Focus

From the Mouths of Babes

US elections - A changing of the guard?

By Shivarh R. H. Navaratnam in Wellington, NZ 

As the folly of the Iraqi invasion assumes center stage of the US presidential election, there is no doubt that the November polls will be decisive not just for the United States but for the future well being of the rest of the world. However, George W. Bush and his bunch of neo-conservative right-wingers have yielded very little ground on the reasons for the war or the catastrophic consequences of the post-invasion insurgency which followed.

In every sense of the word, the US presidential election is proving less of a domestic affair and more of a global event. Not that the US election has never assumed center stage of international media interest before. But this time around the global interest will be fever pitched, with the international community having a direct if not an unspoken stake in the outcome of this election. There is little doubt where the international sentiment lies, with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's speech rebuking Bush's policies with a thinly veiled attack on the 'rule of law'. The UN Secretary General speaks of the 'rule of law,' which is closer to what Kerry the challenger asserts he will establish, if elected.

Rhetoric and reality

In contrast, Bush spoke before a stony faced General Assembly, parading a neo-conservative definition of "freedom" and "security". Between the rhetoric and the reality of these two versions lie Iraq and the presidential campaign.

Iraq: more or less as the hostage crisis and out of control insurgency proves, it is Baghdad, Fallujah, Najaf, Basra and other Iraqi cities, which is assuming importance in the debate for the November 2 election. Sure, George Bush and his cronies have tried to put a gloss on the Iraq affair, at times trying to relegate it to the background as a far away conflict, and at other times parading the quisling Alawi as the brightest star of their mid-east democracy project. And as this writer goes to press, Alawi quoted by Dr. Bob Banks in the British Guardian broad-sheet (September 22) as "an unelected thug who rose to power through the ranks of the Ba'ath party, with a history of brandishing guns and, it is alleged, shooting prisoners" has been given the privilege of addressing the US Congress making a mockery of the concept of democracy, which the US claims it wants Iraqis to embrace.

As Dr. Banks says; " This again shows that the occupation of Iraq has nothing to do with bringing democracy, and everything to do with making Iraq safe for US big business." There is no doubt that many impartial commentators would agree with this academic assessment.

Then again, anyone who has doubts about how George Bush got elected as President in 2000, with a split US Supreme Court decision based on political persuasion, would instead have chosen Al-Gore as president, if they recognised in advance wholeheartedly that Bush's game plan was all along for a war against Iraq, the callous disregard for international institutions and the carefully cultivated international conventions, along with the introduction of his doctrine of preemption which are all now shown to be pertinently wrong and immoral.

American imperial control

Not that the US under a Democrat-led government would be a benign bet for the global order. Since both Republican and Democrat regimes in the past have relentlessly pursued right wing neo-conservative agendas of relentless American hegemonism and imperial control; both by military means and by introducing American corporate power in the guise of sharing universal liberal values; liberty, democracy and freedom. The US intervention in propping up right-wing regimes in South America in the guise of promoting democracy, while allowing those regimes to commit crimes of serious magnitude against its own civil populations, such as Guatemala, Chile and Argentina, at the same time propping up un-elected dictators in the Middle East has been the hallmark of American foreign policy of yesteryear.

Despite this, the right-wing mind-set of blanket military conquest and occupation, which was hermetically sealed after the Vietnam defeat would never have risen if an Al Gore regime came about in 2000.

At least under Democrat rule, their recent US foreign policy goals were pursued more with imperial paternalism, co-opting international institutions to US interests, than blanket and open military conquests and aggression. Within the Democrats' ideology, on the visible public domain and the international grouping of civil society, there was a grudging acceptance for democratic values and civil rights for everyone, regardless of their political or religious persuasion.

Pleading for sanity

George Bush Jr. however, has turned all this on its head, leaving a hapless UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to plead for the "rule of law" in international affairs, and a return to a saner democratic climate within the domestic and international polity.

"Every nation that proclaims the rule of law at home must respect it abroad. And every nation that insists on it abroad, must enforce it at home. for debating and resolving issues." Annan said.

However, as the TV footage of death and destruction fails to stir the sense of unreality within the US domestic constituency over the kidnapping and murder of the two American contractors in Iraq, it is yet to fully galvanise the anti-war lobby. The contrast of sympathy for hostage victims, and utter lack of interest in the killing of over 300 Iraqis, many of them civilian, mostly by American forces in the past week, obscures the enormity of George Bush and Tony Blair's mayhem in Iraq.

