Relief wrapped in lyrics

SO it's that time of the year again, when you're faced with a challenging exam and feel like you're on the verge of disintegrating with unnecessary pressure. What better way to ease that pressure than to sink your free time in the ocean of music. Here's a list of my top 10 favorite songs.

No 01 - "Wasanthaye Mal" by Pandith W.D Amaradewa.

My first memory of this song goes back to the year 2001, when my dad bought a special edition audio compilation of Pandith Amaradewa's songs made in honour of the Ramon Magsaysay award. This song stood out from the rest, the simplest of melodies and divine interpretation. A song for a soul soothing revival.

No 02 - "Sulan Kurullo" by Haroon Lanthra and Angeline Goonetillake from the 1966 classic film "Sensuma Kothanda". To say that Haroon Lanthra's voice is magical would be a clear understatement, even magic can't seem to comprehend the grandeur of this song.

No 03 - "Asha Desin" by Devananda Waidyasekara from the 1965 Sinhala film "Sama". I first heard this song in a telecast concert where a university student sang it along with Devananda Waidysekara, and time seemed to freeze over like ice above a pond bustling with life.

No 04 - "Sulanga Obada" by Kasun Kalhara

The one and only Kasun Kalahara; in my opinion the voice of the new generation. I've listened to this song on loop over and over again, yet every time is a new emotion.

No 05 - "Atha Ran Wiman" by Priya Sooriyasena

If you're Sri Lankan, and if you love the guitar, this song would definitely make your top 10. A song that has the power to cross boundaries and bring people of all walks of life to the same arena, woven in harmony. A simple song that can be sung by anyone at any time.

No 06 - "Malak Wune" by Amarasiri Peiris

A song that binds nature to the unwholesome but beautiful emotion of unrequited love. Mesmerizing music combined with a powerful voice gives you a song that will remain in soul whenever you're sulking in thought, of a love that is mischievously playing with your heart. 

No 07 - "Suwanda Danee" by Rookantha Goonetillake from the 1993 film "Saptha Kanya". One of the first songs I learnt to play on the guitar, and to this day is the best song I've strummed. Rookantha is a legend in the Sri Lankan music industry and you have to be deaf to argue with that.

No 08 - "Sathuta Vilai" by Devananda Waidyasekara from the 1968 film "Dahasak Sithuvili". If a song could trap the lovely emotion of happiness within it's lyrics, this song would be it.

No - 09 "Unmadini Hanguna" by Bathiya and Santush
Bathiya and Santush were indeed the turning point in the new age Lankan music, although I am not all in favour of their latest songs, this will be one of their evergreen hits. A lovely video to go along with it as well.

No 10 - "Perum Puragena" by Senanayake Weraliyadda
"Diviya mona tharam sundara dho, dukama koi tharam sathutak dho" : "How wonderful is life, so wonderful that even sadness surrenders to happiness" What else can I say about this song.

First Publication (Sunday Times, 02/10/2011)

