Quantcast
Channel: Some birds can't fly!
Viewing all 55 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Loss of a true environmentalist !

March 17, 2010, 12:23 am
$
0
0

I was so shocked to hear the demise of Piyal Aiya. Mr. Piyala Parakrama had finished his crucial role in Sri Lankan environmental conservation arena, on early this month. It is always sad to hear deaths of good people in times they are needed most..

I first met him when I was a school boy while organizing an activity for world environment day. I think that’s soon after he returned to country completing his studies at Lumbumba Friendship University. Piyal Aiya soon became a very helpful resource to our school environment society.

Afterwards, I identified him as a person with a genuine need to fight back against the ongoing environmental issues. He held a number of positions in various organizations, but as a person he was not bound with any organizational framework. He believed something and he bravely worked to achieve it. That’s his passion.. he worked with government to achieve something, but next day he could be seen in a rally against the government to show his disagreement towards something..

Last time I met him at Jayawardenapura Hospital when I was rushing to see my father who was in critical condition. Piyal Aiya had come to some other matter, but he joined me to visit my father. He wished my father a fast recovery and treated him with his unique pleasant smile...!

I think, Piyal Aiya’s loss is for the country.. Nature and Humanity..

Very sadly, we have to say Bye to this noble person, untimely!
↧
Search

Ban Ki Moon, the defense secretary of USA !

April 6, 2010, 11:41 pm
$
0
0
Many people has slammed the US saying it has blood on its hands after a shocking video showed a US aircraft firing indiscriminately towards civilians in Iraq killing atleast 25 of them including two journalists.

Please watch this video.



Now western media together with other intellectuals has started to discuss the impact of existence of the media like Wikileaks in terms of the threat to the national security of powerful governments. Authenticity/ truth of the video is not seems to be taking in to consideration by any of the entities including UN, who is having the responsibility.


Being the first nation in the world who truly irradicated terrorism, Sri Lanka is still suffering from various allegations bombarded from westerners. We need to ask Mr.Moon who is so enthusiastic in that practice, what he is going to do for this even after murderer was caught with bloody hands.

Free media and human rights are two main themes used by powerful governments initiated by US intelligence to interfere in third world countries in order to break their economies. Now it is our time to see how Mr. Obama and Mr. Ban Ki Moon would sit together and sort this out.. Whatever the stories created by them will be spread by western media like nothing.

I personally think, UN hasn’t been this fail in credibility of their work in the past.

This is truly pathetic and dangerous.
↧
↧

Today is earth day!

April 21, 2010, 9:40 pm
$
0
0
We have number of “days” for different reasons. People criticize this because, we allocate days for objectives where we really don’t work for it. There is a women’s day for men who never treat women with the right respect. Peace day is important for people who put the seeds of war.

It is high time we need to think about our earth.. one day is not enough.. survival of life on the earth depends on this.. so we don’t have an alternative!

Please watch the video from greenpeace;


↧

Till next migration season comes..

May 6, 2010, 1:00 am
$
0
0


When I heard that the winter is so critical this year, I simply understood that we are getting a better chance of observing migrant birds in Sri Lanka. As I assumed, we could see a lot of migrants this season.

We suddenly decided to do some birding in Annaiwiludawa, not only to observe migrant birds, but mainly our friend Ulinda badly needed to capture some good bird photos during his stay in the country. (Most of the photos displayed in this post have been captured by him) His incomparable photographic gear was supportive of his enthusiasm.

Anyway, we spent a nice birding time at Annaiwiludawa this season. Annaiwiludawa Tank Sanctuary has been appointed as one of the Ramsar site due to its importance. Protected land area consists of 1397 hectares.

Now time has come to say Bye to this un-invited winter visitors! Till next winter..
Below photos are to keep our memories live till then.































↧

Save migratory birds in crisis – every species counts!

May 9, 2010, 10:31 pm
$
0
0



I have been writing about bird migration and related experiences bit often. Even the last post was about another birding experience. Anyway, I feel I didn’t urge that much about the conservation of these birds and what threats they face. In the worldwide context, biologists and ornithologists are talking more and more about the conservation of the migrating birds. I also feel that the parameters affect the survival of migrating birds could be bit different and hard to estimate.

