanthan’s fish as besides customers seeking rather exotic fish, and hotel purchases are from big suppliers. If at all, Uncle Crinkle was a potential beneficiary.
    (Rest houses and other small outfits are different, they use local suppliers.)
    I can name a few categories of potential losers because of the failure of the hotel project, but this is not the time and place for it.

    • 5
      0

      SJ:
      Methinks Sri Lankans and others use the word hotel for a wide spectrum of outfits. Most likely, the proposal in 1968 was for a small outfit — not on the scale of Galadari/Hilton in Colombo but more like Green Grass in Jaffna. Kanthan and his mates with about ten boats, and no competition from trawlers and the like we see these days, could easily have supplied the fish needs of the proposed hotel. (Ditto comments on odd/even counts at rituals and putha/mahaththayo language consistency).

      Like sister Tee Twenty said somewhere: “those extracting hair on egg shell miss out on the omelette”.

      • 1
        1

        JP,
        You do justice to your name.
        If K & pals owned that many boats, how come that K was dominated by CB, according to the author?
        I wonder if you allow only Prof. N to have a sense of humor, so that any remark re his inconsistencies cannot be taken in the same spirit.

  • 12
    2

    So, there’s for us Sinhalese who wanted to to have something to throw at these Tamil fellows from Karainagar and the rest of the Jaffna peninsula.! A total and unequivocal condemnation of the caste system as practised by the Tamil Upnawth, by Thevaram, and by implication, by Prof. Mahesan Niranjan.
    .
    As conceded by both, vestiges of the system persist; it was only “a couple of months ago” that people of lower castes were not allowed to participate in the carrying of a god; as usual, Niranjan has been able to fish out a sensational picture – of a JCB helping draw the cart carrying the god.
    .
    But at least they have re-accepted Reginald Cooray as Governor, which the Mahanayake’s of Kandy refused to do, and never mind what Gauthama Buddha had said every bit as clearly as Niranjan and Thevaram. And what more can individuals do than turn up at a wedding carrying “a portable fire extinguisher”?
    .
    I’ve just read this story; some may have posted comments hours ago. Let me hope that none were from Sinhalese who felt that they should throw something at the Tamils whenever the opportunity arises.
    .
    Thanks for the story, Niranjan.

  • 13
    0

    Crinkle-Bottom blocks economic ‘development’ by invoking God, tradition, culture, etc. in order to retain the clusters and hierarchy which benefit him. There’s nothing funny in that. What is funny is … … the Crinkle-Bottoms who managed to migrate to the west have transplanted the same social hierarchy in the modern capitalist milieu in order to feel superior. No economic advantages, but they just want to feel superior over others from different clusters. This is the only thing, they feel, would keep them from disappearing completely into a crowd of nameless nobodies – which is life in advanced capitalist societies for most people. I’m afraid Thevaram has still more battles to fight. Or is he feeling smug in the Bridgetown cluster?

    • 4
      0

      Ajay,
      “the Crinkle-Bottoms who managed to migrate to the west have transplanted the same social hierarchy in the modern capitalist milieu in order to feel superior. “
      Didn’t you note that Crinkle-bottom buys (and probably eats ) fish?. So he cannot have been a particularly high-caste vegetarian.

      • 4
        0

        OC
        Vegetarianism does not place one high on the caste ladder. (I have tried being a vegetarian, but it did not help.)
        Seriously, in North and North East India some forms of flesh are permitted for Brahmins. (Fish for instance is jalapushpam, meaning water flower. My Assamese Brahmin friend told me in London that they eat goat meat back home.)
        *
        A Brahmin will not go down even one rung in the caste ladder because he consumes Sudra food (despite contamination).

      • 6
        0

        old codger
        Yes, you’re right. Crinkle-Bottom may not be at the top of the caste hierarchy. But it has been observed that the intermediate castes too are involved in the transplanting. Because they want to retain their “superior” position relative to those who are below them in the hierarchy. Only the oppressed castes, obviously, have shown no interest in bringing over this cultural baggage and have in fact been critical of such trends in the diaspora. One has to be wary of the champions and guardians of Tamil culture and tradition in the diaspora. History has shown the twin evils of caste oppression and patriarchy have always been perpetuated in the name of protecting the most glorious, and most ancient, Tamil culture.

  • 2
    27

    Tamils not just take revenge they always start violence

    • 18
      0

      Mrs Udubaddewa

      “Tamils not just take revenge they always start violence”

      Well when do you intent to add this sacred truth to your 2500 of history?

      • 8
        0

        NV:
        I thought it was already written into the Mahawansa or what even name given to that book of hate.

        • 1
          4

          BURT TJE CARTOON CHARACTER: Read the Genesis of your fiction book about what Jesus talk. IT talks about killing non-belivers.