Destruction in protected areas sounds death knell for eco-systems

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Shaveen Jeewandara

Endangered seem to be the so-called Protected Areas (PAs), as huge cultivations, attempts at land-grabs, cutting of public roads and sand-mining are carried out sans consideration for the drastic consequences not only for Sri Lanka but also the world. Reports from across the country are flowing in fast and furious about the massive destruction of PAs. Taken in isolation, they seem like sporadic instances but as a whole they sound a red alert for our very survival, said a conservationist, a view underlined by many others. The tragedy is that it is in breach of the law, another perturbed environmentalist pointed out, explaining that the PAs come under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO), the forests under the Forest Ordinance and Sinharaja alone under the National Heritage Wilderness Areas Act. The PAs come under the stewardship of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), while forest areas are under the Forest Department. No one, stressed many a conservationist, is against development. But development must encompass conservation, and respect laws enacted to protect the environment, for ill-planned development will end in disaster, they said. Conservationists also pointed out that Sri Lankans seem very proud that the country is a “biodiversity hotspot”. Although it means there are many endemic species, it also means that there is an exceptionally high level of danger to them. Some countries have landmasses that are more diverse, but they are not “hotspots” because they are not under threat. Did you know that to be a “hotspot” more than 70% of the landmass should have faced destruction in the past few years, a conservationist asked. As many conservation activists and groups such as the Environmental Foundation Ltd., (EFL), Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), Environment Conservation Trust, Wilderness and Protected Areas Foundation (WPAF), Wildlife Conservation Forum, Young Zoologists’ Association, Ceylon Bird Club and Galle Wildlife Conservation Society spoke up against the degradation and denudation of Pas and forests. The Sunday Times turned the spotlight on them and the very first World Nature Heritage Site in the country to uncover what ails them. The Sunday Times has taken this major destructive strand running throughout the Pas and the forests to weave the big disastrous picture that will toll the death knell not only for Sri Lanka’s animals and plants but also for its diverse eco-systems. Somawathie National Park Banana cultivation at Somawathie National Park. Pic by Vimukthi Weeratunga of EFL A commercial banana plantation is being set up on a large parcel of land in this National Park, alleged environmentalists, providing satellite images as proof of park encroachment. It has a very sensitive flood plain area, stressed others, while an EFL spokesperson was perturbed that a large acreage seems to have been “written off” for bananas under a memorandum of understanding signed between the Army and ‘Letsgrow’, the local partner of the international company, Dole Food Inc., based in the US. Many environmentalists disclosed that ‘Letsgrow’ established in 2009, is managed by the brother of a well-known Sri Lankan bowler along with another cricketer. As of July 2011, nearly 500 acres of the National Park are under banana, the EFL spokesperson pointed out, adding that the story being spread is that it is the abandoned Kandakadu farm of the National Livestock Development Board (NLDB) on the park’s boundary. However, the EFL showed the Sunday Times satellite maps which indicated that part of the clearing and cultivation is within the park. When Somawathie sanctuary was declared a National Park and expanded, a part of the NLDB’s abandoned farmland fell within its boundaries, said environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena, adding his voice to the outcry against PA destruction. “This is very much a part of the park and should not be touched under the law,” he said. Delving into the demarcations, the EFL spokesperson said that it was in 1966 that the Somawathie Chaitiya sanctuary was first declared. In 1986 it was upgraded to National Park status, due to the importance of the animals and plants in the area. Once again in 1987, more land was added to the National Park, as Block 2. The serious issues with regard to boundaries need to be addressed urgently, she said, refuting claims that the eastern park boundary is the Mahaweli Ganga. “No it’s not. The boundary is the Kandakadu ela,” she said. While the flood plains (flat land beside the Mahaweli Ganga that becomes flooded in the rainy season) of Somawathie are home to over resident 200 elephants, the National Park is also the epicentre of other PAs such as Kaudulla, Minneriya, Chunnakkadu and Wasgamuwa and should be treated and maintained as a contiguous habitat, was the view of many.Small human settlements are also being set up within the park, another activist pointed out. Flood Plains National Park The flood plains along the Mahaweli Ganga within the park are falling victim to mechanized sand-mining, which ironically is prohibited, raising questions about the DWC’s abilty and willingness to take action, was another grouse of conservationists. The authorities are turning a blind eye to the mining with backhoes, a source said, adding that squatters in the area are also engaging in this illegal activity. Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve (SNRs) One of only three SNRs in the country, Hakgala which is of immense value with regard to biodiversity, is threatened by potato, leek and cabbage cultivations and settlements continuing to encroach on the SNR, the EFL spokesperson said. Two cases filed by EFL against the DWC for inaction against encroachers were settled on the basis that certain terms laid down by court would be met. A major challenge is also the encroachment into Hakgala by the Ambewela farm, EFL sources said, adding that the DWC was dragging its feet by excluding the farm in its demarcation of the SNR’s boundaries. This was while the farm had taken the law into its own hands and electrically fenced itself in. The EFL is considering initiating legal action once again to get the DWC to evict encroachers, the Sunday Times learns. Wilpattu National Park World famous in the past for startling images of leopards on white sands, in recent times what has been highlighted is the rape of the pristine Wilpattu National Park to cut two 60 foot roads, one close to its unique villu system and the other hugging the coastline. Wilpattu’s plight is being fought in the Supreme Court, with the case against the DWC, the Navy and the Ministries of Economic Development and Tourism, filed by EFL, WNPS and WPAF, going in for argument next January. There was large-scale felling of valuable timber trees such as weera, palu and karuwala to make way for the “interior” road from Eluvankulam to Mullikkulam, while the road cuts across the Kala Oya flood plains, an activist lamented, adding it has harmed the villu system and led to many road-kills of animals. Attempts have also been made by the military to fence off certain areas of Wilpattu, he said. Many visitors to Wilpattu informed the Sunday Times that the coastal road has collapsed destroying many archaeological treasures. Yearly flooding of the interior road for nearly nine months makes it impassable, a fact that those clamouring for “right of way” have not taken into account, a source pointed out, while another added that the Kala Oya flood plains are the largest in the country and should not be decercrated by a public road. Meanwhile, large-scale sand-mining has also dogged the Moderagam Aru on the park’s northern boundary, with the matter being brought up in Parliament and Wildlife Minister S.M. Chandrasena denying allegations and explaining that dredging of the waterway is done to prevent flooding. Ruhuna (Yala) National Park Development of the buffer-zone activity prohibited under the FFPO, is taking place at this National Park. The one-mile buffer zone is meant to ward off the effects of untoward development activity close to the parks, said activists. There are also serious concerns about military activity within Yala, with many sources pointing out that especially during the Pada Yatra, stalls had been erected along the devotee-trail within the park. It was like a circus with much pollution, a source said, stressing that nobody including the DWC had thought about the consequences on the animals and plants. “People forget that these National Parks are meant for the protection of fauna and flora,” a disgusted animal rights activist said. Sinharaja, the World Nature Heritage Site It may not be in the heart of Sinharaja, but this World Nature Heritage Site considered the “jewel” in the crown, is facing imminent danger with the latest attempt being to cut a road on its boundary connecting Ilumbakanda village to Suriyakanda.Twice started and twice stopped, if a road is cut on the eastern side of Sinharaja known as Morning Side, it will spell disaster to both fauna and flora, stressed EFL’s Vimukthi Weeratunga, showing the repercussions of a “new but bad frontier” being opened up. The argument that the villagers of Ilumbakanda are isolated doesn’t hold water as they already have an access road, a conservationist pointed out. First will come a road, followed by local politicians either ignorant or those looking for quick votes, grabbing land for distribution, Mr. Weeratunga said harking back to the past when Sinharaja became the experimental toy of high-level politicians who first attempted to feed a white-elephant plywood factory by stripping this natural wonder and later allowed large-scale mechanized logging here. Once again, the plea is that Sinharaja, home to many unique and endemic species couldn’t and shouldn’t be taken in isolation but as a contiguous habitat and protected as such. Roads, settlements or tea and cardamom cultivations in any of the 14 forest areas identified as the 11,000-hectare Sinharaja Adaviya, which includes the National Wilderness Heritage Site, will lead to fragmentation and loss of both animals and plants, said another conservationist. Another explained that Sinharaja is the most vulnerable hotspot and any dabbling with it or its environs, where the critical mass would be reduced, could lead to the extinction of many “point endemic” species. Point endemism is when a species is confined to one local area within a site, he said, adding that there may be many more undiscovered species within Sinharaja. Many were the questions raised why it has taken so long for the authorities to acquire the areas around Sinharaja coming under the Land Reform Commission (LRC). The Sunday Times learns that under Articles 9 and 10 of the World Heritage Convention (WHC), it requires the evolutionary process to continue for a site to be considered of “natural” importance globally. Once a Natural Heritage Site is declared due to its “uniqueness and universal value” with world biota being identified there, after competing heavily with many other sites, the authorities of the country where it is located have to abide by the WHC. It no longer belongs to the government of that country but to the global community and nothing should be done to endanger it, a source said.