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) was initiated in 2006 and is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats. This day comes in every year on the second weekend May. Each WMBD focuses on a different topic and this year’s theme is “Save migratory birds in crisis – every species counts!”

Protecting the habitats will be the core of conservation, but a lot more steps are to be taken. Will start from our gardens.. will keep some space for the birds..this won’t cost much..
↧
↧

Rhythmic Tree

June 2, 2010, 11:49 pm
$
0
0

 

While I was in Akka’s place I noticed that the wall colors are artistic in the guest room I am provided. Also I saw some rhythm in the tree like figure used to decorate the cover of the pillow. So I took a photo of it with background of the wall and it became so beautiful and artistic. That’s how my photo Rhythmic Tree was born. Today it became the Staff Choice of usefilm web site. It’s a gorgeous achievement for an amateur photographer like me…. Today is my day..!

Photo can be seen here.. http://www.usefilm.com/image/1584981.html
↧

Corporate Monarchy

July 20, 2010, 1:51 am
$
0
0




As US is the most powerful country, British Petroleum is the fourth biggest corporation on earth. Now both are two different faces of same entity. This Video reveals about special kind of armed people who never say to whom they report. This is not a movie!

Can we even think of democracy, if the fate of most powerful country is this pathetic!

I am so keen to see what the Sri lankan champions of human rights has to comment on this. I personally didn’t see any such comment! If a porn movie is banned in Sri Lanka I can gather 1000 human right activists to Lipton circle in no time!
↧

Golden Rose

August 6, 2010, 2:02 am
$
0
0
I am very much influenced by the books I read since my small age. Apart from my education, books play a big role in building my life. In fact, writers are my heroes!

Russian writer Konstantin Paustovsky has written, probably the best, book on the role of a writer; their responsibilities and commitments. Book is called Golden Rose. This book has been translated to Sinhala by Ariyawansha Ranaweera. It is a great book. This book is focused on preparation of a person who plans to become a writer; required generous commitment, patience and other characteristics.



Paustovsky tells a nice story to explain the commitment one should have in order to become successful in literature. A Trash collector spends two years gathering the grains of gold dust from the trash bins of a jewelry shop. When he has enough gold, he smelts it into a beautiful golden rose as a gift for the woman he loves. Writer should have such a commitment to grab the right raw materials to write a book.

Anyway, recently I started to find the faces of some of the writers I like most and created below facebook! Most of them are died by now, but they all have a very special noble place in my heart.




I guess some of them have a special place in your heart too. Can you identify them?
↧
Search

Dive in to Ship-X

September 5, 2010, 9:16 pm
$
0
0
In one of my past posts, I have mentioned my enthusiasm and interest on adventures of Mike and Cleark. They are closely related to Trincomalee where they found an ancient "Swayambhu Linga” with spiritual power and change the history. (i.e. Legend of Mike Wilson) I always wanted to dive in to the waters of Trincomalee that revealed a past history that had been hidden down the lockers of Davy Jone! When it came in real, it was like surfing through the past legend.

Recently, I had the great time diving in the coast of Trinco (Actually Nilaweli and Irrakkakandy). As usual Menaka was leading the diving team and our team was consisted of a Russian Underwater videographer/ Padi instructor from Moscow, a teenage girl from Switzerland, Devana and me. Menaka is the most capable dive master I have ever dived with.


Our diving plan was to dive the Pigeons Rock first and then to the Irrakkakandy ship wreck. When we dive in Pigeons Rock it had perfect conditions that gave us the best opportunity of feeling the fantastic beauty. Corals were so live and perfectly coloured. Marine creatures were all over. We managed to observe number of new fish species that we have never spotted in Hikkaduwa. Perfect conditions gave our videographer to capture the beauty without any obstacles. It was not that deep, so we managed to spend 78 minutes under water!



