Missing golden opportunities and the ‘Walampoori’

Lesser known individuals with immense skills can be compared to real walmpooris; very expensive products, but no buyers in sight 

• The majority of Sri Lankans don’t have the finances to purchase expensive teas produced for the overseas market
• If an ‘enlightened being’ walks past the people standing in this queue, there is a big possibility that all of them would miss a golden opportunity to have a spiritual discussion

There is a frequently used quote “I missed that great teacher or philosopher because he lived before my time”. This could be one reason why devotees are flocking the streets of Kandy to get a glimpse of Gautama Buddha’s tooth relic which is being exhibited to the public. 

Sri Lanka possesses much valuable items. The same must be said about some of the services offered by Sri Lankans, who are not in the public eye. Sri Lanka has in abundance dedicated teachers, proficient Ayurveda doctors, talented sportsmen and women and skilled artists and craftsmen who are not sought after by people with buying power. This is because the price they quote for their goods and services is high. There is also the habit in Sri Lankans to spend money on fake or inferior products.  

We also have our share of fake spiritual gurus. The same can be said about some of our present-day politicians. The present generation really missed some of the island’s best politicians, who did yeomen service to the country. President Ranasinghe Premadasa, despite all the negative stories associated with him, built 200 odd garment factories. This raised the living standards of the labourers who found employment in this trade. Some of the good work done by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe can be rated highly alongside the contributions made by the late Premadasa. 

We also must consider Canada’s Minister of Justice Gary Anandasangaree who has Sri Lankan roots. He was born in Jaffna, and then moved to Ireland before settling down in Canada. He is held in high esteem in Canada. It would be safe to say that Sri Lanka misses his services as a politician. The present Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam also merits mention here in this column. He too has Sri Lankan roots, hence we can be proud of him. But Sri Lanka cannot guarantee him this same success, had he been born here in this island and taken to politics. 

Take the personality of artiste Jacqueline Fernandez who left the shores of Sri Lanka after establishing herself in the modelling scene and beauty pageants in Sri Lanka. She is now established in the Bollywood film industry and based in India. These are days when actors like Mahendra Perera contemplate thoughts of what their futures would be if they entered the Indian cinema industry. Cinema critics are of the opinion that actors like Perera have missed that opportunity. Film and cinema reviewers opine that those who make it to films in other countries can survive on the income generated from a few films as opposed to here in Sri Lanka where an actor has to engage herself/himself in work during the entire year, just to pay for his/her bills and groceries. When Fernandez’s mother passed away a few days ago, a leading English daily newspaper in India ‘The Hindu’ reported on the death with a headline that read ‘Jacqueline Fernandez’s mother Kim passes away’. Sri Lanka knew little about this death. It just goes on to confirm that when you plant yourself on the right soil, the ‘produce’ is bountiful.  

When there is no lavish market for selling a product here in Sri Lanka, producers look for overseas buyers. This is the ‘crux of the matter’ when it comes to our ‘tea’ story back at home. The majority of Sri Lankans don’t have the finances to purchase expensive teas produced for the overseas market. For the record, even during the times of James Taylor (1870s) Sri Lanka was known to export the tea it produced in great quantities. There are so many Sri Lankan products, like cinnamon, which the rest of the world is fortunate to see and taste. We Sri Lankans miss most of the good things that are produced here, with our own labour. 

Sri Lankan film and social media content creator Lakmal Dharmaratne has compared this island nation to a very expensive Walampoori (Conch shell) which doesn’t attract any buyers. When we talk about Walampoori, there have been occasions when at least one renowned philosopher here in the island was arrested because he sold one such item to a customer with the claims that what he sold was genuine. On investigation, the product failed to match the description of the sales propaganda associated with the sale. Dharmaratne is the director cum script writer of a film to be released soon under the name ‘Walampoori’ (Seven and half dreams). The plot of the film revolves around ‘five village conmen who join a performing travel group as cover. A fake priest recruits them to pose as businessmen in a scheme to purchase two Walampoori’. That film is expected to hit cinema halls in Sri Lanka on April 25. 

But right now, Sri Lankan Buddhists are more focused on the exposition of the tooth relic of Gautama Buddha, in Kandy. News reports reaching us state that devotees are queuing up a distance as long as six kilometres and await their turn to get a glimpse of the revered relic. If an ‘enlightened being’ walks past the people standing in this queue, there is a big possibility that all of them would miss a golden opportunity to have a spiritual discussion.