It's a long bad route to Kandy
The Chamber of Com merce & Industry, Central Province, was all agog.
Members lined up to meet a 24-strong British Trade Delegation - and only
one turned up!
As one Chamber member said, Kandy is still too far away for any serious
foreign investor, and Colombo remains the main attraction. Who wants to
consider Kandy when it still takes up to four hours to travel 72 miles?
If there is no improvement in our roads and railway system, Kandy will
always be overlooked. Food for thought indeed.
World meditation hour
Looking inward to spread love and benevolence. This is what the World
Meditation Hour meant to many who gathered at the Asoka Vidyalaya Hall
at the Old Matale Road. They spent a quiet hour exploring the magic of
good and kind feelings to all in silent prayer and meditation.
Organized by the Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Centre, Kandy, I was told
that this was begun in 1978 and that the concept has spread to 70 countries.
The World Meditation Hour is held on the third Sunday of each month. Nurturing
the world in the silence of loving thought! As I learned, we all have the
potential to make, in this country. a more loving community, but we must
first create a loving attitude within ourselves.
Maybe we should call it Channel 10!
A greater Kandy plan
Top town planner, Piyatissa Bulankulame, Chairman UDA and Director,
Department of Town & Country Planning, has developed a Greater Kandy
Plan to tackle traffic congestion, overcrowding, pollution, shortage of
buildable land and erosion. The Plan, prepared for the Kandy World Heritage
City Committee, offers solutions to the problems Kandy and its environs
are plagued with, and it was discussed at a Workshop held on August 14
at the Tourmaline. At this workshop, which was inaugurated by Central Province
Chief Minister Nandamitra Ekanayake, leaders and officials of eight Pradeshiya
Sabhas and Korales were present together with officers of the UDA, RDA
and other agencies.
The Plan outlines the development of Kandy from 2000 to 2010 and includes
the establishment of three satellite towns at Kiribathkumbura-Peradeniya;
Ambatenne-Katugastota and Digana-Kundasale-Tennekumbura. A system of inner
and outer ring roads is also included together with plans for the moving
out of some of the city's commercial activities (wholesale depots, stores.
etc.) so that congestion in the city is reduced..
Now, a non-govern-mental 'Senate'
S. Costa, President of the Kandy Litigants' Association has advocated
that all professionals form an NGO-type "Senate" to monitor the
political scene. He says that public governance raises grave issues today
because of the bastardization of the constitutional principle of separation
of powers. Now, ministers of Provincial Councils arrogate to themselves
the power to intervene in appointments, etc. "The recent problems
in the health administration is a glaring example," he said, "and
it is not only doctors but also lawyers who must be alert to this trend."
It was so ugly!
Professor of Sinhala, K.N. O. Dharmadasa was re-elected Dean, Faculty
of Arts, University of Peradeniya, polling 72 votes. His rival, Professor
W.M. Sirisena of the Sociology department, polled 71. It was a bitterly-fought
election with communal issues raising ugly heads. Professor Dharmadasa
has drawn attention to the fact that Tamil students are increasing rapidly
in the Arts Faculty and the present teaching staff could not cope with
the intake, whereas the Sinhala medium had a larger staff and were getting
less students. This and other issues became the basis of a vituperative
election campaign which, the campus says, was ugly and totally unbecoming
of the University.
Anyway, it's all over now. Only some scurrilous posters remain to show
how bitterly and viciously the election was fought. Damn shame, no?
"Esteem" launched without Rosie
The women's magazine "Esteem" was launched in Kandy recently,
and guest of honour, Rosie Senanayake, did not show. The launch, at the
Royal Gardens Hotel, was characterized by an air of informality, a friendly
compere and a small but well-presented fashion show on a most congenial
catwalk. Nobody minded the delay - almost an hour - because a lot of Kandy's
elite had asked to be late, after the rugger match, and asked Esteem to
wait a bit. A nice evening too and the organizers and publishers of "Esteem"
- PNS Media Consultants Pte Ltd. of Singapore and Colombo kindly presented
yours truly with their brilliantly-illustrated "Golden Harvest",
a volume to commemorate our 50 years of Independence. Churlishly, I had
to walk out early (despite the magnet of the fashion show) but then, they
did start an hour late!
"Disco Joint"
Yes, Disco Joint! That's what many on the Peradeniya Campus are calling
the newly-remodelled Senate Room. This Senate Room was remodelled at a
cost of Rs. 5 million and several dons say it has now lost its looks, its
historic identity and as one insisted, it looks more like a "disco
joint."
Remodelling was done to host the Commonwealth Vice-Chancellors' Conference
held there last month.
Meet the Kandy Lions
*Dr. Nihal Karunaratne, President, Lions Club of Kandy, handed over
the presidential gavel to Daya Weeraratne, who was installed new Lions
President at a recent Queen's Hotel ceremony.
*Senior MMC, Kandy, L.B. Aluvihare, was installed new President of the
Lions Club of Senkadagala.
*Sugath Wijewardene of the Food & Beverages Department, Hotel Suisse,
became the Central province hotel's only gold medallist, being placed first
in Vegetable carving at the recent Chefs' Guild of Sri Lanka Culinary Exhibition.
*Sunil Jayamanne is the Manager of the new Hantane Hill Holiday Home
which caters to locals and foreigners. This new holiday home has 12 family
and double rooms and is perched on the picturesque Hantane hill.
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