Waking Up

So here I am, trying to pump life into my long lost blog - the one true link that leads to a thoughtful part of my heart. Well that's a lie, my heart is just a complicated bicycle pump. What I'm really trying to say is that my blog has been an exterior model of my Deep Limbic System - emotions galore. The refuge I sought to when I needed to empty the weight of all the emotions in my head.

Things have changed far and wide since the last time I posted, which is roughly about 7 months ago, but time is an immaterial element in my life. Something that I've learnt to ignore and dust off my shoulder. Time, being the wretched bastard it is, constantly holds up a board that flashes "All you're friends are in college, and you're still doing A/Levels", throw in the chicken dance. I know, it's not a pretty sight, but to hell if I care. One - 'almost' all my friends are in college, almost is  the keyword here. Two - atleast I can sleep every night without the guilt of owing my education to some other country. Para suddhata naya nae api.


Back to getting back to my blog. I conjure images of myself sitting in front of the PC, putting on my intellectual glasses, holding my head up high in esteem and writing out a polished and elegant post. But in reality, here I am donning an extremely over-sized t-shirt, sipping my mug of nikan they, mucnhing murukku, and, er, listening to One Thing by One Direction. Aren't they absolutely charming. No, a lot of things have changed I said, but not my orientation, it's still in favor of the fairer sex, the fairer than One Direction sex.

Also, I'm fresh from Kolkata Knight Rider's victory yesterday. It's hard to deny the fact that even an ardent IPL critic as moi, would opt to spend an entire evening watching the Indians and a handful of foreign players bashing the white ball as if it was the last thing they did. On the plus side, I absolutely hate Chennai SuperKings - any team that dons bright yellow outfits deserve to die a yellow death, and so they did, and tell me, what's better than watching Shahrukh Khan make an absolute fool out of himself. Joy.

Now, of the things that have morphed around me,one stands out. My employment as a feature journalist, at The Sunday Times. Although my stint lasted only 6 months (I plan on going back after the exams), it was absolute bliss. Would I have seen Giant Blue Whales doing tail-flaps right in front my eyes, help save the Somawathie Nature Reserve from poachers and an unruly banana cultivation, interview Bathiya & Santush, share a cheescake with the Dean of HKUST, have tea with the director of the Medical Supplies Division, shake hands with Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, meet Capt. Elmo Jayawardena, Speak to Red Bull X-Fighter pilots AND GET FREE FOOD VIA FOOD REVIEWS, if I stayed at home? I think not.

But there is life beyond journalism for me. An opportunity to fix myself, a chance to find the spark of leadership that I couldn't find for over 2 years, a pedestal to show the world that I know when to wake myself from the dream, and live it. I am announcing my arrival at the hard worker's association, running for a post in the cabinet of the people who swore to make it big, and eventually living a life that will be remembered.

But right now, it's more than listening to One Thing on repeat. (Hurriedly deleting that song before it infects my system and my sexual orientation.....further infects)

All Aboard

A second is nothing. Nothing is a second. In the pragmatic mind a second accounts for nothing but one sixtieth of a minute. Hence a minute would account for one sixtieth of an hour that could destine the beginning of a new era, or the end of another. Time really is undervalued in these times! Yet every one yearns for that extra second, may it be a processor that caramelizes raw data into succulent information faster than your rival agency, or may it be a microchip that’s allows you to fire your angry-bird a nanosecond faster than your friend. We seek to be the fastest, at almost everything, heeding less to the wonders of life that can only be enjoyed at snail pace.

