Potpourri

By Goolbai Gunasekara

By definition Potpourri is a combination of flower petals, spices and sweet smelling herbs resulting in a delicate fragrance that spreads a sensually pleasing and pervasive aroma around. Let me apply this word to the news we receive via the Press or TV which creates the opposite aura of unease, frustration and discomfort that settles upon us like a suffocating blanket. Hearing the TV World News or reading the daily papers does not fill us with the joys of spring tra la.

But there are many things that can go towards making us noticeably more sanguine if we only know where to look and how to present happier affairs.

NEWS

I read at least two newspapers daily. While I enjoy the many good articles therein I have to wonder if it is really necessary to tell us about every minor infraction (e.g. teachers and principals misbehaving) or varied minor incidents of NO national importance whatsoever that regularly take place in our lovely island. Names of miscreants are never given so there is no shame factor. Is any purpose served by printing gruesome details?

As if reading my thoughts The LMD magazine has just begun an online glossy tabloid titled GOOD NEWS COLLECTION. This is EXACTLY what we need . ANY kind of spirit lifter is vital to counterbalance the sad state of world affairs. To those who find wading through daily newspapers a chore, or lack the time to do so, this Collection is an idyllic notion. The Editor of LMD, Hiran Hewavisenti, has really cut a notch in his tally of earlier successes. May we anticipate missives which will inject a cheering note into this fractious era?

POLITICS

Politics can both irritate and amuse. Let us try to find humour in what is after all a people dominated business and lends itself to sardonic amusement. I quote…..”The latest dance craze is called ‘The Politician’. It is two steps forward,
two steps backward and then a side step.” True? Or here is an interesting fact of nature. Apparently a mocking bird can change its tune EIGHTY SEVEN times in seven minutes. Politicians must surely regard this interesting fact with GREAT envy since they are doing this most of the time..

I can be as critical of politicians as the next person. But to what avail? They are with us for at least four years and we might as well utter words of encouragement as regularly as words of discouragement. It might give their flagging spirits a boost and perhaps actually get things done.

A suggestion I would like to make is that we should have a space for “Remarks’ on every voting sheet. Hopefully they will be read by those who can do something constructive.

It is paradoxical that those who DO emigrate to what they hope are fairer climes join Sri Lankan conclaves the minute they leave our shores. Settling down in foreign countries can be lonely. Are these migrants happy? 

GOSSIP

Vicious gossip is anathema of course. It is usually caused by envy. It is hurtful, mean minded and one of the most unattractive human failings. It is merely an exercise of the tongue and ALL humanity is guilty of it in some form or another.

However the few that are truly vitriolic have psychological problems and can only feel superior if they spread half truths or lies.

Society has given women a bad reputation which is undeserved. I hear, via the grapevine, that the gossip in the men’s Clubs dressing rooms would literally scorch our ears. My husband used to vociferously deny this of course.

But gossip can be pleasantly uttered. It often is. They say that women are the only people who have time to gossip. In the modern world women are no longer just housewives so this is not quite true. Take a look at the MANY subjects women have to talk about. …..Children, fashions, recipes, husbands and their quirks, domestics or the lack of them, the latest divorces or affaires, food prices, minor cures for ailments, kids tuition and so on. The list is endless. Most of it harmless. It is a balloon that grows bigger with every puff.

It is SCANDAL that is the villain here. If people remained immune to blandisments gossip would remain a harmless aberration. (A lady’s age will always remain a secret hopefully.) “Gossip is a torpedo that has sunk many friendships” is a good quote to remember!

WORLD AFFAIRS

“The world has finally achieved total commotion”, wrote a witty commentator. “Frankly the only tablets Moses carried down from Mount Sinai should have been Asprin.”

It seems to me that BRICS, NATO, THE EU and other such like associations concern themselves with coping the turbulence of unnecessarily warring factions without actually getting any results.

Sri Lanka is a very good place to live. I would choose no other. Unfortunately our citizens complain mightily. Government failures are highlighted. Government successes less so. But whenever I hear (firsthand) of how uncomfortable life can be elsewhere I wish Sri Lankans were less critical. I used to think a country like Finland was ideal in many ways. Yet I have just heard( first hand) that it is far from it. I realize anew that Sri Lanka is a far happier nation than many.

EMIGRATION

Sri Lanka is special. Because it is small we keep friends we grew up with all our lives- unless they foolishly emigrate. I personally have a dozen close friends I have known for over 80 years and many acquaintances I have known as long.
Alas, too many have passed away. Friendships in larger countries are naturally affected by distance. It is paradoxical that those who DO emigrate to what they hope are fairer climes join Sri Lankan conclaves the minute they leave our shores. Settling down in foreign countries can be lonely. Are these migrants happy? Not always. After all, they are second class citizens in new surroundings unless they have top jobs. I am told that life in Britain is no picnic for many who left Sri Lanka recently.

When children are born they are often torn between two cultures and can become rebellious displaying unsettled attitudes and causing their parents much grief. Emigrants try to maintain their own culture in foreign lands and this leads to isolation from the mainstream. A few make the whole operation a success but the satisfaction factor is often missing.

This is just an opinion. I am sure amalgamations have often been successful if happiness is not an expected quotient!

ELECTRICITY

During the course of my long life I have had homes stretching from Ratmalana to Kotte and on many many Colombo roads …..Flower Road, Green Path, Duplication Road, Police Park Avenue, Claessen Place, Vajira Road ……why name them all!! The common drawback was ALWAYS the supply of electricity. Appalling in some areas and bearable in others. Slightly outside the edges of the city, lights would suddenly fail as did all other electrical gadgets.  Calls to the grid were not even answered.

But ever since the Government changed things HAVE been better. Formerly rude assistants are now noticeably more accomodating. Here is one example. Earlier we were subjected to a one full day power cut of which we were earlier warned. We braced ourselves to a blistering day which was often extended by over an hour by some uncaring Electricity Dept. workers. Last week we had the usual power cut. By 10 am we were told that the cut would last a mere 4 hours. On the dot the supply was renewed. I thank the Government on behalf of hundreds of citizens in our area for having somehow coped with a 'mafia' that may have run that Dept. up to now.

There must be hundreds of such incidents which will make happier publishing than murder and mayhem. It will also raise morale.mightily. PLEASE try. Sri Lankans are kind people, they are generous people, they are friendly people and above all they are highly intelligent people. “Contentment is half of Happiness.” Let us be content with what we have. Believe me we are happier in Sri Lanka then are many in the rest of the world. Let us anchor ourselves to sanity and make the best of our lovely home . All the ingredients for happiness are present. Let us now bake the cake.