                                                                                       (These Photos are from the web)
The Ship-X

After having some rest in the Pigeons Island we sailed to our next destination; the Irrakkakandy ship wreck. Ship wrecks: always mysterious, historical and my favourite.

Even though, visibility had vanished while we were descending, sunlight became brighter in the next moment. Wreck was lying beneath the shallow sea about 12m down.

It was a massive ship with no records at all! Indeed it is a mystery. No one has ever discovered the identity of this ship and whereabouts. While I was diving, I was imagining, what can be the tragic story of this ship and its sailors. What made this sinful mistake?

This ship should be fairly old but one can identify the remaining as parts of engine room and so on. Live corals had changed the shapes of most of the artefacts scattered on the sea bed.

One experienced diver has written about this ship in the dive Sri Lanka website and he suspects this as a ship with a British origin. I am now waiting till I meet our friend, marine archaeologist, Rasika Muthukumarana to see whether he can give us some hints on this mysterious ship. According to the local fishermen, wreck is still being watched by its captain’s soul.

While I write this report today, I am in my office, looking at the mighty Indian Ocean through my window and the ships that emerge from the horizon and sail towards Colombo port. Still my mind is full of unanswered questions about the Irrakkakandy ship and its tragedy. Can remaining of the ship help a historian to solve the hidden story? I don’t know! What I know is I really need to dive in to this mystery again.

Below photos were taken during our expedition;

Getting ready with the gear..


New Irrakkakandy bridge








Pigeons Island
Resting at Pigeons Island before the second dive..


↧
↧

Dark Romanticism

October 23, 2010, 8:20 pm
$
0
0
After the dark experiences of a ‘lost revolution’ in 89, Sri Lankan civil society was filled with uncertainty. That was the time I was learning the idea of utilization of art media to express complex thoughts. Each and every painting, poem or drama done by young artists had the significant marks of the Dark Age.

Mostly poem sections of the news papers were flooded with remembrances of tears, bloods and frustration. As an art enthusiast, I like those expressionisms. I enjoyed. I was realizing, even the love and romance took a different shape which maintained the touch of the reality. Poets were scared to be fooled by sky high dreams but the harsh reality that hammered the community in an unforgivable manner.

I always like romantic arts. I like the most of the poems written in that era. I particularly liked the romantic poems written under this context. They were very down to earth, realistic, sorrowful, yet fascinating and romantic. One could argue they were something else, but not me. Of course, they were far different from beautiful songs propagated in 60 and 70 decades.

I still remember most of the poems I kept on reading again and again. Poem section (i.e. Kuw-Muthu) of Divaina Paper, (which is decorated by the sketches of famous artist/cartoonist Vinee Hittigoda) was a very good arena for upcoming poets to express their thoughts. I was among the fans who always wanted to discuss and enjoy. I guess that’s the time I spent most of my time enjoying poems. Such a nice time!

I had to tell all these because I recently read some of my favorite poems of that age and managed to spend hours with those memories. Then I thought of sharing this because, there could be some other people who have the same memory. Below is one of the best romantic poems I enjoyed most. May be Dananjaya, Rasika, Sama, Daminda or Ajith could still remember the words and how crazy we were for post lost revolution poetry of 89’.

↧

Nudes and the City

December 8, 2010, 2:50 pm
$
0
0

I have seen some of the photographs taken by Spencer Tunick, but I didn’t analyze or think of them much. They are simply a lot of naked people in different locations, particularly in cityscapes. Recently, I managed to go through his work very carefully with the inspiration came through a video watched about his work.


Spencer is not a nudist. His is a photographer! His work is simple and way he works too is very simple. His expressions are to blend locations with people.. people in the sense, people is a raw manner. Not decorated with clothes or anything, people as they are. It is a superb expressionism. I guess human body is one of the most powerful icons we used since visual art is born. His photos show the contrast in between human body and man-made structures of a city. In a way, it is a representation of nature and materialized and commoditized world.

