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Beware
of Avurudu crackers In the old days there were 'cheena patas'. They were harmless stuff making a big noise. Today's crackers are different. They are deadly. Unlike 'cheena patas', which could even be lit holding it in your hand, today's crackers can lead to many an accident. One has to be extremely careful in lighting them. Carelessness
and negligence can lead to loss of limbs and permanent disablement.
Crackers plus liquor is a dangerous combination. "Once we had the case of a young man, who in his 'avurudu' mood lit the cracker just the way he would light a cigarette. Keeping the cracker between his lips, he lit it. The result was disastrous. Half his face was gone," Dr Weerasinghe said during a media conference arranged by Eagle Insurance to highlight the media's role during the festive season in warning the public about the dangers of being careless with crackers. There was Father Ernest Porutota to relate the sad story of how he became a cracker victim while leading a procession at the Kotte church some years ago. Marching ahead of him was a large number of children. Just behind him was the statue of Our Lady. As the procession was moving out of the church premises, Father Porutota noticed a string of firecrackers hung on a post. Somebody had had the bright idea of adding some colour (and noise) to the festival although crackers are seldom used at church festivals. "I knew they were going to light the crackers as the procession was approaching the road. We were marching on the left side and I quickly got everyone to cross over to the other side. The children did so, followed by the others including me. As I was crossing, the crackers went off and the next moment something hit my eye. It was a stone which ricocheted when a cracker burst on it," Father Porutota said. He was rushed to the hospital and immediate surgery was done. But his eye could not be saved. The damage was extensive. He later went to Australia and consulted the best doctors there. They could only equip him with an artificial eye. "You have got the best possible treatment in your country. There is nothing more we could do," they told him. "I am grateful to the lady doctor who performed the operation, for doing a perfect job in saving the optic nerve which enables the eye to move around. As a result, no one looking at me would say I have only one eye," Father Porutota said. "Take a
lesson from my bitter experience. Tell my story to the people and
try to save lives during the festive season," he appealed. Let
sleeping dogs lie But there are youth who make use of the early dawn or the mantle of night to acquire the coconut and papaya for their own, as these fetch a good price in the market at present. Cotton trees are also heavily laden at the moment and their soft down lies desolate under the trees. The pods have burst open and their white depths could be seen hanging on bare branches etched against a background of deep green foliage, like a myriad of white bulbs. Elsewhere, bare branches are mute reminders that the monkeys are back in their hoards to attack young shoots, leaves and fruits. Wooden clappers and crackers are used incessantly to head monkeys away, but they too are wise. They seem to almost know the movements of the people and usually perform the deed in stealth. Now that the paddy fields have been harvested, cattle are allowed to roam freely in the fields. But the grass on which they have to graze is dry and that perhaps is the reason why a herd mistook the straw in our field for grass and devoured it, much to our annoyance - the straw, which we had gathered and strewn so carefully to enrich the fields! I asked the women why they allowed the cattle to be led into the field. The answer was that it was better than having a battle of words with the owner, who being a man would ridicule them to others in the village. Silence is golden
in the village. Even if you speak the truth clearly, it is apt to
be misunderstood by those who see it as an encroachment of their
person. Matters usually connected with land and the demarcation of boundaries are common reasons for animosity between families. When jealousy or ill feeling reaches a peak, a knife is used to settle the issue. Rather disconcerting when most of these people look very calm and pleasant. So the maxim "let sleeping dogs lie" comes into its own here and because of that, the men especially do as they please, and women remain silent unless their children or family are at the receiving end - oh gee, then they can put a fish wife to shame! The national budget had no impact on the village. It came and went without comment. Budgets don't feature in the life of the village community. If they have sufficient for the day that is a "boon". If not, then they have to find the means of getting some money into their hands. Educating their children and finding food form the main component of their expenditure, and now that Sinhala New Year is around the corner, the family has to be able to afford at least a new suit each. In order to prepare for the New Year and make our own plans to be self-sustainable in the future, our little band of women met to review what we had achieved and what attitudes were detrimental to achieving better results. We had learned much through our agricultural programme, (no thanks to the agricultural officers in the area). But we still had a long way to go in learning the value of unity and the discipline of good work ethics. Our strength lay in our ability to 'push on' amidst obstacles. And the women were thankful for the experience that had enriched their children, who had worked together happily to help their mothers complete a task - united to achieve a common goal. These women knew their plus and minuses, they were honest about themselves. Listening to them, hope stirred, like a faint refreshing breeze that strikes a hiker on a hot and dusty road. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
to
celebrate. And firecrackers play a vital role in the celebrations.