At last the US Democratic challenger, John Kerry seems to have found his voice; acknowledging that Iraq: was a "crisis of historic proportions", and a "colossal failure of judgment." Kerry's speech was a demolition job of Bush, as he called for a national debate on Iraq and the war on terror. Sadly for Kerry, there is no chance for Bush's war agenda to be clearly rejected on election day because John Kerry if he wins the election, would be compelled, and might even strengthen, the military occupation of Iraq. Kerry has gone on record saying that the exit strategy for removing the entire US troop deployment in Iraq would be at least three to four years away. However, he has promised to bring them home starting next summer.

At least Kerry's furious, all-out assault on the Bush administration's honesty and competence over Iraq is a belated endorsement, and a strategic shift. There is no doubt Kerry's decision to challenge the Bush administration head-on on all fronts of the Iraq issue is a change of tack - and tone. This means that the Iraq issue is sure to dominate the closing weeks of the presidential race.

There is little doubt that whatever happens between now and November in Iraq will have a serious impact on the outcome of the presidential election.

There is no doubt that Iraqis living under the misery of US military occupation and violence would wish to change their commander-in-chief.

Given a chance, when it comes to the election, the entire world might be regarded as backing John Kerry. Opinion polls across Europe and elsewhere point to Kerry's popularity overseas. However, like the last leader of the USSR; Gorbochev, John Kerry might have to contend with a traditional US disdain for the opinions of the rest of world, and tough it out domestically. Opinion polls suggest the Massachusettes senator is neck and neck with the incumbent in many key swing states. With the Bush camp taking on a 'us-versus-them' attitude and trying to rope in the undecided voters in his global war against terror pledge, the outcome remains far from certain.

A lot depends on the Iraq scenario. This divide has given the Iraqi insurgents tremendous power to influence the presidential race and as events prove some are showing their marked ability to do so.

Whether the presidential election will prove to be a real changing of the guard with a Kerry win, or a mere shuffling of foot-space with Bush remaining in power, the antipathy directed at George Bush globally, might be a collective means of showing resistance to America's disproportionate economic, political and military power. Like Vietnam, the continuing military confrontation in Iraq will prove whether this American dinosaur will be tamed liked T-Rex for another decade to come, or whether the world might yet have to contend with more American aggression and occupation unabated.

Principles of social decency

Former Economic Reforms, Science and Technology Minister and UNP MP, Milinda Moragoda in his J. R. Jayewardene memorial speech at the commemoration ceremony of the late president recently said he admires Jayewardene's courage and steadfastness of purpose. "It was his unwavering determination to sustain the United National Party (UNP) and all that it stood for, that brought the party back from the brink of extinction after the debacle of its defeat in 1970 and restored it to dynamic political life," he said.

Moragoda further said that while he admired Jayewardene's 'vision,' which took into account the need for technology that would enhance the country's industrial capability and looked outward into the world with confidence, able and willing to deal and compete successfully, he would place second the coherence of Jayewardene's political and spiritual beliefs.

We serialise today the final part of Moragoda's speech: 

Continued from last week:

Another distinguished author and philosopher observes:

"Under the influence of European culture, all heritages of Asian ethnic communities are changing. But if the cultural habits of any community change at a rapid pace and destroy the integrity of their culture, they will split into gangs, coteries and relational groups of rootless people united in factions by opportunistic interests." Wickramasinghe, Martin, Culture And Tradition, in Sinhala Language And Culture (1975), p. 33.

I do not think anyone would disagree with such analyses of how our present social and political situation developed. No one can seriously doubt the effects of foreign invasions, and the poisonous legacy of colonialism on a subject people. But while knowledge that the cause of our situation was beyond our control might give us a degree of comfort, we need to deal, and deal effectively, with the reality. The reality is that these events lie in the past. The human beings who deliberately exploited our land and destroyed its social fabric are long dead. So are our ancestors who were overwhelmed by successive foreign forces, and bore the brunt of their cruelty and greed.

Looking back, we should gain inspiration and confidence from the contentment that informed our ancestors' settled agrarian lifestyle, and laid the foundation for their magnificent artistic and technological achievements. But to look back, and especially to look back in anger, is hardly the way to move forward, to make progress; and to keep looking back is likely to retard progress, even to make us stumble. On the contrary, it is well known that anger and distrust, both negative emotions, dissipate spiritual and physical energy, whereas positive feelings like trust and benevolence inspire, strengthen resolve, and generate positive emotions in ourselves and others.

