Looking up with pride

By Laila Nasry

On 'ground zero' sharing in all the euphoria and excitement, one man smiled with satisfaction: Sambasivam Ragupathy, architect by profession and Project Manager and Consultant for the sky scraper, who watched its magnificent rise to the top. 

"It was a beautiful moment. The feeling of having experienced the construction of the tallest towers in the world was an experience any architect in my shoes would have loved to experience." Down in Sri Lanka for the 45th Annual Sessions conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects, Mr. Ragupathy shared his "achievement of a lifetime". 

The Twin Towers were to be the gateway to Kuala Lampur. "Like the Eiffel Tower was to France and the Taj Mahal was to India, the towers were to symbolise all that was Malaysian." Thus the design plan was drawn incorporating Islamic architecture. 

"The simple geometric square, the basic of Islamic geometry was the basis on which the base plate was constructed." 

The towers were vertical units and every floor higher, the square design was rotated, the pointed edges giving a star like effect. 

The structure which was three times larger than the surrounding buildings was never meant to be the tallest towers in the world. "The area, 4.25 million square feet was such that 88 stories of built up space was required." 

At the time of construction many people questioned the need for such a tall building, unaware that it was the vision of the Prime Minister himself, driven by the thought of making Malaysia reach the status of a developed nation in double quick time. As construction got underway in April 1994, as Project Manager, Mr. Ragupathy froze the designs because change was simply out of the question. 

"We got the architect, consultants and clients to sign that there would be no alteration, and if there was such a necessity, they would have to bear the cost."

Each floor was completed in four days flat, the smaller floor areas taking 31/2 days. It was a composite structure of concrete and steel. The use of high strength concrete, high speed elevators etc. saw the inclusion of advanced technology, enabling the construction to come to an end as scheduled in March 1996. 

"During the construction it could have been mundane," recalled Mr. Ragupathy, however it proved to be far from smooth sailing ensuring a fair share of sleepless nights. "We had to lift the constructed sky bridge, which was to inter-connect the 41st and 42nd floors of the two towers, 170 metres high." 

The technique was all planned out and the method statement of the construction gave explicit details with diagrams as to how such a feat was to be achieved. It was to be raised at a speed of 12 metres per hour. 

But nature intervened. "That evening there was a thunderstorm. It was an experience to watch, and we watched with bated breath, because the sky bridge was swinging like a pendulum." The process had to continue the following day.

Even with the best of technology and novel features, the Petronas Twin Towers cannot rule out the same fate suffered by its counterpart in the US. Saying "no piece of architecture is designed for such destruction," Mr. Ragupathy recounted the sense of sadness he felt as he saw "the majestic towers pancake down". 

The towers to Mr. Ragupathy are like a child he had seen through infancy to adulthood. "Driving to or from work daily, I look at this beautiful piece of architecture without for a moment being tired." 

"It's an ultimate," he says, but retiring with a smile is not on his mind. He adds quickly, "It's just the beginning for me. Having done this I think I can do anything now." 

Let go and you will be happy!

Thirdly, one must look at the higher spiritual attainments that can be obtained through renunciation. 

One can argue that if there is no pleasure in sensual indulgence, why do lay folk spend so much money, time and energy for the gratification of their senses - the eye, the nose, the tongue, the ear and the body. On the looks of it, it is so. We cannot deny that. 

Even the Buddha does not say that there is no amusement in the indulgence of sense pleasures. 

Yet the truth is that all types of enjoyment we derive through the sensory faculties do not last long. They are momentary. They appear and disappear causing unexpected psychological and biological unsatisfactoriness and suffering.

The Buddha shows us the realistic viewpoint of sensory pleasures in one of his discourses. There are three words that are very important to understand the fleeting nature of worldly pleasures and the significance of renunciation. 

They are Enjoyment (assada), Unsatisfactoriness (adinava) and Liberation (nissarana). 

Let's take an example. Think about desirable material objects such as a picture, a flower, a piece of furniture or a beloved one like one's wife, husband, child, mother or father. 

You can derive happiness as long as you can keep these objects or be with the loved ones. This is what is known as 'assada'. 

When we lose or break something that we like to possess, or find them changed, deformed or changed, we are very upset, we get angry, we feel sad and miserable. You can derive happiness by associating with people so long as they behave and act the way we expect them to. 

The moment they act otherwise, we are agitated and we lose control of ourselves. This is called 'adinava'. That is why Buddha says that everything in the world is subject to suffering. 

Suffering is clearly illustrated in the Noble Truth of Suffering: Birth is suffering; Decay is suffering; Disease is suffering; Death is suffering. Association with the undesirable, people and things is suffering. 