Spencer started working in his art with very simple theories. What I like most was he didn’t use models or any selected beautiful men and women. He simply used volunteers who would like to take part in his art. He did his exercise in most of the big cities in the world and all the states of US. Number of people participate in the photo shoot is not predetermined; it is the number who accept his invitation. In a way, entire photo becomes a team work and work created according to the physical and social atmosphere. That creates amazing new dimension of getting photographs of human beings in modern civilization.

Before he became popular, Spencer does a self assignment to take that kind of photos in each state in US. What he simply did was, he got all the gear in to a van and traveled to different states with a couple of companions including his girlfriend. When he reaches a town, if he felt like taking a photograph, he simply walked through the roads and invited people he met to participate for his photo shoot. Of course, you can’t even think of such thing in Asia; it was not easy in USA either! He was virtually inviting everybody he meets; Young crowd, old people, pregnant women, fat people, slim people, black people, white people and everybody in this society. He simply doesn’t know how many people would like to participate anyway. Photo shoot is done with the available people. He doesn’t usually have any hard and fast rule to direct them. His simple guides along with background cityscapes make a wonderful photograph.



As I understand, Spencer is using the nudity for his work in very weightless manner. He is not talking or promoting nudism or any sexual agenda. He is an artist; strangely, see the beauty and way of expressing his ideas using naked human body. Not glamour or fashion in it. Just like Chandraguptha Thenuwara wanted to use Barrels (Barrelism) to express his arguments about military influenced society of Sri Lanka in the war time, Spencer’s trump used to express his idea is nudity along with cityscapes. He used more realistic raw materials than a fashion photographer who uses the body of trained beautiful men and women. While fashion photographer recreates the fantastic product together with fashion designer and model, Spencer “let it happen” in front of his camera lens. Theoretically, Product is influenced by the life experiences of men and women participate in it along with the view of the city. If there are a few people in the photo that means others have rejected to be in the photo, which also reveals something, since it is defined within the location. Nude body of an ordinary person who lives in the current society becomes the most powerful proof of that society than a model whose body is professionally maintained.

Don’t you think your body is the best living proof of your life… that carries all the good and bad times of your life? ...that reflects the tears and smiles of the story of your life? ..that archives everything happened since you were born? Spencer Tunick, as a photographer, carefully collects them into his photos.



↧

Sadness, Night and Moon

April 12, 2011, 5:06 am
$
0
0
Moon is a friend of mine! Moon has a very special place within the minds of poets.. anyway, I guess people prefer night when they have to do something with their emotions .. Specially when you want to be alone with the tiny tear drops hidden in the mind. In such occasions, moon becomes the only observer.

When I was young and started to dig the life in my early twenties, I understood the power of sadness and started to enjoy the lonely emotions bombarded in to my mind under the moonlight. It is the time we started to enjoy songs of Kapuge. I could still remember how I saw the tear drops of audience, glittering under the pale lighting of John de Silva theatre, when I first watched his show Kampana. (the shock). Hope Nilantha should be remembering that night we enjoyed the “passion of sadness”. Though I am a non-smoker, we smoked to see whether it will compensate our emotions. Since there were no buses available in the late night, we walked back to home under the moonlight. So whole this useless story was told to tell that I am someone enjoy sadness than joy. People who are in same mind would know the hidden connection among sadness, night and moon. For me moon doesn’t remind me of a beautiful face of a girl, but a very mysterious companion who shares my hidden tears.

Today I am alone and staying in a distance country. I am away from home, wife, baby and Mum.. In most of the nights, I become alone with my emotions and the old companion.. In northern hemisphere, moon is seen bigger than the tropics. In early nineties I saw in a paper, the best poem that tells my story, which revealed that I am not alone with my abstraction.. Its from one of my favorite contemporary Sinhala poets, Chandrasiri Dodangoda (see how Vini sketched it). I think, each word of this poem lies beneath my thoughts till I leave this world.



As a hiker, when I spend countless nights in jungles, I didn’t forget to be with my emotional space with night and moon. Today I am again feeling it. It’s already autumn in southern hemisphere, I can’t be walking outside in the night, but I don’t forget to look at it via my window. Is this sadness? Is this the tragic of loneliness.. I don’t know.
Famous dramatist Dayananda Gunawardena once told, dramas with enjoyable ends would more suitable for tropical countries while, dramas with tragic ends would suitable for countries with cold climates!