We need look no further than the Dhammapada, the timeless wisdom of the Buddha, for guidance; and upon so doing, we must be ready to confront our own shame at the conduct that has undermined the cohesion of our society, and brought our country to its present parlous state. I ask you to listen for a moment to some familiar passages from the wisdom of the Enlightened One:

Lessons

"Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world; it is appeased by love. This is an eternal law (Verse 5). Conquer anger by love, evil by good; conquer the miser by liberality, and the liar with truth (Verse 223). One should not pry into the faults of others, into things done and left undone by others. One should rather consider what by oneself is done and left undone (Verse 252). Whosoever offends an innocent person, pure and guiltless, his evil comes back on that fool himself like fine dust thrown against the wind (Verse 125). Happy indeed we live without hate among the hateful. We live free from hatred amidst hateful men (Verse 197)." (From a translation by Tripitakavagisvarachariya Walpola Sri Rahula, in What The Buddha Taught, 1982 reprint, pages 125-136.)

When crisis loomed in our country in 1971, JR called for unity. He saw clearly how antagonisms maintained for purely parochial ends could subvert efforts to deal effectively with a grave national emergency. He called upon even the UNP to support certain measures of the United Front government in its attempt to resolve that crisis. In doing so, he caused his colleagues in the opposition to question his loyalty to their party, putting his political future at risk. With characteristic fidelity to a principle requiring that the good of the nation be placed above all else, he said:

"When there is an external invasion it is patriotic to unite. Surely an internal crisis as we are facing today presents a similar situation. Unity alone can save our country and all of us from impending doom. Should not those in the seats of power think of obtaining the help of all in order to reach the goal of prosperity?"

In making a formal apology to the Tamil people for the pogrom of 1983, President Kumaratunga herself has called for unity among Sri Lanka's competing groups. She said:

". if all of us can collectively put behind us all the pettiness that has bound us in shackles, free ourselves from those numerous hatreds and jealousies that make of us little men and women, then I am sure we could move forward towards working and living as one nation in harmony, in a search for that very necessary unity within the diversity that is Sri Lanka ." (Reported in the Daily News, 26 July 2004, p. 8)

Divided as we are by motivations associated with class, with ethnicity, with caste, with religion, language, and even dress, all these parochial interests competing in any contest for political office, how can we hope to create the unity we need in order to resolve the acute economic, social and governmental problems that beset us today? Surely the call for unity to resolve a crisis must resonate in all of us who accept that we are confronted today by a crisis as grave as any other, and would want to ensure the establishment of a peaceful Sri Lanka for the sake of our children's happiness and prosperity, if not for our own.

Social conduct

How can we achieve unity of purpose given the multiple, and seemingly deep, cleavages that exist within our society? First we have to realise that, as always, the remedy lies in our own hands. We are not robots. We are not mindless objects to be moved this way or that at the whim of others; nor are we so naive as to be swayed by demagogues who seek to ignite in us the negative emotions of anger and hatred through the printed word, or by screaming extravagant and vituperative verbiage into a microphone. Such conduct may offer entertainment at a certain level, but can be of no constructive value. We should have learned from the past two decades the terrible consequences that such behaviour can cause in our country, as it did in Hitler's Germany.

We need to acknowledge the unchangeable composition of some of the groups in our country (ethnic, caste), and make our aim the establishment of trust as the means of reducing the incidence of wasteful competition among them. This creation of trust should be an aim of high priority, to achieve which all the expertise and cultural tools available to us should be mobilised. Trust is the only foundation on which unity and the salience of a national identity could emerge. As Martin Wickramasinghe has observed:

"Unity in diversity is possible with a people who consciously and unconsciously feel the unity of their common multiracial culture in spite of the differences of language, religion and race." ("Impetus for the growth of a multiracial culture", in Sinhala Language And Culture (1975), p. 50)

There can be little doubt that 2300 years of reverence for the teachings of the Buddha have created a spiritual matrix that must influence all communities in our country toward ending sectarian bias, and the resentments or hatreds generated by group rivalries. But are the spiritual and ethical beliefs of other religions very different from those that were taught by the Buddha? I believe, that you will find that the principles of social conduct laid down in all the great religions adhered to by our people, bear a striking resemblance to one another. The injunction to love of fellow humans, the injunction to tolerance, to forgiveness, to compassion, to generosity and respect for truth: these are surely universal.

