22 August 2018 12:00 am
Buying expensive cars, and now even expensive chairs for the WPC members to place their ‘DELICATE’ bums on, seems to be the order of the day!!! This is at the cost of ONLY Rs. 650,000/- PER CHAIR FOR 104 CHAIRS FOR THE WPC!!! Apparently, buying these chairs is ‘SIMPLE’ FOR THE CASH-RICH WPC!!!
In our last week’s column we highlighted the lessons we could learn from some countries around the world!!! However, this seems to have had no impact whatsoever!!! Let me quote another shining example, the official vehicle of the Mexican Ambassador in India is a TUK TUK, and she is so proud of it, she says it is ‘unique’!!! She says that before being an Ambassador, she has travelled to India and has always used an autorickshaw!!! She thought millions of Indians use autorickshaws, so why wouldn’t an Ambassador??? However, it wasn’t so easy; the Mexican Embassy had to get special permission to buy an autorickshaw!!! The designs on the TUK TUK were done by a Mexican artist visiting Delhi’s Art Festival and the initial reaction in her office was “What Madam, are you using an Autorickshaw, Madam, Madam, Madam??? The Embassy driver had to be trained to drive an autorickshaw and again it was not easy!!! How do you go from being an autorickshaw driver to being the driver of an Ambassador!!! The Ambassador affirms that it was not easy to explain, but what she tried to tell them was ‘you are still the driver of an Ambassador,’ it is just a different vehicle!!! If the Mexican Ambassador can travel in a trishaw, why can’t India’s elite do the same??? Our question is: Why do our Yakkos need THE MOST EXPENSIVE EXCLUSIVE CARS TO GO AROUND IN AND NOW THE BIGGER YAKKOS WANTING CHAIRS WORTH Rs. 650,000/- EACH TO PLACE THEIR DELICATE BUMS ON!!! WHY CAN’T SRI LANKA’S SO CALLED ‘ELITE’ TAKE AN EXAMPLE FROM THE MEXICAN AMBASSADOR??? IF THEY DO, WON’T WE STAND AND APPLAUD???
It seems like our erstwhile President has woken up from a long deep slumber and is finally expressing himself quite categorically and with no holds barred, no nonsense!!! Robert Frost comes to mind here
‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep’!!! Yes, indeed he does have miles to go before 2020; perhaps he realizes THAT’S WHEN HE HAS TO GO TO SLEEP!!! So now he has started getting vociferous, no increments for Ministers, he settled the train strike, dared the GMOA to strike again and, at the unveiling of a statue, he even emphasized that today the people need and look for HONEST LEADERS!!! When and from where did this sudden realization dawn???
Be that as it may, this column has also urged that the youthful MPs of the Party be given a chance to show their mettle!!! The majority of them are sons of former talented MPs who would undoubtedly be proud to follow in the footsteps of their fathers and show what they could!!! Why can’t the ruling bunch of nincompoops realize this, accept that they can no longer deliver the goods and step aside with dignity, that is if they have any left!!! They are constantly resorting to unhealthy competition which is a never ending cycle!!! Continuously looking at who is ahead of them, who has the better job, who has more money in the bank, more education, better circumstances and a better life style!!! One important realization escapes them, which is that you can be the best that you can be when you are not competing with anybody!!! This is the root cause of their insecurity because they pay too much attention to what the others are doing; where they are going, what they are wearing, what car they are driving and what others are saying of them!!! Sadly, the realization has escaped them that they should be content with what they have; accept their limitations and stay focused on living a good life and providing a better standard of living not just for themselves but for the country in general!!!
Ultimately, the bottom line is there is no competition in Destiny, we each have our own!!! As we said earlier, competition and comparison are the thieves that kill the joy of living!!! Run your own race, and you will lead a happy, peaceful contented life!!!