On Replacing the Sun-God
The Sun God disappeared from the scene in May, 2009 killed by advancing army units, not clear which brave soldier pulled the trigger, for some reason government has kept quiet about circumstances,…
Poetry
Mass Marriage, Vavuniya
What a large and dramatic idea occurred to the brigadier in charge of rehabilitation , to organize a mass wedding to spur former Tiger troops into formation under a different philosophy and…
Negotiables
I wish to crack a bottle of arrack and kick my legs out on the verandah before the sea at twilight, this mix of liquor, even kisses, pleasure under whirring fans, brought…
The Thirty Year Old Boy
I would like to believe we have been forgiven, that the end justifies means, that prejudice has been copy-edited out of the nursery reader, that the black man with roving eyes and…
Madness
Colombo, Nov 2: A mentally challenged man, who jumped into the Indian ocean to escape arrest, drowned after being badly beaten up by Sri Lankan police in the water in front of…
19th may, 2010
killinochchi town getting ready… may 2010 19th may. you have nothing to say? i can only falteringly mouth, nothing of …. nothing begets nothing, a king says, and launches a war against…
Justice Our Way
Intervening in the controversy over the teaching of English ‘our way’, retired Senior DIG Edward Gunawardena wrote a satirical letter to of March 27, 2010, which concluded: “So Sir, let us appreciate…
Meeting a VIP London, Summer, 2008
He asked me how it was that I could be Sinhalese was it 50%? if my mother was Sinhalese and in that case whether I was 50% burgher or whether I had…
Renunciation
We turned out of bed saddened and furious when we heard Taliban detonated the Bamiyan Buddhas: What savagery, to destroy testaments aged over centuries, to a now effaced history; but today let…
Sri Lanka Snapshot, 2010
The giant leafy mango tree in the back garden has been cut down screamed the poet, Scar and the hyenas are in charge, the stomach queasy, revolted, Il Duce megaphoned War is…
election 2010
there was a lovely tree in the yard at the back of our house. a lovely sinewy and tall mango tree.             one day in the morning we were woken to the sound…
Yes, I am Tamil!
When Weerasena (1)Â was interdicted And the sun was on fire Above the textile factory Shouting slogans Screaming hoarsely Brother Nadesan(2) At the flaming pickets I was a Tamil When Weere(3)Â got the job…
An Ode to a Bright Future
I hear the crack of a whip, you tell me it’s the sound of peace. I don’t believe you. Speak for yourself. Not for me. I heard them coming. They have no…
Love Displaced
If I only knew you were all right or even just okay or less than all right but alive I could survive in this – this place where there are shops clinics…
The Emperor’s Clothes
Do not question the numbers when speaking of your dead sons in the field of war. accept quietly your death dues. Hush! Don’t worry! just in case you trouble Our Army Officers….