You have already laid-down the answer to your analytical question in your last exposition dated 21st inst. titled ‘A pseudo democracy in Sri Lanka’. Such progressive social renascence towards industrial and economic prosperity is unthinkable since lethargy and tardiness have already superseded all / any other proposals for reformation thus enables the average citizen enjoying effortless lavish lifestyle. Deep-rooted cultural, traditional and religious beliefs have been ingrained and become adamantly stagnant in the complex psychic of ethnic-majoritarianism – such mental attitude rejects and resists any call for progressive transformation. Thank you Mr. C Citizen, Nithy!

I agree with you on two counts – Sri Lankans can certainly improve their work ethic when they are supposed to be working and not waste electricity during Vesak – what’s wrong with oil lamps and candles?

However, I think Anton de Silva is completely right about finding the right balance between work and leisure – or progress and tradition for that matter. I think there is no harm if people take one week off to spend time with their families and affirm their cultural identities. It disrupts the economy for one week – so what? Our way of life does not need to be always determined by economic rationality. The Chinese take off one week for their New Year and their economy is one of the fastest growing in Asia. It doesn’t seem to affect their linkages with the global eocnomy.

Machanman has got it all wrong in terms of evolution and adaptation. Sri Lanka is actually a good case in point for adaptation and resilience. The economy has withstood the globalization process much better than a lot of other countries and has been resilient depite the war. The private sector of the country manages to keep the economy going, during the most difficult of times. The government manages to get various donors to part with their $$ at crucial intervals. The people are very adaptable – when the economy is doing badly they have the basic education and skills (thanks to free education) to migrate to other countries and send remittances (and mind you, they don’t have any problems with their work ethic in those countries) so that their families survive.

When the crunch comes, whether it is financial crisis, food crisis, climate change or energy crisis, Sri Lanka is in a much better position to adapt than most of the economically developed countries that Concerned Citizen wants it to follow. The SL economy survives despite the follies of its politicians because it has for the most part, by design or default, tread the middle path of low energy and low growth. There are not so many countries in the world which are doing well both in terms of human indicators (health and longevity) and the carbon footprint, as Sri Lanka. If SL made a bigger effort with basic human security issues (including human rights) it has the capacity to come right on top, without going through the development trajectory of industrialized countries, which have to radically transform their economies to respond to climate change.

Gosh, the hypocrisy is so unbelievable.

Personally, we know there is a big debate on ‘progress vs tradition’ to be had. The mega-thread on Akon-Buddhism on this forum highlights one small aspect of this debate.

Also, the ‘progress vs tradition’ debate is important not just in SL but to people who live in many countries around the world. We are all held to ransom by traditionalists who wish to blow us out of the skies because apparently their tradition says they should.

So, nice headline, but too good a headline to waste on a puny example of extended holidays and national jollification.

I personally don’t find your argument very convincing.

Many countries celebrate some cultural event at length. In Sri Lanka, that happens to be the traditional new year. As Sur has pointed out, it has significant potential to bring people together. It takes a few days. So what? We spent 30 years blowing the crap out of each other.

Your argument would only hold water if you show that there is a continuous habit of this throughout the year. Your argument might also hold water if you show that the country is brought to a stand-still for weeks on end. Otherwise, celebrating one important cultural event an year grandly seems a good thing.

Can you bolster your case with a comparative analysis of how long each cultural event takes (including Christmas, Easter, Vesak etc), a cost-benefit analysis (not just monetary, also good will, societal health etc.) of these events? Perhaps then, you can build a more convincing case.

cheers!

Absolutely nothing. The Sri Lankan New Year is the largest festival in Sri Lanka, celebrated by both Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil Hindus. It cuts across ethnic divides and deserves to be promoted and celebrated in grand fashion. It has the capacity for peace building between the two main communities in the island. The Tamil Hindus and the Sinhalese Buddhists should not be held hostage by Christians (or Muslims) who largely do not tend to celebrate this event and may think of it as a ‘waste of time.’