Dr. Nalin Suwaris had a very interesting idea about sun and moon. He thinks, sexually, sun is like Man and Moon is like Women. Moon has a cycle of twenty eight days and Sun simply comes to climax every day. In fact, when we look at moon in the night, are we becoming connected with Moon’s feminine features.. is it a healing for ones hectic life.. I know, I am not the only person who has this abstract thought; there are more to come…
↧

e-Bird database - Beyond the field note

July 22, 2011, 7:58 pm
$
0
0

This post is for people who do birding. Now we have a complete online system to manage the bird watching records. It caters every aspect of maintaining an online birding database. Please try http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
May be you are a recreational bird watcher, whose birding records will not go beyond your field notebook. Through this system you are sharing your valuable data with others who are more serious in the subject and need more data for their studies. For your point of view, your data is stored somewhere safe to refer from anywhere, whenever you need. What I like most is capabilities of analysing my own data and data of all other bird watchers.

Please see few ways I can analyse/summarize my data;

1) My records of Gray Hornbill with locations



2) Ceylon Jungle fowl observations throughout the country




3) Bird observation list of just one birding field trip



These are a very few simple data presentations I prefer as an armature birder, but you can have your own charts and graphs of your choice. Also you can download your data to an excel sheet that enables importing your data for another application.

Credibility of Data

If everybody can freely submit their data, what could be the guarantee we have on data? This is also being handled by e-Bird org carefully. Observations submit to the system is being monitored by a (volunteer) country reviewer who is an expert ornithologist. In simple terms, if you report you observed Blue Magpie in Maradana, you will be asked to discuss and produce your field notes.

I wrote this, especially to encourage non-professional birders to manage and share their valuable data. I know some, who has got very important data, but they wannish with their field note books without any trace.
↧
↧

Shame on You

July 28, 2011, 3:23 am
↧

Poplar trees of Hanthana

September 9, 2011, 5:53 am
$
0
0
Dedigama V. Rodrigo is just a name, that we used to see in the second page of most Russian books (translated to Sinhala) found in Sri Lanka. I called him “just a name” due to reasons. We have at least seen photographs of other translators and have managed to collect some information about them, but not about Dedigama Rodrigo. Dedigama Vincent Rodrigo himself seems to be an untold story.

Sri Lankan readers have been influenced by Russian literature than any other stream of literature. Specially, when we were young and youthful, we were amazed and addicted to the true beauty, romance, power and progressiveness of the contexts of books by Aithmathaw, Gorky, Austhrovski and etc. They really touch our hearts and they were helping us to identify new emotions in us. Russian books translated to Sinhala by Dedigama was like a comprehensive example for the influence, books can made to a community.

One day, when we were having some tea at Colombo public library canteen, while chatting about Russian literature, we decided to find out some information and probably to meet this legendary person. Our attempt was not successful since the first clue we could collect was about his death.

Very recently (in 2010), I could read a little bit about Dedegama’s life from an article published in Divaina Paper. Though, I knew he was a communist party member who lived in Russia, just with the objective of getting Russian literature to Sinhala, I didn’t know he was initially a doctor who left the profession for his noble task.

Though it is controversial, I too agree with the idea that Sri Lankan society was well-fed with ideology of a fair society through literature that lead to a revolution in 1971. It was a society without many developed audio/visual communication and information media we enjoy today. Luckily, Sri Lankan society was maintained with high rate of literacy than most other developing countries; in fact, it was a good background for development of literature. One should do an in-depth study on the reasons that Russian literature reached each and every layer of the society than English literature, considering the fact that we were under the administration of Queen for a long. We have adapted to most Victorian traditions, but not English literiture. In other terms, I wonder why “Tale of Two cities” didn’t reach all the layers of the society, but “The Mother” of Gorky and “The first Teacher “of Aithmathaw. One reason should be the context which is friendly for our agriculture based society. Other reason could be the clever translators like Dedigama.

