"ayahapath kalaguna warthawa" - unfavorable weather report

The Western Province has been deluged with incessant rains these past few days, which has resulted in no sunshine for the past week. The Victory Parade that was to have been held on Thursday, May 20th has been postponed due to it. On Thursday the 13th, when I rode the bus to the WTC for work, there were in excess of 200 CTB buses that had lined up on DR Wijewardene Mawatha, which had brought security forces from all over the country for rehearsals. They were all in formation on Galle Face Green and the rains came hard as I watched these poor guys getting soaked from the 32nd floor of the WTC. They were not wearing rain coats just their uniforms and you know how thin our young boys are as it is the recruits who draw the short straw for this sort of thing. They were totally frozen and no doubt the next day 10% would be with coughs and colds and flu and the worse for wear. But no, I went on Friday, the rain was heavier and I got totally soaked, despite a brolly there was not a dry part on my body, getting drenched by the motor cars whizzing past the puddles on the road side.This time the buses were on Galle Face Green itself and the troops still on parade in the heavy heavy rain.

Now tell me the viewing platforms for the dignitaries are under construction, they will not know the suffering of those on parade, and what they had to undergo so they and the TV audience can be lulled into the spectacle that is being created, totally oblivious to the sacrifice that have to be undergone so the credit can go to the higher-ups, that is those who do not have to get wet!!

Anyway I digress a bit, and mercifully note this parade that was about to become a charade was postponed in the interests of common sense once the top brass realized the toll it has taken on the brass-less, with no one fit and able to parade.

So it was a weekend of rains on the farm, and where it is hard to get any productive work done. Worst of all Monday morning is a very busy day on the farm getting ready for market. My staff had the cheek to tell me it was raining and that they'd rather not go out and pick the leaves, vegetables and fruit. I said no leaves no sales, no sales no income and the choice is theirs. If I can get wet so can they!!

So finally I left late with having to load up the pick up with produce in the rain and then drive in the rain through flooded roads on my delivery route. Needless to say my King Coconut sales were totally down, taking a bath literally on them. People don't like to drink Thambili when it rains, a totally absurd view in my opinion. Ironically a lot of fruit ripens in the rain, but people reduce their consumption in the rainy period, giving a double whammy wallop to the farmer who has to reduce his price as both supply increases and demand decreases all at the same time. Now none of you readers realize this do you? unless of course you are one of the producers who have to face the consequences.

Anyways it was past 9pm when I finished my deliveries, as it rained all day long and I was delivering to homes in the rain. Here people are not willing to step outside their homes on a rainy day, and I turn up with produce, what more can they ask for? Anyway after a hard day's work it was a welcome relief to have a shower and a Raheema's chicken fried rice for me and my helper, before settling it to watch the TV news at 10pm showing the flooded city we had just been wallowing in!

So that was yesterday and this is today, and I got to the office at the 32nd floor by 8 this morning to avoid the inevitable deluge that struck an hour later.

Take it from me, I drove around Colombo 7 delivering and I have never seen so many roads and homes under water, even MacCarthy Road(Wijerama) homes had water in their verandas. The roads of Colombo are full of pot holes, the drains are so full of debris they were overflowing, and there just is no proper drainage for water to flow smoothly through the various channels to the sea as there has been a lot of development and infilling of marshland reducing the flow of water out. To see Parliament Sq and the Old Town Hall as islands was quite an eye-opener.

I trust those in charge will do something as the Indian Film Festival will otherwise showcase Colombo as a City unable to handle rain and remember the monsoon is only expected next week!! as the weather forecasters keep on saying.

They are hoping to spruce up the city, as we will get an extraordinary amount of publicity, and if the powers fluff this once in a lifetime opportunity, then it is another of the many failings in a litany of failings in administration.

The Na tree in bloom in front of my home

UPDATED PHOTOS ON MAY 15th SHOWING BLOOMS DESPITE THE HEAVY RAIN

The Na Tree (Ceylon Ironwood) with Latin name Mesua Nagassarium is the National Tree of Sri Lanka. ( Wikipedia uses the Latin name Messua Ferrea - so someone with better knowledge than me can enlighten me on the difference)

It was declared as the National Tree in 26th February 1986 according to the official Government of Sri Lanka web site which also states that "It is believed that the first visit of Buddha was to a grove of NA Trees at Miyanganaya and also the next Buddha (Mithriya) will attain enlightenment under a NA tree."


Why I chose to highlight this in my blog today was that I had planted the tree a few years ago, when I bought a seedling, and for the first time this year it bloomed and I was pleasantly surprised at the extent of buds and blooms, especially as I drive by the Na Tree lines Parliament Drive in Kotte where hardly a tree has bloomed, maybe the higher being does not approve of the shambolic state of some of the jokers in Parliament whose first job was to approve duty free vehicles to all, and so did not think it fit to grace the new parliament with a potentially magnificent sight of Na blooms.