Who could seriously contend that the death and destruction wrought by invasions from India a thousand years ago were inspired by the teachings of Lord Krishna; or that the oppression and proselytisation by European powers over some 450 years of our history were inspired by the gentle teachings of an Asian carpenter? These excesses were caused, not through adherence to the teachings of a religion's founder, but on the contrary, by human ignorance which remains at the root of all greed, cruelty and violence in societies everywhere. The horrors of colonialism had as little to do with the teachings of Jesus as the pogrom of 1983 had to do with the doctrines of the Buddha.

Eradicate ignorance

It seems imperative that a national effort must be made to lift the fog of ignorance that leads to hateful prejudice and violence among groups in our country, and to establish a climate of trust among them. In this endeavour there can be no more effective recourse than to the teachings of the Compassionate One, no greater ally than the venerable Sangha who faithfully follow those teachings and by their example, instill in our people the universal values of love, tolerance and compassion; who are, in the words of the Buddha, "watchful of speech, well restrained in mind", and are committed to leading a holy life. We would seek similar support from our religious leaders whose beliefs derive from the wisdom of the great Hindu texts, from the teachings of Jesus, and the words of the Holy Prophet Mohammed. When the teachings of the religious throughout our land unite in this common endeavour, there can be no doubt that old wounds will heal and antagonisms disappear, as the common values of these faiths create the spiritual foundation upon which to build a just and free society.

Education

An essential partner in this endeavour must be our system of education. While it is true that emphasis on science and technology is essential, in order to ensure the country's economic productivity and competitiveness into the future, and that the humanities - the great works of Eastern and Western classical literature - should perform their culturally tempering role, it seems essential that moral instruction should form an essential, even compulsory part of the curriculum.

An expert group consisting of representatives of all religious faiths and belief systems in the country, should be commissioned by the government to produce a manual of ethical conduct that draws from each such system the rules common to them all. Such a commission should not concern itself with doctrinal issues of the after-life, such as re-birth and resurrection or any consequences implying reward or punishment, or even with the existence or non-existence of a god or gods. The commission's mandate should centre on the basic principles of good conduct during the present life, and in that case should find little difficulty in reaching agreement on principles and measures that could receive universal support. Once established, they must be maintained with a degree of firmness if they are to achieve, say in a decade, the aim of modifying the quality of our social conduct.

Such principles and measures once internalised through the operation of our education system, may be expected to inhibit behaviour that is gross, hurtful, ugly and contemptible, such as we have witnessed in recent times, lamentably even among those who hold positions of high responsibility in our country. The teaching of foreign languages should be encouraged. English as a foreign language is, and has been, an asset. But knowledge of languages such as Hindi, Chinese, Malay, French, Spanish, Russian and German could open minds to the mellowing influence of other cultures and reduce the abrasive crudeness that infects much public communication in Sri Lanka.

Instilling the fundamental rules of decent human behaviour - apparently no longer possible at the level of families distracted by the struggle to survive - must become the responsibility of the state in order to ensure the maintenance of ordinary decency in our society, let alone law and order.

I would like to end by quoting the words of our late leader whose life and work we remember today. They bring together the main elements of both his personal and political philosophy. And they could inspire us in our search for ways and means of promoting trust among competing groups, and in our efforts to forge a national identity as the basis for the unity of purpose of which our country stands in need. In his Convocation Address at the University of Sri Lanka on 31 May 1978, at the commencement of his term as the country's first executive head of state, he made the following pledge, to our people:

"Firstly: I will act always through the cabinet and parliament, preserving the parliamentary system as it existed, without diminution of their powers.

Secondly: I will not create a group known as the president's men and women who will influence him.

Thirdly: I will implement laws and decisions passed by parliament impartially, without political, party or family bias.

Fourthly: I will not encourage nor countenance political victimisation.

Fifthly: I will treat every citizen of Sri Lanka alike, and give him or her equal opportunities to progress. Sri Lanka will not be only a socialist democracy, it will be a meritocracy too.

Sixthly; I will offer to the minority, specially to the Tamil speaking people who are citizens, an equal place in every sphere of life. I have no racial or religious bias, for I attempt in my humble way to fashion my life in accordance with the Buddha's teaching.

Seventhly: In my speech and action, I will try to be non-violent for I abhor violence.

Eighthly: I will try to live according to the code of conduct we have adopted for ministers and members of parliament. I will endeavour to encourage the other members of our party in parliament too to follow it.

Ninthly: I will preserve democratic freedoms.

Tenthly: In every act of mine I will consider how it benefits the humblest and the poorest and endeavour to help them first."