Separation from the loved ones or things you like, is suffering. In short, attachment to the five aggregates is suffering. 

Therefore, if one tries to understand this reality and attempts to reduce and eradicate craving for worldly conditions, things and people, the result will be 'liberation' (nissarana). That is the real Nekkhamma.

A frequently asked question is, can we live in this world without material things and without people. The simple answer is, we cannot. Even monks who lead a monastic life cannot live without the basic requisites. Everyone is expected to use these basic needs but without getting attached to them, fully understanding the concept of impermanence. 

Attachment brings about suffering and destroys spiritual upliftment. The stronger the attachment, the stronger is the suffering. If there is no attachment, then there is no suffering.

What benefits does one derive by practising the habit of 'letting go'? One could sacrifice one's property, time, skills, knowledge or anything else, for the benefit of others. Thereafter, one can be away from worry, fear, craving and other selfish thoughts. One can develop supermundane knowledge because one will not indulge in sensory pleasures. One will also be able to experience transcendental happiness which comes from detachment.

Language of unity in diversity

The year 1947 was a landmark in the his- tory of the British Empire. On August 15, that year, India, the most important member of the Empire was granted independence bringing an end to the British Raj. Thus began the collapse of an Empire on which, they claimed, the sun never set. A few months later, on February 4, 1948, Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was known then, regained freedom as a nation. 

Sri Lankans owe a great debt to India for this independence for which the Indians fought a bitter struggle against a Western power. This struggle paved the way for Sri Lanka's independence that was granted almost on a golden platter. "The transfer of power in Sri Lanka was smooth and peaceful," writes Prof. K.M. de Silva, one of the outstanding historians of Sri Lanka. "Little was seen of the divisions and bitterness which were tearing at the recent independence of the new nations of South Asia".-(A History of Sri Lanka, p. 489)

One of the problems that new nations that gained independence such as India and Sri Lanka had to face in their efforts to rebuild their society with an identity was related to language. Under the British Empire, English was the official language of their colonies and the so-called 'vernaculars' or 'native languages' were relegated to an inferior position.

What should replace English as the official language of the new nation was the main issue that attracted the attention of both politicians and policy makers. The problem became a burning issue in multi-linguistic societies such as India and Sri Lanka. India has several languages and hundreds of dialects and Sri Lanka has two languages, Sinhala (then called Sinhalese) and Tamil.

India solved her language problem by (a) making Hindi the official language of the Union and (b) making the language of each state the official language of that state. Thus the eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution specifies 15 languages including Sanskrit, which is not a language of any particular state, to be used for official purposes.

Sri Lanka faced the language problem in a slightly different manner. In 1956, Sinhala, the language of the majority, was made the official language and the language of administration, and Sinhala and Tamil were made the medium of education. Making Sinhala the sole official language transformed the language question into a highly inflammable issue.

On the eve of independence the understanding was that both Sinhala and Tamil would be made official languages, thus giving both languages parity of status. "Late in 1955," recalls historian K.M. de Silva, "the Prime Minister, while on an official visit to the Tamil north, made a public pronouncement that he would make constitutional provision for parity of status for the Sinhalese and Tamil languages. The thunderstorm of protests against this that arose in the Sinhalese areas took every section of opinion by surprise. Nobody had anticipated such a profoundly hostile reaction. The SLFP which, like the UNP and all other national parties, stood for Sinhalese and Tamil as the official language of the country, capitalised on the situation by declaring itself in favour of Sinhalese as the only official language - with a provision for the 'reasonable use' of the Tamil language." (A History of Sri Lanka, p. 501)

The period that kept the new Prime Minister, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in power (1956-1959) is described by Prof. de Silva as a period of "linguistic nationalism" (p. 510) when Sinhala nationalism was consciously or unconsciously identified with Sri Lankan nationalism.

This stand, no doubt, aroused the feelings of the minorities, the Tamils, in particular. As noted by Prof. de Silva, "the indigenous Tamils refused to endorse the assumption that Sinhalese nationalism was interchangeable with the larger Sri Lankan nationalism." (p. 512)

The problem or the challenge that Sri Lanka faces today is to rebuild a new nation where all Sri Lankans, irrespective of their ethnic, linguistic and religious affiliations, could live in peace, harmony and dignity. This needs, in the first place, a change of attitude, secondly, a course of action.

Any change begins with a change of attitude. The attitude of the Sri Lankans towards several issues needs a positive change. These issues relate to society, culture and language. Taking into account the realities of history and continuity, Sri Lankans must make an effort to shape the future of their nation on the basis of 'Unity within diversity'.