          • 5
            0

            Dear JD,
            .
            This is a bit confused, and it may illustrate the fact that it’s best not to discuss the details of “religions” unless we are sure what we are talking about.
            .
            The Christian Bible was put together long after Jesus died. There wasn’t total agreement on what should be in it, and I guess there are different versions even now. I’m not sure; I’m only writing to say that there’s much that is unclear, and probably myth.
            .
            Genesis is in the Old Testament (the first book in it) and is really Jewish Scripture. There is nothing in it that is purported to be said by Jesus.
            .
            The four Gospels, placed at the beginning of the New Testaments printed nowadays, incompletely record the life of Jesus, and from various things that he is reported as having said, Christian doctrine is deduced. These gospels were written more than a century later; I’m no authority on all this, but there isn’t clear agreement.
            .
            The Koran is a more unified book and seemed to be less confusing – when I read it many years ago. It certainly makes clear distinctions between believers and non-believers – just as the Jewish writings distinguish between Jews and Gentiles. But one fact is not usually recognised: the Jews don’t say that only they will be saved.
            .
            I regard most of this as myth. “Killing non-believers”? – We believe that such talk is wrong, don’t we? Let’s stick to common sense!

            • 0
              6

              Well, your ignorance on the history of Bible I can see in this line
              “The Christian Bible was put together long after Jesus died”, . You need to read books written by real historians and archaeologists. I can recommend you if you want not few liberal novelists .

              • 4
                0

                Brilliant man Javed, the old testament was written before Jesus and the new testament was written after Jesus. So get your facts right. You need to pull your head out of the fairy tale Mahawamsa and start reading the truth. When did Buddha become God?

              • 2
                0

                Dear TftN,
                .
                In responding to the comment submitted by “Daved”, you have referred to him as “Javed”, but then you seem to address him as though he is a Buddhist. TftN, I know you to be a pretty astute guy. Have you spotted a typo in the name, and thereafter refer to mischief making by an imposter?
                .
                I don’t pretend to be a scholar, but I don’t write arrant nonsense.
                .
                “Daved”, what is this recommendation of yours? I just can’t understand that last sentence of yours. No, I don’t try to find out about religion by reading the likes of Dan Brown and his books like this:
                .
                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Da_Vinci_Code

                .
                You may be justified in thinking my phrase ” long after Jesus died” rather vague. Perhaps I should have said “relatively long”. I was writing to counter some nonsense written by JD. I’ve just done some checking. This seems a reasonable chronology:
                .
                https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-43/how-we-got-our-bible-christian-history-timeline.html
                .
                This is readable, and not too dangerous, but I spot a few things that are probably inaccurate:
                .
                https://www.biblica.com/resources/bible-faqs/when-was-the-bible-written/
                .
                Here it says that the John who wrote “Revelations” in 95 A.D. (Jesus was born in 4 B.C., by the way) was the “aged Apostle”. A bit unlikely! Most serious scholars seem to think it was some other John.
                .
                Let me see if I’m “attacked” by somebody with more knowledge. Actually, all I try to have is a reasonable “Over-view”. A real scholar could make pulp out of me in this area of knowledge. But “Daved” is more ignorant!

          • 1
            0

            Jesus meant spiritual living,only, not physical living. He never approved killing

          • 0
            4

            Jesus talk in Genesis, you are kidding me. Read it again

            • 0
              1

              D
              I think that the Mormon Bible is the genuine stuff, the rest are fakes.

            • 4
              0

              @Daved, wrong!!! Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament and written before the birth of Jesus.

          • 3
            0

            @Prof. JD, can you please quote the verses please.

    • 0
      0

      This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

      • 8
        0

        Lest someone misunderstands, the supposedly offensive words I used were:
        “Bazookas”, “army boots” and “bed”

        • 4
          0

          Ajay
          You are usually brief and to the point.
          Any chance that you got carried away and overshot the treble century ceiling?

          • 5
            0

            SJ
            No, No … … it was a brief joke about Mrs Udubaddewa, but apparently a little too risque.

    • 2
      0

      This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2/

  • 6
    0

    Hypocrisy if rife in every community. So called “Buddhists” advocate rioting and arson; liberation fighters for Tamils subjugate other Tamils, “enlightened” human rights advocates turn a blind eye to the atrocities of the Saudis and the US in Yemen, Catholic cardinals who supposedly believe life is sacred call for capital punishment, Muslims who proudly claim that Mohamed liberated women in his day, cloister and deny freedom of choice to women etc. etc.

    Hindu lower castes should rightfully start a movement to wrest back control of their lives – like Ambedkar did. Question the validity of their “culture” – especially the so-called “Jaffna Tamil” culture that is used by many to suppress other Tamils.

    • 2
      2

      SB
      This story has little to do with caste-based oppression. (Fishers are not among the ‘lowly’ castes in the Jaffna Tamil caste system.)
      It is most likely that the oppressor and the oppressed are from the same caste.
      There is a question of class, but that does note fare prominently in the narrative.

