“Thaaththa,” Bindu Udagedara asked his father Percy, “why didn’t they show the India-Pakistan cricket match on TV on Vesak Day?”
“That is because our great TV station, Rupavahini, thought they shouldn’t telecast cricket matches on Vesak Day.....”
“But why didn’t any other TV network show the match, then?”
“That is because Rupavahini has bought exclusive rights for the live telecast, Bindu..”
“So, they get exclusive rights for the match and then don’t show it. Why, thaaththa, did someone, from the Buddhist clergy protest?”
“Not that we heard of, but Rupavahini says it didn’t show the match to ensure a ‘serene’, peaceful and religious atmosphere in every home......”
“Who said that?”
“Rupavahini Chairman, D.E.W. Gunasekara....”
“So, he thinks we won’t be peaceful if we watch the match.”
“To understand that, Bindu,” Percy said, “you must imagine Dew at home, serene and peaceful, sipping a cup of ‘Kola kenda’ and watching the match, thinking about the good ‘Karma’ that made him a Corporation Chairman, after failing to get a seat in Parliament.....”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Then, he looks at the TV. There’s loud appeal and maybe Sanath or Aravinda is given out. Dew flies into a rage, throws away the cup of Kola kenda and maybe smashes the TV set on the floor. Gone is his ‘serene and peaceful’ atmosphere.....”
“Yes” Bindu agreed, “maybe that is how he behaves which is why he doesn’t want us to watch the match....”
“You have to excuse him, Bindu,” Percy said, in every government or government institution you get an occasional character like this.
“Don’t we remember what Wi. Ja Moo did during the previous government...”
“But thaaththa” Bindu argued, “can just one man deny the right of eighteen million people to watch a cricket match, just because he thinks of himself as the Lord and Master of morals of this country?”
“Well, he seems to think he can, because he says in his statement, ‘what really matters is not who should telecast but whether it should be telecast by any station at all.....”
“But thaaththa,” Bindu was not convinced, “even Lord Buddha didn’t force people to follow Buddhism. He said people should judge for themselves....”
“That was Lord Buddha, Bindu,” Percy said, “This is Lord Dew deciding for you, me and all other Sri Lankans.....”
“That’s not quite right, thaaththa; they still showed the match live on a giant screen at a five-star hotel. So, all this fuss about a “peaceful and serene atmosphere” didn’t apply to those who could watch it there.....”
“And anyway” said Percy “how could they show the match the next day? Surely, even then it would have disturbed that ‘atmosphere’ Dew likes so much?”
“You forgot, thaaththa” Bindu pointed out, “live commentaries of the match were relayed over the SLBC. So, Dew must be thinking that it is bad to see the match on TV but it is not bad to hear the match on the radio....”
“Oh, no” said Percy, “that is because Rupavahini doesn’t know what the SLBC is up to. You see, with this government, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.....”
“So, thaaththa,” Bindu asked,”what happens now if cricket matches are played on the days of Ramazan, Christmas or Deepawali?”
“Rupavahini will have to stop showing those matches, or else someone will say there is discrimination against minorities...”
“But, thaaththa we shouldn’t be surprised with what Rupavahini did because they are the people who think that they can eliminate smoking and drinking by censoring those scenes on TV....”
“And even on Vesak Day,” Percy agreed, “Rupavahini telecast advertisements for lotteries. Now, lotteries are a form of gambling which, I thought, was against the teachings of Buddhism...”
“But thaaththa” Bindu said, “now we at least know why they call the TV the ‘Idiot Box’.....”
“Then,” Percy said, “let us wish its chief, in accordance with the ‘peaceful serene and religious atmosphere’ he likes.....”
“How is that, thaaththa?”
“How else, but ‘Nivan Sepa Lebeva’....Percy said.
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