The First Teacher (Guru Geethaya) was one simple example for a Russian book, which captured the hearts of young readers in Sri Lanka. It is a masterpiece for me and most of my friends who like literature. Once I visited my brother at Peradeniya University. My brother was one big fan of Guru Geethaya. There was an amazing view of Hanthane Mountains from my brother’s hostel room. From there we could see two significant trees, which they used to call “Poplar” trees, which was a well explain symbol in the book. Sri Lanka hasn’t got Poplar trees, but they live in the hearts of the youth!

Below poem is one of the nice once that shows poets passion on this book and its characters, which I saw in a Blog recently.


(Duishane and Althenai are the main characters of Guru Geethaya)


It’s not an exaggeration, if I say, we lived with Russian literature than one can imagine today. Some characters became our heroes. We tried to grab some characteristics of them. We loved the way they think.. We wanted to be brave as them.. We wanted to have the commitment of Duishane in us.. We tried to find Althenai within the girls we liked.. I was wondering whether Steps plains is far different from Horton plains..
Anyway, this is becoming the history since, reading is very much lacking in the agenda’s of the generations followed afterwards. Literature was also removed from school curriculums since J.R Jayawardena though it’s nonsense. As he wanted, new generations didn’t have “fantastic” heroes we had, but “real” heroes like cricketers and Super stars!

I recently met a Russian lady and had the chance of asking some questions about their literature. Surprisingly, she hadn’t read some of the Russian books I have read in Sinhala. So I had to explain how Russian literature influenced us and the mysterious person behind it.

This faded image is the only one, I could ever find of Dedigama;

↧
Search

1000 journals

October 11, 2011, 4:28 am
$
0
0


I always wanted to do something with Graffiti. I believe it as ultimate expressionism. Today all art media have some kind of connection with monitory system. Movies, Books or Paintings are commercial entities. So I like graffiti because it is done just to express something... no rewards.. it’s very powerful, dynamic and people-centric; No rules at all. Recently I found information about a nice self-assign project done by a person to reveal such expressions done by different people in different geographic locations of the world. This project is called 1000 journals.

Andrea Kreuzhage was fascinated about the creativity kept beneath people’s lives. As he says he has been always thinking about what people scrawl on bathroom walls and story behind them. He started a project to pass 1000 journals within people/strangers to express their story in it through a writing/ painting/ abstract or any other way and pass it to next one. This exposed an exciting result. It ultimate became a story of modern mankind; an honest expression of thousands of people who live on earth today. Above clip shows some of the art work done by those unknown people.

please find the full story here.
↧

Meals Ready

October 24, 2011, 2:53 pm
$
0
0
Today my Punchi (Aunt) sent me a nice clip that made me start my day with a nice though in my mind and tears in my eyes. Please check.. whether it will do the same for you..


↧
↧

Australian Based LTTE Terrorist Network

November 16, 2011, 2:22 pm
↧

In fact, I don’t hate bush!

November 28, 2011, 5:04 am
$
0
0
These are three popular figures with their label?


Bush is a bad man. His family business is war. Obama is a smart guy because he came in a long difficult path and became the US president. Again Hilary Clinton is a bitch because she interferes in independent states to empower US agenda. So that’s it. Why it happened that way?

For an example Bush not only killed civilians to invade oil resources of other countries, but approved torturing of war prisoners ignoring human ethics. Under his government, in 2007 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) practiced inhuman torturing techniques against prisoners. Bush government initiated a program (SERE program) just to discover new torturing techniques! Just as you and I worked in our respective professions, two contracted psychologists were busy finding new ways of torturing for Bush. CIA just used them towards prisoners. Torturing methods such as Waterboarding was used too. Waterboarding is a way of torture in which water is poured over the face of a captive, thus causing the individual to experience the terror of drowning. In 2009 Obama banned this... Rationally, he is a good man...

Waterboarding is demonstrated by activists..