I have watched days flutter past my sight without even the slightest adieu, thus ordinary seconds seem a lot like nanoseconds to me. Only a calendar would remind you of the fact; making it one of the most potent destructors of self motivation. I have yearned to change myself, remarkably, and I added a deadline to it. The deadline had come and gone, and I was still nothing more or less than who I was. I planned the things that would follow. Allocated time slots for the things I would be doing, but there I was, looking back, trying to figure out at which station I missed the train. Although I missed the express train that would undoubtedly take me to my destination, I was now left with the choice of boarding the snail paced observation steam engine. A train that will make me come to my senses and end my game of hide and seek with reality, a train that will show me how to face life as it is, and not lie to myself with a thousand schedules and a million agendas. It chugs down the valley and up the hillside. Taking me down as I succeed, and up as I fail. It speaks a voice so ethereal and wise, telling me to bow down in humbleness when I succeed, and to rise up in spirit when I fail. The steam engine slowly but steadily passes the beautiful landscape, to which I would have been blinded, if I hadn’t missed the express.

I see the lush greenery depicting my childhood, the days I spent learning the trade, the trade of life. There are trees that greet me at every intersection, the teachers and mentors who instilled the values I stand for. There flows a river down by the countryside, reminding me of the plethora of friends I had, the occasional waterfall depicts the friends that stood out from that plethora. I see towns and cities awake to a new day, relishing the mere bliss of the morning, I remember the people who inspired to awaken my sleeping identity. The many stations I pass tell me of the many decisions I made, to get down or to continue. Wherever I go, I simply glance over my shoulder and I see two staggering mountains looking over me, with the same gaze that I see in the eyes of my parents.

Halfway down my journey, I hear news that the express train had long reached it’s destination and is on the verge of ending it’s return journey, ready to take another bountiful of youngsters on a colorless, monotonous and empty ride to the end.

For the first time?

Wow. I stay off my blog for so long and the first word I say, is not even a word. Yes, wow! I can't even start to fathom the amount of change that has creeped into my life. First up, relieved of school work. Now that's the true definition of relief. But the bittersweet emotion is overwhelming. Why do you have to leave?

'Sit talking up all night, saying things we haven't for a while', we're smiling but we're close to tears. I don't know what to write, this is an ultimate moment in my life. I really am short of words this once. I'm about to step into a whole new realm, realize a whole new perspective, and gear up myself for the world. But here I am, at the very beginning of it all, with nothing but hope, faith and a smile.

THE ANXIOUS DAY BEFORE, yes the anxious day before, when I finally get my results, and now that I waited this long I can't wait anymore. can somebody please hand deliver them to me right now. It's usually a huge block of ice that's stuck down my oesophagus but this time it's like a plant is taking life down there. Bloom already! All that work, all that hard work, all that juggling of work, all that time spent in the bus getting to class, all that time spent in class, all that time getting back, and it all comes down to this. I have my belief, I have Lord Buddha, I have my parents, My sisters. I just need to know.

Life is beautifully hard ain't it?

The Show Goes On...

This probably and might as well be my last post for quite a long time. This means I have to lock up emotions mighty in a dark cell in my heart and.. swallow the key! Lovely Blog, you gave me a much needed outlet for my thoughts, a store to my happiness, grief, content. You have a link straight to my heart, and that's where all your posts originate from, I rarely speak to you from my brain, It's all heart mann.

Lots of things have happened very recently, as always nah. No matter however much we try to deny it, things around us take life instantaneously, without warning trouble rises up and shadows your path, but remember the world is subjected to eternal change, it's the mind that should be kept still. Keep your mind still I say, it's an art I am yet to perfect, but I will. If the mind is still, everything else will fall in place. Right now the problem with me is that I need a bit of a push from the physique, I feel ever so weak, not at heart but in body. Blasted asthma is taking over my life. I need to hang in there.

Exams. They come and go, but i need to make this one stay. Two months to proove myself right, and the bloody critics wrong. You think I can't handle it? Why don't you try to juggle my work, I bet you wouldn't last a fucking second in my shoes. You know what world, keep throwing those stones at me, why don't you add a big fat boulder in there as well. "N-n-now that that don't kill me, Can only make me stronger" Thanks for that Kanye =P

So here I am at the pinnacle, I look down at the fall, I see all the peaks I've passed and all the rivers I've crossed, then I can see a woman down there sticking the middle up at me, haha, then there's all the crevices that I nearly fell in. I look up and I think, is there a mountain higher waiting to be spoilt with my presence. Hell Yeah!