I will later investigate other traits of the tree and include in the blog as I understand there are ayurvedic properties also associated with various parts of the tree.




In the meantime just appreciate what I see, just a wonderful sight to walk out of the front door to!





A few days later the blooms increase and now it is the only Na in the island with so many blooms. I challenge anyone to contradict me!!!

The greatest Sri Lankan celebrates his 80th birthday “Happy Birthday”

After the ceremonies in the office, I was invited to the Board Room for tea and cake

I have been fortunate in learning from one of our greatest but little known Sri Lankans. In the interest of respecting his privacy I will not reveal his name, but those who know me will easily guess who I am referring to.

This gentlemen who will reach a well deserved 80 on May 6th 2010, is still one who works like a driven man with a specific goal in his mind and a discipline that is the envy of anyone who knows him. He does enjoy life’s luxuries that he certainly has earned, however he has not let that overawe his purpose in life and enjoys simple pleasures in life too, just like the “kiri ala” that he asks me to supply him with, which his staff are lazy to serve saying he will just eat a spoonful only. A man who began life in very humble circumstances, and who managed to learn a trade and then use his knowledge to build a brand and a business empire that I admire as I know the hard work that has gone into it, which many envy and in Sri Lankan lore try and downplay noting reasons why he has succeeded rather than really giving him the credit for the effort that has gone into everything he has done.

Cutting his birthday cake with his family, executives and office/factory staff




In my experience being with him for some years and learning from him in the UK, I have noticed that he does not let obstacles prevent him from going ahead. When faced with the proverbial brick wall, I like to say he will break it and not sidestep it or avoid it. In his business as he built it from the ground up, he knows every aspect of the work, so it is difficult for those who serve him to make excuses as to why they cannot do some task, as he uses his experience to show them the way when faced with a ‘cant do’ opinion from a subordinate.

He lead life alone, bringing up his two sons single handedly. He is a perfectionist in everything he does, and able to handle a multitude of disparate tasks that he has been forced to handle at the same time. One aspect I learned from him, is to make a ‘to do’ list at the beginning of the day and resolutely go through it and clear as many points from it. I am only still able to clear a quarter of the items he can, but it is something I learned that needs to be done if one is to achieve some satisfaction at the end of the day that you actually performed a worthy function. One can then relax with a sumptuous meal or a nice cigar knowing full well you really earned it.

He is the only person in Sri Lanka worthy of titles that seem to be dime a dozen these days, but for some unfathomable reason not been awarded him. In a way when I know those who have actually been awarded these, I rather like the idea that he is not in such undistinguished company, needing no titles to buttress his greatness, but humbly carries on his work with little fanfare but much purpose.

I unashamedly say to people that his product that is sold in 100 countries worldwide and which I helped also to publicize in some of these countries, is better known than the name Sri Lanka itself. The quality of the product is one that I was proud to sell as on a par or better than anything available in the market today.

I know many of the distributors all over the world who sell his product, and I know how many distributors who would like to have exclusive rights to sell his product and therefore know the esteem to which this gentleman his held by his representatives all over the world and the attention to detail he places to all his distributor family who can still identify with him personally as he still replies to his emails himself, something that no other company chairman does in this country, nor for that matter anywhere, to the extent that he does.

He has set up a foundation, that is run by a separate group of people who painstakingly investigate the merits of certain charitable contributions, not to just provide short term relief but to provide long term real benefits to the recipients, like livelihood enhancement, that goes with teaching and raising the skill levels already attained by those who are the beneficiaries of his assistance. The size of this foundation is greater than any other charity currently set up by any living Sri Lankan, and the real benefit from this to the economy of this country passes unnoticed but is very real and rewarding.

What can I say when the man is better known outside of Sri Lanka than within as well as his products, as I noted earlier. He has not received any recognition from his motherland, for his contribution to the economy of this country in processing a valuable raw material into a super value added products that due to the countries he has to service results in over 8000 different product types that have to be produced in just one factory location, which is arguably the only factory on the face of the earth that produces so many different products destined to so many different countries.

“I wish you good health and peace of mind that no matter what, there are people who silently admire you and wish to emulate your success in a small way, learning from you by way of example, so that we can teach our youth what is possible. We need real role models for our future that we can emulate and know that given hard work anything is possible. There is one thing you were born with which no amount of training can gain, and that is an incredible photographic memory for names, places, and events, that has enabled you to maximize that ability to the best advantage of your products, people, processes and profits. I thank you Sir for the time you spent with me, something I will treasure always and put to good use.”

an example of when work is fun and totally unproductive

The picture above reminds me of a painting scene in some famous gallery in old England where the farmers are all engaged in various activities.If not for the machine it could be a timeless shot.