If we agree that Bush did all for his greed, we need to accept entire USA including CIA were just watching WTC was blown and pride of USA was destroyed for ones wish. Probably Bush is paid better than Obama for those dirty jobs. There are a lot of benefits of maintaining a bad guy that ugly work could be credited. Bush was born bad and Obama was born good, because “birth” is carefully crafted to do a historical job. I am not happy to call this hidden hand as CIA, because it can be another label/proxy, which could be dumped by another “hero” like Obama. Today’s biggest myth is going after individuals, because Bush or Obama or Rumsfield is not a reality. Since this regime wanted to have a fresh figure with much credibility, western media were the first to criticize Bush and lead people to start go against him. America is good and Bush is bad! Once Bush is gone, again America is clean? There will be a day CIA is bad and it will be dumped too. People would clap for another up-coming hero for dumping CIA. Then again, America is clean and fresh!

This luxury is not with most other countries, including (so called?) poor countries; unfortunately not even with Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan voters vote to change the power while Americans vote to change the facade of power. Power in other countries is person centric. Probably, that’s the reason, a defeated president leave the role with a smiling face in first world while it’s far different in third world. If Obama leave presidency tomorrow what will happen to US? If Mahinda leaves his role, what will happen to Sri Lanka? Wouldn’t it be far different? In USA power is a hidden constitution/scenario and leaders are like virtual realistic models. Not like in Libiya or Iraq this regime is not shown... interfaces are being created time to time, so that anyone can blame them. It can be Bush, Obama, CIA, FBI, Area51, Chupakabra, Alien Colonization or anything... how about UN!

Though, Obama was made to perform differently, war is still continuing. Is this what people expected when he came as hero to the stage in the election time, I wonder. In the election time, famous theme of Martin Luther King, “I have a dream” was used in Obama’s campaigns. Martin Luther King was a leader and activist who believed in non-violent actions towards winning civil rights. This is what he told soon after his visit to India and meet Mahatma Gandhi; "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation." Obama is continuing the assignment he has been assigned and enjoying the brutal killing of a state leader (i.e. Muammar Gaddafi) today. Saddam Hussen was at least brought to a court, though media was covering his death like a flock of vultures who flying after a carcase. Martin Luther King’s dream has nothing to do with Obama for sure. Obama is not a good or bad guy. Just like Bush, he is a facade.

World wars we saw are like Black and white pictures. Cold War too is something we can understand. Current scenario (war?) is far different from any of the earlier eras. This is a fight of manipulation by all means. Afghanistan war was there as it is...it’s not to win or lose. Knowing them as the biggest enemies, all poor countries are meant to listen to World Bank and other organizations...We are programmed to eat poison while we have healthy food in our backyard.. Money is sent to us as "Loans" with a plan to use them.. In a way, it’s better to call this mechanism as “The master plan of manipulation”. Since I am not good in economics or politics, I would like to ask from intellectuals, is this a predicted outcome of corporate capitalism? Are we evolved to accept this?

Evolution of civilization gives man "shocks" in different eras. I am interested in analysing those in terms of expressionism. Anti-art movements were developed as a result of those shocks. Artist becomes a surrealist for a reason. When a painter illustrates a man without limbs and women with a vagina in her face, it gives a serious message about the society. With world wars, again mankind was shocked with depression and the holocaust occur in front of their eyes. This frustrating condition built further unsafe feeling and lack of belief in religions including god. So art media was further curved to express these deformities of the civilization.

In Sri Lankan context, we faced different shocks with open economy, two lost revolutions and activities of terrorism which challenged the foundations of social structure. This replaced “Piyadasa Sirisena” with “Ajith Thilakasena” in literature; replaced “Lester” with “Handagama” in cinema; replaced “Sarathchandra” with “Jayantha chandrasiri” in drama; and so on... whether said or not, big difference of the context of the art done by contemporary artists are parallel to social changes. Will I see empty canvases in next art exhibition in Lionel Wendt art gallery since artist wants to show the emptiness of current situation... or modern Art done with human flesh to show the cruelty of current capitalist society!