The Show Goes On Allright!

De Ghuma Ke

So ends one of the most, or perhaps the most exciting roller-coaster of a month for me. And as it draws to close, so did the World Cup 2011. Which to me, has been the biggest cricketing event for SL, cause I was only 3 the time we lifted the '96 World Cup. Defeat comes as it may, to look beyond it but not overlook it, is the true spirit. I can't deny it. I am sad. So sad, that my perfect day had to end with neat shots of white rum, and it tasted nothing close to victory.

But a few hours before that last ball Dhoni fittingly clobbered for a six, we were in the radar of pure Sri Lankan fun. What a day it was. Went to the Intercon to watch the first innings with Gardi. Five star hotel you say? Haha. The heist bar of this 5 star hotel, looked nothing different to the Keththarama grounds. People clad in Blue and Yellow, waving the Lion flag, going crazy for every run, and going beyond crazy for every boundary. It was awesome. We kept ordering stuff, cheese toast to mojitos to hot butter cuttle fish. The party had already begun in SL.

And the man of the moment, the man who defined true Sri Lankan grit, was the reason to cheer our team forward: Mahela. You showed the world what class is all about. Every time the leather striked the sweet willow, 20 million Sri Lankans rose to their feet. The defeated Lion took charge of the pride. You knew what it was like to be defeated at the helm. And you rose to the occasion. Thank You.

The first innings sealed it for us. When Gardi, Umanga and I got into that tuk tuk, and sped away to the CH grounds, our naive minds missed the probability of things going wrong. That tuk tuk ride, was one to remember. Rampaging through the night of Colombo, waving the Lion at everybody on the road screaming "Come on Sri Lanka". And them screaming back at us. The whole of Sri Lanka was once again united. This amount of euphemism was not second to that when we won the War back in 2009.

Got to CH and met up with the rest of the gang. It was a carnival. Everybody was there. Gardi started playing the fool and everything we did, was right that night. Kay was there, Rushanka, and I made a new friend; Umanga, she is such an awesome girl. No fake accents, no nonsense, just plain damn genuine. She definitely joins the hangout now. I loved every bit of that night, except for the loss. I've never seen so many people wearing the same sad mask. I had mine too. And I'll probably wear it along with 20 million others for the rest of the week, but Life goes on. You taste defeat once, It's okay, You'll get back up. You taste defeat again, It's still okay, You'll still get back up.

To India, you were the better team on the day. It was a treat to the true cricket fan regardless of nationality, to see Yuvi and Raina leap like cougars, to see MS show the world what it means to be captain, to see Gambhir defy the odds of the crtitics, and more over to show the world that India is more than Sehwag and Tendulkar. Kohli living up to his attitude, and the best part was to see Bhajji, the ever herculian Harbhajan cry like a baby, it was all emotion. India truly deserve it, any team who slap the wits out of Australia deserve to win the Cup. So they did.

I used to remember days where the Lions would prounce at the ball, and stop every boundary and easy single. There used to be days where Chandana and Dilshan would form a near literal brick wall on the field. There used to be Mahanama and Aravinda who would resurface the sunken ship. There used to be Vaas who would swing the ball on a flat track. And an ever energetic Murali, who used to smile way more than this. But we still have all of them in our team in different avatars, it's just that when the occasion calls for them, they should rise up to it. Well done boys. De Ghuma Ke! Next time Hit it Harder!

And to my dear friend Aditi. What better Birthday could you have asked for eh? When I took that bet for an SL-Ind Final, I was certain about it, because this cup was all about the sub continent. Hope you, Wait, Know you had an awesome day. You and India deserved it. Absorb the fun behta. खुश विलम्बित जन्मदिन