Cross Roads........

In life we get  many cross roads, most  cases without any exceptions we know what is the correct road but we don t take it, In life the correct path seems to be always hard and difficult, more time consuming. So we can see many of among us taking wrong instant way knowing what is correct. Very few people have courage to follow the correct path.

 There are some occasions we are purposely misleading by directing to the wrong path by most trusted people. In the time of the Lord Buddha a teacher sent his best student on the wrong path. As per the story there are many parties involved in it, but mainly the teacher.

Teachers can direct their students  on both ways.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angulimala)

The student ended up being a murder known to be as” Angulimala”.There is a nice Bollywood move based on this  story, also we have a Sri Lankan version of it.I prefer Barath Bhushans’s performance in Bollywood movie.

Well of course even I have met teachers who really enjoy misleading students. Well I did not end as murder or even remotely close to that. Even it does not matter really because ourselves we can find the correct path by going through the wrong way. Well it might take certain time to figure out the correct path but still we can come. But those who giving the wrong direction they also have justifiable answer, likewise it’s process of learning. To figure out what is the correct path by ourselves, well I don’t really agree with that reason, but we can justify many things with nice words.

As an architect student I have experienced this many times. As well in architecture schools and offices.In Architecture practices  the big boss like to direct their juniors to  wrong path for some extent  then only the big boss can maintain the distance. It is obvious thing that we have to seek help when we in the wrong way at office work. By doing this the big boss expect to  lose the confidence  of juniors ,where they will never stand  for them self  at all.I think this is not only in  architecture practices most of the other offices as well.

I ll tell  a good story of my own experience.I did work for a well known architectural practice in Sri Lanka over three years.In the end of three years suddenly I was asked to design a gate and place to keep garbage.Based on the information which i already had,I did a  design for a gate and a place to keep the garbage.After  looking at the design the big boss was asking hundreds of question about the garbage  keeping place.

Also I got  an e mail around 12 mid night saying that garbage  keeping design is wrong.The whole idea which I understood was to inform me that I can' t  design even a garbage keeping place for a house.But I think I m not such worst architect.I may not be good as Frank Loyd Wright,But of course not  bad as such.

But I did not loose my confidence over this.But i m not telling to be over confidence as well.But of course I did resign from that office.At  the time I was resigning the it was another story.Even after the resigning I got calls and e mails which is relating to the same project.Simply I ignored without replying a single word.

Ex president with his allied friends,those who doesn't have courage or confidence to stand alone.

The former president MR   was a master of doing this. He purposely let some of his young ministers to go on the wrong path. So now they have no courage to stand by themselves. Without any condition they are hanging around Ex –President, because they don’t have confidence to face as individuals. The other thing is since they have been though on the wrong path too far and coming back to the correct path is very costly. Most cases form the previous government they might be   ends up in prison for a while if they want to come to the correct path. I don’t think they are willing to such commitment.

This all about cross roads in our life but we also meet cross roads in infrastructure. Road junctions with three or four may be more than that .In Sri Lanka I think the most famous T junction is in “Radawana”.that Mr Mahagama Sekara’s  village in Gampaha.His famous book”Thunman Handiaya” .

Mr.Mahagama Sekara

Sometimes  you might not have read this book, but still every Sri Lankan  must have  heard at least a one song written by him. He was a poet, a song writer, film script writer, a painter and many more.

The Book”Thunman Handiaya” .

 Even that book explains when Mr.  Sekara choose his own way being little stubborn to his parents.

if you are taking Kandy road avoiding traffic  form Paliyagoda junction the other convenient  road is going through  Kaduwella- Waliweriya.On that road still we can meet Mr.Mahagama Sekara’s “Thunman Handiya”(the T  joint).Thunman Handiya was film as well,Mr Sekara  directed himself. I prefer the book,but still movie was not such bad one either.

The movie "Thunman Hnadiya"

Also back to Infrastructures in Sri Lanka commonly we can see four road joints with a roundabout. IN Colombo there are few places which connect five roads together at a junction.

But in this Island there is only a one particular place where Six roads connecting. It’s the Union place Junction it’s unique place, six roads are connecting even without a roundabout.I f I am not mistaken this must be the only place where six roads are connecting in a single place in Sri Lanaka.

 Actually before I Update my blog through google maps I did a small research, based on main cities. But So far I did not find out a junction where sis roads are connecting.

The connecting six roads are Justice Akbar Mawatha, Dr.Colvin R.de Silva Mawatha,Kew road ,Sir ,James Peiris Mawatha, Kumar Ratnam road and Church street. More importantly all those roads have some land mark buildings.

Justice Akbar Mawatha ,it’s more like the historical part of the area. The road named after Justice Akbar, I’m not very sure about  which period he is belonging to .But on that road there are nice shop houses belongs colonial period and the historical  slave island. 

The Kumara Ratnam Road where Nippon hotel is located. The Hotel Nippon color now has turn into white, it was earlier reddish pink. Actually it was very noticeable.

The other road which is the Dr.Colvin R.de Silva Mawatha, of course there  we won’t find very old buildings, but  we have” Visumpaya”.It is an official residence of the government of Sri Lanka. But unfortunately the main entrance is not from the Dr.Colvin R.de Silva Mawatha. But we can still see the high boundary wall with red bricks.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colvin_R._de_Silva)

Dr.Colvin R.DE Silva was an eminent lawyer in Sri Lanka as well .There are famous court ceases that he appeared and most of them he had won even without letting to the defendant any chance for appeal.

On the other hand Sir James Peires Mawatha which has Nawaloka Hospital. If anyone interested going to see Gangarama temple of can go down Sir James Peries Mawatha.

The other two roads, Kew Road and the church street not to mention any significant land marks. I’m not what‘s the reason behind the Kew road. But this name being referred in several other places as well. On the Vauxhaoul Street there we get Kew path and there is a Kew passage Behind the hotel Nippon.

The six cross roads not like in life, here Colombo road network is not complicated. Little.Little bit traffic, but still you can find your correct path.