  • 1
    9

    This is a stupid narrative and is not by an intellectual, but certainly can be educated. What you are doing is Bashing SO-called Hinduism. Every religion intertwines with the cultur to which it was brought. So, as some politician said culture wise, India is very versatile. That is all. You need to be inside in order to learn it. IF your religion is visitng the pub in the evening you are no tmuch of an intellectual but just an UPPITY or trying to that typeTamil.

  • 3
    0

    This is a case where it borders between revenge and a loss of faith. As a young boy if he realized that what counts to what family you are born to be a priest, instead of religious training or merit, that is great. In fact one of the essential elements in a progressive society is meritocracy.

  • 2
    0

    The colorfulness of a Tamil Hindu Wedding ceremony may be fading, but the mastery of choreography it is created with, the Charm of alapana of Mohanam, performance of the peacocks……….,etc has one expiry date? Is creativity is delivered always with oppression on its every knot?
    How Kannadasan see that occasion: (I know I am showing the back of the mirror to see the beauty, but that is where the Poets seem to prefer drawing their art.)
    Poomazhai Thoovi Vasanthangal Vazhtha
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csBahBsXvaA

    Poo mudippal indha poonguzhali
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35rQjjzAlmA

    Kadavul Amaithu Vaitha Medai
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJQ-grJjRgU
    The wilderness Kamal Hassan describing says “The calf and her mother too were there to view the bride and bless her”. That is an actual part of Tamils wedding. To the wedding ceremony a cow and calf bought and asked the couple get their blessing.

    What would a Jealousy young girl want to ask from her hero and hear from his mouth? (“How do I look?, Do you like me?” “You are gorgeous, Darling; of cause!”) In the Hindu wedding it is not conversation. It is the interwoven choreography. It is customary groom takes present for Bride to wedding. He takes with him a beautiful sari. (His best Koorai). On the stage he hand it over to her. She would go behind the stage and wear and come back as an angel in his dress. He will start to unpack his rest of the presents: ink for the eye, Pottu for the forehead, Comb and flowers for her hair. Once she finished wearing all those, he will pull out his last magic. He would take the mirror he brought with him all the way from home and will ask her to look in mirror (and would say ”Dear you don’t need my answer on that , look in this mirror the parrot that doesn’t need fathers to flitter. “)

  • 2
    0

    Fire, Ammi, Arundhati, Yellow water ring……….it keep goes on and on
    Two innocent two minds brought together and the sanctity of the unity is inspired to them by a serious of artful, sophisticated methods. Every effort is taken to commit the conscience to memory for a life time. It is hours of procedures. If Paul like Oranges, oranges and if Peter like apple apples they both are delivered to get them board the ship with equal feet and sail on the voyage to their dream world, on their own.
    Money creates power and levels. On the flow of the history, the mountains had their own names for the same river flowed over them. During the time of Indus Valley, Jaties were equal. Economy flourished. Siva like Brahmin priests were not hypocrites.
    Old life is expired. The new life is mechanized. Thevaram’s kids registered in Municipally Court, under sole direction of the father, in London. Northern Varani Kananakai(Pathini) Amman Chariot was pulled by an earth mover to keep out oppressed ones touching the Chariot rope, by oppressors. It is an occasion where wounded hearts visits Thevi’ Kovil, wait on the road for her to come out of her abode, then they pull her cord & tell their stories to her.

    When will the Milk lose its white sweetness?
    When will the gold fade its Shiny yellow?

    What is expiration?

  • 0
    0

    Is it the Bridgetown tradition not to describe the supporting story (the Chariot was pulled by a machine as shown in the photo)?

    This incident happened in Jaffna due to the caste issue or lack of young people in the village to pull the Chariot?

    We hear that the youth unemployment rate is so high in Jaffna then why not use some of them for social services? Otherwise someone should call the army to do the voluntary work!

    • 0
      0

      Chariot pulling is social service or god service?

      • 0
        0

        If you grew up during the war time in Jaffna then it’s a social service.

  • 0
    0

    Dear Sinhala_Man, Religion is not a science. It is simply a belief.
    .
    Look at the flow of traffic in a civilised climate. How orderly the traffic flows!
    .
    We follow the traffic signals for our own benefit.
    .
    Traffic lights go a long way to help with this orderliness. Who maintains these traffic signals. Let me call it ‘the government’.
    .
    The Government is not visible; So is God.

  • 0
    0

    Let us see what this fable (I am elevating the status of the story to that) is about. Just the other day my friend “Straight Lace” angrily pointed to a Youtube video where a do-gooder went around Colombo warning that the numerous Highrise buildings coming up will eventually sink the city. “Straight Lace” was angered by what the new developments he claimed would do, i.e.sink Colombo, in which, at one time he was riding the crest of society. Since migrating to the west he is now a mere mortal, living in the suburbs of city X. He can no way afford to perch on one of the new vertically stacked riches of Colombo. He is effectively shut out of the new city, its new social hierarchy and its new social order, and understandably he is pretty upset and thus, hates all kinds of developments that are going on.