In this instance there are a total of 10 people doing in theory a job that can be done by one machine and its operator. There is the tractor driver who just lies on the ground under a shade smoking a fag.(he is out of the pic by the way) He is just there in case the roaring tractor stops, as the tractor engine drives the rear wheel which operates this tsunami thresher. He is also the boss to whom I pay the money after the work is completed, and is the son-in-law of the owner of the tractor and tsunami.

Then there are 6 men/boys who work the machine, like carrying the bales of hay and stuffing into the machine. I know them all as they are all my neighbors, and there are some in school, who work on this machine during their hols.

Then there are my three who hold onto the paddy sacks that collect the paddy and have to move them out once they fill up while another holds the replacement to avoid spillage.

They all have some fun while working, though talking when the machine is in operation is hard due to the deafening sound of the thresher. At the tea break it is lying in the shade chatting about yesterday and plans for the evening after they get their daily pay. There is a fair in town and the famous musicals that rural areas are now being plied with as a source of entertainment is a topic of conversation.

If and when the work ethic changes, and money becomes the driving force in a society then these lands will be more streamlined, worked by fewer people, and all these people who you see as underemployed will instead be part of the driven workforce.

Will that ever happen in Sri Lanka? is the question, and many would say it should not happen, as work,growth and acquisition are just not compatible with the psyche of the people who only do what is necessary to survive.

A short drive to Pasekudah Bay

The day after New Year, which was spent quietly and with a few visits to neighbors, we decided to go to the beach the following morning.

We packed our lunch in banana leaves, after having a light breakfast mainly of fresh cows milk by the milking crew in the morning and left around 10am. We could not possibly leave Bahu the Ridgeback and Megha the Dalmatian on their own, so we decided to bring them along with us.

After passing Kaduruwela, and then the Japan Peace bridge over the Mahawelin in Manampitiya it was only 45km from there to the Bay. Total distance from my agricultural property was 80km and it took us 90 minutes as I was driving leisurely surveying the countryside I had not seen in decades due to the war. A fast car on this newly widened empty road, would have taken only 45 minutes.

Pasekudah was very different to when I had last seen it. There were no trees. I remember when it was so lush and thickly overgrown with trees and shrubs. The Tsunami must have changed the landscape dramatically.

We parked in a central parking spot teaming with all types of vehicles. The Bay was so full of people, probably 2000 with very few in swimming gear, and most of them in the normal clothes they wear. The women were in the water in their saris or dresses.
There were no waves, and there were about 5 boats plying the water taking people on a 5 minute ride and charging Rs500.


Those boats certainly did a roaring trade that day. I was all ready for the water, but the boys and Menika and daughter were completely unprepared despite my saying that it was the bathing spot par excellence of Sri Lanka. Only once they saw the place that they could not resist the temptation and decide they must go in.


I was worried because Ranga decided to show off and swim all the way to a far off rock, in long trousers!! Well he made it there and back much to my relief, saying that at the rock were some drunken louts preventing them from alighting onto the rock with their silly antics.



Of course I had an Elephant House icy choc the perfect accompaniment after a long swim and then took the dogs who had been waiting patiently in the cab till we finished our swim, to take them for their enjoyment into the water and to a side where there were not too many people as I did not want to frighten them.

having a late lunch from the rice packet we had brought, under a really cool Kumbuk Tree on the wayside, with a pond on the side. We could not have found a quieter more perfect place to relax and satisfy our hunger, having also bought a couple of cold water bottles along the way.

To see more photos of the dogs having the time of their lives see Sinha Bahu's blog which is www.sinhabahuridgeback.blogspot.com

"new year" just another day in the life of a villager

At the break of dawn after the spectacular sunrise, the next work at hand was to milk the cows and here is a joint effort by a boy and a girl taking one teat each to pull on!!



throwing fireworks a dangerous exercise at the various auspicious times, in my opinion a totally wasteful and very hazardous occupation, much enjoyed by the young ones.


for the 7am boiling of milk before the start of the cooking


lighting more fireworks with each aspect getting more dangerous that one even exploded prematurely in one of these 4 little hands. Fortunately the dip of the hand immediately in salt water for 10 minutes saved it from burns and excruciating pain, after a moment of complete numbness.


After the kiri bath breakfast it was then a case of bathing the cows in the water and giving them a full scrub down.



then it was a case of photo op to remember the occasion by


not forgetting Bahu the dog, where is Megha when you want to photograph him!!

photos of the dawn of the new year in the rajarata

Even I could not believe my eyes when I woke up on New Year on April 14th 2010 morning and saw the dramatic colors at about 5.30am in the Rajarata facing due East. So here they are to share with you