Laksiri Warnakula 

I was going through the ‘editorial’ of the ‘Island’ (29-09-21) titled ‘When heroes cower’ and as usual the ‘Editor’ stung again, where it hurts and matters most. 

And suddenly my mind veered off the rails and there they are, right in front of me: Garlic, sugar and rice. And then there were others as well, too many to fit into this short letter; turmeric, milk powder, to mention a couple.  

However, the three mentioned above occupied the centre stage: Garlic, sugar and, rice, of course, being kept in various forms of storage, some even cleverly hidden from the eyes of the casually curious to serious and honest investigators (sadly though, not many of them left now, of that quality).  

Then I wondered. How come garlic, which in folklore of some countries is regarded as a substance capable of keeping the evil spirits away, took sides with some evil-minded and let them steal it? My somewhat slow-witted mind saw it in that unusually dumb perspective. 

Now we all know Sri Lankans love sugar (including sugar-coated political mumbo-jumbo) and there are plenty unscrupulous out there, who would do anything to take advantage of that love to fatten their wealth. 

Finally, the ‘Rice Band’. I am sure many of us already know when, how and who laid the foundation and then subsequently kept building on it to such an extent, that now seems to have become a law unto itself and it seems to have no problem at all to say stubborn no’s even to the government, which as we have seen very recently had to timidly bow down to its demands.  

They came in, promising big to take those marauding bulls in all arenas of concern including political, by the horns, tackle them and tame them, once and for all. At the beginning it all looked well. However, many of those promises remain yet to be fulfilled and millions, who ticked the boxes in favour of them and not the other parties and their candidates, must be really disappointed, for very obvious reasons. And those bulls are still there (could be more now) and even more active than never before. 

I am sure that our President is capable of putting things straight with stern actions, sending those bulls where they belong and also let those roguish businessmen know, who is calling the shots. 

Laksiri Warnakula