'Some', will Lanka be marooned again?

I thought I must write to you to wish you 'Many Happy Returns' though it may not be your birthday. Surely it must feel great to be back home especially when the boys have done all the hard work and you have been living the good life in Paris, Tokyo and wherever.

Anyway, Some, I must confess I was disappointed to see a picture of you at the Airport. No beret, no beard and looking rather like a corporate executive than a revolutionary leader- Wije would have surely turned in his grave. And, worst of all, the colour of your T-shirt was blue- is it a sign of things to come or is it as they say is it, "coming colours not good"?

You, Some seem to be the only remnant of the old JVP- and the only one sporting grey hair. Most of the others have either vanished without a trace or become blue and some- like Mahinda from the South- have turned full circle and become green!

But Some, what you must quickly come to terms with is that little Lanka is not what it used to be twelve years ago. Those days are gone for good and it is unlikely that you will be able to paralyze the country by handing out a chit demanding that all shops put up shutters. And, as you may have already noticed, campaigning is all electronic now and even if you do nothing in the campaign, you must make sure that you appear on one of the half a dozen talk-shows on TV!

They tell me Some that you were the remote control behind the Reds who called themselves the remote control of the government. Of course, most people admired the boys for their courage and their clean record but I can assure you Some that you lost a lot of goodwill by trying to prop up a collapsing Chair. And many believe that decision will cost you dearly in the polls!

Anyway, Some, what is all this fuss about bank accounts? We know that the Reds like to project an image of absolute honesty but a lot of people are asking what is happening to all the money collected by those boys and girls carrying tills on the pavements. We hope you can convince all of us that there is nothing untoward in all these dealings because we do remember how Wije was living in the lap of luxury at Ulapane while his sahodarayas suffered the hard life, don't we?

Some, I hope you realize that many now think that you are on a 'contract' for the Blues. All we hope is that the Blues and Reds don't get together and maroon the country once again. Anyway, while you are here, keep an eye on that fellow We We; he has attracted quite a following with his unorthodox style, so much so that more people now know about him than about you. So, be careful.

Yours truly, Punchi Putha.

PS- Remember that old slogan, Saadukin pelenavun, den ithin negityau, anthima satanata serasiyau? I heard that it has been changed to Saariye ellila den ithin negityau, agamethi putuwata penaganiu- is that the deal, then?