Bearing in mind the wisdom inherent in these words, I believe we should dedicate ourselves to renewing our common cultural values, to finding ways to draw strength from social diversities as other countries have done, and ultimately to fashioning for ourselves a unity of purpose that transcends them all.

Gamini Fonseka: monarch of Sinhala Movieland

By D. B. S. Jeyaraj 

The headline flashing on the computer screen was devastating. "Gamini Fonseka Sinhala screen legend passes away" it said. An uncontrollable feeling of sadness overwhelmed me. Gamini was no more. It was as if a part of ones life had ended. Nostalgic journeys down memory lanes of the past becomes inevitable.

I was born in 1954, the year that Gamini entered the field of cinema. It was only in march this year that Dharmasiri Gamage and other likeminded souls celebrated Gamini's golden jubilee in films by organising a Raja Dekma in his honour. Dharmasiri passed away some days ago. Now Gamini too has followed suit.

I had planned in March to write an article in appreciation of Gamini Fonseka. Due to many reasons it got postponed. Then other pressing matters and a feeling of revulsion about Sri Lankan politics caused a mental block. The very question of writing became anathema for a while. The whole business of writing on matters Sri Lankan seemed purposeless.

Gamini's death however has compelled me to write again. Feeling extremely guilty about not having penned an article in his honour while he was alive I now pay tribute to the man after his death. This article  is to honour the memory of a man whom I loved as an actor, appreciated as a director, admired as a politician and above all respected as a decent human being.

Childhood memories

One is grief-stricken because Gamini, the actor on the Sinhala silver screen became an important part of life in childhood. This is the kind of relationship one has with actors , singers, writers and sportsmen. The impact of films and fimstars in the South Asian region is phenomenal. Childhood impressions in that sense are indelible.

Belonging to a middle class Tamil family living then in Colombo I was drawn into the world of films at an early age. The staple diet of this film fascination was naturally Tamil M.G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganeshan, S.S. Rajendran, Ranjan etc. were the Tamil cine heroes who enthralled me then.

But I was indeed fortunate that despite my Tamilness, I was equally attracted to Sinhala movies from an early age. This affinity for Tamil and Sinhala films itself was viewed as something unusual at St. Thomas' Prep or STC Mt. Lavinia where I studied in the '60s. Few Sinhala or Tamil kids saw Sinhala or Tamil films in those schools then. But then I was indeed lucky to savour Tamil, English and Sinhala movies from a very young age.

As children we were enamoured greatly of action movies. 'Fighter' actors were relished as opposed to 'character' actors. So M.G.R. , Jaishnkar, Anandan, Ravishankar from Tamil movies along with Charlton Heston, John Wayne, Yul Brynner and later Clint Eastwood were my childhood favourites. As far as Sinhala films were concerned there was only one, and that of course was Gamini.

Gamini Fonseka entered my life when I was about eight years old.  The place he did so was a movie theatre in Maradana bearing his own name - Gamini. Ran Muthu Duwa was my first Sinhala movie. The family went to see it for two reasons. One because it was the first Sinhala technicolour film. Secondly to see the famed underwater scenes made possible by Mike Wilson.

 Song and dance

Gamini along with Jeevarani, Shane Gooneratne and Joe Abeywickrema starred in it. Gamini's acting, dancing and fighting captivated me. I was well and truly hooked. I never ever recovered.

The song and dance sequence "Pipee Pipee Renu Natana" remains fresh in memory even now. I still remember the melody and some of the poetic lines like "Apey watte mal pipila meemassen wikvela" and "Rana giraw kumbura udin mal mal gamanak giya" etc.

To digress slightly, many years ago while returning from an outstation journalistic assignment in Sri Lanka the journalist fraternity in the vehicle burst into a singsong as was customary then. After regaling colleagues with Tamil songs I was asked to sing a Sinhala number. I sang the Ran Muthu Duwa song. Udaya Manawasinghe who was present was very happy and told me that it was his father's compositon.

My admiration and fondness for Gamini's films grew over the years. Initially the attraction was mainly the fight scenes. Gamini brought a refreshing naturalness to those scenes as opposed to the artificiality in South Indian ones. It was later that one learned to appreciate the finer points of his acting.

There was hardly a Gamini Fonseka film that I missed in the '60s. This was due to a woman - Mary Caroline - who was then a domestic helper at our home. She stayed with the family for about seven years. Mary was an avid Gamini fan. So I would accompany her every month to Sinhala films in general and Gamini Fonseka films in particular. This was how I managed to see so many of his films in my childhood. Chandiya, Soora Chowraya and Sorungeth Soru were some of my favourites then. This is how  Gamini Fonseka became a permanent part of my childhood memories. He remains there forever.