India provides the best living example of a nation modelled on 'unity within diversity'. Diverse are the races, ethnic groups, languages, faiths, religions, political ideologies that make up India but she has succeeded in superceding the boundaries of all these divisions to become a great nation, the biggest democracy in the world. Unity within diversity is possible only on the basis of understanding and tolerance that recognises the views and rights of others and it is this lesson that we, Sri Lankans, have to learn from India.

It is generally accepted that one of the most crucial and determinant elements of identity is language. It is, first of all, is a symbol of ethnic identity. In general, there is a close correlation between language and ethnicity. The Sinhalese are identified by their language, Sinhala and, the Tamils are identified by their language, Tamil. The Muslims of Sri Lanka form an exception to this rule. They constitute an ethno-religious group that uses either Tamil or Sinhala as their first language depending on their links with their immediate neighbours.

Thus, the recognition of Sinhala and Tamil as official languages implies that the three ethnic groups are on par with each other. Even though the Tamils and Muslims are minorities in demographic terms they identify themselves with Sri Lanka as the land of their birth and look upto her nostalgically as their motherland in which they would like to live.

Language is not merely a symbol of ethnic identity. It is also the main instrument of thought. Hence the best medium to understand the way an ethnic group thinks is to understand its language. For it is commonplace that the world of reality of a people is basically moulded by their language. Thus learning Sinhala and Tamil as a second language will certainly pave the way for a better understanding between the majority and the minorities.

Winds of peace from across the seas 

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

As Ven. Banagala Upatissa, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Society noted, it seemed that the venue was right too. The Mahabodhi centres, 15 of them, were created by the late Anagarika Dharmapala to foster Buddhism in India and subsequently in Sri Lanka. And it was such a place that well-wishers chose to hold a special celebration in an effort to foster ethnic integration. 

The Mahabodhi Centre at Kennet Lane, at Egmore, Chennai was illuminated by colourful bulbs, decorated with flowers, the national flag along with the Buddhist flags fluttering proudly alongside. 

The stage was set by 7 p.m., and all invitees and well wishers were seated on colourful cushions. Young Tamil girls and boys from the Mahabodhi Dhamma School seated together, chanted pirith as the priests commenced the programme with 'seth pirith'. 

It was the first time that Sinhalese and Tamils living in Tamil Nadu, the Sri Lankan Tamil population exceeding 143,000, came together to organise an event of such significance.

Ven. Thunhitiyawe Dhammaloka, ('podi hamuduruwo') a key organiser of the event said it was "an effort by the common man to erase the mistakes of the past." So it was, many of us thought as the night throbbed with feeling of amity and a collective wish for peace. 

Ven. Banagala Upatissa, chairman of the Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Society, chief Sangha Nayaka for Japan and chief incumbent of Sanchi Vihara declared that his fervent wish was peace. 

The keynote address was on "Impact of Indo Sri Lanka relations on the Sri Lankan Independent Movement" by S. Mohan, former Governor of Karnataka and former chief justice of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and retired Supreme Court judge of India. 

The keynote address was followed by Prof. J.B. Disanyaka's special address on the 'Contribution of language to independence struggles'.

And then came the highlight of the evening- a sitar tribute to Sri Lanka by Visharada Pradeep Ratnayake. 

The ceremony was organized by the Sri Lanka Mahabodhi Society in collaboration with TEC Sri Lanka.

Kala Korner by Dee Cee

Painter Seevali is back

Seevali has been travelling in Europe and America holding exhibitions. "I have exhibited in 26 galleries over the past few years. The response was very good. In fact, I can make America my home, but I love my country. So I am back," he told me. He is still the same old village 'kolla', (I must say he hasn't aged, though a bit fat!) as he was when I first met him sometime in the sixties. That was the time he came down to Colombo from his village Sivalipura ("it has no connection with my name") in the Raja Rata with the hope of developing the artistic talent he possessed. He had first studied in the village school, then moved to Kekirawa Central for his education. Renowned artist Sesha Palihakkara helped Seevali to pursue his artistic talent and he had the good fortune of coming under the well known painter Somabandu Vidyapati. Later he was an active member of Kala Pola.

"I have always loved the village where I was born. It was in the very heart of the jungle. It was the beauty of this village which made me a painter," Seevali reminisced. It was a great day in his life when he managed to hold his first exhibition in 1971 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. Since then he has held many shows in America, France, UK, Germany and Switzerland. The one to be held in early March is the first since 1993 in his home country. Are you going to stay put, I asked him. He is not quite sure. "May be I will get back to America for at least a while. I will be back," he replied.