What I am really wondering is, whether current art media is enough to express context of hegemony. Am I seeing crocodiles in my tea cup or is there more people who feel this helplessness. If so, are we in front of next era of Anti-art (or x-art)... As an individual, I only feel that I am unable to express this situation through any media. So called modernism is becoming traditional and legacy in front of current complexity. Modernism is no more modern... Surrealism doesn’t express it...

Can Picasso’s Guernica express any of the dynamics of war in Afghanistan?


Even under this feeling, I too have more open questions without answers. Why environmental problem is not addressed by the master plan? (Everybody knows that USA has heavily invested on knowledge) As we know, lives of different people have different prices. So it’s understood, that some of the genocides may have been planned that cost human lives with less economic values, but global worming or ozone depreciation should have been considered seriously, since that decides the common fate of the mankind. Quite democratic! It caters everybody in the same spoon.

Also I am thinking, whether the economic growth of China a mistake? My absurd though hints me of different economic model rather than current monitory system and is master plan already working on it! Finally, China is becoming the richest...while USA is more concerned about the governance of world resources such as Oil... Richness of China is just an agreement (Money is a manmade entity) made through a created concept of the civilization. Does this tell something?

What is being put in store for Sri Lanka. Is it a flight crash for president? , Or another attempt of revolution through new fraction of JVP party.

As a society, we seem to have accepted a force and become wheels of its mechanism. Since we don’t have any other alternative, we have become fake... don’t we...

Probably, I am suffering from mild condition of Schizophrenia, else we all have only one question. Are we real or fake?
↧

Two books, two women and two countries

January 25, 2012, 3:42 am
$
0
0

I read “A Thousand splendid suns” (TSS) by Khaled Hosseini some time back and it was a “Splendid” book by all means. Book is mainly about story of two Afganistan women who face cruel challenges of their lives, which lead not only by cultural and social factors, but political atmosphere of the country. Beneath the main story, I also learnt bit about the Afgan culture in a different angle, which couldn’t be caught in usual western media.

Recently I was lucky enough to read the book, “Disobedient Girl” (DG) by Ru Freeman. It was a very nice book which I enjoyed a lot. This book carries two distinct stories of two Sri Lankan women who struggle with their lives.

At a glance, it is like comparing Apples and Oranges if we try to compare Afganistan and Sri Lanka.. Its meaningless.. They are of course different entities.. Afgan society is an Islamic society while Sri Lanka is very much a Buddhist society. How women are treated is far different in these two countries, which clearly shows in these two books. This contrast is obvious and nicely grasped by someone who read both books in  a short period of time. Credibility of that ground level information is the fact that those writers were born in those soils. Khaled Hosseini was born in Afganistan and Ru Freeman in Sri Lanka. At least they are not reporters who jump in to a ground with an agenda, but story tellers with roots. But now I am trying to see some similarities in between these two books in a different angle. This could be controversial.

Both books discuss about life stories of two women that head towards merely tragic ends. In both books it shows how their lives are being critically influenced by political unrest of the country. TSS shows how their society was badly beaten by terrorism (Taliban) and unstable governments greatly influenced by major powers of the world (US and Russia). In other hand DG highlights how Sri Lankan civil society was affected by JVP insurgency in 89 and suffered from a civil war for decades.

Most of all, I think, both countries had to struggle with the influence of first world since both countries are very important in terms of their location in the world map. During the cold war and afterwards, western countries badly wanted to have leaders for these countries, who can be handled by them. In order to gain the control, both countries were deployed terrorism. Their cultures were challenged and social structures were destroyed. Destroying the fundamentals of culture is the base of destroying a nation. Though it is different the way those women suffer in two books, roots remain the same.

According to western media, both countries are degraded to a lower level. (Thankfully, Sri Lanka managed to get rid of the terrorism afterwards) But reality is far different. Both countries were pushed to such situations... both countries have their own culture and social structure... as same as women in London or Paris, women in troubled countries too, have their own desires, dignity and feminine character.. Jealously, love, kindness, bond with mankind, emotions...  TSS tells how Afgan women risked their lives to enjoy TITANIC movie in hidden televisions, even after usage of televisions were banned and killed who were found to be watching.
↧
Viewing all 55 articles
Browse latest View live
Search