A break with Sinhala movie going came in the early '70s when my family moved to Jaffna. I returned with a vengeance to 'Sinhala chitrapati' after we shifted back to Kurunegala and then Colombo. One recalls wistfully the hours of enjoyment at the Jupiter, New, Modern , New Imperial theatres in Kurunegala and Roxy, Saphire, Elphinstone and Gamini in Colombo. Not only did I see new films but also several old ones when they were re-screened.

King of both worlds

I remain to this day a firm  Sinhala film afficianado, not only of quality films but also of those masala movies.Lester, G.D.L., Nihalsinha, Siri Gunasinha, K.A.W., Pathiraja, Sumithra, Tissa, Vasantha , Dharmasiri , Parakrama and Prasanna took Sinhala cinema in a new direction away from shackles of Bombay and Madras. But for sheer entertainment one cannot forget the popular films of Cinemas, Ceylon Theatres and people like Yasapalitha, Tampoe, Morais, Dev Anand etc. too.

Gamini straddled both these worlds with ease. He was both an 'arty' actor of powerful serious movies as well as a melodramatic star of popular cinema too. He was artistically appreciated and commercially valued. For two decades and more Gamini was the uncrowned king of Sinhala cinema. He made his mark as both actor and director. In the process he helped liberate Sinhala cinema from Indian constraints and gave it fresh perspective and dynamic direction.

Gamini also elevated the standards of Sinhala cinema and provided it with integrity and self-respect. He fought for the upliftment of the industry and fellow artistes and technicians. Gamini Fonseka is inextricably intertwined with the evolution and growth of Sinhala cinema.

To be continued next week

This time....the hero dies

By Ranee Mohamed 

It is the late '60s or may be the early '70s; celebrity Sri Lankan actress Malini Fonseka, in dark glasses, a scarf and  short frock, is driving a car, when superstar Gamini Fonseka  comes along on his motorcycle to keep up with her - and thus begins the love scene of a typical Gamini - Malini film.

 Almost four decades later,  Malini Fonseka is driving her car on the traffic congested Welisara, Ragama road  - the date is Thursday, September 30, 2004  and this time she is not behind dark glasses, and the tears in her eyes and the sadness in her heart are both clearly visible. Malini Fonseka is making her way to Ja-ela. But on this day there is no Gamini Fonseka to follow her. For she is going to his funeral, having just received news of his death.

Thursday, September 30 is a day to remember, a day to mourn and a day that will make heartbreaking history in the Sri Lankan cinema for that is the day the Marlon Brando of the Sri Lankan screen left us all and went away, without a goodbye.

Gamini Fonseka the hero who danced his way into the hearts of every Sri Lankan with his series of Gamini-Malini movies is no more. This natural actor who was as loved in Sagarayak Medha as he was loved in Chandiya had the rare  ability to strongly portray the heroic village youth with hiked up sarong - making the poor young men feel like heroes themselves.

 He showed them what true love was and set a strong example on screen, fighting the villains and pursuing and kicking the bad men down. 

He told us all about true love and the way we ought to fight for it. He showed us all what rewards good, clean living can bring. With his Edath Sooraya Adath Soorya, Soorayangeth Soorya, Sooraya Soorayamai, Gamini with his decent trousers and simple shirts showed us the true hero. He was the reliable and strong hero. Unknown to himself Gamini Fonseka transformed the then middle class society - this hero showed decency, portrayed decency and loved truly. It was truly good times for the country's youth.

Village youth

Gamini Fonseka fitted into the role of a village youth as easily as he would fit into the role of a coat and a tie clad gentleman of high society. If there was ever a natural born actor in the Sri Lanka, it was Gamini Fonseka.

"You will not imagine the things that are going around in my head since I heard of his death last evening," said Malini Fonseka Friday morning. Malini who has been acting with Gamini Fonseka  since the late 1960s said that there is no Sinhala cinema without Gamini Fonseka and that his name completed the Sinhala cinema and made it full. "He was not frightened of anybody and did not care what the consequences were. He said what he had to say and he was a man with a spine. He knew no fear and was straightforward and respected, but in him I also saw a child. We used to talk for hours over the telephone and he solved all my private problems for me," said Malini in tears. Malini recalled the time when she was with Gamini Fonseka in a car in a village during the making of a film. "A little boy came running up to Gamini Fonseka and acknowledged this great actor. Then the boy looked at me and asked who I was and whether I was a relative. Gamini looked at me and smiled and said "Nekamata gaththa kennek," Smiled Malini amidst the tears. She said that after Daisy Akka and Eddie Jayamanne, Gamini Fonseka held the fort for Sri Lankan cinema.

