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In his memoir, “From the Village to the Global Stage”,  A. Natarajan, who served as India’s Consul General in Jaffna from 2015  to 2018 recalled events that unfolded during the visit by Indian Premier  Modi who was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the region.  

Former trustee of the Nallur Temple--Kumaradas Maapana Mudaliyar

According to his memoir, officials of the Indian PM’s  office (PMO) planned for a  visit to Nallur temple or the Maviddapuram  Kandaswamy temple or Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple near Kankesanthurai  (KKS).  

He recalled a meeting he had with the temple’s then  trustee Kumaradas Maapana Mudaliyar who insisted on the traditional  customs such as men should enter the temple bare-chested and rigid  timings for poojas the temple had known for decades. He also made it  clear there would be no flexibility on those customs regardless of the  status of persons, or any special treatment for individuals, politicians  or VIPs. 

The temple held six poojas daily starting from 4.30 a.m.  till 6.00 p.m. where devotees could engage in religious prayers during  those time slots.  

The late Maapana Mudaliyar was quoted as saying the  revolutionary practice of equality has been maintained and it has been  carried out to this day by the temple authorities.

“Therefore,  there is no question of any flexibility in the timings of the shrine,  and the devotees could enter the shrine only with bare chests,”  according to excerpts from the book published in The Hindu newspaper.  

Eventually, Indian Premier Modi cancelled the visit to  Nallur and attended the pooja at Naguleswaram temple, KKS without any  restrictions.  

The late Maapana Mudaliyar took charge of the temple in  1964 following the death of his brother and served Lord Skanda until his  final days. He passed away on October 9, 2021. During his  custodianship, the temple gained the magnificent look it has today with  his careful planning, renovation and precision. The temple still  maintains the minimum public donation ticket priced at one rupee, a move  that was introduced decades ago to ensure equality and affordability  for all.  

The memoir by the former diplomat who served six years in  Sri Lanka at the Consulate General and Assistant Commissioner of the  Indian High Commission in Kandy is to be launched at Coimbatore in Tamil  Nadu shortly.

The Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara and Sri Lankan Ambassador Veluppillai Kananathan

Trade and agriculture business between Sri Lanka and Ivory Coast

Sri Lankan Ambassador Veluppillai Kananathan held an eventful meeting with the Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan on Thursday, marking a significant step towards enhancing the bilateral relations and fostering cooperation between the two countries.

President Ouattara, who is an economist and previously worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expressed commendation for the swift and timely effective actions taken by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to stabilise the Sri Lankan economy. Similarly, President Ouattara mentioned to Ambassador Kananathan that he was in charge of the Sri Lanka Portfolio at IMF, a few decades ago.

President Ouattara and Ambassador Kananathan reviewed the current state of bilateral relations and expressed their commitment to expanding cooperation in various sectors such as trade and agriculture. Both President Ouattara and Ambassador Kananathan acknowledged the potential for mutual benefit in these areas, recognising the need to explore new avenues for collaboration and to create opportunities for their respective business communities.

Compromise at court case; CID detectives to record statement from former AG at his residence

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has agreed to go to former Attorney General Dappula de Livera’s residence to record a statement regarding controversial comments he made about the Easter Sunday massacres in April 2019.  

Mr de Livera had been notified several times by the CID to come to the CID office to give his statement. The former AG had filed a writ petition in the Court of Appeal requesting the court issue an order prohibiting the CID from sending such notifications.

When the case was taken up recently before the two-judge bench comprising CA President Bandula Karunaratne and Chamath Morais, both sides agreed to the compromise proposed by the court where CID detectives would visit Mr de Livera’s residence to record his statement. Accordingly, the court ordered both sides to notify it once the statement had been recorded.

Instead of politicians, public servants get limelight at State functions

It is usually the practice to invite politicians for even small State functions. In many cases, ministers, provincial politicians and area councillors are invited as distinguished invitees. It is extremely rare for any such function not to be presided over by a politician.

One wonders however, whether there is a new trend emerging in recent times where public officials are now being given the limelight instead of politicians. A case in point is this week’s opening of a new children’s library by the Wattegama Urban Council.

Instead of ministers, MPs and area politicians, the opening of the new library building was presided over by two public officials–the Central province’s Local Government Commissioner A. M. K. C. K. Atapattu and the Kandy District’s Local Government Assistant Commissioner T. B. N. S. Bulathge.
Perhaps this should come as no surprise given how most people now feel about the antics of the politicians who are supposed to represent their interests.

Cabinet reshuffle: SLPP members hit out at President and seek advice from party leaders

This week’s Cabinet reshuffle has certainly ruffled  feathers within sections of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna  (SLPP). The SLPP’s General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam publicly hit out  at President Wickremesinghe.

Angry SLPP MPs held meetings at  two separate locations in Colombo. One of the meetings was held at  Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa’s residence at Malalasekara Mawatha. It  was attended by most SLPP State ministers and MPs living in and around  Colombo.

There were complaints by them that the President was not  listening to their pleas to provide relief for the people. Instead, he  keeps piling misery on them by implementing more ‘reforms’ insisted on  by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), they claimed.

One  chief complaint was that this was making the SLPP unpopular among the  masses as the party was being blamed for most problems, including the  rise in electricity and water tariffs and the taxes imposed on  professionals.

The SLPP MPs were also incensed that the President had  decided to offer the ministerial post previously held by an SLPP member  to a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Some were of the view that the SLPP should not support the  upcoming Budget if it did not offer significant relief to the people. In  the end, Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa suggested the MPs should seek  advice from SLPP leaders Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa.

Probe into aspiring lawyers caught cheating at exams

A cheating scandal at the Sri Lanka Law College has prompted the Examinations Department to call for a report.
The Law College has also initiated its own inquiry. A total of 16 students have been accused of cheating during the second year examinations recently.
A Southern province Opposition MP and a Police officer are among those who have been accused of cheating. Eleven students were allegedly engaged in cheating during the first day of exams, while five others were caught on the second day.

Students who had seen the MP copying from some papers he had with him had alerted invigilators. Some students said frantic attempts are now being made to cover up the scandal.

Global exposure for Sri Lanka through BBC documentary at Horton Plains

A leading tourism promoter has written to the President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake thanking him for his intervention to obtain permission for limited drone filming for a forthcoming BBC documentary at the Horton Plains National Park.

With the Wildlife Conservation Department Director General having now given permission, the BBC crew is set to arrive here today (29), and will start filming in the mountains from tomorrow.

The documentary is being filmed by the BBC for National Geographic and the tourism promoter expects Sri Lanka to have substantial exposure across the world through the documentary.

Meanwhile, Planet Earth III, the BBC’s latest nature documentary series began airing last week to rave reviews. The series, narrated by world renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough, includes footage shot at the Yala National Park in 2021 and 2022.

Publicity loving diplomat causing a stir

The Foreign Ministry corridors are buzzing these days with talk about the antics of a top diplomat serving in a West Asian country that’s much in the news these days for the wrong reasons. The diplomat has an active presence on social media, perhaps far too much of a presence given his high status.

In the past few weeks, the officer has been posting many photographs of himself in various situations, including one of him eating lunch in his car and another picture of himself identifying the body of a dead Sri Lankan. He has also posted messages from other Sri Lankans praising his services on his Facebook profile.

A Cabinet Minister has now complained about the diplomat to the higher ups at the Foreign Ministry, insisting they take steps to rein in their colleague as his undiplomatic conduct was damaging the country’s reputation.

The diplomat however, claimed to have widespread public support in the country he served in, saying many Sri Lankans resident there find him far more approachable than his predecessors and he has gone the extra mile to assist them in the crisis situation.