Photo by Amalini De Sayrah
This is not only about sitting on the verandah with a scotch and a pig
in a blanket. This is not only about picking up the beat and dancing
the night away to Sea Cruise. This is not only about building a tent city
in front of tourist hotels and government seats of power. This is not only
about waking up on the Green and seeing reclaimed land of the Chinese
port city in the sold-off distance. This is not only about planning a jeep safari
to Yala. This is not only about taking the Yal Devi train to Jaffna to visit
the grave of your grandmother. This is not only about rising past tea estates
and Horton Plains to the cool-sweatered air of Nuwara Eliya. This is not
only about Mihintale steps or the reclining Buddha of Polonnaruwa
or the last wild leopards of Wilpattu. This is not only about elephants
roaming through thick forest on an island vanished forever. This is about
an elephant orphanage. This is about reclaimed land, second growth forest.
This is about fencing off the wild. This is about forgetting and trying
to remake the land according to old films, hunting books. This is about
saving what’s left for the people to be decided by the people. This is
about democracy, friends and enemies. This is about trying to make
a sustainable bet with every adult for every child. This is about
singing the anthem in all the languages. This is about settling
the books on all hate crimes, getting trials going for the first time.
This is about dreams making responsibilities. This is
about struggle, united, aragalaya for everybody.