She recalled in tears the way Gamini used to always pick a jasmine flower from the plant in his garden and present it to her each time she came to see him, every day, till he died.

Leading ladies

Gamini Fonseka was married to Dorothy Margaret during the '60s. Dorothy stood by him and brought up his children while Gamini, in the peak of his acting career, spent little time at home. Dorothy was the ideal wife, looking after Gamini Fonseka and caring for his four children, Chamila, Thano, Damith and Ishara.

"He loved his first wife dearly and he loved me," said Angela Seneviratne, who was also Gamini's wife later on. "He is the father of my children and my daughter Kaushalya was with him when he passed away. Kaushalya and Poornima are Gamini Fonseka's children from Angela Seneviratne.

Angela spoke of Gamini Fonseka's advice to her daughters to be independent. " He loved me very much and he loved his first wife. He was a gentleman and so gentle and deep in his love. We are devastated,"said Angela Seneviratne in tears.

Gamini Fonseka looked at life differently. There was depth in this great actor and he had shown great love to the two women in his life. His love for his children, he perhaps even remembered in his sleep, when he passed away, possibly from a fourth heart attack.

"I cannot believe that Gamini Fonseka is dead," said film star Nadeeka Gunasekera. Nadeeka, who is eight months pregnant could not stop crying." "He was my guru and he taught us all many things that we will never forget. With Gamini aiyya, there was no beating about the bush, we all knew where we stood with him," she said.

Tributes

Veteran film actor Joe Abeywickrema who belonged to the Gamini-Malini era said that he cannot believe that Gamini Fonseka is gone. "To many of us, our yesterdays have always been pleasant. And so it was to us, the actors of the Sinhala screen. We had such great times. Gamini was such a jovial man; he also told people what he had to say. There are many things we will not forget. In those days Gamini Fonseka was like Cassius Clay and I remember one day how he ran round the studio when  senior actor Tilakasiri Fernando chased him with a stone in his hand because Gamini had poked fun at him. Tilakasiri was such a small made person compared to Gamini , but Gamini had respect for him and thus ran round the studio and let himself be pursued by this small made man who was great in his eyes," recalled Abeywickrema.

We all have failings and weaknesses in life, and so would have this great actor. But facts are stubborn. This great actor did it all 'his way.' And what he did for the Sinhala screen can never be forgotten. For Gamini Fonseka, the curtain will never come down. We will always remember his charming young face and the serious looks of love he gave his heroines. We will hear his voice as he warns the villains to stay off.

Truly human

Gamini Fonseka was an actor, but in life he was real and true. He was straightforward in his dealings as he was in his relationships. In politics he remained strong and unwavering  thus becoming a hero there in his own way.

Gamini first came to the limelight in the film Sandesaya directed by Lester James Peiris. Gamini Fonseka spanned a career as an actor and film director from 1954 to 1980. He took to politics in the late 1980s and was the deputy speaker of parliament and governor of the North Eastern Provincial Council in 1995. Ran Muthu Duwa, Nidahanaya were among his hit films. Gamini Fonseka also directed the box office hit films Sagarayak Meda, Uthumanani, Mayurige Kathawa and Koti Waligaya. 

Gamini Fonseka was essentially Sri Lankan. Despite his impeccable English and inherent refinement, Gamini Fonseka enjoyed stringhoppers, pittu and hoppers anyday, anytime. "Even on the day he died he had pittu," said a member of the family.

No one in this life would have received as many welcome whistles as did Gamini Fonseka when he entered the scenes to knock out the villains; no one in this life would have received the applause Gamini Fonseka did when he won awards and recognition for his acting talent; and no one in this life would have broken hearts and made so many actors and actresses cry for real as did Gamini Fonseka these  days in early October, as he lay so peacefully in his coffin.

For this time, it was the hero who had died.   

Madness in one's methods

By Henry Holdenbottle 

Darling Satty,

It would have been nothing but frolicking and gamboling at the Presidential palace and any other nooks and crannies you graced with your presence, last Friday dear. I'll say at a wager that at the blue party premises you had the candy floss machine working full time and the ice cream maker churning out creamy dollops. Celebrating children's day for all you were worth.