  • 0
    0

    M. N.,
    Hope you compile these satirical articles and have them printed in paper for keepsake. BTW, How good are expressing yourself this way in Tamil? Just wondering. Would be interesting!

  • 1
    0

    Mrs Udubaddawa

    It is not that I am agreeing with you; I’m trying to understand what you are trying to say.

    Do you mean (i) Tamils take revenge, and (ii) it is the Tamils who start violence always?

    Please elaborate if you don’t mind.

  • 2
    0

    Just leave bridgetown and go to TororntoTown, and count the number of Kovils (Temples) and check out who their kururals are?
    Check out why there is a need for so many temples?
    Does each cluster need its own Kovil as the clusters mutually avoid each other?
    Would Sivapuram and Niranjan include with them a drinking partener from another cluster? -Ayioo ! மாசு
    May be the statistician may find a strong correlation between the temples and the clusters (the word “caste” seems to have got dated?).
    The top man in the cluster is no longer the Brahamin (good Brahamins do not cross the seas), but the guy who knows to extort the most money from his fellow Tamils.

    • 0
      0

      Hi Native Vedda’s Bro, You can run but not hide (in CT). BTW, GGP is no Vellalar, but Velayudan (not you), of the adjoining village, is!

      • 0
        0

        G G Ponna is not Vellalar ? !!!!!!

        He was the “king” of Tamils from 1932 to 1956 when SJV ousted him by becoming a martyr on Galle Face Green after the Sinhala bill.

        Both GGP and EMVNaganathan claimed that they were descendants of Chola aristocrats; there are State Council Hansard records to that effect.
        Anyway, that is what they claimed.
        How did both SJV, and EMV Nagathan end up as Christians sucking upto the Western Invader?

        • 1
          1

          V,
          In the Jaffna Saiva Vellala Tamil tradition, a Vellala has the right to declare any other person to be not Vellala. (Several even have DNA experts like a few here who work it all out using DNA claims.)
          *
          Poor GGP is dead and gone and cannot even argue a case that he is V; and Thappu has the right to reject all evidence to the contrary.

  • 2
    0

    Of course, in Bridgetown Dr ( or Prof, or Mr.) Nira need not worry about getting mixed up with lower level clusters (ahem, castes).

    Already, getting into even a moderately good school requires you to be “caste acceptable”. The ITAK and the TULF stood for it, and silly Shanmugathasan challanged Thantha Chelva on that!

    Then there is another level of filtration when getting into University. As for getting a “class” at the degree, if you are not Vellalar or at least a fisher caste, then forget it. So, by the time you get to Bridgetown you must already have come from a Pillai stock or at least a SriSkandharajah stock.

    Every one has heard of how GGPonnambalam used to mock Judge SriSkandharajha for his “lower” Fisher caste. GGP arrives in the court a bit late, and the Judge asks, why are you late — “I am not used to finishing fishing and coming here on time “!.

    We Tamils are looking forward to creating that Eelam where we can run the show ourselves, and practice Manu Dharma as that is surely very comfortable for us. We demand “human rights and democracy” from those who have power over us. But we ourselves must maintain a tight control of the lower clusters (to use Prof. Nira’s modern terminology) and teach them to treat us correctly, bending at more than 45 degrees, and not even allowing them to cast their shadow on us. We should get rid of all these army shops in Jaffna where they allow all sorts of lowly people to come in and shop, making them unclean.
    Good old Wiggie is doing the right thing in insisting that there should be no interbreeding. His children have of course, gone to the mongrels. But he is trying to at least save us.

    • 4
      0

      Nat Vel
      I do not question the view on GGP’s caste arrogance and caste based insults. The narrative is rather crude and lacking in wit to be attributed to GGP.
      *
      The one I heard from a lawyer of his generation is that Justice S intervened to criticize the way GGP was cross-examining a witness, to which GGP reportedly responded with “Your Honour, cross-examining a witness in a criminal case is not like fishing in high seas.”
      Clever, but nasty.

  • 3
    3

    Mrs Udubaddawa,

    Don’t take much notice. This article was written most likely under the heavy influence of Alcohol. I don’t know where Bridgetown is. If you happen to know find out the AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) location and publish it for this man to go to.

    • 2
      0

      Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera
      Very good observation. Stunningly astute. I am guessing you must have served in military intelligence! (But to be fair, the author himself is honest about the conversation taking place in a pub, so these drunkards need not be taken seriously.)

  • 2
    0

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    • 3
      0

      Keppaya,

      Marvelous reply. Keep going.

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