Letters to the Editor
View(s):Blame game won’t get the country anywhere
Who are these politicians? Have they fallen from the sky? No, in a country where sovereignty is with the people or where there is universal franchise, these 225 have been elected and sent to Parliament by the people of the country themselves, exercising their free will. Therefore, if these 225 are not intelligent enough to be legislators or to govern the county, if they are uneducated, corrupt or not genuine, with whom does the fault lie? With no one else, but with the electors themselves.
What is very clear is that in a country where the masses elect Members of Parliament and the Executive, those who have been elected cannot be expected to be very intelligent, highly educated and of high calibre. ‘High quality governance’ is something which cannot be expected from a government which has been formed by the representatives of the masses alone. The only way to achieve ‘high quality governance’ is through filling this vacuum with erudite people and intellectuals.
This can be done by constitutionalising an intellectual council which has the power to effectively influence the decisions and actions of the people’s representatives and to guide them. The members of this intellectual council must be erudite people, intellectuals and true professionals and must not be representatives elected by the masses.
N.A.A.P.K. Nedurana Via email
Think of the future generations when talking devolution
We have started it again. Asking the question – “What are the special problems Tamils are having” is virtually banned. Examples for successful and safe devolution (Federalism) are given. Almost all those countries are much bigger than Sri Lanka in land area and in population. And they are not divided on ethnic lines and never had histories of demanding separation – peaceful or violent.
Ours is a different case. After getting defeated in a bloody 30-year war which brought much disaster to the country in all aspects, those who were behind the scene during that period are now asking peaceably for the same status. They started a war when they did not have special powers. What will they do if they get added powers?
Supporters of this move – on both sides, your generation will not be there to face the music again, you will be gone after creating a situation for your grandchildren.
Deshapriya Rajapaksha Via email
Teachers need guidance in proper pronunciation
The move by the Government to introduce English medium to more schools from next year is a welcome one, but the hitch is the teachers. Some of them in Government schools do not know their pronunciation. A case in point is how many pronounce the words ending in ‘ng’ incorrectly.
Morning is pronounced as mornin’, and words such as king and young too in similar fashion. Was is pronounced as ‘verse’. These are only a few examples. An English teacher explaining the difference between ‘being’ and ‘been’ on YouTube pronounces both words as ‘been’.
If this exercise is being introduced with honest intentions and not to win plaudits from the critics, it is best that teachers are schooled in correct pronunciation before anything else.
P.A. Binduhewa Panadura
Tribute to old Teldeniya town
Being a octagenarian, I write this with deep sentiments and nostalgic memories of my childhood as a tribute to this cultural hub, the epicentre of Dumbara Valley which had contributed much to the rich cultural mosaic of the country. It is worth recording that during the last century, Teldeniya produced many well known people – among them Buddhist scholar, the Most. Ven. Rumbukwelle Sri Siddhartha Mahanayake Thero of the Malwathu Maha Vihara, Rumbukwelle Disawa who was a Rate Mahattaya and the MP of the area responsible for the inauguration and successful completion of the massive Minipe Ela and the irrigation project, Dr Sudath Gunasekare, an efficient Secretary of Ministries, Padma Dissanayake Wijeratne, a popular author and poet, Prof. Lucky Dissanayake, a Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo and S.B. Karalliyadda, a veteran writer.
Old Teldeniya town was located at the 12th milepost on the old Kandy-Mahiyangana road that branched off to Rangala and Medamahanuwara at the bridge crossing Huluganga, a tributary of the Mahaweli river. This road was diverted and relocated at a higher elevation when the Victoria dam was being built. Before inundation, Teldeniya was a small self-sufficient town that had the Central College and the primary school on the bank of Huluganga, the District Base Hospital, the post office and the police station, the Divisional Secretariat (centre of public administration of Medadumbara Division) and the multi-purpose Cooperative Society. There was also a cinema, the central bus stand, and numerous shops owned by Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim traders living in harmony, meeting the needs of residents of the surrounding villages of Rambukwella, Medamahanuwara, Hunnasgiriya, Udadumbara, Udispattuwa, Henagehuwala, Kudadeniya, Wewegama, Karalliyadda, Digana, Aluthwela and Anchikade etc. The old rest house popular among the middle and upper middle class was in a grove of huge and shady Mara and banyan trees located next to the Magistrate court.
Teldeniya Central College which had a long history of providing for the educational needs of the Dumbara valley attracted children seeking higher education from surrounding and even faraway villages like the now famous Meemure. The Central College which has become a National School gained national and international accolades in education as well as in extracurricular activities of scouting, drama, cadeting and sports etc.
The old town also provided all the agricultural requirements of the community of the fertile Dumbara valley through the well organized Multi Purpose Cooperative with its branches in all villages and smaller towns of the area. The popular weekly pola in the centre of the town served the community for sale of their produce to collecting agents, retailers and the public as well. I am happy to see that all the institutions and services mentioned above except the cinema are now re-located in the new Karalliyadda-Teldeniya town giving a fresh spirit of prosperity to the area.
I trust this brief account of a forgotten town will revive memories.
Maj. Gen. A.M.U. Seneviratne (Rtd) Via email
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