For if ever there were immature, spoilt, whining, whingeing, tantrum throwing adults seeking instant gratification and short term gain, it is your bally lot dearest, I don't mind telling you. We may have been told to cultivate childlike qualities but I hardly think that the better books on quality living advise us to act like spoilt kids in a tantrum.

Now that the Daily Mutt has hastened to your defence regarding the dual UN speeches of a forked tongued presidential editor in chief, he has managed as usual to reiterate nicely (not without your ever ready expert help) what the other media and the profissori were saying all along.

But passing lightly over the daily antics of the mutton headed straw ed for the nonce, let's get on to more interesting fare. The chiefly antics on the hill of justice for instance.

I may as well tell you darling that if Dorian Gray continues in the hot seat, it will soon be a valley of despair. Got a good rap on the knuckles last week on the contempt issue didn't he? That is what becomes of a sober supremo and a Sorbonne try-hard attempting to draft their own charges.

It is what some might call the charge of the light-headed brigade. Always ends with a discharge of sorts. And with the Aigee chappie too quickly disassociating himself with the contemptuous papers, one is prompted to wrinkle the forehead a tad and wonder at your methods. One is allowed to have a method in one's madness but never madness in one's methods.

You also tore your hair out the other day about the Cyanides taking pot shots at unarmed thala thel types. You shook a fist and threatened you would not take it any more. All this seems to me to demonstrate a somewhat impatient and intolerant nature but then you are the epitome of intolerance and impatience. The instant noodle of Paradisian politics.

Last November in a hurried sort of way you grabbed the Defence Ministry promising bigger and better things. You got bigger but paradisian life did not get better. Then you called for an election promising a safer paradise. You wiggled an admonishing finger at the shy and retiring Ranil and told him what he already knew. That absense of war is not peace. But nothing has changed.

The pot shotters are still engaged in pot shotting. The daggers are still drawn. The hatchets are lying all over the place in full view. The crime spree is still on the rise. If anything has got bigger and better it is the rate of crime and the cyanide hand.

So what are you doing differently darling? Do tell.

But I whinge unfairly. You are not always impatient. When the pot shots are aimed at journos or southern political opponents even in your camp you are passionately tolerant of the perpetrators. It is just like your dear generous spirit. No one has more of the milk of human kindness sloshing about inside her than you darling.

No wonder the price of milk has shot up drastically. No milk to be readily found anywhere. All sloshing merrily inside the Presidential abdomen.

By the by, I am happy the Indians are finally able to legally supply us with some kind of grain where they failed in the past with the bags of yellow lentils. It must warm the cockles of their big brotherly heart.

Now we can fill our stomachs with Indian rice while the cost of living is on the rise.

Toodle oo for now

A veritable pattern of patience

Prez dearest is running out of patience with the Tigers apparently. After almost a year since taking over the Defence Ministry from the then ruling UNF, on grounds of 'threats to national security,' President Chandrika Kumaratunga has finally decided she's had enough of the LTTE's violence and military build up. Well it's about time, is all we can say, since the President's actions on November 3, 2003 had most of us thinking war was going to break out the very next day, what with her threats to send troops to dismantle the Tigers' Manirasakulam camp, chase away the "salmon-eating busy bodies" etcetera, etcetera. Following the take over of the ministries and subsequently regaining control of the legislature with the April 2 polls, Kumaratunga has been, like the Bard's King Lear, the absolute pattern of all patience and said nothing in the face of the LTTE's continuing violations of the ceasefire and even the alleged setting up of 11 more camps close to the infamous Manirasakulam. Her declaration of no longer being able to ignore the LTTE's violence however, will have the public, who undoubtedly have been running out of patience since quite some time ago, breathing a sigh of relief at being able to finally find out what all the fuss was about in the first place. 

"The government can no longer ignore the inhuman act of killing members of disarmed Tamil parties committed by the LTTE. Since the signing of the ceasefire agreement, the LTTE has engaged in a continuing spree of killing members of Tamil political parties. In terms of the ceasefire agreement, all Tamil political parties except the LTTE had been disarmed. The government cannot ignore this anymore. When the ceasefire agreement was signed I warned former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Minister of Defence in writing about the possibility of a situation like this arising. The SLMM is incapable of fulfilling its responsibility of preventing killings taking place in the north and east and other areas and the responsibility for killings taking place in the south, especially Colombo, devolves on the government and the government will act with responsibility in this connection."

- President Chandrika Kumaratunga as quoted by the state media last week

And with that said, we the public, humbly ask - what happens now, Madam President?

Afterall, the people are fast running out of patience with you, given your performance as Prez!